Black-colored plastic gets its color from carbon black pigment and is commonly used in food containers like meat or produce trays and take-out, as well as for disposable coffee lids, plastic bags, and hard plastic items like DVD cases and planters. While plastic is one of the categories of things that we are encouraged to recycle — when we can’t […]
Every person in every job has the power to turn our world into a healthier, greener place. From architects to engineers, teachers to insurance specialists, sustainability backgrounds are needed in all markets and careers. The question is, should you pursue a sustainability degree? What is the job market like for this area of expertise? Is it a major or a […]
Meet Garry Cooper Jr., co-founder and CEO of Rheaply. Garry has been recognized as an innovator by Forbes, Chicago Business Magazine, and Crain’s. Much of the waste in our world is the result of overstocking and excess inventory in business and government. As much as $600 billion in surplus goods are lying unused in some of the largest organizations in […]
After five years of crisis, from China’s declaration that it would not accept contaminated U.S. recyclables to the three-year disruption of normal life caused by the pandemic, recycling is showing signs of life. Investments in new facilities and recycling technology are producing results and the National Association of PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) reported in December that #1 (PET) plastic recycling […]
Three years ago, the vast marshlands of southern Iraq’s Dhi Qar province were flourishing. Fishermen glided in punts across swathes of still water between vast reed beds, while buffalo bathed amid green vegetation. But today those wetlands, part of the vast Mesopotamian Marshes, have shriveled to narrow channels of polluted water bordered by cracked and salty earth. Hundreds of desiccated […]
When we think of air pollution, we usually think of smog. But the air indoors is not always as clean as we think. And as the cold weather pushes people indoors, the air inside our homes is the air we breathe the most. In a pandemic year, the quality of indoor air takes on even greater importance than usual. Why […]
It’s important to recycle electronics to ensure that toxic materials are properly disposed of and to reduce our waste. Recycling e-waste also reclaims valuable and limited resources like copper and cold. For example, for every million cellphones recycled, as much as 3,500 pounds of copper and 75 pounds of gold could be reclaimed for use in new products. Data source: Earth911 […]
We established national parks to protect and preserve some of the most beautiful landscapes of our nation as truly natural areas. But protection from development does not protect our national parks from pollution. And just like the oceans, where 8 million tons of plastic collect every year, plastic pollution is piling up in national parks. A new study shows just […]