Eco-Friendly Picnicking

With the unofficial beginning of summer almost upon us in the US, many head out for picnics, cookouts, barbeques, and outdoor gatherings galore.  It's a great time of year, for sure. 

However, there is a down side.  Most of those picnics, etc., come with a lot of disposables-- plates, cups, utensils, napkins, etc., that end up in the trash, adding up over time to billions of tons of garbage polluting our planet. 

Where Does Your Recycling Go?

Below is a short video for those of us who wonder where our recycling goes after it's picked up from the bins we set out on the curb every week. 

I found this video encouraging in that recycling does give cardboard, cans, plastic and glass new life.  Even more encouraging is that these products can have almost infinite reincarnations, keeping garbage out of the landfills.

Some recycling statistics:

Lighten Up by Going Green

My last posts were pretty serious, and with good reason.  So I am going to lighten it up a bit for this installment.  After all, it’s March, the beginning of Spring, and we’re supposed to be thinking green.  We celebrate all things Irish, blossoms arrive on tree branches and grass begins to poke through the melting snow.  With that said, what are you doing to bring more green into your life?  What little changes could you make, or eco-steps could you take to make our world a greener place? 

It's a Wrap!

It is no secret that we generate a lot of garbage.  In fact, the EPA estimates that the average American throws away 4.5 lbs of garbage per day.  And, it gets even worse during the holidays.  It is estimated that 25 million tons more waste is created during the holidays than over a typical 10-week period.  That's roughly 1 million extra tons of waste per week!  EEK!

In the spirit of taking small, eco-steps to help the environment, here are a few things you can do to help reduce that very large and ugly figure, get creative, and save yourself some time and money in the process.