- Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!
- The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
- A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose — and even longer if it’s in the landfill.
- Mining and transporting raw materials for glass produces about 385 pounds of waste for every ton of glass that is made. If recycled glass is substituted for half of the raw materials, the waste is cut by more than 80%.
Posts Tagged ‘recycling’
Glass Recycling Facts
Friday, August 19th, 2011Packaging the Future: Banana Leaves as Natural Packaging!
Monday, August 15th, 2011Nature has had millions of years to come up with perfect natural packaging solutions — brilliant designs made from elements as simple as water, sun and nutrients that keep liquids wet, protect cargo during transportation, and prevent mold or insects from getting in. The purpose of our Packaging the Future series is to highlight how we can use nature’s examples to make low-impact designs for better packaging, and so far I’ve focused more on the pipe-dream than the practical. This week is different; banana leaves are a packaging solution that has existed for thousands of years, still exists today, and that could benefit the environment by simply expanding their use to new areas. (more…)
Eco-Friendly Ways to Pack a Lunch
Thursday, August 11th, 2011Most cafeterias’ trash cans are filled to bursting with plastic wrap, styrofoam containers and milk cartons. Send less trash to landfills and reduce your carbon footprint with these tips on more eco-friendly ways to pack lunch for yourself and your family.
1. Use recycled (and recyclable) food wrap and containers
Wrap sandwiches in recycled aluminum foil or unbleached, recyclable parchment paper. If you use plastic baggies or zip-top bags, get your child in the habit of bringing them home again so you can rinse them out, dry them and reuse them a couple of times. Better yet, invest in a few sets of reusable eco-friendly food-storage containers in various sizes that you can use every day. And if your kids brown-bag it, use recycled paper lunch sacks and ask your family to bring the bags home so you can use them again.
2. Take a cue from the Japanese
The Japanese often pack their meals in a bento box, a compartmentalized food container that is often elaborately filled and arranged with a contrasting array of foods. Young kids in particular will love eating out of a cleverly designed box with its many compartments. Traditional bento boxes can be purchased online or at Asian supermarkets. Or try a reusable stainless steel food to-go container, a different take on the same idea that’s easy to clean and plastic free. For a more modern look for kids, check out Laptop Lunches (thanks Samantha!). (more…)
