The national nonprofit Responsible Battery Coalition (RBC) has been accepted as an affiliate member of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. JCESR, just renewed by the U.S. Department of Energy for another five years, created an affiliate program that brings together small and large businesses, nonprofits, universities and national laboratories to further promote public-private partnerships. The stakeholder organizations are involved in electrical energy storage, ranging from chemical and material manufacturers to battery system integrators and testers. As new technologies are developed and needs identified, affiliates have the opportunity to engage with the research to accelerate innovation.

TRENTON, N.J., : In today’s world, everything runs on batteries. They’re in things we use every day. Inevitably though, they run out of power and the age-old question comes up – what do you do with your spent batteries? In the past they ended up in a junk drawer, an old coffee can in the garage, or even in the trash. But, you can recycle batteries with a few extra precautions? Here are four tips to safely handle and recycle your “dead” batteries:

You can offset the waste created by health and wellness products that do not yet fit into the current recycling system by choosing brands committed to taking responsibility for their packaging. For example, NOW works with TerraCycle to make sure its pouches and packaging are 100 percent nationally recyclable, also offering a solution for its line of natural toothpastes.

We asked our network: “What does the ‘future of work’ mean to you? What are you doing in your business to prepare for or address that future?” We got responses from dozens of top conscious business leaders. While we could have filled the whole issue with their insights, we decided to bring you just a sample of their predictions, questions, and best practices.

Are you planning a beary be-witching Halloween party? Perhaps you’re having your kids’ friends over for a bash to eat, drink, and be scary? Parties and special events don’t have to haunt you with lot of waste. There are ways you can reduce waste and your impact on the environment when planning your franken-tastic gathering.

If you do find yourself over-stocked in traditional candy wrappers try to re-purpose them instead of tossing them out. Can you turn wrappers into a tote bag or a fun kid’s craft project like a necklace or a bracelet? Finally, a waste recycling company called TerraCycle allows you to collect your waste and send it to them to use for a variety of recycled applications.

A GH survey recently revealed that readers (like you!) are eager to make sustainable choices, especially when shopping for skincare, baby products and home cleaners. That’s why on November 8, the GH Institute is teaming up with Made Safe, an organization that educates consumers and companies about nontoxic ingredients, to host the second Raise the Green Bar Summit.  

A Sneak Peek of Our 2018 Event

We can’t wait for our exciting lineup of speakers, including entrepreneur and actress Alicia Silverstone, Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, and other leading industry voices.

After putting in my daily contact lenses, I’d already produced more waste: the packaging each set comes in. Crap! The fix: Try the biweekly version instead to cut down. Another solution? Terracycle has a partnership with Bausch & Lomb that recycles contacts, blister packs, and the top foil. You save your garbage, buy the box, send it to them, and they do the rest. Actually, now’s a great time to mention Terracycle’s partnership with Garnier, which recycles literally any hair care, skin care, and cosmetics packaging. (Is it worth it to devote the resources to ship a box of garbage across the country to be recycled? You make the call.)

I’m being haunted by a seahorse. Ever since I saw Justin Hofman's viral photo of that sad little ocean pony clinging to a plastic cotton swab, I’ve been aware of just how much plastic waste my beauty routine creates. Since the advent of plastics, humans have made 8.3 billion metric tons of the stuff. Of that, 6.3 billion metric tons have already been thrown out and 91 percent of that waste has not been recycled. I’m just one person contributing to a garbage mountain that threatens to suffocate the planet. So when Allure asked me to try a sustainable beauty routine with no single-use plastic, I was all in — as long as it wasn’t too hard.

If you're into the spooky side of Halloween, there are plenty of fun ways to get your fear fix—going to a haunted house, slathering on fake blood or taking in the latest horror flick. But not even the most adventurous fright fans want to be scared about their family's health or the planet's come Oct. 31. That's not fun-scary, that's just plain old scary.