If you’re like most people who recycle, you’re probably doing a great job sorting and recycling common items like aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles, paper and cardboard. Any recycling effort is fantastic because it helps save energy, natural resources and reduces the amount of waste piling up in landfills.
What many people don’t realize is there are a lot of items beyond the basics that can be recycled to increase your eco-conscious effort and reduce waste even more. Check out this list of 10 surprising items you might have in your home right now that you didn’t know were recyclable.
Greeting Cards
Giving and receiving cards on special occasions is a great way to show people you care. However, once opened and read, many people throw them away.
A great alternative for used (and also new) greeting cards is to send them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. Cards are accepted all year long and they are recycled to make new cards as part of their program to help teens learn life and work skills.
Monies raised from new cards sold by the Nevada-based organization helps their effort in providing “a safe, nurturing home with therapeutic residential treatment services to thousands of abused and neglected children in Nevada.”
Laptops
Laptops are constantly being upgraded to newer models sporting faster processors, bigger hard drives and better displays. Many people don’t even consider recycling their old laptop when buying the newest product on the market.
Per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recycling one million laptops saves the equivalent amount of electricity used by 3,500 U.S. households each year. Find a list of e-cycling centers in your state here.
Used Keys
If you change locks or install a digital keypad lock, you’re left with unwanted keys. Instead of tossing them out or shoving them in a drawer, you can send them to Key For Hope, a Massachusetts-based company which recycles old keys to feed the hungry.
Juice Pouches
Kids of all ages love slurping down juice pouches. The popular drink bags are not recyclable, however, due to the blended materials they are made from.
Fortunately, TerraCycle, which has become a world leader in recycling hard-to-recycle items will donate 2 cents for each Capri Sun, Honest Kids, and Kool Aid brand pouch received and one cent for all other brands. The company transforms collected pouches into purses, pencil cases, and other items sold at Walgreens and Target.
Apple Devices
If you have used or outdated Apple devices, like an iPhone, iPad and more, the company will take some of them in as credit toward a new device. Or, if a certain product is not eligible for trade-in, the company will recycle used devices for free. Check out Apple Give Back program details here.
Hearing Aids
Giving the gift of hearing to someone is a priceless gesture. The Starkey Hearing Foundation accepts used hearing aids of all makes, models and ages and recycles them for those in need. Donations are tax deductible.
Prescription Drugs
Many people don’t realize how harmful flushing or throwing away old prescription medicine can be. Pharmaceutical waste can potentially can environmental issues if leaked into landfills. The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hosts a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day each year to provide a means of proper prescription disposal. The event occurs on April 27 in 2019. Check the site on April 1 to get a list of local drug collection locations near you.
Cosmetics Cases
Popular cosmetics brands have recycling programs for empty makeup tubes, compacts and containers. For instance, Lush offers a free Fresh Face Mask if you bring five clean black LUSH pots into a local store. Other companies like Kiehl’s and MAC offer similar recycle and reward programs.
Wine Corks
The next time you pop a cork out of a wine bottle, send it to ReCORK for creative repurposing. ReCORKis proudly North America’s largest natural wine cork recycling program. The company uses recycled cork to make eco-friendly products, including soles for multiple styles of shoes. To date, the company has collected 91 million corks across the country. Find a local cork collection center here.
Mattresses
It’s rather shocking that 50,000 mattresses reportedly wind up in landfills across the country each day. Thankfully, Bye Bye Mattress is looking to reduce that number via its mattress recycling program which is offered in California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The company separates the steel, foam, fabric, and wood in used mattresses and box springs so the materials can be made into other products including carpet pad, landscaping mulch and much more.
You want to look your best—but what if that comes at the price of the planet’s health? Thankfully, some of the biggest brands are making it easier than ever to embrace sustainable beauty.
By Lindsy Van Gelder
Everyone has a carbon footprint. But you also have a carbon face print, plus a carbon hair print, skin print—even an underarm print. Everything we slather on to make ourselves prettier has the potential to make the world an uglier place with problematic ingredients and packaging.
It used to be that consumers who cared about the environment got very little help. You could buy your cosmetics from a small rack at the health food store and upcycle jars and bottles as knickknacks. You could also be the Debbie Downer who reminded everyone that rain forests and rabbits were suffering for our vanity.
But times—and beauty products—are changing. A survey by Unilever-—the maker of Dove, Vaseline, Love Beauty and Planet, and scores of other brands—found that 78% of U.S. consumers now feel better when they buy products that are sustainably produced. “Consumers are looking for ways to help make an impact,” says Esi Eggleston Bracey, EVP and COO of North American Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever. As part of a global green strategy to help their customers do just that, she adds, Unilever is working to “make sure 100% of our plastic packaging is re-usable, recyclable or compostable” by 2025. The company’s wide-ranging Sustainable Living Plan also includes a project to transform the industry that manufactures palm oil, an ingredient in shampoo and makeup, among many other products. The cultivation of oil palms has caused severe deforestation, threatening many species, including orangutans in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, in a program serving children all over the world who face severe health challenges from contaminated water, Procter & Gamble provided its 14 billionth liter of clean drinking water last year. L’Oréal launched the world’s first shower-proof paper bottle as part of its Seed Phytonutrients personal care line. What’s more, “today all our plants and distribution centers—19 facilities across 12 states—run on renewable energy,” notes Danielle Azoulay, head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability for L’Oréal USA. Several other large beauty companies (and small ones) have also gone over to the green side.
And that may be thanks to shoppers like you. “Consumers are starting to push the market, and companies pick up on that,” says Carla Burns, research analyst at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG). But as lovely as it is that many big corporations have stepped up, she adds, consumers need to remain vigilant. For cosmetics, “the FDA still does not regulate words like ‘natural’ or ‘non-toxic,’ ” she explains, and not every company is committed to helping customers make healthy choices. “Packaging can be misleading—lots of green and flowers and bamboo. Consumers need to do their homework about what’s in products and whether they want to put it on their bodies.”
So the next time you’re walking the aisles and filling your basket, here are a few things to consider.
Transparency and Ingredients
Although she’s a fan of educated consumers, Burns acknowledges that “not everyone has a degree in chemistry,” and squinting at labels can only get you so far. Plenty of controversial chemicals—DEA, BHA, phthalates, parabens, phenols, triclosan, formaldehyde and more—are permitted in beauty products (American products, anyway; some 1,000 ingredients that have been banned in consumer products in Europe are permitted here).
Even if you were to memorize which chemicals might be irritating or dangerous, they often go by multiple names that can appear on an ingredient list. Plus, federal regulation allows companies to leave some “trade secret” ingredients off their labels. That’s why the EWG created the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, a website that lists the ingredients and potential hazards of nearly 70,000 products and lets users search by ingredient, product name or company. (The app has been downloaded 1.3 million times.) Ecocert, a European group that operates in scores of countries, including the U.S., certifies that cosmetics contain organic, sustainable, non-synthetic ingredients. Products that pass inspection carry the “Ecocert Organic” or “Ecocert Natural” seal.
Animal Welfare
Again, lists can help shoppers separate the sheep from the goats, as it were. But you can also get a little help from a label’s graphics: Look for the cruelty-free Leaping Bunny logo, awarded by a consortium of eight animal welfare groups, including the Humane Society.
Another list of companies that don’t test on animals is available from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (whose logo is, confusingly, also a bunny.) In addition, the PETA website features a list of cruelty-free vegan companies. (Burt’s Bees, for example, is cruelty-free, but because its products use honey and beeswax, they’re not vegan.) And some brands, like Unilever’s Schmidt’s Naturals, provide funding to animal-loving causes. Its new cruelty-free vegan deodorant, Lily of the Valley, was inspired by a favorite scent of primatologist Jane Goodall, with 5% of all proceeds earmarked for the Jane Goodall Institute.
Packaging
You may have heard about that garbage patch in the Pacific that’s twice the size of Texas. In fact, the World Economic Forum has predicted that at the rate humans are trashing the ocean, there will be, pound for pound, more plastic than fish by 2050. And beauty brands are literally cleaning up their acts. For instance, a new bottle for Procter & Gamble’s Herbal Essences shampoo is fabricated with 25% former beach plastic.
You can have a hand in this as well. Familiarize yourself with the types of materials your town recycles, then aim to buy products with appropriate packaging whenever possible. And commit to actually doing the recycling—even if it means remembering to grab that empty shampoo bottle out of the master bathroom and bring it down the stairs and out to the bin in the garage.
Granted, some beauty products are notoriously difficult to recycle—pump dispensers, hairspray triggers, eye shadow cases, lipstick tubes, pencils, shampoo and conditioner bottle caps and almost anything else that’s small. But one of the newest frontiers in eco-beauty is mail-in recycling. Garnier has teamed up with the private recycling company TerraCycle to sponsor free recycling of any brand’s plastics and packaging.
It’s small efforts like these that will eventually add up and, ideally, leave our children with a Pacific that has a garbage patch that’s even smaller than Rhode Island.
This playground is made of recycled materials, and about a third of it is from recyled oral care waste.
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Third-grader Emma Hallett helped her mom manage the recycling bins, which were set up along a wall at the back of a noisy cafeteria at Kelley Elementary School in Southington.
"It's the right thing to do," Emma said. "And you can use it, like you can reuse it. I have one in my backpack right now."
Emma had a snack in her backpack that she hadn't eaten yet. After she eats it, the wrapper's going in the bin. She likes the idea that her school is keeping trash out of landfills. Plus, the best part about the recycling program?
"You can make something new with what you use," Emma said.
Only about a quarter of all waste in the U.S. is recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These days recycled materials are used for everything from handbags and toys, to coffins, bricks, automotive parts, and playgrounds.
You wouldn't know it if you just walked up to it, but one of the playgrounds at Kelley Elementary is made of recycled materials -- and about a third of it is from old toothbrushes and floss containers.
"I want to say it was like 5,000 pounds or something like that, I don't remember the exact number," said Emma’s mom, Kristen Curley, who heads the school's competitive recycling programs. "No, I didn't get too many comments about, you know, that might be gross."
The school didn't have to pay for the playground, either. That's because the community collected enough recycled oral care waste to win second-place in a nationwide contest. The playground's worth about $40,000.
"We sent in over 60 pounds of packaging," Curley said. "I know that 60 pounds doesn't seem like a lot -- but when you're talking about garbage, something like a Colgate box, it doesn't even weigh an ounce. So there was a lot of product that was sent back to TerraCycle for Recycling."
Kristen Curley and her daughter, Emma, sift through recyclables at Kelley Elementary School in Southington.
CREDIT DAVID DESROCHES / CONNECTICUT PUBLIC RADIO
TerraCycle is a New Jersey company that takes recyclables and creates other stuff.
"Our philosophy or mission is to eliminate the idea of waste," said Maame Mensah, who runs the recycled playground challenge for the company. "To do that, we have been focused on your hard-to-recycle waste."
Mensah said it's possible that Kelley's playground includes recycled oral care stuff that actually came from the school.
"It's like washed, and then shredded, and then melted into plastic pellets, or melted into extruded plastic lumber, which is then used for various recycled products, such as benches, picnic tables, playgrounds," Mensah said.
Kelley Elementary has been participating in different recycling programs and competitions for close to a decade. They have a couple of different, what they call, brigades -- one is for juice pouches. One is for specific snack packages. And of course, the oral care waste.
A view from inside the playground.
CREDIT DAVID DESROCHES / CONNECTICUT PUBLIC RADIO
The school's able to essentially sell its recyclables, said parent Kristen Curley.
"The money goes to the PTO and all the money that the PTO raises we use to send them on field trips, and you know, all the other programs, the cultural events, anything that the PTO needs to spend the money on," she said.
Teachers also use the program as a way to teach kids about broader issues related to consumption and the environment.
"The students learn about recycling," Curley said. "They learn about earth conservation. They learn that, you know, a lot of this packaging is kind of unnecessary. They learn about what happens to it. They learn about manufacturing and how the products can be reused from their garbage to make new items, and you know, they learn about involvement with each other because they came together on a project themselves."
But she also said that maybe -- because it's a competition -- there's an incentive for the students to consume more, so that they generate more stuff to recycle.
"And I don't doubt that students were telling their parents that they were done with the toothpaste tube prematurely, and brushing their teeth quite often," she said.
Occasionally they’ll even get a full toothpaste tube. That goes straight to the local food pantry, where it’ll eventually get used by a family in need. Then maybe that empty tube will find its way back into the school’s recycling bin.
An online “unveiling” recently of a Ventura beach bench made from recycled cigarette butts quickly generated more than 153 social media shares and dozens of comments on the Ventura Parks and Recreation Division Facebook page.
Plenty of web surfers took the obvious opportunity to crack punny jokes. Most were along the line of the official name given to the cigarette butt collection and recycling program organized by the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, “Hold on to Your Butt.”
The city and the nonprofit have purchased and installed 103 metal containers in areas where cigarette butt litter was common, despite a city ordinance banning smoking in public areas.
Volunteers empty approximately 4,000 butts per month from these receptacles. Combined with the butts they collect from beach cleanup events, they have collected more than 270,000 butts in a little over two years, according to Juli Marciel, Surfrider’s coordinator for the program.
Volunteers put these collected butts into boxes with postage-paid labels supplied by Terracycle, a company recycling a wide variety of products.
Recycling by mail is too expensive to be viable for nearly any material, but in the case of cigarettes, the program is made possible through sponsorship by a product manufacturer. In fact, the sponsorship funds are sufficient not just to pay for the free mailers, but also to donate a dollar per pound of collected cigarettes to Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit focused on litter prevention and cleanup. Surfrider also obtains sponsorships noted on these containers, helping fund the cost of the containers.
Some who comment on the sponsored recycling program see corporate responsibility, and others see “green washing” focused on improving perceptions of a product through the misleading appearance of eco-friendliness.
Lars Davenport, environmental specialist with the city of Ventura, points out a major benefit of the containers and the bench.
“Cigarette butts tend to be disposed wherever a cigarette is finished,” he said, noting the crucial role of convenience in preventing litter, “and some people seem to think their cigarette litter is not significant” because some of it is biodegradable. A bench made from butts drives home a message about the ubiquity of butts and their plastic content.
MORE: Try using Ventura County's sunshine to get your clothes dry
Indeed, Brian Hanck, a spokesperson for Terracycle, noted in an email, “We can put about 20% ... cellulose acetate (plastic from cigarette butts) … into a bench, and the benches are about 80 pounds, so we would estimate that 15,000 cigarette butts go into one park bench.”
Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter, according to the Keep America Beautiful website, which notes that putting them in planters and disposing of them in waterways is also litter; butts often wash out and end up on shores.
Terracycle also provides sponsor-subsidized mail-in recycling programs for other products, ranging from Burt’s Bees lip care products to Solo cups. Additionally, Terracycle has many non-sponsored programs, some of which seem designed to attract sponsors.
For example, for $102, you can purchase a small shipping box (11 inches by 11 inches by 20 inches) and a postage-paid return shipping label to send Terracycle your used chewing gum. According to Brian Hanck, the Terracycle spokesman: “Chewing gum is made from polymers which are synthetic plastics that do not biodegrade. The … gum is sanitized and blended, then converted into plastic pellets. These specific plastic pellets are usually used in creating new products made of rubber or plastic.”
Among other items, the company also has mail-in recycling programs for coffee capsules, pens, plastic gloves, detergent booster pouches, ready-made pasta bags, contact lenses and the blister packs containing the lenses.
Terracycle previously had sponsor funding for a program to recycle mixed plastics from beach clean-ups, but its website indicates the program is no longer “accepting new partners” for that program.
There are plenty of items you’ve planned to get rid of over the winter months. Use Old Stuff Day as an excuse to try out these decluttering hacks.
Vases and Flower Pots
Vases and flower pots will accumulate with each growing season. Make sure you only keep what you need, otherwise you’ll start to get buried by them. You likely don’t even need another flower pot, you probably have the answer in front of you. Check out these awesome DIY planters made from kitchen castoffs.
What to Hold on to
You’ve kept certain items around the house as a reminder of an experience but you don’t need to have the object to trigger a memory. Your mind still holds onto the trip or special day you had that led you to keep a souvenir.
Take a look in kitchen cabinets and make a note of how many plates and glasses you keep. Chances are you don’t need them all.
Get Rid of Books
What is this obsession people have with books? What do you need it for after you’ve read it? Unless you want to keep a book for sentimental reasons or like to re-read one, moving a bunch of books is a pain. They’re heavy and cumbersome. Eliminate some of them by selling them at a Half Price Books or online. But if you’ve got enough books you can’t give up, check out some ideas on how to build a bookcase.
Digitize Whatever You Can
Photos are keepsakes but unless you’re regularly thumbing through books of them, there’s not much reason to keep a physical copy of them. Save yourself some additional moving items by digitizing those photos.
Do the same with any movies or CDs you’ve got sitting around collecting dust. For any remaining CDs or DVDs, make a wall cabinet to save on space and put those old CD bins to use as a twine dispenser.
Bras
The Bra Recyclers have started a recycling campaign where bras can be sent in for reuse. Bras must be wearable and washed prior to being sent. The Bar Recyclers donate surplus bras to nonprofits who need them. Bras that aren’t useable get sent to businesses that can repurpose them, like one that sells the wire. Other businesses can recycle the fabric for carpets or textiles.
Bet you didn’t know these 14 other items can be recycled as well.
Nylons
Nylons need to be cleaned before getting recycled because it melts at a lower temperature. That lower temperature means bacteria can survive.
Timbuk2 will send you a coupon if you choose to recycle your bag from them. Just send your bag to them and once they get a pallet full of bags, they send them to TerraCycle for recycling.
Bureo takes old nylon fishing nets and makes them into skateboards and sunglasses.
Use those nylons to clean around the house.
Crayons and Colored Pencils
Broken crayons can be recycled or turned into DIY picture frames for your favorite teacher. Don’t keep a broken crayon or colored pencil around—it’s broken.
Learn how to take school-based items and make them into gifts.
You can sharpen old knives or get rid of them at a donation center. But don’t keep multiple sets around the house. One good cutting knife should be enough.
Learn how to sharpen knives at home.
Broken Dishes
Just get rid of that chipped plate that makes you cringe every time you use it without realizing that you grabbed that dish. It’s just a pain to eat off of and you’ve got plenty of other plates to choose from. But some people keep them around. You won’t believe why Danes keep broken dishes.
Figure out how to organize a kitchen shelf.
Pantry Items and Spices
Pay attention to those best by dates on some of those pantry items. You might reach for some bay leaves one day and there might not be any aroma left with them.
See how to organize a pantry so everything is clearly visible.
Pet Supplies
Little Fido is spoiled rotten with toys and treats but don’t let it get out of hand. Don’t let him keep an old toy because you think it’s his favorite. He’ll likely find a new favorite given the opportunity.
Check out other tips for dealing with pets.
Exercise Equipment
Working out a gym might be a better fit for you than sitting on that exercise bike at home, so trade in that bike. There are plenty of other people thinking some exercise equipment is the perfect addition to jumpstart an effort to get in shape.
Find out how to downsize so you can make the most of the space in your house.
Broken Furniture
Those furniture rehab projects have sat dormant for a long time now. Are you really going to get started on them or is it becoming a pipedream?
With some hints, you can repair that furniture.
Plastic Storage Containers that no Longer have Lids that Fit
That container used to heat spaghetti has heated one too many noodles and the lid doesn’t fit anymore or even worse, you’ve lost it. Sure a little plastic wrap would make it so you could store food but you’ve likely got other containers you’ve been using.
But if you like think you can repurpose those things, you’ll like creative storage options. You’ll never guess why you should keep an empty egg carton in the bathroom.
Instruments
You were determined to learn how to play piano once—for about a month. Now that keyboard has sat in the corner of the basement for years and you can barely find middle C. Donate that piece of musical equipment to someone who will learn to use it.
Learn how to store difficult items if you really have to keep them around.
Old Potpourri
Potpourri is great for clearing out some smells but it’s not as great when it comes part of your décor. If that potpourri isn’t smelling as sweet as it once did, chuck it. Get something new in there.
If you’ve got some odors you need to get rid of, learn how to eliminate odor.
Games with Missing Pieces
Part of the fun with some board games is if you lost a game piece you made your own but after a while, as more and more pieces disappear it’s best to cut your losses. Monopoly is no fun without the car, dog, top hat and the cannon gone. No one wants to be the thimble. No one.
Learn how to build your own board games and other game room ideas.
Appliances You Don’t Use
Some thoughtful in-law gave you the latest technological advance in drink mixology a couple of years ago. They live three states away and have never stepped foot in your place. You can get rid of that appliance that seems so handy yet has no place in your life.
Or if you like that stuff, find some ideas with smart appliances on the market now.
License Plate
Unless you feel crafty or your garage walls are looking pretty bare, there’s no sense in keeping a set of old license plates around. Sure, you’re a bit nostalgic but take a picture of your plates if you want to remember them.
Prevent theft of your license plates with security screws.
Discarding business cards ought to be part of a digitizing process. Maybe the first time you get a business card is cool but keeping a box of them around isn’t something to brag about.
Get that home office organized with some DIY tips.
Formal Wear
Those bridesmaids dresses have to go after the wedding. You don’t need a 27 Dresses thing going on in your closet. Check out consignment shops to recoup some cash or get a tax write-off by donating it. Either way don’t waste closet space on things you’ve worn once.
Find easy ways to grow your closet space.
Keys
If you’ve got a key that you don’t remember what it goes to, then that’s probably a sign to get rid of it. Try recycling that key instead of throwing it in the trash.
Got a twisted key, learn how to fix a bent key.
Old Freezer Items
There’s likely a bag of frozen vegetables buried somewhere in your freezer and has been for a long time. Go through and check to see what you want to keep. Or come up with a clever device to make things more visible in your freezer.
Check out other cleaning ideas you should check on every once in a while.
Calendars
Some people save calendars to transfer dates and then forget to throw the old one out. If you use a calendar to keep track of things you did during the past year, try saving it in a different format and let time fly by throwing the old calendar in the trash.
Find other tips for organizing a home office.
Word searches and crossword puzzles are fun but they’re not items you frame and throw on a wall. If you’ve got a half-completed book from a vacation, you’re going to forget you still have it by the time you take your next one.
Try recycling those books and discover once and for all what’s really recyclable and what’s not.
Old Halloween Costumes
That Care Bear costume you rocked 10 years ago looked a lot better then and probably fit better, too. As much as you love dressing up for Halloween, what are the chances you want to be the same thing again? That’s the fun of Halloween, you get to dress up as something new every year.
Get some ideas for your next costume with these duct tape creations.
Photo: Courtesy of Destination Imagination
Kids Clothes
Kids grow and those clothes you hoped would make for hand-me-downs don’t fit baby brother or baby sister. Don’t forget to get rid of them if that’s the case. Donate them to a local Salvation Army or donation center.
Keep your kids’ closets neat so you know what they’ve got for clothing.
Furnace Filter
Late fall is probably a good time to check your furnace filter. It’s best to keep the filter clean during the winter in order to keep your furnace running efficiently. A dirty filter can make the furnace work harder to heat a home.
Find which furnace filters are the best before you buy.
Periodicals but not The Family Handyman
If you subscribe to magazines make sure you clear them out after you’re done with them. Don’t hang on to an entire magazine for one story, clip it out and put it somewhere you know to look for it. Except keep every issue of The Family Handyman around. In fact you might want to keep two copies in case one gets spilled on.
Find a place for those magazines with a storage container.
Coupons
Unless you’re waiting for a call to be on Extreme Couponing get rid of all those inserts that come in the paper you don’t need. The grocery store keeps books of coupons by the front door. The nice thing is those coupons have expiration dates so pick a day each month to clean out your coupon folder.
Ditch those coupons and find the 15 things you should buy at Costco.
Cards
Grandma always gets the best birthday cards for you but you’re not obligated to hang on to it for eternity. Establish a rule, George Costanza said the rule is a minimum of two days.
Try keeping a card organizer around during the holidays if you really need to display cards.
Crafting Supplies
The scraps from your craft project five years ago aren’t coming back like a fashion cycle so don’t hang on to them. Use what you can but don’t get set on keeping a bunch of supplies around.
Try organizing those craft items with a pegboard.
Phone Books
A phone book is sort of turning into a historical artifact these days. They’re pretty handy when you have a wobbly table but when you can look up a number on the web from your phone and dial in one touch, it’s hard to justify having a phone book around.
If you really do have a wobbly table or chair, found out how to fix a broken chair.
Takeout Menus
Everything is on the internet today, even the menu for your favorite takeout place, so put all those old menus in the recycle bin. Besides you always get the same thing from that place anyway.
Make sure your recycling bin stays out of the way in the garage with these great recycling bin hangers.
Those old prescription bottles can pile up if you forget to throw them out after you are done with them. Additionally, keeping old pills around can be a safety issue if you have young children. Fortunately there are takeback programs like Take it to the Box where expired medications can be dropped off in a box at a local law enforcement center.
Old prescriptions should never get flushed down the toilet and neither should these items.
Old Makeup
Makeup will dry up if it goes unused and when it does, make sure to toss it. If you keep it around to keep track of what it is, write it down somewhere. Purging your bathroom drawers will open things up for your home. Items such as shampoo and conditioner caps, hair gel tubes, hair spray triggers, lip balm tubes, soap dispensers, mascara tubes, powder cases and eyeliner pencils can be recycled.
Learn other ways to open up your bathroom.
Old Towels or Bedding
Having a few old towels around is helpful for cleaning but they can build up in a hurry if you’re not careful. Go ahead and get rid of them after they’ve outlived their usefulness.
Find out how to keep your linens fresh without chemicals.
Old Glasses
Your prescription changes over time so keeping those old glasses around isn’t helping anybody. The frames might be nice but you don’t really need more than two pairs of glasses. You can donate old glasses to the Lions Club, which has set up Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers.
Take care of your eyes by preventing injuries with safety glasses.
Old Clothes
It’s pretty easy to get rid of old clothes, you just have to bring yourself to admit you’re probably not going to wear that campaign T-shirt from the 1980s again. You can donate them to a local charity or find a donation bin like Disabled American Veterans place near grocery stores.
Still can’t part with that tube top? Find out how to triple your closet storage.
Old Computers
Before getting rid of an old computer, make sure all your personal information has been deleted to prevent identity theft. If you have a laptop check out what kind of battery it has so you can find out what to do with it. Some laptop batteries have special requirements for recycling. Find out some other interesting items you can recycle that you didn’t think you could.
Old Cellphones
According the Environmental Protection Agency, back in 2007 only 10 percent of cellphones got recycled. Drop boxes have sprouted up across the country but you can still contact the cellphone company to send an old phone back. Or you can donate it to one of several charities that have set up recycling programs.
Find out how to boost your cellphone signal at home.
Old Shoes
You found the perfect shoes for that outfit a long time ago and you don’t even wear that outfit anymore, so why not lose the shoes? Or you’ve replaced your lawn mowing shoes three times but still have the previous two pair sitting around. Ditch those shoes, you might even be able to recycle them. Make sure your shoes aren’t stomping all over your mudroom with some shoe storage hacks.
Office Supplies
If you’re swimming in staplers or can’t find your way through the maze of paper clips, highlighters and sticky notes, get rid of it. Don’t make your home office unbearable as well. Check out these home office tips to make your life easier.
Old Cords
You’ve got the power cord for the original Nintendo still but the rest of it has disappeared. Get rid of the cord and any other homeless cords you’ve got laying around. And for those ones that you still need, try organizing them with toilet paper rolls.
Kitchen Items
What’s the point of keeping around plastic silverware at home? How will your guests feel when you hand them the plastic silverware? Do yourself a favor and get rid of that plastic silverware, along with those tiny condiment packets. That relish is about to hit puberty in your fridge.
Learn more about recycling and a six-pack hack worth trying.
Dry Out Your Old Paint
If you have a bunch of almost empty cans of latex paint and don’t want to take them to the recycling center, here’s a tip. Spread a sheet of plastic—painter’s plastic is cheap and readily available at home centers and hardware stores—in an out-of-the way spot and dump a thin layer of paint on it to dry. When the liquid has evaporated, bundle it up and throw it in the trash.
Make sure your paint lasts by doing the right preparation. See what you’re forgetting to do before painting.
We rounded up ten contributors and editors to dish the secrets on their all-time favorite destinations. Here’s the list of places around the world that they came up with.
#1. Colombia
Getting to Los Llanos Orientales, a patchwork of forest, grassy savanna, and wetlands in eastern Colombia, takes effort. From Bogotá, it’s a one-hour flight east to the regional capital of Yopal, followed by a 2.5-hour drive into the bush. But when you arrive, you’ll be rewarded with a stay at Corocora Camp, a new four-tent safari lodge in the heart of a private 22,000-plus-acre nature reserve that’s reminiscent of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Keep an eye out for giant anteaters, pumas, chubby capybaras, and over 200 species of birds as you enjoy aged Colombian rums on your tent’s private terrace. Or search for wildlife on foot, by 4×4, or on horseback with your own private guide. Guests can also partake in the camp’s conservation efforts by setting up camera traps to track jaguars, or visit a nearby ranch to observe how the local llaneros (cowboys) use chants to herd cattle. From $490 —Jen Murphy
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Taos Ski Valley
(Jimmy Chin)
Taos Ski Valley
(The Blake at Taos Ski Valley)
#2. New Mexico
Taos Ski Valley has seen a renaissance since it was bought by philanthropist Louis Bacon in 2013. In addition to becoming the first B Corp–certified ski resort—it meets the nonprofit’s high standards for environmental and social responsibility—the mountain has seen massive improvements including a new high-speed quad chair and the LEED-certified, 80-room Blake Hotel (from $259). It’s beefing up its summer offerings as well, particularly lift-accessed mountain biking. Two flow trails with 6.5 miles of berms, rollers, and bridges will open this summer, with plans for a total of 15 miles in the future. Off the slope, hit Black Rock Hot Springs, summit 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak, or fish for native cutthroat trout. Big groups: snag room 433 at the Blake, a two-bedroom suite overlooking the base village. —Nicholas Hunt
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Secret Bay Resort
(Secret Bay)
Secret Bay Resort
(Secret Bay)
#3. Dominica
The 115-mile Waitukubuli National Trail on mountainous Dominica is the Caribbean’s only through-hike. Spanning from the village of Scott’s Head in the south to Cabrits National Park up north, the trail opened in 2013 but was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Today all but three of the route’s 14 sections have been entirely rehabbed and are open to the public. Along the way, you’ll pass an 18th-century French settlement, view dormant volcanic peaks, and swim in Emerald Pool beneath a cascading waterfall in 17,000-acre Morne Trois Pitons National Park. Stay at campsites or inns just off the route, or set up base camp at Secret Bay Resort’s brand-new Ti-Fey Villa, a luxurious two-story structure with a kitchen, wraparound deck, and plunge pool (from $705). Day passes $12, 15-day passes $40 —Stephanie Pearson
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The Lodge at Blue Sky
(The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection)
The Lodge at Blue Sky
(The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection)
The Lodge at Blue Sky
(The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection)
#4. Utah
The Lodge at Blue Sky, which will have its grand opening in May, offers a fresh take on the ranch escape. Forget rustic cabins—accommodations range from 600-square-foot rooms to two-story, two-bedroom suites, each with panoramic views of the 3,500-acre property. And while there’s a 7,400-square-foot spa and classic dude-ranch staples like horseback riding and sport shooting, it’s the year-round mountain adventures—including heli-biking, resort and nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and fly-fishing—and the lodge’s exclusive ski-in, ski-out lounge in the Park City Mountain Resort village that steal the show. Blue Sky also takes brag-worthy hotel bars to a new level with an on-site distillery from award-winning Utah whiskey maker High West. Before you sip grain-to-glass cocktails, you can learn about the mashing, milling, and aging process. From $850 —J.M.
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The Dolomites
(Stefano Politi Markovina/Alamy)
The Dolomites
(Giuseppe Ghedina/Dolomite Mounta)
The Dolomites
(IDM/Alex Filz)
The Dolomites
(Daniel Töchterle)
#5. Italy
Whether you prefer haute or hut cuisine, the Dolomites in Italy’s South Tyrol have the best of both. The region is a culinary melting pot of Italian and Austrian traditions mixed with rustic influences from the local Ladins culture. On weeklong guided or self-guided gourmet ski safaris with adventure outfitter Dolomite Mountains, you’ll earn your turns and meals. Owner Agustina Marmol has spent over a decade finding the area’s top restaurants to customize trips for every palate. You’ll ski between remote rifugios (backcountry huts) that serve hearty dishes like venison polenta and offer lodging, and dine in Michelin-starred restaurants like San Cassiano’s St. Hubertus. In the summer, the outfitter offers a food crawl, where you’ll hike, bike, and climb to reach picnics and restaurants housed in alpine farmhouses. From $2,200 for seven days —J.M.
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#6-9. Explore the Last Frontier
Why you should go now to Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Creative Commons)
In fall 2017, after nearly four decades of protection, Congress opened part of the 19.6-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—one of America’s largest, wildest, and most remote tracts of public land—to oil exploration, which could devastate its ecosystem. For first-time visitors, it’s best to go with a guide. Outfitters like Alaska Alpine Adventures and Wilderness Alaska can build you custom trips, or choose from one of the latter’s eight preset itineraries. Here are our favorite expeditions. —Nick Davidson
Rafting the Kongakut River
For ten days and 42 miles, you’ll float Class II–III rapids from the river’s headwaters at Drain Creek through mountain vales and lupine-studded tundra to Caribou Pass.
Camping for Caribou
Work with your guide to set up base camp on the state’s North Slope in late June to early July and ogle the migrating, 200,000-strong Porcupine herd at its calving grounds on the coastal plain.
Pack-Rafting the Continental Divide
The weeklong 60-mile trek and paddle adventure from the Jago River to the Hulahula takes you along trackless tundra and past 8,000-plus-foot peaks. Bring a pack raft for the smaller waters.
Photographing Polar Bears
Local Inupiat guides from Kaktovik will ferry you on the Beaufort Sea to Barter Island, where dozens of polar bears gather in autumn to scavenge whale carcasses.
Noah Surf House
(Noah Surf House)
Noah Surf House
(Noah Surf House)
Noah Surf House
(Noah Surf House)
#10. Portugal
Noah Surf House looks even better in person. Located an hour north of Lisbon in the small village of Santa Cruz, the resort’s 13 podlike eco-friendly bungalows and a main lodge are just across the street from one of the best breaks in the region, along with the bunk room’s fitness studio, infinity pool, skate park, hot tub, and fire pit. If it isn’t going off, the coast has endless other options, which the in-house guides will drive you to. Don’t miss Noah’s Restaurant and Beach House, just down the hill on the sand of Praia da Fisica, for drippingly fresh seafood and comfy chaises—the perfect place to lounge beachside between surf sessions. Then head up the road to the hotel’s higher-end sister property, Areias do Seixo, for a massage. Pro tip: eat as many pastéis de nata, small Portuguese custard tarts, as you can get your hands on. Bungalows from $181, bunks from $57 —Mary Turner
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Big Bend National Park (Trevor Paulhus)
#11. Texas
It takes some savvy navigating skills to tackle the newly mapped Big Bend 100, a ten-day self-supported cross-country trek that links existing paths, dirt roads, and sandy arroyos, often with ten or more miles between water sources. In other words, this undertaking requires research, expert backpacking and camping skills, and DIY grit, but the rewards are total solitude, stark desert beauty, and the increasingly rare satisfaction that you’ve completed a through-hike few have even heard of. The route starts at Big Bend Ranch State Park and rambles for 100 miles across creek b and past ancient rock art to the 7,000-foot Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, where you’ll need backcountry permits to camp each night. The view from the top is sublime, with the Rio Grande and Mexico falling away as far as the eye can see. —S.P.
Patagonia (Upscape)
#12. Chile
The austere mountains, turquoise rivers, and wind-whipped steppe of northern Patagonia feels a lot farther off the grid than famed Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s southern tip. Get even deeper into the steppe with South American outfitter Upscape, which offers fly-fishing, photography, and trekking trips March through April (the end of austral summer) at a pop-up camp on the Jeinimeni River. Just yards from the Argentinean border, Upscape’s remote camp has 300-square-foot tents with sleeping quarters and a living room, and a communal dining tent for meals of perfectly grilled carne asada. Not that you’ll spend much time there with the monster brown and rainbow trout to be stalked, sunsets behind craggy peaks to be captured, and glacial valleys and alpine lakes to be explored. From $3,950 for five days —S.P.
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Green River (Josh Miller Photography)
#13. Colorado and Utah
When explorer John Wesley Powell made the historic first descent of the uncharted Green and Colorado Rivers in 1869, which was considered impossible at the time, one boat sank and nearly half the crew abandoned the cause. Things will definitely go more smoothly on OARS’s 150th anniversary re-creation of a portion of the expedition. The 28-day, 466-mile, fully outfitted trip through Colorado and Utah encompasses some of the most iconic landscapes in the Southwest—many of them named by Powell himself—while hitting an overload of Class II–IV whitewater. OARS will run expeditions by raft and dory from Flaming Gorge to Lake Powell in June and September, but if you can’t make the whole enchilada, sign up for the 13-day upper-river or 16-day lower-river section of the trip. $8,899 for the full expedition —Graham Averill
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Niehku Mountain Villa
(Erik Nissen Johansen)
Niehku Mountain Villa
(David Carlier)
#14. Sweden
In their youth, the owners of Niehku Mountain Villa, a 14-room adventure base 124 miles north of the Arctic Circle, were ski-bum fixtures at Riksgränsen, a nearby resort on the Norwegian border. Today, Johan Lindblom, a ski patroller turned international mountain guide, and Patrik Strömsten, a ski racer turned award-winning sommelier, run what’s arguably the Arctic’s most luxe lodge, complete with a 500-bottle wine cellar and tundra-to-table restaurant. From its doorstep, helicopters can access 60 skiable mountain peaks. And unlike the Alps, where heli-skiing is limited to a handful of prescribed landing spots, the Arctic is a rule-free playground where you can do as many as 15 lines a day. Grabbing first chair at your local hill no longer sounds that impressive, huh? From $4,658 for three-day heli-ski packages, meals and accommodations included —J.M.
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#13-19. Our Favorite New Cycling Trips
Along for the ride
Croatia
(Duvine Cycling and Adventure)
Arkansas
(Hansi Johnson)
Farm to Fork Fondo
(Farm to Fork Fondo)
Bourbon Trail, Kentucky
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association recently launched three new cycling routes, including a three-day, 188-mile pilgrimage to ten distilleries, notably Woodford Reserve and Maker’s Mark.
Dalmatian Islands, Croatia
For eight days, guests on DuVine Cycling’s Yacht and Bike Tour island-hop around the Adriatic to cycle some of the region’s best routes, from the olive groves of Brac to the ancient fishing villages on the isle of Vis. $7,695
The Ozarks, Arkansas
The International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Epic-designated Upper Buffalo Headwaters Trail is like pizza, says Slaughter Trail Guides founder Dustin Slaughter: “Even when it’s bad, it’s good.” Guided day trips tackle big hills and creek crossings, with opportunities to cool off in blue lagoons. From $95
North Highlands, Scotland
Wilderness Scotland has launched a seven-day road-cycling trip along the North Coast 500, Scotland’s Route 66, which winds past rugged mountains, sweeping beaches, and charming fishing villages. May 11 and June 29; $2,250
Lake Champlain, Vermont
On this edition of the foodie-friendly Farm to Fork Fondo series, routes of 7 to 93 miles around the Champlain Islands include pit stops stocked with local cider slushies and wood-fired pizzas. Finishers are rewarded with a BBQ feast and a pint of regional craft beer. July 21; from $40 —J.M.
Yellowstone safari glamping
(Collective Retreats and Natural Habitat Adventures)
Yellowstone
(Lee Prince/Shutterstock)
#20. Wyoming
Scraping leftovers into a compost pile might not sound like a vacation activity, but on Natural Habitat Adventures’ new seven-day Yellowstone safari, composting is as essential to the experience as camping or hiking. While expert naturalists guide you in search of bison and wolf pups, you’ll also be on an industry-first zero-waste expedition. You’ll drink from reusable water bottles and dine on locally sourced food sans single-use plastics like straws, plates, and cups. Everything that can’t be composted or recycled locally is hauled back to the company’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, to be recycled, upcycled, or handed off to TerraCycle, an innovative company that specializes in the reuse of otherwise unprocessable waste. The hope is that the trip will inspire you with the landscape and wildlife while fostering habits you can take home. From $5,695 —S.P.
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Unleashed Dog Bar (Katlyn Larrieu)
#21. South Carolina
Greenville’s Unleashed Dog Bar is the perfect place for you and your pooch to relax after a long day exploring this burgeoning Southern adventure hub. The 3,500-square-foot on-site dog park features misters and galvanized water troughs to keep your canine cool while you enjoy locals brews, like Catawba Brewing’s White Zombie ale, on the covered patio. In town, bike beside the Reedy River on the 22-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail and refuel along the way at the route’s many breweries and restaurants. Or head into the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains to hike, bike, or paddle. The Class II–V rapids of the Chattooga National Wild and Scenic River, made infamous by their role in the thriller Deliverance, are located just an hour and a half away. —Johanna Flashman
Form Arcosanti
(Saam Gabbay)
Form Arcosanti
(Jon Brandon Cruz)
Form Arcosanti
(Jasmine Safaeian)
#22. Arizona
Every May in the high desert an hour north of Phoenix, the 1970s experimental community Arcosanti plays host to Form, the best house party in the Southwest. For three days, the festival’s 2,000 attendees start the morning with rooftop yoga, then hike the Verde River basin, mingle during discussions of art and climate change, and groove to an eclectic lineup of world-class musicians and DJs playing sets on three stages. The event removes the commercialism, angst, and druggy vibe from the music-fest template and replaces it with inspirational talks, views of the Sonoran Desert, and daily cliffside pool parties. Campsites are included with admission, and a platoon of food trucks are on hand throughout. Or snag one of the glamping tents or an RV. Bookend your trip with a mountain-bike ride on the red-rock trails of Sedona, just an hour’s drive north. This year, festivities run May 10–12. $364 —Will Palmer
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Kuro Tarangire Lodge
(Kuro Tarangire)
Serengeti Safari Camp
(Serengeti Safari Camp)
Ngorongoro Crater
(Entamanu Ngorongoro)
Ngorongoro Crater
(Entamanu Ngorongoro)
#23. Tanzania
Need to check Africa off your bucket list? There’s no more iconic destination than Tanzania, and for 25 years, Sandy and Chip Cunningham at Outside GO have been refining the perfect itinerary. On their nine-day safari, you’ll travel with a private guide from the foothills of Mount Meru in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro to Serengeti National Park, stopping along the way to view elephants, lion prides, buffalo, and alien-looking baobab trees at Tarangire National Park, as well as one-of-a-kind sunrises over Ngorongoro Crater, at 100 square miles the world’s largest intact caldera. Your housing? A tented camp right on the rim. From $8,295 —N.H.
Tourists
(Peter Crosby)
Tourists
(Peter Crosby)
Tourists
(Nicole Franzen)
#24. Massachusetts
Tourists, a remodeled motor lodge in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is your home base for exploring the highland region’s mountain peaks, river valleys, and famed cultural institutions like the Tanglewood Music Center and Clark Art Institute. Set on 55 acres in the town of North Adams along the Hoosic River, the 48-room retreat is the brainchild of a group of creatives that include John Stirratt, whose band Wilco puts on the Solid Sound music and arts festival every other summer at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. A network of boardwalks and suspension bridges leads guests to a saltwater pool, art installations, and the Airport Rooms, a craft-cocktail lounge with hearty fare from chef Greg Thomas. The Appalachian Trail runs right through the property, and 3,491-foot Mount Greylock, the state’s highest point, is just half a mile away. From $199 —J.M.
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Karakter
(Daniel Mysliwiec)
The Jura Uplands
(AB Studio/Alamy)
#25. Poland
Need proof that Eastern Europe is the continent’s new premier destination? Look no further than Krakow. Sitting on the banks of the Vistula River below the 8,000-foot Carpathian Mountains, the city beat out culinary hot spots like Lisbon, Portugal, to become the 2019 European Capital of Gastronomic Culture. And for good reason. Krakow has 26 Michelin-recommended restaurants, such as Karakter, whose chef specializes in making exotic animal parts like bull testicles taste delicious. Burn off those calories pedaling nearly 60 miles of mountain-bike trails in the surrounding hills or by sending some of the thousands of limestone climbing routes in the nearby Jura uplands. Two hours to the south are the majestic, craggy Tatra Mountains, a playground with more than 600 miles of trails known as the Little Alps. —S.P.
Everest Base Camp (MT Sobek)
#26. Nepal
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the outfitter MT Sobek, a California-based adventure travel pioneer and one of the first American companies to offer small-group Himalayan expeditions. Join the celebration on one of its five 20-day pilgrimages to Everest Base Camp this year. Three veteran guides will lead you on a route that hasn’t changed much in the decades since MT Sobek led its first trip in 1969, but that’s a good thing. The dicey flight into the clifftop town of Lukla is an extreme adventure in itself, and staying in Sherpa villages, visiting the iconic Tengboche monastery, and passing rhododendrons in bloom and prayer flags disintegrating in the breeze as you hike more than 8,000 feet up to 17,600-foot Base Camp is one of the world’s most iconic journeys. From $6,695 —S.P.
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Beaver Island (Frank Solle)
#27. Michigan
Lake Michigan’s 56-square-mile Beaver Island is only accessible by a two-hour ferry ride or puddle-jumper flights from a few nearby cities and towns. But that remoteness has preserved this adventure haven’s rugged character. The island has five inland lakes filled with pike, perch, and bass, lazy dirt roads that are easily navigated by cruiser bike, and Mount Pisgah, a 150-foot sand dune that, with an elevation of 730 feet, is a surprisingly strenuous hike. For a little more adrenaline, expert paddlers can test their skills against the Great Lake along a new 42-mile water trail that passes remote dunes, wetlands, and beaches as it circumnavigates the isle. The St. James Township Campground ($10) overlooking Garden, Squaw, and Whisky Islands is a great spot to observe the northern lights flicker across the sky. —S.P.
Harbor House Inn
(Brendan McGuigan)
Harbor House Inn
(John Storey)
Harbor House Inn
(Harbor House Inn)
#28. California
Perched dramatically atop a 150-foot cliff overlooking the crashing Pacific, the 103-year-old, ten-room Harbor House Inn in tiny Elk, California, completed an eight-year renovation last spring. Book the property’s Shorepine cottage for private-terrace views of 75-foot-high Wharf Rock, a historic natural arch where ships once docked to load lumber. Then wander the private beach, swim beneath the giant trees of Navarro River Redwoods State Park, ride horseback in the inland mountains, or kayak through sea stacks along the craggy coastline. To experience a different taste of the region, head to the inn’s 25-seat dining room, where chef Matthew Kammerer’s eight-to-twelve-course tasting menus are completely foraged, farmed, and harvested within 50 miles. The payoff? Dishes like spring-vegetable nori with smoked oysters, abalone, and sea vegetables. From $355 —S.P.
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Arctic Watch (Nansen Weber/Weber Arctic)
#29. Canada
Richard Weber and his wife, Josée Auclair, and sons Tessum and Nansen have spent 30 years exploring the polar regions, notching countless records and expeditions, like the first crossing of the Arctic Ocean on skis. The family also runs three lodges spread across the Arctic Archipelago, each offering unique adventures. In July and August at Arctic Watch, the northernmost fly-in lodge on the planet, kayak among icebergs while looking for beluga whales. At Arctic Haven, located on the shores of Ennadai Lake, 450 miles from civilization, you can observe North America’s largest caribou migration in August and September. And in April and May, the family runs the world’s northernmost heli-skiing operation from the Baffin Island hamlet of Clyde River, Nunavut. The only other tracks you’ll see belong to the resident polar bears. From $6,616 for six nights —J.M
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Whitefish Mountain Resort
(Ben Gavelda)
Whitefish Mountain Resort
(Whitefish Mountain Resort)
#30. Montana
Former Tour Divide champion cyclist Cricket Butler had bikers in mind with every step as she renovated an old barn in northern Montana. The result? The Whitefish Bike Retreat, a simple, tasteful lodge that serves as a base camp for bikepackers weary from the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which passes by six miles away, and rippers looking to explore some of the state’s best trails. Private rooms start at $110, or you can pitch your own tent for $40. Stay in the lodge and you’ll have access to the wood-fired sauna, repair shop, hot showers, and bike wash. As for where to ride, there’s a private skills park on the property, and the 42-mile Whitefish Trail offers machine-cut cross-country routes right out the back door. Nearby Spencer Mountain has freeride terrain, and Whitefish Mountain Resort boasts lift-served downhill galore. —G.A.
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Milford Sound
(Milford Sound Lodge)
Milford Sound
(travellinglight/Alamy)
#31. New Zealand
What nobody tells you about Milford Sound—that World Heritage site and most dramatic of New Zealand fjords—is that there’s (almost) no place to stay. Instead, buses shuttle in day-trippers from Te Anau, an adventure base two hours south, and deposit them onto giant boats for a loop of the fjord. But those in the know will have secured a bunk bed, camper spot, or small river chalet months in advance at Milford Sound Lodge (from $27, $40, and $307, respectively). Kayak to the fjord’s 500-foot waterfalls, fly-fish the wide, graveled Cleddau River outside your door, and indulge in local pinot noir and Stewart Island salmon at the on-site Pio Pio Café. But the best part is the sense of peace and awe when the last tour bus pulls out of sight. —Elizabeth Hightower Allen
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New River Gorge (Harrison Shull/Aurora/Alamy)
#32. West Virginia
OK, it’s not actually infinite, but with over 200 trad and sport-climbing routes strewn along three miles of world-class sandstone high above the New River Gorge, the Endless Wall sure feels that way. All-day sun makes cool weather ideal for classics like Fantasy, a 5.8 trad crack route that’s one of the crag’s few double pitches. Climbers comfortable leading 5.10’s will get the most out of the area, but the gorge is filled with more than 1,400 established routes to session. There’s also 60 miles of mountain-biking trails, trout-filled tributaries, and Class III–V rapids to explore. To refuel, grab a beer and a grape and Gorgonzola pizza at Fayetteville’s Pies and Pints. It’s just four miles from the American Alpine Club’s official campground ($30). —Abigail Wise
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Morocco
(Surf Maroc)
Morocco
(Surf Maroc)
Morocco
(Surf Maroc)
#33. Morocco
With four lodging options in Taghazout, British expats Ben O’Hara and Ollie Boswell have put this laid-back surf village on any boarder’s bucket list. The duo’s newest chic offering, Amouage by Surf Maroc, opened in 2016 and is perched over a point break on a coastline riddled with good waves. And the boutique hotel’s local guides and instructors know a thing or two about where the swell is. The best waves are November through March, and pending conditions, the guides might drive you an hour and a half north to the hamlet of Imsouane or put you in the water right out front. Meals are family style, and the mostly European guests are eager to exchange wipeout stories while lounging on Moroccan poufs. Too tired or sore to surf? There’s yoga in a glass-walled room overlooking the sea, masseuses to knead throbbing arms, and an infinity pool with views of the waves you’re missing. Seven-day packages start at $644, all-inclusive —M.T.
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We rounded up ten contributors and editors to dish the secrets on their all-time favorite destinations. Here’s the list of places around the world that they came up with.
Corocora Camp (Corocora Camp)
#1. Colombia
Getting to Los Llanos Orientales, a patchwork of forest, grassy savanna, and wetlands in eastern Colombia, takes effort. From Bogotá, it’s a one-hour flight east to the regional capital of Yopal, followed by a 2.5-hour drive into the bush. But when you arrive, you’ll be rewarded with a stay at Corocora Camp, a new four-tent safari lodge in the heart of a private 22,000-plus-acre nature reserve that’s reminiscent of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Keep an eye out for giant anteaters, pumas, chubby capybaras, and over 200 species of birds as you enjoy aged Colombian rums on your tent’s private terrace. Or search for wildlife on foot, by 4x4, or on horseback with your own private guide. Guests can also partake in the camp’s conservation efforts by setting up camera traps to track jaguars, or visit a nearby ranch to observe how the local llaneros (cowboys) use chants to herd cattle. From $490 —Jen Murphy
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Taos Ski Valley (Jimmy Chin)
#2. New Mexico
Taos Ski Valley has seen a renaissance since it was bought by philanthropist Louis Bacon in 2013. In addition to becoming the first B Corp–certified ski resort—it meets the nonprofit’s high standards for environmental and social responsibility—the mountain has seen massive improvements including a new high-speed quad chair and the LEED-certified, 80-room Blake Hotel (from $259). It’s beefing up its summer offerings as well, particularly lift-accessed mountain biking. Two flow trails with 6.5 miles of berms, rollers, and bridges will open this summer, with plans for a total of 15 miles in the future. Off the slope, hit Black Rock Hot Springs, summit 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak, or fish for native cutthroat trout. Big groups: snag room 433 at the Blake, a two-bedroom suite overlooking the base village. —Nicholas Hunt
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Secret Bay Resort (Secret Bay)
#3. Dominica
The 115-mile Waitukubuli National Trail on mountainous Dominica is the Caribbean’s only through-hike. Spanning from the village of Scott’s Head in the south to Cabrits National Park up north, the trail opened in 2013 but was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Today all but three of the route’s 14 sections have been entirely rehabbed and are open to the public. Along the way, you’ll pass an 18th-century French settlement, view dormant volcanic peaks, and swim in Emerald Pool beneath a cascading waterfall in 17,000-acre Morne Trois Pitons National Park. Stay at campsites or inns just off the route, or set up base camp at Secret Bay Resort’s brand-new Ti-Fey Villa, a luxurious two-story structure with a kitchen, wraparound deck, and plunge pool (from $705). Day passes $12, 15-day passes $40 —Stephanie Pearson
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The Lodge at Blue Sky (The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection)
#4. Utah
The Lodge at Blue Sky, which will have its grand opening in May, offers a fresh take on the ranch escape. Forget rustic cabins—accommodations range from 600-square-foot rooms to two-story, two-bedroom suites, each with panoramic views of the 3,500-acre property. And while there’s a 7,400-square-foot spa and classic dude-ranch staples like horseback riding and sport shooting, it’s the year-round mountain adventures—including heli-biking, resort and nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and fly-fishing—and the lodge’s exclusive ski-in, ski-out lounge in the Park City Mountain Resort village that steal the show. Blue Sky also takes brag-worthy hotel bars to a new level with an on-site distillery from award-winning Utah whiskey maker High West. Before you sip grain-to-glass cocktails, you can learn about the mashing, milling, and aging process. From $850 —J.M.
Whether you prefer haute or hut cuisine, the Dolomites in Italy’s South Tyrol have the best of both. The region is a culinary melting pot of Italian and Austrian traditions mixed with rustic influences from the local Ladins culture. On weeklong guided or self-guided gourmet ski safaris with adventure outfitter Dolomite Mountains, you’ll earn your turns and meals. Owner Agustina Marmol has spent over a decade finding the area’s top restaurants to customize trips for every palate. You’ll ski between remote rifugios (backcountry huts) that serve hearty dishes like venison polenta and offer lodging, and dine in Michelin-starred restaurants like San Cassiano’s St. Hubertus. In the summer, the outfitter offers a food crawl, where you’ll hike, bike, and climb to reach picnics and restaurants housed in alpine farmhouses. From $2,200 for seven days —J.M.
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#6-9. Explore the Last Frontier
Why you should go now to Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Creative Commons)
In fall 2017, after nearly four decades of protection, Congress opened part of the 19.6-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—one of America’s largest, wildest, and most remote tracts of public land—to oil exploration, which could devastate its ecosystem. For first-time visitors, it’s best to go with a guide. Outfitters like Alaska Alpine Adventures and Wilderness Alaska can build you custom trips, or choose from one of the latter’s eight preset itineraries. Here are our favorite expeditions. —Nick Davidson
Rafting the Kongakut River
For ten days and 42 miles, you’ll float Class II–III rapids from the river’s headwaters at Drain Creek through mountain vales and lupine-studded tundra to Caribou Pass.
Camping for Caribou
Work with your guide to set up base camp on the state’s North Slope in late June to early July and ogle the migrating, 200,000-strong Porcupine herd at its calving grounds on the coastal plain.
Pack-Rafting the Continental Divide
The weeklong 60-mile trek and paddle adventure from the Jago River to the Hulahula takes you along trackless tundra and past 8,000-plus-foot peaks. Bring a pack raft for the smaller waters.
Photographing Polar Bears
Local Inupiat guides from Kaktovik will ferry you on the Beaufort Sea to Barter Island, where dozens of polar bears gather in autumn to scavenge whale carcasses.
Noah Surf House (Noah Surf House)
#10. Portugal
Noah Surf House looks even better in person. Located an hour north of Lisbon in the small village of Santa Cruz, the resort’s 13 podlike eco-friendly bungalows and a main lodge are just across the street from one of the best breaks in the region, along with the bunk room’s fitness studio, infinity pool, skate park, hot tub, and fire pit. If it isn’t going off, the coast has endless other options, which the in-house guides will drive you to. Don’t miss Noah’s Restaurant and Beach House, just down the hill on the sand of Praia da Fisica, for drippingly fresh seafood and comfy chaises—the perfect place to lounge beachside between surf sessions. Then head up the road to the hotel’s higher-end sister property, Areias do Seixo, for a massage. Pro tip: eat as many pastéis de nata, small Portuguese custard tarts, as you can get your hands on. Bungalows from $181, bunks from $57 —Mary Turner
BOOK NOWBig Bend National Park (Trevor Paulhus)
#11. Texas
It takes some savvy navigating skills to tackle the newly mapped Big Bend 100, a ten-day self-supported cross-country trek that links existing paths, dirt roads, and sandy arroyos, often with ten or more miles between water sources. In other words, this undertaking requires research, expert backpacking and camping skills, and DIY grit, but the rewards are total solitude, stark desert beauty, and the increasingly rare satisfaction that you’ve completed a through-hike few have even heard of. The route starts at Big Bend Ranch State Park and rambles for 100 miles across creek beds and past ancient rock art to the 7,000-foot Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, where you’ll need backcountry permits to camp each night. The view from the top is sublime, with the Rio Grande and Mexico falling away as far as the eye can see. —S.P.
Patagonia (Upscape)
#12. Chile
The austere mountains, turquoise rivers, and wind-whipped steppe of northern Patagonia feels a lot farther off the grid than famed Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s southern tip. Get even deeper into the steppe with South American outfitter Upscape, which offers fly-fishing, photography, and trekking trips March through April (the end of austral summer) at a pop-up camp on the Jeinimeni River. Just yards from the Argentinean border, Upscape’s remote camp has 300-square-foot tents with sleeping quarters and a living room, and a communal dining tent for meals of perfectly grilled carne asada. Not that you’ll spend much time there with the monster brown and rainbow trout to be stalked, sunsets behind craggy peaks to be captured, and glacial valleys and alpine lakes to be explored. From $3,950 for five days —S.P.
BOOK NOWGreen River (Josh Miller Photography)
#13. Colorado and Utah
When explorer John Wesley Powell made the historic first descent of the uncharted Green and Colorado Rivers in 1869, which was considered impossible at the time, one boat sank and nearly half the crew abandoned the cause. Things will definitely go more smoothly on OARS’s 150th anniversary re-creation of a portion of the expedition. The 28-day, 466-mile, fully outfitted trip through Colorado and Utah encompasses some of the most iconic landscapes in the Southwest—many of them named by Powell himself—while hitting an overload of Class II–IV whitewater. OARS will run expeditions by raft and dory from Flaming Gorge to Lake Powell in June and September, but if you can’t make the whole enchilada, sign up for the 13-day upper-river or 16-day lower-river section of the trip. $8,899 for the full expedition —Graham Averill
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Niehku Mountain Villa (Erik Nissen Johansen)
#14. Sweden
In their youth, the owners of Niehku Mountain Villa, a 14-room adventure base 124 miles north of the Arctic Circle, were ski-bum fixtures at Riksgränsen, a nearby resort on the Norwegian border. Today, Johan Lindblom, a ski patroller turned international mountain guide, and Patrik Strömsten, a ski racer turned award-winning sommelier, run what’s arguably the Arctic’s most luxe lodge, complete with a 500-bottle wine cellar and tundra-to-table restaurant. From its doorstep, helicopters can access 60 skiable mountain peaks. And unlike the Alps, where heli-skiing is limited to a handful of prescribed landing spots, the Arctic is a rule-free playground where you can do as many as 15 lines a day. Grabbing first chair at your local hill no longer sounds that impressive, huh? From $4,658 for three-day heli-ski packages, meals and accommodations included —J.M.
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#13-19. Our Favorite New Cycling Trips
Along for the ride
Croatia (Duvine Cycling and Adventure)
Bourbon Trail, Kentucky
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association recently launched three new cycling routes, including a three-day, 188-mile pilgrimage to ten distilleries, notably Woodford Reserve and Maker’s Mark.
Dalmatian Islands, Croatia
For eight days, guests on DuVine Cycling’s Yacht and Bike Tour island-hop around the Adriatic to cycle some of the region’s best routes, from the olive groves of Brac to the ancient fishing villages on the isle of Vis. $7,695
The Ozarks, Arkansas
The International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Epic-designated Upper Buffalo Headwaters Trail is like pizza, says Slaughter Trail Guides founder Dustin Slaughter: “Even when it’s bad, it’s good.” Guided day trips tackle big hills and creek crossings, with opportunities to cool off in blue lagoons. From $95
North Highlands, Scotland
Wilderness Scotland has launched a seven-day road-cycling trip along the North Coast 500, Scotland’s Route 66, which winds past rugged mountains, sweeping beaches, and charming fishing villages. May 11 and June 29; $2,250
Lake Champlain, Vermont
On this edition of the foodie-friendly Farm to Fork Fondo series, routes of 7 to 93 miles around the Champlain Islands include pit stops stocked with local cider slushies and wood-fired pizzas. Finishers are rewarded with a BBQ feast and a pint of regional craft beer. July 21; from $40 —J.M.
Yellowstone safari glamping (Collective Retreats and Natural Habitat Adventures)
#20. Wyoming
Scraping leftovers into a compost pile might not sound like a vacation activity, but on Natural Habitat Adventures’ new seven-day Yellowstone safari, composting is as essential to the experience as camping or hiking. While expert naturalists guide you in search of bison and wolf pups, you’ll also be on an industry-first zero-waste expedition. You’ll drink from reusable water bottles and dine on locally sourced food sans single-use plastics like straws, plates, and cups. Everything that can’t be composted or recycled locally is hauled back to the company’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, to be recycled, upcycled, or handed off to TerraCycle, an innovative company that specializes in the reuse of otherwise unprocessable waste. The hope is that the trip will inspire you with the landscape and wildlife while fostering habits you can take home. From $5,695 —S.P.
BOOK NOWUnleashed Dog Bar (Katlyn Larrieu)
#21. South Carolina
Greenville’s Unleashed Dog Bar is the perfect place for you and your pooch to relax after a long day exploring this burgeoning Southern adventure hub. The 3,500-square-foot on-site dog park features misters and galvanized water troughs to keep your canine cool while you enjoy locals brews, like Catawba Brewing’s White Zombie ale, on the covered patio. In town, bike beside the Reedy River on the 22-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail and refuel along the way at the route’s many breweries and restaurants. Or head into the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains to hike, bike, or paddle. The Class II–V rapids of the Chattooga National Wild and Scenic River, made infamous by their role in the thriller Deliverance, are located just an hour and a half away. —Johanna Flashman
Form Arcosanti (Saam Gabbay)
#22. Arizona
Every May in the high desert an hour north of Phoenix, the 1970s experimental community Arcosanti plays host to Form, the best house party in the Southwest. For three days, the festival’s 2,000 attendees start the morning with rooftop yoga, then hike the Verde River basin, mingle during discussions of art and climate change, and groove to an eclectic lineup of world-class musicians and DJs playing sets on three stages. The event removes the commercialism, angst, and druggy vibe from the music-fest template and replaces it with inspirational talks, views of the Sonoran Desert, and daily cliffside pool parties. Campsites are included with admission, and a platoon of food trucks are on hand throughout. Or snag one of the glamping tents or an RV. Bookend your trip with a mountain-bike ride on the red-rock trails of Sedona, just an hour’s drive north. This year, festivities run May 10–12. $364 —Will Palmer
Need to check Africa off your bucket list? There’s no more iconic destination than Tanzania, and for 25 years, Sandy and Chip Cunningham at Outside GO have been refining the perfect itinerary. On their nine-day safari, you’ll travel with a private guide from the foothills of Mount Meru in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro to Serengeti National Park, stopping along the way to view elephants, lion prides, buffalo, and alien-looking baobab trees at Tarangire National Park, as well as one-of-a-kind sunrises over Ngorongoro Crater, at 100 square miles the world’s largest intact caldera. Your housing? A tented camp right on the rim. From $8,295 —N.H.
Tourists (Peter Crosby)
#24. Massachusetts
Tourists, a remodeled motor lodge in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is your home base for exploring the highland region’s mountain peaks, river valleys, and famed cultural institutions like the Tanglewood Music Center and Clark Art Institute. Set on 55 acres in the town of North Adams along the Hoosic River, the 48-room retreat is the brainchild of a group of creatives that include John Stirratt, whose band Wilco puts on the Solid Sound music and arts festival every other summer at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. A network of boardwalks and suspension bridges leads guests to a saltwater pool, art installations, and the Airport Rooms, a craft-cocktail lounge with hearty fare from chef Greg Thomas. The Appalachian Trail runs right through the property, and 3,491-foot Mount Greylock, the state’s highest point, is just half a mile away. From $199 —J.M.
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Karakter (Daniel Mysliwiec)
#25. Poland
Need proof that Eastern Europe is the continent’s new premier destination? Look no further than Krakow. Sitting on the banks of the Vistula River below the 8,000-foot Carpathian Mountains, the city beat out culinary hot spots like Lisbon, Portugal, to become the 2019 European Capital of Gastronomic Culture. And for good reason. Krakow has 26 Michelin-recommended restaurants, such as Karakter, whose chef specializes in making exotic animal parts like bull testicles taste delicious. Burn off those calories pedaling nearly 60 miles of mountain-bike trails in the surrounding hills or by sending some of the thousands of limestone climbing routes in the nearby Jura uplands. Two hours to the south are the majestic, craggy Tatra Mountains, a playground with more than 600 miles of trails known as the Little Alps. —S.P.
Everest Base Camp (MT Sobek)
#26. Nepal
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the outfitter MT Sobek, a California-based adventure travel pioneer and one of the first American companies to offer small-group Himalayan expeditions. Join the celebration on one of its five 20-day pilgrimages to Everest Base Camp this year. Three veteran guides will lead you on a route that hasn’t changed much in the decades since MT Sobek led its first trip in 1969, but that’s a good thing. The dicey flight into the clifftop town of Lukla is an extreme adventure in itself, and staying in Sherpa villages, visiting the iconic Tengboche monastery, and passing rhododendrons in bloom and prayer flags disintegrating in the breeze as you hike more than 8,000 feet up to 17,600-foot Base Camp is one of the world’s most iconic journeys. From $6,695 —S.P.
BOOK NOWBeaver Island (Frank Solle)
#27. Michigan
Lake Michigan’s 56-square-mile Beaver Island is only accessible by a two-hour ferry ride or puddle-jumper flights from a few nearby cities and towns. But that remoteness has preserved this adventure haven’s rugged character. The island has five inland lakes filled with pike, perch, and bass, lazy dirt roads that are easily navigated by cruiser bike, and Mount Pisgah, a 150-foot sand dune that, with an elevation of 730 feet, is a surprisingly strenuous hike. For a little more adrenaline, expert paddlers can test their skills against the Great Lake along a new 42-mile water trail that passes remote dunes, wetlands, and beaches as it circumnavigates the isle. The St. James Township Campground ($10) overlooking Garden, Squaw, and Whisky Islands is a great spot to observe the northern lights flicker across the sky. —S.P.
Harbor House Inn (Brendan McGuigan)
#28. California
Perched dramatically atop a 150-foot cliff overlooking the crashing Pacific, the 103-year-old, ten-room Harbor House Inn in tiny Elk, California, completed an eight-year renovation last spring. Book the property’s Shorepine cottage for private-terrace views of 75-foot-high Wharf Rock, a historic natural arch where ships once docked to load lumber. Then wander the private beach, swim beneath the giant trees of Navarro River Redwoods State Park, ride horseback in the inland mountains, or kayak through sea stacks along the craggy coastline. To experience a different taste of the region, head to the inn’s 25-seat dining room, where chef Matthew Kammerer’s eight-to-twelve-course tasting menus are completely foraged, farmed, and harvested within 50 miles. The payoff? Dishes like spring-vegetable nori with smoked oysters, abalone, and sea vegetables. From $355 —S.P.
BOOK NOWArctic Watch (Nansen Weber/Weber Arctic)
#29. Canada
Richard Weber and his wife, Josée Auclair, and sons Tessum and Nansen have spent 30 years exploring the polar regions, notching countless records and expeditions, like the first crossing of the Arctic Ocean on skis. The family also runs three lodges spread across the Arctic Archipelago, each offering unique adventures. In July and August at Arctic Watch, the northernmost fly-in lodge on the planet, kayak among icebergs while looking for beluga whales. At Arctic Haven, located on the shores of Ennadai Lake, 450 miles from civilization, you can observe North America’s largest caribou migration in August and September. And in April and May, the family runs the world’s northernmost heli-skiing operation from the Baffin Island hamlet of Clyde River, Nunavut. The only other tracks you’ll see belong to the resident polar bears. From $6,616 for six nights —J.M
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Whitefish Mountain Resort (Ben Gavelda)
#30. Montana
Former Tour Divide champion cyclist Cricket Butler had bikers in mind with every step as she renovated an old barn in northern Montana. The result? The Whitefish Bike Retreat, a simple, tasteful lodge that serves as a base camp for bikepackers weary from the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which passes by six miles away, and rippers looking to explore some of the state’s best trails. Private rooms start at $110, or you can pitch your own tent for $40. Stay in the lodge and you’ll have access to the wood-fired sauna, repair shop, hot showers, and bike wash. As for where to ride, there’s a private skills park on the property, and the 42-mile Whitefish Trail offers machine-cut cross-country routes right out the back door. Nearby Spencer Mountain has freeride terrain, and Whitefish Mountain Resort boasts lift-served downhill galore. —G.A.
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Milford Sound (Milford Sound Lodge)
#31. New Zealand
What nobody tells you about Milford Sound—that World Heritage site and most dramatic of New Zealand fjords—is that there’s (almost) no place to stay. Instead, buses shuttle in day-trippers from Te Anau, an adventure base two hours south, and deposit them onto giant boats for a loop of the fjord. But those in the know will have secured a bunk bed, camper spot, or small river chalet months in advance at Milford Sound Lodge (from $27, $40, and $307, respectively). Kayak to the fjord’s 500-foot waterfalls, fly-fish the wide, graveled Cleddau River outside your door, and indulge in local pinot noir and Stewart Island salmon at the on-site Pio Pio Café. But the best part is the sense of peace and awe when the last tour bus pulls out of sight. —Elizabeth Hightower Allen
BOOK NOWNew River Gorge (Harrison Shull/Aurora/Alamy)
#32. West Virginia
OK, it’s not actually infinite, but with over 200 trad and sport-climbing routes strewn along three miles of world-class sandstone high above the New River Gorge, the Endless Wall sure feels that way. All-day sun makes cool weather ideal for classics like Fantasy, a 5.8 trad crack route that’s one of the crag’s few double pitches. Climbers comfortable leading 5.10’s will get the most out of the area, but the gorge is filled with more than 1,400 established routes to session. There’s also 60 miles of mountain-biking trails, trout-filled tributaries, and Class III–V rapids to explore. To refuel, grab a beer and a grape and Gorgonzola pizza at Fayetteville’s Pies and Pints. It’s just four miles from the American Alpine Club’s official campground ($30). —Abigail Wise
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Morocco (Surf Maroc)
#33. Morocco
With four lodging options in Taghazout, British expats Ben O’Hara and Ollie Boswell have put this laid-back surf village on any boarder’s bucket list. The duo’s newest chic offering, Amouage by Surf Maroc, opened in 2016 and is perched over a point break on a coastline riddled with good waves. And the boutique hotel’s local guides and instructors know a thing or two about where the swell is. The best waves are November through March, and pending conditions, the guides might drive you an hour and a half north to the hamlet of Imsouane or put you in the water right out front. Meals are family style, and the mostly European guests are eager to exchange wipeout stories while lounging on Moroccan poufs. Too tired or sore to surf? There’s yoga in a glass-walled room overlooking the sea, masseuses to knead throbbing arms, and an infinity pool with views of the waves you’re missing. Seven-day packages start at $644, all-inclusive —M.T.
Local musicians are invited to attend a free recycle and restring event at Alvas Music in San Pedro, CA on Saturday, March 23, 2019 from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Sponsored by D’Addario and TerraCycle, musicians can bring any old instrument strings for recycling and get their electric or acoustic guitars restrung with D’Addario NYXL or Nickel Bronze Acoustic strings. Old strings collected during the event will be recycled through Playback, D’Addario’s free, national recycling program.
Everyone has a carbon footprint. But you also have a carbon face print, plus a carbon hair print, skin print—even an underarm print. Everything we slather on to make ourselves prettier has the potential to make the world an uglier place with problematic ingredients and packaging.
It used to be that consumers who cared about the environment got very little help. You could buy your cosmetics from a small rack at the health food store and upcycle jars and bottles as knickknacks. You could also be the Debbie Downer who reminded everyone that rain forests and rabbits were suffering for our vanity.
But times—and beauty products—are changing. A survey by Unilever-—the maker of Dove, Vaseline, Love Beauty and Planet, and scores of other brands—found that 78% of U.S. consumers now feel better when they buy products that are sustainably produced. “Consumers are looking for ways to help make an impact,” says Esi Eggleston Bracey, EVP and COO of North American Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever. As part of a global green strategy to help their customers do just that, she adds, Unilever is working to “make sure 100% of our plastic packaging is re-usable, recyclable or compostable” by 2025. The company’s wide-ranging Sustainable Living Plan also includes a project to transform the industry that manufactures palm oil, an ingredient in shampoo and makeup, among many other products. The cultivation of oil palms has caused severe deforestation, threatening many species, including orangutans in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, in a program serving children all over the world who face severe health challenges from contaminated water, Procter & Gamble provided its 14 billionth liter of clean drinking water last year. L’Oréal launched the world’s first shower-proof paper bottle as part of its Seed Phytonutrients personal care line. What’s more, “today all our plants and distribution centers—19 facilities across 12 states—run on renewable energy,” notes Danielle Azoulay, head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability for L’Oréal USA. Several other large beauty companies (and small ones) have also gone over to the green side.
And that may be thanks to shoppers like you. “Consumers are starting to push the market, and companies pick up on that,” says Carla Burns, research analyst at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG). But as lovely as it is that many big corporations have stepped up, she adds, consumers need to remain vigilant. For cosmetics, “the FDA still does not regulate words like ‘natural’ or ‘non-toxic,’ ” she explains, and not every company is committed to helping customers make healthy choices. “Packaging can be misleading—lots of green and flowers and bamboo. Consumers need to do their homework about what’s in products and whether they want to put it on their bodies.”
So the next time you’re walking the aisles and filling your basket, here are a few things to consider.
