I remember my mother’s reaction when recycling became mandatory in New York City in 1989. “What!? I have to separate garbage now? Oh, what a pain!” And when my mother-in-law Lucy learned that not only did she have to separate her recyclables, she had to clean out jars and cans, too, she was very upset. “I refuse to wash garbage!” […]
You’ll find unused stuff everywhere in the house, in drawers, closets, and the attic. What do you do with electric cables, paint cans, unused books and encyclopedia, and myriad other everyday things? Do you know how to recycle or reuse them? What if they are not recyclable, how do you responsibly dispose or reuse these items? In this Earth911 Quiz, […]
On average, every American sends 1,646.15 pounds of solid waste to landfills every year. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is! If you don’t already recycle paper products, you can reduce your solid waste by 25% by recycling all of the paper and cardboard items your local recycling service accepts. Data source: National Overview: Facts and Figures on […]
Alice Bodreau, strategic partners manager for Europe at the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, joins Mitch Ratcliffe to discuss the new Circular Economy Glossary. She led the development of the glossary in partnership with IKEA to help provide a common language for different industries to explore and activate the circular economy. We wanted to learn more about their approach to building circular […]
There are two great reasons to collect your used cooking oil instead of washing it down the drain. First, cooking oil can be recycled into biofuel. Ask your recycling provider if they accept containers of used cooking oil. If they don’t, check the Earth911 recycling database for a facility near you that accepts it for recycling. Even if there’s no […]
Meet Victor Dewulf, co-founder and CEO of Recycleye, a London-based company that makes machine vision systems and robots capable of separating waste on the high-speed conveyor belts at materials recovery facilities (MRFs). Recycleye also hosts Wastenet, the largest databank of images of products and materials that can be used to train computers to sort waste, which is some of the […]
Are you a recycling trivia champion? In this Earth911 quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of the latest U.S. recycling rates from our friends at ISRI, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Making smart sustainable choices requires practice. Earth911’s weekly sustainability quiz helps you hone your ability to recognize earth-friendly products and services. Through your daily choices — from transportation mode […]
We all need an occasional reminder to motivate us to treat Mother Earth with dignity and respect. I found my motivation as an artist in converting trash and recycling into art. Hopefully, the pieces I create can inspire, remind, and motivate each of us to do our part. Recycling is a passion for me. I live and work in a […]
Headphones, earbuds, and chargers have become essential accessories for many of us. Because we go through so many of these accessories, they can add up to a lot of e-waste that contains plastic, metal, rubber, magnets, wiring, and chemicals. None of these materials are good for the environment — whether they end up in landfills or as litter. They need […]
David Katz, founder of Plastic Bank, shares his vision for a regenerative society built on grassroots recycling programs that help low-income regions build resilient communities. The Vancover, B.C., startup compensates more than 30,000 plastic recyclers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt. To date, Plastic Bank has stopped over 99 million pounds of plastic waste — the equivalent of more […]