sustainable – Page 36

E-Commerce Comes At A Price

How can E-Commerce be more environmentally friendly?

As a person who prefers to walk or take the bus to do my shopping, I thought Fed Ex and UPS delivering packages was a good thing; it cut down on my driving. packages came in cardboard, not plastic, and it seemed like an efficient way to shop. I don’t like some of the oversize shipping boxes, or the Styrofoam and packing peanuts I see littering the street. The article below came as a surprise to me.

Online shopping has not helped the environment. It is not a sustainable way to live!

http://www.startribune.com/speedy-e-commerce-comes-at-a-price-to-the-environment/369384321/

What can you do instead? 1. Bundle your own shopping trips into one trip. 2. Slow down, do you really need an item shipped to you in 2 hours? 3. BUY LESS 4. Return Packing peanuts to UPS. 5. Reuse packaging.

What can shippers do to be more sustainable? Refuse to use Styrofoam? Bundle their deliveries? What do you think?

From http://www.earth911.com/

Are there more sustainable packing alternatives?

Biodegradable packing materials offer a low-waste alternative to polystyrene packing peanuts. High-profile companies, including Dell and furniture-maker Steelcase, have already embraced a foam-like packaging made from mushrooms, eliminating the waste from polystyrene.

When shipping packages yourself, simply use paper from your recycling bin to insulate breakables rather than reaching for polystyrene peanuts. Crumpled newsprint, junk mail and other waste paper will do the job just as well and will be far easier for your recipient to recycle.

Entertaining? Three Easy Ways to Cut Landfill Waste

My series, 31 days of less waste continues. Three easy ways to cut landfill waste this week:
** Always use real plates, cups, glasses and silverware.

If you lack enough real dishes

for your party or dinner, borrow from a friend or relative. The quality of your party improves 100% even if everything doesn’t match. It will still make your event special. Using paper/plastic plates and glasses creates lots of landfill waste.

** A very wasteful trend has developed. Often the only water served at parties is water in small plastic bottles. Serve municipal water in real glasses. A great way to cut waste and save money is to drink water from public water systems. Run tap water through a Brita or other water filter and you have water better than bottled water. Water filters can be recycled at Terracycle.com

** Get in the habit of using reusable table napkins. Make your own napkins from remnant pieces

or purchase napkins from reuse stores. Use your imagination, wash cloths or bandanas also make good napkins. They don’t need to match, I like a contrasting colors look.

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills. (EPA)

Pick up One Piece of Trash a Day

This trash could end up in our lakes and oceans breaking into little pieces that last many years.

#TalkingTrashTuesday

The snow has melted, the sun is shining, it is time to pick up litter from the winter. Carry a bag with you to pick up trash. It makes our world look SO much better, and it keeps trash from washing into our lakes, streams and oceans.

Pick up One Piece of Trash a Day https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pick-up-One-Piece-of-Trash-a-Day/267910856667805?fref=nf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-bassett/breaking-the-plastic-addi_b_781569.html

http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

A landmark new study shows there is 30 times more plastic entering our ocean than previously estimated. http://www.oceanconservancy.org/

Take 3 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=867945456577550&fref=nf Take 3 minutes to pick up trash and what do you find?

Happy Spring, Move It Monday

“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet” Thich Nhat Hanh

Happy thoughts from the Huffington Post:

Spring is an opportunity to shed our bitter-weather blahs and adopt a happier, more mindful attitude. And what better way to do that than reconnecting with nature? There are some serious health perks to getting outdoors, from relieving stress to boosting brain function. If that doesn’t convince you, take a look at the inspirational illustrations below, which remind us not only to appreciate our lush surroundings, but know there’s always room for growth. So long, winter blues!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/18/meditation-illustrations-_n_6834712.html

Zero Waste, Is it Possible?

Bulk purchasing exactly the amount needed for zerowaste — Bulk purchasing exactly the amount needed for zero waste

I have just spent the morning in a seminar learning about the new organic compost program in Minneapolis. With an obsession for reducing trash I work on this daily, but just can’t see how to get to zero waste. We purchase in bulk using compostable paper bags, and refill every bottle with items that are available.
One woman, Bea Johnson, has been able to accomplish zero waste. What is the most amazing of all, she and her husband have two sons!

Here are Bea Johnson’s 10 easy steps to zero waste living:

Some co-ops have fabulous selections of soaps and lotions for bottle refills.

Refuse

Fight junk mail. It’s not just a waste of resources, but also of time. Register to receive less at org,optoutprescreen.org and catalogchoice.org.
Turn down freebies from conferences, fairs and parties. Every time you take one, you create a demand to make more. Do you really need another “free” pen?

Reduce

Declutter your home, and donate to your local thrift shop. You’ll lighten your load and make precious resources available to those looking to buy secondhand.
Reduce your shopping trips and keep a shopping list. The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.

Reuse

Swap disposables for reusables (start using handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, shopping totes, cloth napkins, rags, etc.). You might find that you don’t miss your paper towels, but rather enjoy the savings
Avoid grocery shopping waste: Bring reusable totes, cloth bags (for bulk aisles), and jars (for wet items like cheese and deli foods) to the store and farmers market.

Recycle

Know your city’s recycling policies and locations—but think of recycling as a last resort. Have you refused, reduced or reused first? Question the need and life-cycle of your purchases. Shopping is voting.
Buy primarily in bulk or secondhand, but if you must buy new, choose glass, metal or cardboard.Avoid plastic: Much of it gets shipped across the world for recycling and often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).

Rot

Find a compost system that works for your home and get to know what it will digest (dryer lint, hair, and nails are all compostable).

Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle. The bigger the compost receptacle, the more likely you’ll be to use it freely.

http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/10/bea-johnsoon-zero-waste-guru/

What do you do to reduce your waste?