I had the pleasure of interviewing Valerie Salinas-Davis. Valerie is a no-nonsense environmentalist who leverages the power of communication to nudge anyone of any political stripe to take action. Her latest endeavor is WasteLessWednesday.org (#WLW), a website that deploys colorful gifs encouraging people to try new ways to use less stuff once a week. #WLW is a follow-up to America Recycles Day (November 15), an annual awareness day administered by Keep America Beautiful and cofounded by Valerie in 1997. She is President-Elect of the League of Women Voters of Austin, Chair-Elect of the board of the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and a board member of Austin Habitat for Humanity. Valerie is currently finishing her first book, Green-ish: How To Protect the Environment Without Hugging A Tree. Written entirely outdoors, Green-ish is a Gen-Z- and Millennial-oriented book that encapsulates lessons and tips from her three decades of environmental public service campaign experiences. This fall, she will begin teaching in the Stan Richards School of Advertising at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a Bachelor of Journalism in 1985. Valerie works as a sustainability consultant and social impact strategist from her home, an “enviro-hacienda” built by her wife Millie. They live south of Austin in Hays County with Sancha, their blue-eyed yellow Lab-Husky mix who inspires them to try to get moving outdoors every day.       Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit how you grew up?   My favorite memories growing up as an Air Force brat in the ’60s and ’70s include mail-ordering an Ellie Mae doll (from “The Beverly Hillbillies”) from overseas when I was 4 years old living in Okinawa, Japan; my parents bringing my adopted sisters home from South Korea when we lived on Misawa Air Base, Japan, in 1968; eating puffy tacos and drinking Big Red at a Tex-Mex restaurant not far from Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio in the early ’70s; falling in love with the Bee Gees and other disco music going to high school in Montgomery, Alabama, in the late ’70s; raising hell with the other on-base kids my senior year at Clark Air Base, Philippines; and my older brother Clint indoctrinating me to college life the summer of 1981 at the University of Texas with motorcycle trips around Austin to Barton Springs Pool, concerts and the lake. My parents (who would have cringed knowing we were riding all over Central Texas on a motorcycle) never raised us as treehuggers. We just knew it made sense not to waste anything, and we wouldn’t dare throw trash on the ground. The seeds to my career creating public service campaigns may have been planted when I won $5 in a fire-prevention poster contest in elementary school. I used Crayons to draw a house with a raging fire with the headline: “Someone Played With Matches.” I had to split that $5 with my three siblings.   You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?   One day before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, The New York Times posted a March 10 story, “Where to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.” The article highlighted “three big-ticket events perhaps worth traveling for” — the Food Is Life Festival in Napa, California, the Earth Optimism Summit in Washington, D.C., and EarthX in Dallas (attended by 170,000 people in 2019). Then the world got cancelled. So I wrote an op-ed in my hometown paper, the Austin American-Statesman, saying, “Let the unfortunate cancellations of Earth Day festivals remind us we don’t need big expos to learn how to protect the environment on the daily.” That’s when I knew it was time to promote WasteLessWednesday.org as a way to show anyone anywhere–in quarantine and beyond–how to cut down on waste. For instance, did you know the CDC says it’s safe to shop with reusable grocery bags during COVID-19, but that it’s a good idea to toss them in the washer after every trip to the store? Also, demand for tissue and corrugated cardboard is up. We can do our part by recycling, and opting for washable rags over paper towels whenever possible.   Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?   In 1992, I applied for a public information job at the Texas Department of Transportation. It wasn’t until the interview I found out the job was administering the famous “Don’t Mess with Texas” litter prevention campaign featuring beloved Texas stars like Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I think I’ve since worked on hundreds of environmental campaigns to promote recycling and waste reduction, conserve water, and preserve air and water quality. The common denominators with all of the campaigns, including WasteLessWednesday.org: don’t be cliché, minimize the politics and have fun with it.   Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?   In 1994, I took a job coordinating public service campaigns for the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. When George W. Bush beat Ann Richards out of a second term as governor, 90 percent our legislatively mandated environmental campaign budget was slashed. So we pushed all our money into a new program, Texas Recycles Day, which took off for the next couple of years. As interest for an America Recycles Day grew, a colleague and I quit our jobs in early 1997 and started EnviroMedia, which became the nation’s first advertising and public relations agency to focus exclusively on the environment and public health. Our first big project? Launch America Recycles Day, with Vice President Al Gore as Honorary Chair. In 1998, my phone starting ringing with colleagues encouraging EnviroMedia to compete for the Don’t Mess with Texas campaign business. We were just a four-person shop with a one-year track-record, and the thought of competing for Don’t Mess with Texas terrified me. But we set a goal: get short-listed as a finalist so we could experience our first big ad agency pitch. We put every ounce of our creativity and practicality into our written proposal, got invited to pitch–and won the business, beating long-established, much larger shops, including the global J. Walter Thompson agency.     Many people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?   When America Recycles Day was celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2018, my EnviroMedia colleagues and I wanted to create an awareness campaign that inspires people to do more on a weekly basis rather than once a year so we launched WasteLessWednesday.org. Now that the world is forced to be less event-oriented, I believe #WLW is more relevant and useful than ever. Whether it’s starting something like #WLW, America Recycles Day or an agency like EnviroMedia I think what’s fundamental is to do your homework, but don’t blink. Have. No. Fear. When we started EnviroMedia, I was in my early 30s, and had been working non-stop for 12 years. I figured if EnviroMedia tanked, I’d go to one of my favorite places–Taos, NM, wait tables and write. My wife Millie (we’re celebrating our 25th anniversary this year) had a good job, thank goodness, and she fully supported this risky career change. Money’s also important to starting a business, and my wonderful parents loaned me $15,000 to invest in EnviroMedia, which went on to gross more than $20 million a year at one point. In 1997, there was no WeWork, but we figured having a real office was important, so we rented a cool space in East Austin (now tremendously popular for emerging businesses and restaurants), paid a graphic designer to create a logo, letterhead and business cards, and bought one desktop and one laptop computer (both Macs of course). On Day One, we even had 9–6 office hours, and even now, as I work from home, keeping a serious regimen for work versus personal time is so important.   Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?   The most interesting and exciting thing that’s happened since promoting #WLW as a way to protect the environment while sheltering in place is when my Congressman Lloyd Doggett Tweeted my Earth Day opinion-editorial and encouraged his 35,000 followers to visit WasteLessWednesday.org. In the past few weeks, I’ve received requests for more #WLW information from people in the UK and Australia.   Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?   Remember when Matthew McConaughey got busted for naked bongo playing in 1999? We had just produced a Don’t Mess with Texas PSA featuring Matthew and it was about to be distributed. My company’s mistake? Giving a sneak peek of the spot to the Texas Film Commission, which is a part of the Office of the Governor, who at the time was George W. Bush, who happened to be about to run for president. Matthew’s PSA was shelved for a year, and to this day I think the spot would’ve garnered even more attention if we’d been allowed to release it in the middle of that crazy news cycle. The spot even features some jungle sound effects, complete with bongo. My lesson: never share work before a debut with people who have power over you unless you’re prepared for it to be canned or dumbed down. This reminds me of one of my favorite T-shirts I bought at the Newseum (which sadly was recently shuttered) — “The best way to kill an idea is to take it to a meeting.”   None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?   My favorite cheerleaders are from the University of Texas at Austin–but not the kind who carry pom-poms. When she was Sports Information Director for Women’s Athletics at the University of Texas in the ’80s and I was a young data processor across the street at the Texas Exes alumni association, now Texas Atletics VP Chris Plonskly let me build my portfolio by writing media guides for the volleyball and swim teams. When something opened up on the alumni magazine staff, Texas Exes director Susan Kessler made sure I got a spot as editorial assistant. Fast forward way too many years, and my advertising professor from 1981, John Murphy (now a dear friend), has advocated the past year for a lectureship for me in UT’s Moody College of Communications. I’ll be teaching in the Stan Richards School of Advertising this fall, with a focus on communicating sustainability messages transparently and authentically. I’ll once again be colleagues (way loosely associated) with Matthew McConaughey. He’s “Professor of Practice” in the Moody College for a Radio-TV-Film class called “Script to Screen.” Hook ’em Horns!   Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?   1.       Don’t politicize protecting the environment, and as our nation is experiencing so many challenges, it’s just plain wrong to reverse long-held protections when no one’s looking. 2.      Realize that no matter who you are or where you live and work, you can take simple steps to reduce pollution. 3.      Remember, every thing has an environmental footprint. Use less stuff.   How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?   See number 3 above. Costs of excess disposables–including packaging, straws, plastic utensils, paper napkins, and condiments–add up. Companies can save money by having customers request rather than refuse these choices, and by streamlining their packaging. Workplaces can also preset duplex as a default setting on printers, invest in energy-saving lighting and equipment, install water-conserving devices, and integrate hybrid and electric vehicles into their fleets. My mantra “You don’t have to be a treehugger to protect the environment” applies as much to companies as it does to individuals. It just makes sense.   What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.   I’d rather do a five-point “If I Could Turn Back Time” exercise a la Cher, but here goes:   1.       “Squeaky wheel gets the grease.” If you want something, you have to speak up. Decision-makers are not mind-readers. When I wanted that position on the Texas Exes magazine, I called my mother, and she said go down the hall and tell the editor you want that job. I never would have just been plucked out of the data processing department. Later, when I had employees of my own, I always admired the ones who stopped by my office to tell me their ambitions, and I can’t think of a time I refused the opportunity. 2.      “Stand your ground” against the bullies, because some people will always try to get what they want, despite the cost to you or your relationship with them. I got great advice from my assistant editor in the ’80s. If someone’s bullying you on the phone or in person, be silent. Let them flounder, until they sputter out. It works. 3.      “Choose your battles.” Before you stand your ground, be sure it’s worth it. Usually the people who want everything have big egos, and small victories for them go a long way and mean nothing for you in the long run. 4.      “Save your money,” because life always brings unexpected challenges. For me, when I closed my company in September 2018, my wife Millie and I were able to help my parents for three months when my mom had a bone marrow transplant. After she got through that successfully, I got back to work with things like freelancing, and WasteLessWednesday.org, and writing my book Green-ish. I started contributing to my 401(k) when I was 21, so with the pandemic and ensuing economic challenges, I’m doubly glad to know it’s there. 5.      Another boss once told me, “Life’s too short to dance with ugly people.” It’s nice to have the strength to walk away, no matter the cost.   If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?   Young people are hungry for environmental information, but realistically, don’t want to go to too much trouble or expense. They’re not Tesla drivers, but they’re worried about climate change, and in fact are losing sleep over it (“climate anxiety”). They give a damn, but, let’s face it, they won’t venture far to collect information on how to protect the environment.   The inspiration for my book Green-ish is a college student who in November 2018 asked me this question at the tail-end of a guest lecture at the UT College of Communication:   “Living and shopping sustainably seems like a complex and tedious task. How would you educate people to take small steps to cut down on the amount of waste they produce?”–Bailey Vaughan   I was almost out of time, so I gave the class a succinct answer: “Buy products with less packaging.” Anyone can do that anywhere, anytime. So I’m writing my book, Green-ish: How To Protect the Environment Without Hugging A Tree, to provide hundreds of simple tips to Gen Z and Millennial consumers to implement where they live, shop, eat, drink and play.   Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?   Do it now and apologize later. That’s me murdering the ubiquitous quote, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to beg for permission.” The person I first heard it from was my boss, the late great J. Don Clark, who launched the Don’t Mess with Texas campaign at the Cotton Bowl in 1986 with a PSA featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan without getting internal permission at the Texas Department of Transportation. The conservative engineers at TxDOT were seriously upset with Don after they saw the edgy PSA (these days it seems so benign, just cool), but once the campaign caught on, they embraced it–and TxDOT still funds it nearly 35 years later. If there were no J. Don Clark, there would never be no Don’t Mess with Texas–and a whole lot more litter on TxDOT rights of way.   Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)   Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle. I’m a huge fan of his new service called Loop, which delivers name brand products like Haagen-Dazs, Crest, Tide, and, thankfully these days, even Clorox to consumers in reusable packaging. I love the way it borrows from the good old “milk man” model, with Loop picking up your empties. Tom and the Loop team are doing just what I think is needed to reduce our environmental footprints — change the way we make things, starting with the packaging.   If Tom can’t make it to lunch, will you please ping Rachel Maddow for me?   How can our readers follow you online?   ValerieSalinasDavis.com @ValSalinasDavis on Twitter ValSalinasDavis on Instagram LinkedIn.com/in/ValerieSalinasDavis

On April 28, according to foreign reports, regulators across the United States are trying to reduce the waste caused by jet water pipes and evaporators. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of the agencies responsible for hazardous waste disposal. Joseph Hubbard, a spokesman for the agency, said that each agency should have specific standards for responsible disposal of product waste. In the real world, it is ultimately the manufacturer's obligation to dispose of jet water pipes waste. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) even requires producers to conduct environmental impact studies as part of their pre-sales glass pipes product application before putting evaporators on the market. Hubbard pointed out that vapor products may be subject to the rules and guidelines for lithium ion battery waste in retail environments. He said: "When lithium ion batteries are removed from water pipes for sale, EPA recommends that batteries be recovered or disposed of through special battery or electronic recovery and disposal programs." Nicotine in jet water pipes is more complicated. Hubbard suggested that the company use existing hazardous waste collection options, such as drug recovery incidents or household hazardous waste collection. He said: "If there is no recovery plan for the nicotine cartridge or electronic juice portion of jet water pipes, EPA recommends mixing this waste with undesirable substances and putting it into household waste." ater waste products are also subject to the hazardous waste regulations of the resource protection and recycling act (RCRA). The Law on the Protection of Resources gives EPA the ultimate power to control hazardous wastes "from cradle to grave", including wastes generated in the process of manufacture, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal. In addition, according to Hubbard, any non-domestic facilities that produce hazardous waste, including jet water pipes retailers, are regulated by RCRA. At the state and local levels, environmental regulators are also trying to reduce waste of steam products. A recent Wen Zhang by the Illinois Capitol News (CNI) discussed the efforts of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to deal with the next jet water pipes crisis: toxic waste. When James Jennings, an IEPA employee, decided to study the waste reduction and compliance policies related to jet water pipes, he started the idea of policy investigation. Jennings pointed out in the report: "Although jet water pipes is advertised as a relatively harmless substitute for smoking, there are still hazardous wastes, common wastes and plastic components in it, which will have a real impact on the downstream." According to his introduction, this problem requires the industry and competent departments to reform their current waste management practices. The steam industry is eager to reduce its impact on the environment. Many companies, including the large glass pipes company that sells steam products, have incorporated environmental protection into their corporate social responsibility plans. For example, Philip Morris International (PMI), the world's largest publicly listed glass pipes company, said it would comply with all recommended government and industry standards. PMI has been listed in CDP Worldwide's Climate A List for many years, which reveals the efforts of cities and enterprises in climate justice. Altria Group, Anglo-American glass pipes, Japanese glass pipes and Imperial brands are also included in the "Climate A" list. Smaller companies are doing similar things. For example, jet water pipes distributor GreenSmartLiving is proud to defend climate justice, even though it does not have billions of dollars at the disposal of large companies. The evaporator and disposable smoke bomb products of GreenSmartLiving, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, are recyclable. The company is also committed to promoting smokeless products and has an environmentally friendly business model. Randon Jorgensen, director of digital marketing for GreenSmartLiving, said: "we think we are at a critical moment in our environment." According to its website, GreenSmartLiving's corporate responsibilities include philanthropy, such as donating money to environmental charities. Jorgenson said: "We must pay attention to future generations so that they can experience and appreciate the same things as previous generations. Our goal is to help as much as we can. GreenSmartLiving's development aims to create high-quality substitutes for adult smokers while also giving back to the earth and reducing waste. " For each online purchase, GreenSmartLiving donates a tree to the "Tree of the Future" program. Jorgensen said that to date, the company has provided 71,897 trees. GreenSmartLiving also contributed to other environmental NGOs. Jorgensen said that if their e-commerce customers send used products back to proper disposal through the company's waste reduction and recycling program, they can offer a 20% discount to their e-commerce customers. He said: "We provide recycling programs for online consumers and retail chains. In the past ten years, we have recycled more than one million ink cartridges. As a result, we have potentially helped remove more than 24 million [cigarette butts] from the environment. " Jorgenson said GreenSmartLiving challenged environmental practices of other industry leaders, including large steam and traditional glass pipes. He said GreenSmartLiving stood out from the crowd with its unique waste management method. "We have never targeted children or non-smokers; We just want to offer you another option to smoke and allow you to control your nicotine intake through choice. If you like, you can choose to reduce the nicotine content, "Jorgensen said. In addition to the traditional steam industry, there are also some companies that want to help curb the waste of water pipes online. For example, TerraCycle, a waste and recycling management company in trenton, n.j., has developed and sold an environmentally friendly jet water pipes waste treatment box-zero waste box. "We have seen a significant increase in the sales of jet water pipes Zero bins," said Alex Payne, TerraCycle publicist. "Considering the popularity of evaporators in recent years, more and more consumers are beginning to pay attention to the waste generated by these devices, especially the all-in-one devices containing batteries and electronic liquid, which will be discarded after treatment." Payne said TerraCycle provides a convenient recycling program for nicotine evaporators and components. He said that if the atomization trend continues, manufacturers and retailers should implement their own recycling solutions to meet the environmental challenges posed by steam product waste.

The structure and shape of strings make them difficult and costly to recycle. But that hasn’t stopped some manufacturers from tackling the challenge, and even extracting metal from old strings to use in new ones, writes Tom Stewart According to the World Bank, more than two billion tons of domestic waste are generated across the planet each year, twelve per cent of it plastic and another four per cent metal. To say that strings for musical instruments make up a tiny proportion of this would be a huge understatement, but when you consider that manufacturers’ annual combined production runs to tens of millions of the things, it isn’t surprising that some companies have been keen to explore how they can prevent their products from ending up in landfill or an incinerator. I asked a range of string manufacturers what they made of emerging recycling technologies, and what they were doing to help the industry conserve the materials it uses.

Millions of disposable face masks have been used since the coronavirus pandemic began—and it feels like half of them somehow ended up on the sidewalk outside my apartment. My block isn't the only one strewn with COVID trash: Photos circulating the internet show mask and glove litter in the U.S. and around the world, on land and at sea.   In addition to being a potential carrier of the virus, these castaways could pose a threat to wildlife and natural ecosystems. "Like other plastic pollution, littering these items creates environmental and health hazards," Beth Porter, a waste expert and author of Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System, tells mbg. So, we know that used PPE doesn't belong on the ground—but where does it belong? Here are a few ways to dispose of it safely and sustainably.  

How to get rid of used PPE.

  The World Health Organization recommends throwing single-use masks and gloves into the garbage bin immediately after use. But know if you throw it on top of a sidewalk trash can with no lid, it could blow away onto the street a minute later. "It is important that the container is properly closed after the mask is deposited to avoid masks being blown by the wind and littering street corners or wildlife habitats," explains Sue Kauffman, North American PR manager for TerraCycle, a waste management and recycling company. If you can, wait until you get to a trash can that is empty or has a lid before disposing of your PPE, or just keep it on until you're inside. And this may seem obvious, but considering the recent water system clogs in Philadelphia and El Paso, it bears repeating: Don't try to flush used PPE down the toilet. Just don't.   Well-meaning folks might wonder if it's OK to put masks and gloves in the blue bin since it looks like it could be made of a recyclable material. The answer to that one is no since it could pose a health risk to recycling workers (hundreds of whom have already gotten sick since the pandemic began). "There is the fear that PPE exposed to COVID-19 could infect the front-line waste management workers who may not be properly outfitted or take the necessary precautions to handle potentially hazardous waste," explains Porter. Even in non-pandemic times, surgical masks and latex gloves likely wouldn't be accepted by your local recycling system because they can clog the machinery that sorts materials, similar to how plastic bags do.  

One way to get your PPE recycled.

  If you feel a tinge of eco-guilt about the masks or gloves you're throwing in the trash, consider buying or making reusable cloth options instead. Just be sure to wash them regularly after use.   And if you do have to use the disposable stuff, Kauffman's company TerraCycle offers a PPE zero-waste box that essentially works like a recycling bin for used safety equipment and protective gear. It comes with a prepaid return label so after you fill the box with disposable gloves, dust masks, garments, hairnets, beardnets, earplugs, and safety glasses, you can send it back to their HQ for processing. From there, "the collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into fibers and plastics," explains Kauffman. "The fibers, such as paper or wood-based products, are recycled or composted. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products." It's a complicated and expensive process, so these boxes cost a pretty penny (a small one comes in at $148). To offset the cost, consider reaching out to your local grocery stores or retailers to see if they'd consider stocking one in their space for the whole community to access.   Unfortunately, littered PPE isn't the only unsustainable byproduct of COVID-19. As stores, bars, and restaurants continue to open back up for takeaway service, we're probably only going to start seeing more plastic packaging sitting around—lots of which is destined for landfill. "An estimated 108 local governments have temporarily suspended curbside recycling in some form, although at least 41 of these have since reopened," says Porter. As we start to reemerge from social isolation, let's make it gentler on the earth by following local recycling rules, cleaning up after outdoor gatherings, and keeping things low-waste whenever possible.

O Dia Mundial do Meio Ambiente, comemorado em 5 de junho, representa a luta pela defesa do meio ambiente e o incentivo à reflexão sobre a importância da conservação dos recursos do planeta. Como a sustentabilidade é um de seus pilares estratégicos, a 3M – empresa associada da Aberje, dentre as ações que tem feito para conscientizar a população sobre a importância da preservação ambiental, neste mês de junho celebra seis anos de parceria com a líder global em soluções ambientais Terracycle.

如果不想那么麻烦的，还可以找专门做回收护肤品和化妆品空瓶的机构，比如泰瑞环保 TerraCycle。 泰瑞环保 TerraCycle 是一家提供废品回收解决方案的创新型公司，在全球的废品处理领域都处于领先地位。它特别能处理各种疑难杂症，包括难回收的护肤品、化妆品空瓶，隐形眼镜、工业废品、烟头烟蒂等等。 还因服务社会的创业实践和创新可持续发展商业模式荣获 200 多项荣誉，还包括联合国（United Nations Office for Partnerships）和社会变革基金会（ Foundation for Social Change) 颁发的 2012 Leader of Change 奖。

Minimizing the impact of plastics on our environment, while maximizing plastic recycling.

By 

• Jennifer Perr, Sustainability Director at Hi-Cone

According to the findings from a recent report on The State of Plastic Recycling, nine out of ten (91%) of adults surveyed worldwide believe recycling plastic is beneficial to the environment, while 75% regularly recycle at home. This is incredibly encouraging – a strong foundation to build on – and a clear demonstration that society is moving away from a single-use outlook in which products are created, used and disposed of, in favor of sustainability.   An appetite for recycling   This appetite for recycling creates the right conditions for industry to work with communities and consumers to meet the goal of minimizing the impact of plastics on our environment, while maximizing plastic recycling.   While there is work still to be done, over a third (34%) of participants in the survey thought that they recycle all the plastic waste they possibly could. That, of course, still leaves considerable room for improvement but a clue as to why this figure isn’t higher is found from 80% of those who don’t recycle all plastic, who said they would do so more frequently if they had more facilities and/or guidance.   Clear and simple guidance is essential for consumers to be able to have confidence in recycling processes and to recycle to the extent they want to. Through education, consumers can more fully understand which plastics can be recycled and where, something which will not only help increase recycling rates but also ensure the right type of waste enters recycling processes to reduce inefficiency and maximize output.   Education around the suitability of different materials for recycling will also equip consumers to make informed decisions on the products they buy, consume and dispose of.   Sustainable product lifecycles   Manufacturers in turn must continue to ensure they prioritize sustainability and environmental measures. They can seek to do this in a number of ways, including through an increase in the percentage of recycled materials in their products and by introducing programs for materials excluded from community recycling initiatives.   Manufacturers should also commit to regularly assessing the lifecycle of their materials – from ‘cradle-to-grave’. There is an environmental consideration for all materials, not just in how they are disposed of but also in how they are manufactured, with carbon emissions and energy consumption all contributing to total impact. Lifecycle assessments should therefore inform decisions around not only the sustainability of materials used in the manufacturing process, but also the use of resources (water, fuels etc.) and production of emissions.   Continuing efforts by governments and local authorities can improve recycling infrastructure to support community recycling. This is aided by initiatives from waste management companies like TerraCycle® to collect waste not currently recycled and turn it into a valuable resource.   As part of a collective effort to end plastic waste and promote sustainability in manufacturing, production and consumption, recycling initiatives have a good foundation to build on. To accelerate towards the next stage of progress, education and infrastructure must support good intentions around recycling and in this, consumers, policy makers and manufacturers all have a role to play.    

As a lifelong tennis player, Venus Williams always used sunscreen but struggled to find an eco-friendly option that blended seamlessly into her dark skin. So, she created her own formula.   EleVen by Venus in partnership with Credo recently dropped two new mineral sunscreens—the On-The-Defense Sunscreen SPF 30, a more traditional cream that has zero white cast and a semi-matte finish (ideal for oily skin), and the Unrivaled Sun Serum SPF 35, a lighter formula complemented by hydrating ingredients.   The active ingredient in both is zinc oxide, which is safer for the ocean’s coral reefs compared to chemical formulas, according to the National Park Service. The Park Service reports that chemical sunscreens can actually awaken coral viruses, causing the reefs to become sick, expel their algae, and die. “As an athlete and professional tennis player spending most of my life outdoors, I was compelled to create a sun care collection I could use daily,” Williams shared in a statement, per InStyle. “Safe for our planet and good for people of all skin shades and types, I hope to inspire others to get out, be active, and stay healthy.”   Just like the environmentally-friendly ingredients, Venus chose recyclable and sustainable packaging. The Unrivaled Sun Serum bottle is made of recyclable glass, and the On-The-Defense sunscreen tube is made of 40% post-consumer recycled materials and can be recycled again through Credo’s TerraCycle program. Both products are vegan and cruelty-free.   The product line hasn’t been available for long, but it has already garnered some positive feedback. “I was hooked after my first day wearing it,” one reviewer said of the sun serum on Credo’s website. “Goes on so light doesn’t leave and residue on my skin at all.” Another reviewer raved about the sunscreen: “This has a beautiful matte finish, and very moisturizing to my dry skin. I also love how this is fragrance free, as I have allergic dermatitis.” We're sold!

When Tom Szaky dropped out of Princeton in 2002 to start a company, TerraCycle, that made fertilizer out of worm poop, a lot of people were skeptical. Why not start a web company like that other guy, Mark Zuckerberg? “They expected a male college student to start a dot-com,” Szaky says. “Garbage and waste management wasn’t nearly as sexy.” But in garbage—or at least the management part of it—Szaky saw a path for change. Over the next 18 years, his company TerraCycle moved well beyond worm poop, taking on some of the toughest recycling challenges—cigarette butts, dirty diapers, used coffee capsules—that no other operation would go near. Szaky is even tackling the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean, 8 million metric tons of which accumulates annually. He’s turned a profit by transforming that trash into shampoo bottles, among other things. To date, TerraCycle has recycled 310 million pounds of plastic from the ocean. Something was still nagging Szaky, though. “Recycling is really important, but it’s not the answer to garbage,” he says. “It’s an answer to the symptom”—the equivalent of, say, taking a Tylenol when you have a headache. Szaky wanted to eliminate the headache in the first place. So last year he launched Loop, a “circular shopping platform” that offers top consumer brands in reusable metal and glass packages. Customers buy a pint of Häagen-Dazs or a bottle of Tropicana OJ and instead of throwing away or even recycling the package when they’re done, they return it to Loop, which cleans, sterilizes and refills it to be resold—resulting in a much smaller environmental footprint. Brands have signed on in droves—55 at latest count—as have some of the country’s largest retailers, including Kroger supermarkets. “People want to change, but there aren’t solutions out there for them—not everyone can be a Brooklyn zero waster,” said Szaky. “The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that you have to meet people where they are.”