OCEAN CITY, Md.- Visitors to Ocean City will notice something different about four brand new benches in the resort town.   Maryland Coastal Bays Program said in a release that the benches, three of which are located on the Boardwalk and the other at Seacrets, are made from recycled cigarette butts.  The benches are the result of the Ocean City Green Team’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, which was created last year. The program encourages businesses, visitors, and residents to dispose of their cigarette butts and cigar tips properly, while aiming to reduce secondhand smoke.   “Littering cigarette butts and cigar tips is unsightly, costly to clean up, and harmful to waterways and wildlife,” said Green Team chairman and Ocean City Councilmember Tony Deluca. “Not only are cigarettes the most picked up littered item on our beach in Ocean City but 32 percent of litter at storm drains is tobacco products. Litter traveling through storm drains and water systems, ends up in local streams, rivers, bays and the ocean. The Green Team’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, along with decades of coordinated beach clean-ups, aim to eliminate cigarette litter and these benches are a great result of our community’s efforts to keep our beaches clean.”   According to Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest organization aimed at eliminating cigarette litter and a co-funder of CLPP, cigarette butts remain the most littered item in the U.S. and across the globe. In addition to their contributions to the program, grant funding for the CLPP was provided by Worcester County Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).   In 2019, CLPP began a campaign where “butt huts” were made available to businesses willing to take a pledge of participation and assist with collecting cigarette waste throughout Ocean City. The huts were installed in highly trafficked areas that routinely saw concentrated cigarette waste. When full the huts were emptied by volunteers and interns and sent to international recycling leader TerraCycle, who recycled the cigarette butts and used the resulting plastic to manufacture the new benches.   “At TerraCycle, our mission has always been to eliminate waste, recycle the unrecyclable and use our innovative business solutions to minimize human impact on the planet,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “It’s through partnerships like the one we enjoy with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program that allow us to fulfill our objective and help preserve the environment for future generations.”   Maryland Coastal Bays Program is working with the Town of Ocean City to create a sustainable butt hut and recycling program to keep cigarette litter out of our waterways. KAB has awarded an additional $20,000 grant in funding that will assist with this as well as add additional messaging campaigns to both residents and visitor alike.   For more information on the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, or the Ocean City Green Team’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, contact Sandi Smith at sandis@mdcoastalbays.org.  

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Venetian Resort expands Sands ECO360 recycling efforts as the first Las Vegas-based property to develop an innovative program to recycle surgical face masks, which are being used by guests and Team Members as part of the resort’s Venetian Clean initiatives.   As part of this pilot project, in partnership with TerraCycle, the discarded masks are collected on-site at The Venetian Resort and sent to a recycling facility where they are separated, shredded, and densified into a crumb-like raw material.   This material will be used to make repurposed products such as composite lumber for shipping pallets, railroad ties and composite decking.   Since re-opening in June, The Venetian Resort began diverting discarded surgical face masks from other waste being sent to landfills, through an industry-leading trash-sorting initiative that takes place on property.   In addition to this program, the resort actively sorts its trash, diverting 27 types of items that would otherwise be sent to landfills. Through this program, between 55-60 percent of waste is diverted from local landfills, a number that far surpasses the national average of 32%, or the state average of 23%.   This project, part of the company’s Sands ECO360 initiative, will help provide “proof of concept” for such recycling, to encourage others to replicate the program. Currently, consumer masks are not recycled through main-stream or curbside recycling programs, due to the complexity of the recycling process.   Surgical face masks are made of a multitude of materials, and need to be sorted and separated before recycling.   In addition, a magnet is used to separate the metal nose strips, which can melted and utilized in other recycled materials.

Perhaps you’ve seen a troubling string of recent headlines outlining the environmental impact of growing cannabis — Smithsonian Magazine’s “The Cannabis Industry Is Not as Green as You’d Think” is a great example. But how much is cannabis negatively affecting the earth? What can you do about it?   As a cannabis consumer, you may have some concerns around the effects your own consumption may have on the planet, or are simply looking for more information on the topic. We at NisonCo have compiled this succinct guide around the major environmental issues the cannabis industry faces, possible industry solutions and more importantly, the ways you as a consumer can use your purchasing power to be efficaciously conscientious.  

The Problem: Illicit Growing

  Sources from The New York Times to NPR have covered the devastating effects illicit growing operations have had on the ecosystems of many California public forests. The gist of the situation is that insecticides, pesticides and other often-illicit chemicals are present in huge amounts at many discovered illegal grow operations. These chemicals cause disruptions in water tables and biospheres, and negatively impact populations of various species long-term. Other issues caused by illegal growing include increased violence in the region and deterioration of preserved ecosystems.  

The Consumer-Based Solution

 

• Buy Legally. When you purchase cannabis from a licensed dispensary, you’re paying for consumer protection and assurance that the product was procured through legal channels. Non-legal sales may save you a few bucks, but may be costing the planet in exchange. Also support legalization efforts in non-legal states. There have been studies that strongly correlate legalization with a decrease in illegal grow sites in national forests.
• See also: How To Boost Hemp Farmers During The Pandemic Without A Taxpayer Bailout: Regulate CBD
• Support Your Parks. In public forests across the country, rangers and park enforcement agents are swamped with the work of eradicating illegal cannabis grows. While the work piles on, support does not: Headwater Economics’ recent analysis showed that visitation to US Forest Service and BLM land is up 15%, but budgets are down about the same amount. Parks need financial support and volunteerism now more than ever! Forget going to the mall — take yourself to a public forest and show Mother Nature some love. 

 

The Problem: Water Scarcity

  In a handful of US states — Colorado and California among them — water scarcity is a serious concern. Global warming is exacerbating the problem, and not going away any time soon. While some state programs, like California’s State Water Board’s Cannabis Cultivation Program seek to nip water issues around household growth in the bud, most states don’t have such stringent measures.   Depending on the grower, water use isn’t often very high compared to other popular crops in the region. Environmental scientists at University of California Berkeley put the range as low as 2 liters and as high as 22 liters per plant per day during peak watering months. This means less water is used than to grow almonds, pistachios, corn or potatoes.    

The Consumer-Based Solution:

 

• Look for Companies that are Addressing the Problem. The good news is, most companies really care about this issue. Check out some clever ways companies are looking to save water by using efficient irrigation and water reclamation techniques. Up-and-coming ideas also include nitrogen-recycling aquaponic systems like this one in Canada, or to cut out the plant and water usage altogether by making yeast grow CBD and THC directly instead.
• See also: How Cannabis Businesses Have Adapted To COVID-19
• Ask the Tough Questions. You worked hard to make that money, and want to make sure it doesn’t aid watershed destruction. Don’t be afraid to ask where things come from, and how they are made. If your dispensary doesn’t know, look up company websites and don’t hesitate to shoot an email or two in the name of conscientious consumerism. If you buy your own plant starts to grow at home, be sure to seek out companies like Dark Heart Nursery, who are exacting about their ozone water treatment and recycling systems. 

 

The Problem: Energy Use

  No matter the industry, alternative energy use and evaluation is at the forefront of combative measures against climate change. Of the 11 states in which adult-use cannabis is legal, only Massachusetts and Illinois provide energy efficiency standards for indoor growing. Oregon doesn’t have efficiency standards, but does require that cultivators estimate and report on energy use to the state. There has been disagreement over whether greenhouse or indoor-cultivated cannabis uses less energy (it’s generally agreed outdoor farming requires the least energy consumption) — and experts suggest it really depends on a combination of factors, including choice of lighting for indoor grows or efforts at carbon neutrality throughout the facility.   Solaris Farms, which operates as a desert greenhouse in Las Vegas, is one company finding unique solutions for harnessing the natural solar energy the grow has readily available. Too little sun, and the plants won’t grow, but too much and they fry. Solaris Farms’ greenhouse is a hybrid design featuring a glass roof with an upper shade system on the entire structure, which shades the sun at 50 percent. This system originated in Dubai, where it is used by farmers growing vegetables in desert greenhouses. Utilizing this specific design and technology has decreased Solaris’ electricity and energy use by a massive amount.  

The Consumer-Based Solution

 

• Put on Your Detective Hat. Once again, you’ll have to do some groundwork. Ask your local budtender about the various companies you hope to buy from, and be sure to keep an eye out for exciting models aimed around alternative energy sources. Also remember that buying locally means less fuel was used to transport that item to you. Seek out companies like Bluebird Botanicals, which works to create an eco-conscious supply chain literally from the ground up. They begin with choosing outdoor and greenhouse growers who use regenerative agricultural practices, and continue that dedication all the way through their use of sustainable packaging. 
• Support Initiatives Aimed at Creating Efficiency Standards. While voting with your dollar is essential, using your actual vote to initiate change is even more necessitous. Support policies and initiatives (and the people who support them) at your local polling place at every opportunity. Programs like Colorado’s carbon dioxide recycling pilot study — which traps CO2 emissions from beer production and cycles it into soil for cannabis growth — are turning heads across the country. Help push efficiency standards by taking part in the democratic process.

 

The Problem: Packaging

  According to the United Nations #BeatPlastic Initiative, “Around the world, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once — and then thrown away.”   The cannabis industry faces particular plastic waste challenges, as each state has separate regulations around size of packaging or labels, as well as requiring child-proofing nationwide. Hemp plastics look like an up-and-coming option for many plastics problems, but the solution begins in the hands and demands of customers.  

The Consumer-Based Solution

 

• Reuse and Upcycle before you Recycle. The good and bad news is, most packaging cannabis comes in from the dispensary is very reusable and only sometimes recyclable. Some companies like PAQcase take the reusable call to action a step further than the dispensary — setting you up with joint cases so you can roll at home and ditch the dispensary pre-roll waste.  Single joint containers through larger resealable containers can be used for spices, craft supplies, or dozens of other reorganizing purposes. Glass jars in particular can be great for decoration and upcycling. 
• See also: Survey Suggests Cannabis Consumers Are Increasingly Turning To Vaporizers Vs. Traditional Joints

  Just can’t seem to find a use? Make sure before you buy that if you aren’t going to reuse it, it also won’t end up in a landfill. The sad truth of recycling is that the success of an item being recycled is dependent on its value for repurchasers of recycled waste. There’s no guarantee that the items you place in the recycling bin will end up actually being repurchased, and so can end up in a landfill despite your best intentions.   Please recycle appropriately in your community, or better yet reach out to local dispensaries to find out if they participate in a reuse program, like Terracycle’s Cannabis Packaging Recycling Program.  

• Seek Out Sustainable Businesses. Try avoiding any single-use packaging and hardware, like single-cartridge vaporizers. Search for companies that have recollection programs, and look for creative solutions in the industry. For example, Sana Packaging’s products are made using 100% plant-based hemp plastic, 100% reclaimed ocean plastic, and other sustainable materials. 

 

In Conclusion

  Like all commerce in the United States, cannabis consumers have to put in the research to make sure the purchases they make ally with their consciousnesses. While it’s great that organizations like the Global Cannabis Partnership push for environmental and social cognizance in the cannabis industry, the crux of change lies in the hands and wallets of the public.   Put your money where your priorities are.  If you care about recycling, always use recyclable packaging and eco-friendly containers. Care about the water table and pesticide use? Purchasing through a legitimate dispensary is imperative. Care about all of it? Be extremely discerning — it’s your money! Put on your eco-conscientious detective cap and spend your money where it matters most to you.  

OCEAN CITY, Md.- Visitors to Ocean City will notice something different about four brand new benches in the resort town.   Maryland Coastal Bays Program said in a release that the benches, three of which are located on the Boardwalk and the other at Seacrets, are made from recycled cigarette butts.  The benches are the result of the Ocean City Green Team’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, which was created last year. The program encourages businesses, visitors, and residents to dispose of their cigarette butts and cigar tips properly, while aiming to reduce secondhand smoke.   “Littering cigarette butts and cigar tips is unsightly, costly to clean up, and harmful to waterways and wildlife,” said Green Team chairman and Ocean City Councilmember Tony Deluca. “Not only are cigarettes the most picked up littered item on our beach in Ocean City but 32 percent of litter at storm drains is tobacco products. Litter traveling through storm drains and water systems, ends up in local streams, rivers, bays and the ocean. The Green Team’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, along with decades of coordinated beach clean-ups, aim to eliminate cigarette litter and these benches are a great result of our community’s efforts to keep our beaches clean.”   According to Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest organization aimed at eliminating cigarette litter and a co-funder of CLPP, cigarette butts remain the most littered item in the U.S. and across the globe. In addition to their contributions to the program, grant funding for the CLPP was provided by Worcester County Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).   In 2019, CLPP began a campaign where “butt huts” were made available to businesses willing to take a pledge of participation and assist with collecting cigarette waste throughout Ocean City. The huts were installed in highly trafficked areas that routinely saw concentrated cigarette waste. When full the huts were emptied by volunteers and interns and sent to international recycling leader TerraCycle, who recycled the cigarette butts and used the resulting plastic to manufacture the new benches.   “At TerraCycle, our mission has always been to eliminate waste, recycle the unrecyclable and use our innovative business solutions to minimize human impact on the planet,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “It’s through partnerships like the one we enjoy with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program that allow us to fulfill our objective and help preserve the environment for future generations.”   Maryland Coastal Bays Program is working with the Town of Ocean City to create a sustainable butt hut and recycling program to keep cigarette litter out of our waterways. KAB has awarded an additional $20,000 grant in funding that will assist with this as well as add additional messaging campaigns to both residents and visitor alike.   For more information on the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, or the Ocean City Green Team’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, contact Sandi Smith at sandis@mdcoastalbays.org.  

I mean yes, you can also totally watch the Netflix show and learn everything you need to know to get started! But the book's packed with extra motivation and tips. (Although I don't think it's the end-all be-all of how to live, I've used her system for my clothes and shoes, and it really does work.)   Get it from Amazon for $9.69, Barnes & Noble for $14.99, Indiebound, or find a copy at your local library.   (If the whole system seems a little — or very — impractical to you, though, I also recommend Rachel Hoffman's book, $12.65 on Amazon). Yes, basically you're paying for your stuff to be recycled (the reason your curbside collection doesn't take all of the things = recyclers want to make money. If they can't make money on it, then you have to pay for it to happen). Read more on Terracycle, and order a small "everything" box (well, almost everything) for $199, or a beauty products and packaging pouch for $41.   There are also tons of free recycling programs through Terracycle, where the companies pay for you to recycle the stuff you bought from them (that your municipal program won't accept). And these aren't only hippie/earthy brands! They include Brita (yes, the water filters and jugs), Colgate, eos, Febreeze, Hasbro Toys, and many others. Promising review: "I will never be a person that folds underwear. It's never going to happen. That photo that comes with this product? Not me. But a simple tool like this turned out to be what it takes just to know where things are. Left. Center. Middle. Any organizer made of cloth was out. I wanted something rigid but adjustable. If an organizer has soft sides, it's going to end up underneath the things it's supposed to be separating.   These fit firmly where I put them and there are no corners to snag clothing or hurt your hand on when you reach into the drawer. Well engineered product. I created three sections to my large top dresser drawer by adding the partitions front to back. I am so pleased with the difference that I am ordering two more sets so I can do my other drawers also.   These OXO dividers cost more than the flimsy ones, but if I wasn't able to buy these, I would just not buy organizers." —SeattleBookMama   Get a set of two on Amazon for $19.99. They also work well for dried rice and beans in the pantry; you can easily measure out exactly how much you need for a recipe. And you can use 'em one-handed: an easy press opens the pour spout, then you pour, and press again to close.   Promising review: "I will have to say these are the best food containers I have ever bought. I bought them for my cat food; they stay sealed up perfectly and they pour out great. They are very well built and sturdy." —Tamara   Get the pack of three on Amazon for $39.99. They're all sized and shaped to be as efficient with your shelf space as possible.   Promising review: "I never thought I would super organize my cabinets. I purchased these with the effort to reduce waste (using ziplocks etc) and extend the freshness/shelf life of my pantry items. I absolutely love them. This is the perfect starter kit for a smaller kitchen or family. Then purchase more when you realize which container sizes are best for you and your needs!" —SLTelescope   Get the pictured five-piece starter set on Amazon for $49.95 (available in eight different sets, with different sizes, depending on your needs).   Thumbnail image credits: 1, 2. Promising review: "I purchased this shredder three months ago. Love it!   I was looking for something basic for my home office.   Pros:   - Instead of cutting vertically ("strip-cutting"), this shredder chops the sheets both horizontally and vertically ("cross-cut"). Instead of having some long spaghettis of papers, you get some little pieces of spaghettis, much harder for somebody to infer the original content.   - Automatic mode: the shredder starts automatically when you insert a sheet (you can disable this behavior). It will stop on its own if you don't insert anything else.   - The security trigger locks the shredder as soon you remove the head from the bin.   - Transparent window to see through to know when to empty the bin.   - Not noisy and it doesn't take much room.   Cons: Nothing for now." —Andrew   Get it on Amazon for $40.99. (If you have lots of shredding to do though, you could even just bring it to your local UPS or FedEx store, where they'll take care of it for you.) Get them on Amazon for $7.99 each (available in ten colors). Reviewers love it for their home office or small office, and multiple teachers say they love it for organizing and separating the papers from each of their classes! Note that it fits 8.5x11 papers, but *not* regular-sized manila folders.   Promising review: "This was a perfect product for organizing my most important papers and business documents, in a way that would be easy to access and still look cute. I love the fact that I can fold it up and grab it and run with it if I need to. Great product, nice and sturdy." —Vanessa Green   Get it on Amazon for $12.48.   It holds 48 total bottles, 24 on each side, so you can always find the color you want with a single glance.   Promising review: "I bought this after trying a makeup style caboodle for polish and looking for many many more. This is better than advertised. ESSIE, OPI, POP-ARRAZI, SINFUL COLORS, SH INSTADRY, SH TRIPLE SHINE, SH XRREME WEAR, WET AND WILD, SH HARD AD NAILS and COVER GIRL all fit perfectly in the standard size boxes. My JULEP colors fit two in a compartment!   The first row has adjustable dividers, you can use them to keep odd-shaped bottles or do what I do: use one side for my nail stamper, dotting tools, and the drying drops and the other for foam wedges and nail pens. It looks way neater easily tucked under my vanity instead of the baskets and baskets of polishes I had to hunt through!" —Clouds   Get one on Amazon for $27.89. Ignoring the backward Apple logo (weird choice, Amazon seller): this may also help with your eyestrain and posture, by putting your screen at a more ergonomic height.   Promising review: "WONDERFUL product. Perfect height for my needs, sturdy construction, and it looks amazing. The drawers are surprisingly deeper than I was expecting, going the full depth of the stand and have enough height for three Xbox One games to lie flat in them. The under-riser space is tall enough and wide enough to fit my keyboard and my Gunnar gaming glasses with a bit of room left over. The cut out for your cups in the near right of the top I found to be a little small, and unless I put very short teacups there, actually interferes with my view of my monitor. Fits my Google Mini perfectly, though! Keep in mind this is NOT a veneer, this is through and through bamboo, so it will be a little heftier. This works for me, but if you've got a desk with a weight limit, it's something to consider. There IS a little cutout for cables in the back of the stand, but I can't comment on how effective it is because of my personal set up. It looks big enough to safely pass at least three HDMI cables and a standard monitor power cable through, though. —Terry B.   Get it on Amazon for $43.99. As reviewers note, these don't really work for high-heels over two inches tall (one reviewer made it work but you can tell the second heel isn't neatly stacked under the first; it's on its side). But they'll do wonders for the rest of your collection.   Promising review: "I love to be organized so when I came across the Shoe Slotz product to organize my shoes on the shelves in my closet, I was excited to try them. They were easy to set up and they work great! I still had more shoes that needed to be organized so I immediately ordered another box of 10. My shoe shelves look so organized now and this product solved a problem for me. Shoe Slotz are great and I highly recommend them." —Laurden2   Get a set of 10 on Amazon for $26.99. This is great for kids who leave stuff all over the house, because if their basket's very full, they can just carry it to their rooms to put things away (then bring it back to the stairs). And you don't have to deal with their clutter! From Sew Many Ways.   You could also set up a similar system using small basket drawers ($79.70 on Amazon), if you don't have stairs in your home. (Or use the basket system, just stack 'em elsewhere!) No kids but kind of clutter-y yourself? Try this system with a single basket, drop crap in as you find it, and dedicate 10 minutes every day to put stuff away.   Get a set of four medium-sized baskets that could work for this for $51.99 and a pack of 16 clip-on chalkboard labels (for writing each person's name!) for $9.97, both on Amazon. It comes with 11 labeled divider categories for easily getting and staying organized.   Promising review: "This is the best coupon holder I have ever had — it has plenty of categories as well as blank labels for you to tailor to your own requirements. It's sturdy and also fits over the bar of the shopping cart (although I avoid that as there are enough germs). I replaced an old one I have had for 20 years — this one is far superior and has already saved me the cost of it through the coupons that I now can find so quickly." —Book Ninja Get it on Amazon for $5.59. Promising review: "These work fantastic! I got two boxes (four bags total) and fit four king comforters, two pillow cases, one queen comforter, one twin comforter and one queen sheet set. I even could've added one more twin comforter if I had one. Now all of these are in our den behind the wall and sectional space! Ready for guests! I do put nice smelling fabric softener sheets in mine just to keep it fresh. You do have to be gentle with the zipper but it goes right back on if you're too hard on it." —Darling Harlet   Get a pack of six on Amazon for $15.56. This also works well for CDs, if you still have 'em laying around — and still listen to them.   Promising review: "I mean, this thing is HUGE! We got rid of all the dvd cases (OMG THAT WAS SOOOOO HARD! We agonized over doing it, but we're adults now. We don't NEED the cases with the pictures and the inserts and, you know, we need to maximize space and stuff. Just put all your DVDs in this binder and stop being so crazy hung up on the cases! We fell into a bit of a depression after throwing all those cases in the recycle bin. I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies to get us through. We're doing better now, thanks for asking.) and keep our DVDs in this thing. It really does save a bit of space. :)" —T&B   Get the 128-capacity binder for $15.99, or a bigger 400-capacity binder for $30.49, both on Amazon.   Well, not exactly half the space; it basically uses more of the vertical inches in your drawer, vs spreading out over the left and right.   Promising review: "I have a tiny kitchen with only three drawers, so space is at a premium. My silverware organizer took up almost all of one drawer, so this organizer is a godsend. You can fit quite a few spoons etc. in each slot. My beater attachments fit perfectly into the top two hollows. I will say I have to flip my forks over face down in order to be able to shut and open my drawer, but then the drawer itself is kind of shallow. You NEED this if you have a small kitchen with few drawers!" —mialro   Get it from Amazon for $6.79. You can either mount it to the wall or hang it over the door, and it comes with a lock, if you want to keep kids out of it!   Promising review: "Beautiful, sturdy armoire. The one thing people should be aware of: It's not very deep. I primarily bought this armoire for all my bulky bead necklaces, but the doors would not close, so I had to rethink my plans. I have a ton of necklaces, bangles, earrings, etc., so I was able to get them all in here and I really like how visible everything is! I originally wanted to purchase an armoire with drawers, but then you still have to search all the drawers to find what you're looking for. With this, I just open the door and voila! The lights go on as soon as you open the door, which is handy. It is also very low profile and lockable and I must say that it holds a lot." —Eucharia Pieraccini   Get it on Amazon for $129.99+ (available in five finishes). Promising review: "I initially wanted something that would screw into the bottom of the cabinet, but I'm finding out that I didn't need it. These shelves are sturdy and heavy. They are amazing easy to put together. The drawers slide in and out easily as well. I quadrupled my storage space. I have shelves under a 36-inch vanity. I am able to store tall cleaning products on the top shelf and scrub pads, etc. in the sliding drawer. BTW, one reviewer mentioned how smaller items might fall through the openings. I did run into this issue; however, I came up with a quick fix. For my drawer with smaller items, I just inserted a shoe box top into the drawer — keeps everything neat and prevents smaller items from falling through — problem solved!" —Amazon Customer   Get one on Amazon for $24.87 (available in chrome and bronze). Each of these comes with a stack of 10 index filing cards you can use for a simple labeling system, like separating out each of the year's vacations.   Promising review: "They're upscale sturdy shoe boxes that hold hundreds of my old 4x6 pictures. Comes with unattached lid and packet of large dividers to write on. I have three boxes and will purchase a few more. They work great stacking one on another and do not take up a lot of space. I like how neat and organized I have all my old photos now; I keep them on a bookshelf for family and other guest to pull out and reminisce over. Great conversation piece rather than leaving them hidden away in a closet as I had for years." —JoLa   Get them from Amazon (currently only available in a natural brown cardboard color) for $11.76 each — or get a similar product for $10.28+ each (available in eight colors). Promising review: "This product is fantastic! It was easy to mount and hanging things is a breeze. My house is very old with no extra closet or pantry space. I needed to clean up the dreaded corner of shovels and a mop. Luckily this product was able to do that — and it comes with hooks. Since it's hung by my back door in the kitchen I can hang my aprons and purse on it. This little piece is very sturdy and so are those little hooks. My double-zippered purse is full of weight and it holds like a charm. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's just looking for a sensible option." —Shellybeenz   Get it on Amazon for $14.99. It also works well as a pretty bench at the end of any bed to store things like sheets and blankets.   Promising review: "Great quality. I've had this item for almost two years and use it as a footstool in front of my sofa. It hides games that I use often and my laptop. Minimal wear/tear and easy to clean!" —Mindy Phillips   Get it on Amazon for $137.38+ (also available in brown leather and light grey. If you're on a super tight budget, also check out this well-reviewed dark grey ottoman, $50.31 on Amazon).  

Touchée par deux fausses couches, Dorine Duc soulève le tabou des grossesses qui se passent mal. En collectant des plastiques habituellement non recyclés, elle récolte des fonds au profit d’associations d’accompagnement des familles confrontées au deuil périnatal.

It's hard to picture now, but one day, something other than coronavirus might change your trip to the grocery store. Imagine entering your nearest chain grocery store to find nuts, pasta, flour, and fresh produce sold exclusively in bulk, with high-tech measuring and distribution methods specific to each product. In the cleaning and houseware aisles, there's laundry detergent, shampoo, and lotion getting dispensed into reusable bottles, which the store will clean upon return. It's not totally impossible. But for now, David Pinsky, a plastics campaigner at Greenpeace, notes that if consumers want package-free options, very few, if any, major retailers provide them. No one wants to get stuck with tons of excess packaging after buying some soap or pasta. Sometimes, though, it just...happens. That's not your fault: Grocery store experts note that most consumers focus on cost and convenience when they set foot in a store, and it's unlikely they look for the items with the least packaging. For consumers focused on cost and convenience, it would certainly be a lot easier to avoid generating packaging waste if that waste just wasn't there in the first place. That's where package-free efforts come in. Getting major grocery stores to go entirely package-free is likely a pipe dream, according to grocery store experts, plastics and waste experts, and small, package-free store owners. In all likelihood, big chains probably won't ever get there. But a radical overhaul to the way packaging is made, used, and dealt with in big chain stores? That's more possible — and likely a better goal.

What package-free efforts mean for our plastic addiction 

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that containers and packaging alone, which includes food-related containers, comprise over 23 percent of the materials going into landfills in the U.S. That's a problem because the plastic packaging waste from retailers, particularly single-use plastics that are sometimes used for just seconds by a consumer, can last for lifetimes in the environment, says Pinsky. Plastic pollution is already known to devastatingly harm our oceans and wildlife. A 2019 study from the Center for International Environmental Law also found that greenhouse gas emissions currently produced when making and managing plastic threaten the global community's ability to keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and that the threat will become worse if plastic production grows as planned until 2050.  Grocery retailers could be part of the solution by moving away from single-use plastics, though. Part of the trouble right now is that supermarkets typically don't release data about their plastic footprint, Pinsky notes. Because of this, it's difficult to estimate the impact of going package-free at a given chain. Instead, by focusing on recycling to address plastic pollution, Pinsky notes that retailers "often feed into the industry narrative that individual responsibility will solve the problem; that the customer is to blame for the pollution crisis." A 2019 Greenpeace report, which Pinsky co-authored, evaluated the overall plastic footprints of big U.S. retailers, including Costco, Walmart, and Trader Joe's. Greenpeace did so based on each company's policies around mitigating their plastic footprint, actual reduction, and transparency concerning single-use plastic. With their metrics, no store scored better than 35 out of a possible 100, a failure in his book. While we don't know every store's plastic footprint since complete plastic footprints are not available publicly, we've seen glimpses. While Kroger, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Whole Foods didn't provide Mashable with their plastic footprints when asked, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Whole Foods sent Mashable information about their plastic reduction efforts. Walmart, for its part, says it will release data on its plastic footprint in a forthcoming Environmental, Social & Governance Report for 2020, marking its first year doing so, according to Walmart's press team. When Kroger began phasing out plastic bags in 2019, National Geographic wrote "The company calculated that they handed out about 6 billion plastic bags a year, about six percent of the total number of bags distributed annually across the country. That’s the equivalent of about 32,000 tons of plastic, or enough to fill over 3,000 moving trucks jam packed with bags." It wasn't always this way. Before the advent of the grocery behemoths we see today, how people typically accessed food involved a lot less packaging, says Marc Levinson, an economist and historian who chronicled the changes to retail juggernauts in his book, the Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America. Think of, say, a milkman reusing glass bottles, or a general store selling portions from bulk items. The evolution of how Americans access and eat food is nuanced, long, and, ultimately, fascinating. Grocery aisles packed with ready-made food in disposable packaging marks the current chapter of this saga. It's a story centered on convenience and cost, say Levinson and Jon Steinman, the author of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants. In plenty of cases, packaging is necessary to preserve, transport, and sell products, says Darby Hoover, a senior resource specialist for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) focusing on the food system. On the other hand, for lots of products, the packaging just serves marketing purpose, Levinson points out. A cashew in a giant tub is just a cashew, but a cashew in a package with a company's label on it becomes a marketable entity. "A package is a billboard," Levinson says. "From the point of view of sellers, they don't want to go back to the days when products were sold in bulk." In the 19th century, if you were trying to buy, say, molasses, your local grocer would simply pour molasses for you. There was no such thing as "name-brand" molasses.

What small stores are doing, and what big chains can learn 

If you actively seek out items with less packaging, you're probably not going to big chains anyway. You're turning to alternative options that have popped up to meet this desire: package-free stores and delivery services; co-ops offering food in bulk; refillable stations for basics like shampoo and lotion. It's not like a big chain trying to cut down on packaging operates the same way as these stores and services (more on that later) but understanding what has — and hasn't — worked can help illuminate what could. Take the Czech company MIWA, which Pinsky says has features that could be appealing to a big grocer otherwise hesitant to adopt reuse models. MIWA's "smart containers" help automate the weighing of bulk purchases, as well as payment, and provide usage data, which he notes is valuable for retailers since they care about consumer behavior and restocking needs. There are other innovations out there, too. In the realm of grocery deliveries, there's Loop, which offers customers major label products like Häagen-Dazs, Crest, and Tide that arrive in a "Loop Tote." (Customers pay a refundable deposit for each package.) When the reusable containers are empty or in need of a refill, people send them back to Loop in the tote, where they're cleaned and reused. CEO Tom Szaky says Loop solves the negative consequences of throw-away packaging, while "maintaining the virtues of disposability — affordability and convenience." Typically, Szaky says, manufacturers aren't incentivized to care about their packages after they're with the consumer, which leads to a plethora of inexpensive, disposable packaging. Under Loop's system, though, the package for a product becomes an asset to the manufacturer: Szaky says manufacturers want to make packages durable and long-lasting so they can withstand as many reuses as possible. As is, Loop can fill a major need with respect to eliminating packaging in grocery deliveries. (Steinman notes that in June, online grocery sales hit a record of $7.2 billion, with 45.6 million households using online grocery services.) Down the road, Loop also intends to expand its in-grocery store presence worldwide, Szaky says. (A spokesperson says Loop is first scheduled to be in stores in 2021.) Big chains can also innovate after examining the challenges that smaller, package-free stores might encounter. First, not everything can be sold through bulk or refillable methods, even at smaller stores. At Sustain LA, a zero waste company that sells refillable home and beauty products, Leslie VanKeuren Campbell, the company's founder, and her team sell things like dish liquid, body lotion, and mouthwash at refillable stations at farmer's markets, in its store, and through deliveries. She notes that it might be harder for a large chain to have a proprietary, spill-proof dispensing system than it was for her when Sustain LA opened its own brick-and-mortar shop. Even on her own store's scale, finding the right pumps for particular items proved difficult. Sometimes, depending on the consistency of what was being dispensed, pumps could get jammed or take a while to dispense. (To this end, there are particular pumps that work better for, say, shampoo, than other items.) At a small store, this is mainly a minor inconvenience, but for a big chain it could be a major deterrent, VenKeuren Campbell points out. At Sustain LA, if a customer gets frustrated, the staff can quickly help, but at a bigger chain, a dysfunctional pump could lead to a big loss in sales. Then there's the way in which bulk items get converted into refillable or reusable formats. Steinman notes that when his local co-op tried to go package-free, they found that disposing of the containers for bulk laundry liquid being purchased actually carried a bigger environmental impact than what they would have saved by not using individual containers. (VanKeuren Campbell says Sustain LA typically refills bulk containers with vendors, or they donate big drums to animal shelters, or send them back to vendors.) "Beans still get to the store in something," Hoover of the NRDC says. "There's never zero packaging."

What's stopping the package-free revolution?

In large part, Levinson sees the lack of package-free options as a logistics problem: For big chains with massive amounts of traffic each day, even seemingly minuscule decisions can have a rippling impact. "For modern food retailers, logistics is extremely important, and packaging is important to decide those logistics," Levinson says. "There's a concern in shaving every hundredth of a cent possible." For the Walmarts and Whole Foods of the world, it's not quite as simple as scaling up the same practices as smaller companies. They operate on a much bigger scale than mom-and-pop package-free options, Pinsky says similarly. Take bulk items: Bread, coffee, and other dry goods could be sold in bulk in more places, Steinmain notes, in the sense that they can be sold without packaging. Logistical concerns get in the way, though: Levinson points out that cashiers need to weigh bulk items at checkout which slows down the line. It seems minor, he says, but for a big chain that would lead to a loss of sales that few seem willing to give up. "The key stress test is to test these things for scale," Szaky, of Loop, says. "Any extra work; they're not going to be able to do it. It's just not going to be possible." Ultimately, though, Hoover maintains that big chains need to address the root of the waste to really get packaging (and specifically plastic packaging) out of their stores: suppliers. In 2019, the Break Free from Plastic initiative conducted 484 cleanups in 50 countries (and six continents) and identified the brands whose products showed up as litter most often. The audit revealed the same brands had the most plastic waste for a second year in a row: Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. The Walmarts, Krogers, and Costcos of the world have sway with suppliers. If a grocery chain actually wants to go package-free, Hoover notes it would have to communicate that desire to the suppliers covering their products with (potentially unnecessary) packaging. This is one place in which big chains actually have potential for package-free options in a way that smaller mom-and-pop stores don't: The Walmarts, Krogers, and Costcos of the world have sway with suppliers, Hoover notes. Mashable asked Whole Foods, Walmart, Trader Joe's, Kroger, and Costco about the roadblocks towards package-free options. Kroger, Costco, and Whole Foods declined to comment. Commenting on bulk methods overall, a Trader Joe's spokesperson told Mashable via email that Trader Joe's has evaluated the use of bulk bins in its efforts "to minimize waste and shift to sustainable packaging," but "with the expansion in the number of stores and focus on reducing waste, the use of bulk bins is not a sustainable option for us at this time." That said, the spokesperson maintains "[Trader Joe's is] constantly evaluating options and are committed to making improvements." Trader Joe's didn't comment on other roadblocks. When asked about the potential financial deterrent of slow lines from weighing more bulk items, Walmart had no comment. When asked about mechanical troubles associated with refill stations that might deter a larger chain from implementing them, Ashley Hall, director of strategic initiatives at Walmart, told Mashable via email: "We believe the issues can be addressed and it is a technology to watch." When asked about reducing packaging by communicating a desire for less packaging with suppliers, Hall writes: "Since 2006, Walmart has been encouraging suppliers to reduce packaging in the products we sell," adding that the company distributes a voluntary survey to suppliers about their product packaging. Levinson agrees that these giants can impact what suppliers make, including items with less packaging, but the likelihood of chains doing that out of the goodness of their hearts is slim, in his opinion. "They know what's moving, and what's not moving," Levinson says. "If they decide the 32-ounce [container] isn't moving, they'll tell the supplier. The consumer is calling the shots here." Still, how can you call the shots when you're not able to decide what shots are available in the first place? Without more package-free options, you're stuck picking between a 16-ounce plastic container, or a 32-ounce one.

Where do we go from here?

Grocery store experts say that for some customers and grocers, forgoing certain forms of packaging, or using reusable containers when handling food and hygiene items, sounds perilous amid the spread of coronavirus, leading to resistance to package-free efforts. That concern isn't founded, necessarily — a cohort of 125 virologists, epidemiologists, and health experts recently said consumers can safely use reusable containers during the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides specific advice for preventing the spread of the virus while grocery shopping, adding: "There is no evidence that food or food packaging play a significant role in spreading the virus in the United States." Still, some states, counties, and cities, have rolled back plastic bag bans which went into effect before the pandemic. (Additionally, in the early days of the coronavirus' spread in the U.S., the Plastics Industry Association lobbied the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to declare that bans on single-use plastics presented a public safety risk.) "In a way, we've gone back many decades," Steinman says, in reference to the increased use of single-use plastics in stores during the pandemic. "I'd like to think we'd be able to move past this, and get back on track with package-free shopping." Pinsky sees a decrease in momentum as "largely temporary." If there's one thing the pandemic quickly revealed for people, it's that our sense of "normal" is hardly static. There have been massive overhauls to the ways in which we get basic goods in the past, but where the current moment will take package-free options down the road remains to be seen. It could go many ways: Maybe the plastics industry, reinvigorated by single-use plastic ban reversals amid the pandemic, will continue its stronghold; maybe consumers, now more aware of the systems in which they live, will push back on their limited options for accessible, package-free food. Maybe packaging will be the next lobbying effort in statehouses and city halls across the country, after plastic bags and styrofoam clamshells. "It's really a turning point for the world that we need," Pinsky says, referencing both the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic. "We need to rethink the way the world has been operating."

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — In an ongoing effort to make Bloomfield a more environmentally conscious and sustainable community, the township has purchased and installed two “Zero Waste Boxes” for residents to recycle used water filters. The boxes have been installed at the DPW at 230 Grove St. and the Municipal Building at 1 Municipal Plaza, first floor.   “Our township has put in a great deal of effort over the past several years into making Bloomfield a more environmentally friendly and sustainable community,” Mayor Michael Venezia said. “These zero-waste boxes will allow for residents to responsibly dispose of used water filters so that they do not end up in a landfill. I commend our DPW and recycling committee for their leadership in bringing this to Bloomfield.”   Residents may recycle their used water filters at the DPW on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. or the Municipal Building during regular business hours between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.   “The introduction of this program illustrates the passion of the members of the recycling committee in coordination with our DPW and Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department to support initiatives that are environmentally sustainable for our community,” Councilmember Nicholas Joanow said. “Our recycling coordinator, Louise Palagano, needs to be acknowledged for her leadership in providing another valuable service from the recycling committee for our residents.”   “The TerraCycle zero-waste boxes provide an easy way for people to recycle items, such as water filters, that are currently not accepted in our town’s curbside recycling program,” recycling committee member George Drossinos said. “This is part of our town’s effort to increase the diversion of hard-to-recycle items away from landfills.”