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Recycling Refresher

Recycling Refresher

We have all recycled before. Most cities have programs that make it easy to help the planet when it comes to disposing of our trash. But like a lot of things in life we need to be reminded sometimes of the rules and that’s what I wanted to do today.

 

  

 

Over the years some things have changed when it comes to recycling and some rules get confused and start to become facts when they aren’t corrected. Here is a little refresher of what and how we can recycle in our own homes:

 

The three general guidelines are:

 

  1. Recycle all bottles, cans, paper

  2. Keep items relatively clean

  3. Don’t mix plastic bags in with the rest of your recycling

  

DO Recycle: any plastic bottles or containers, cereal or snack cardboard boxes, phonebooks magazines, mail, office paper, newspaper, tin/steel/aluminum cans, glass jars, glass containers, beer bottles, wine and liquor bottles.

 

  

 

DON”T Recycle: loose plastic bags, shopping bags, plastic wrap, egg cartons, take out containers, drinking cups, soiled food containers, soiled paper products, broken glass, fast food packing.

 

  

Good Luck!

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Clean-Up Time

Clean-Up Time

In past blogs, I’ve written about how plastic consumption is effecting our world, I talked about the things we can fix and the mistakes we’re making. This week I wanted to shine some light on some of the awesome work that is being done in this world to clean-up the huge plastic footprint we’ve been leaving.

 

   

 

 

This past week there was some fantastic news related to our pollution problems. The nonprofit organization, The Ocean Cleanup is focused on developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

The organization utilizes the ocean currents to the ultimate advantage. They are estimating that the passive drifting systems are estimated to clean up half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years.

 

 

 

The passive system is comprised of a floater with a solid screen underneath, concentrating the debris and leading it to a collection system. It is slowed down by a drift anchor and suspended at 600 meters, making it move slower than the plastic and easy to catch it.

 

 

 

 

On February 13th, The Ocean Cleanup and the City of Alameda announced they have signed a lease for a portion of the former navel air station. The assembly will begin next month. This is so exciting, and I will keep you updated.

 

      

 

I love hearing how we can make a difference even when it feels impossible. and I wanted to share.

 

Till next week,

 

 

 

 

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Straw-Less

Straw-Less

This week Starbucks announced a plan to stop using plastic straws as of 2020 in all of their locations. This has the potential of eliminating more than one billion plastic straws worldwide.

 

 

 

We’ve talked about plastic straws on the blog before and how they typically end up in landfills, making them something we all need to use less of. Hearing such a huge company like Starbucks giving them up brings hope to my heart.

 

 

 

The companies change of mind seems to have been started by a plastic straw ban in Seattle, their headquarters, earlier this year. Some stores have already started using adult sippy-cup-style lids in favor of straws. Plastic straws have become less and less eco-friendly as they’re hard to recycle and the ones that do make it into the recycling bins end up being sorted out because of size and weight.

 

 

 

Plastic straws take an average of 200 years to break down on this planet. Ending up in our landfills and most importantly our seas, harming sea life. This news made me think about what we can all do to use less plastic. A total overhaul can feel heavy, but small little changes are the key to making them last. Look for an easy change, maybe that’s bringing your own silverware with you or a glass/steel straw for all your iced beverages. 

 

 

Lets make a small change together and see how big an impact we can make.

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