In the past year we’ve seen an editorial frenzy over the future of recycling. Skepticism and worry are expected in any innovative and healthy American industry, but recycling has received a disproportionate dose of it lately. Recycling rates have hit a plateau in the last few years. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that most of our recycling rates are flat, still far short of our full potential. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that there’s $80 to $120 billion (in U.S. dollars) worth of uncaptured plastic globally—that’s a 95% loss of plastics.

After five years of collecting more than 250 pounds of pens and markers, Joliet Junior College and its Sustainability Committee are recycling the massive collection to TerraCycle, a company that prides itself on both recycling and upcycling almost any form of waste In addition, JJC’s efforts will also make a social impact: TerraCycle rewards its contributors using a point system that equals donations to three charitable organizations: Charity: Water, Carbon Fund, and Eco Schools USA.

Pet food companies touting transparency on ingredients, sourcing and processing. We all know consumers are demanding and thirsting for transparency on how pet food is made, what’s in it and where those substances (and the material it’s packaged in) come from. Last year at GPE, Open Farm launched its pet food line with a message of ethical and humane sourcing and production, certified by a third-party organization, Certified Humane. Its packaging can also be recycled through TerraCycle. That’s just one example; will we see more during this show?

Keep Bamberg County Beautiful, along with its volunteers, have collected nearly 2,000 pounds of litter from roadways since the first of the year. However, that’s just a small amount of what needs to be picked up, KBCB Director Mallory D. Biering says. KBCB will hold a countywide cleanup from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 12, in an effort to bring the community together to help get rid of unsightly litter, she said. Biering said KBCB and the Bamberg County Recycling Program also launched their newest recycling program on Feb. 29. The program, known on social media as the “We Want Your Butts,” focuses on not only recycling cigarette waste, but also preventing cigarette waste from becoming litter.

New York’s goal of sending “zero waste” to landfills by 2030 may be missing the mark on what the term is really supposed to mean. Dr. Maggie Clarke, an environmental scientist who has been involved in local waste policy for more than 30 years, said the term zero waste is all about reusing every resource for as long as possible while expending as little energy as possible. Think of the ubiquitous recycling triangle on a much greater scale.

The time to refresh and start anew for spring is upon us! As the flowers start blooming and the snow begins to melt away, let’s do our part for the planet in this time of renewal by learning new ways to reduce waste and live in harmony with the environment around us. There are plenty of easy ways to get started, and you can even save some money along the way.

After five years of collecting more than 250 pounds of pens and markers, Joliet Junior College and its Sustainability Committee are recycling the massive collection to Terracycle, a company that prides itself on both recycling and upcycling almost any form of waste. In addition, JJC’s efforts will also make a social impact: Terracycle rewards its contributors using a point system that equals donations to three charitable organizations: Charity: Water, Carbon Fund, and Eco Schools USA.

D'Addario has announced the launch of Playback, the first industry-wide instrument string recycling program. The company has teamed with the global recycling organization TerraCycle to create Playback, a safe and independent way to recycle and upcycle instrument strings. Currently, municipal recycling systems in the United States do not accept instrument strings because of the metals and alloys they are made from.

Attendees to the 11th annual Earth Festival will have ample opportunity to rid themselves of unwanted materials normally difficult to recycle. In keeping with Earth Festival tradition, a host of items will be accepted for recycling at the event, which will take place at Milford Central School from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9.

D’Addario, the world’s largest maker of instrument strings and accessories, has been a pioneer in sustainability for decades – from environmentally responsible packaging to robust tree re-planting programs. The company is taking its environmental commitment even further in 2016 with the unveiling of Playback, the world’s first-ever industry-wide instrument string recycling program.