It’s no secret….my toddler is the pickiest eater. Like, legit – she hardly eats anything. She’s not quite 2 yet (she’ll be 2 in December) but baby girl is so set in her ways already and definitely hitting those terrible twos ahead of time #sendhelp.   Because she’s so picky, on a daily basis I try to find a healthy balance between giving her foods that she actually enjoys while still making sure that they’re nutritious and as organic as possible.   When it comes to snacks, it’s no different. As a stay at home mom, I feel like my little one is asking for snacks ALL DAY LONG (anyone else in the same boat?), so I love having healthy toddler snacks available for her at all times.   That’s why I’m loving these NEW Nature’s Heart products we recently tried from our local Publix!   PSA!!! —-> Publix is offering a deal! SAVE $.75 off ANY TWO (2) Nature’s Heart® Organic Baby Food Items! For this offer you will need to download the coupon from 10/7-12/31! This coupon expires 1/30/20. Download that coupon and get to saving, yay!!       Not only are they super convenient, but Nature’s Heart is made with organic ingredients, and while they’re packed with nutrition, they’re still really tasty. How do I know? Because my picky toddler begs me for them lol.   Mom hack- keep these Nature’s Heart pouches in your diaper bag at all times. They’re perfect for on the go snack time.       Anyway, I love being able to give Riley food that she enjoys while still knowing that it’s good for her. All ingredients in these Nature’s Heart products are USDA Organic certified and there are no added sugars or artificial flavors.   Now don’t get me wrong, Riley still eats her fair share of processed foods (girl loves herself some cheese doodles), but when I can find healthy foods and snacks that she actually likes, I try to make sure they’re as clean as possible.       Something else that’s great about these pouches? Riley can sip on them WHILE she plays! Ain’t nobody got time for a sit down kind of snack time lol. I’ll usually give her the jars during breakfast, but for snack time, it’s usually the pouches.   She’s always on the go, always playing with her toys, so I love that I can open up one of these pouches and she can keep doing her thing while getting the nutrition that she needs.   Oh and fun fact – beginning November, these pouches will be 100% recyclable through TerraCycle. Love that!   As far as easy toddler snacks go, here are a few other things Riley enjoys when I have a little more time to prepare them for her:   TODDLER SNACK IDEAS  

• Bananas
• Berries (all kinds)
• Watermelon
• Raisins
• Crackers and almond butter
• Crackers and peanut butter
• Honey oat cereal
• Apple slices
• Veggie sticks
• Apple sauce
• Snap pea crisps
• Sweet peas (depending on her mood)
• Smoothies (she likes them nice and tangy)

  So whether your little one is a calm unicorn of a toddler or a crazy little human like mine who won’t stop and sit down for snack time, I highly highly recommend these Nature’s Heart products.           What do you think? Think your little ones will like these? I’m pretty sure if Riley eats them, yours will too! Any other easy toddler snack ideas you wanna share? Let me know down below because this mama can use all the help she can get!

Cigarettes are the world’s most littered item and pollute the oceans with toxic microplastic. Philip Morris, the world’s biggest multinational tobacco firm, tells Eco-Business that it supports policies to curb butt pollution, but warns that biodegradable filters might encourage littering.

An advertisement for green group Sea Shepherd highlights the ecosystem damage of cigarette butt pollution to mark World Oceans Day. A single cigarette can pollute 500 litres of water, the ad warns. Image: Sea Shepherd Though few people would ever say this publicly, it could be argued that, by killing 7 million people a year, tobacco companies are doing the world a favour by keeping human population growth in check. But tobacco does more harm—or good, if you’re a hardened misanthrope with a disregard for human suffering—than merely killing people. Smoking pollutes the air with all manner of toxins, farmers fells millions of trees to grow tobacco, dropped cigarettes start forest fires, and tobacco companies emit millions of tonnes of carbon in the curing process, guzzle millions of gallons of fresh water to process their products, and use child labour.   As if that wasn’t a big enough environmental and societal footprint, tobacco companies are now adding to the world’s electronic waste crisis by pivoting towards “heat-not-burn” products like e-cigarettes that are supposedly less likely to kill their users than lighting up a Marlboro. Taxes on cigarettes have been designed for governments to make revenue and to discourage people from smoking, not for tobacco companies to reduce their environmental impact.   Doug Woodring, founder and managing director, Ocean Recovery Alliance   But an often overlooked impact of the tobacco industry is that, of the 5.6 trillion cigarettes manufactured and smoked by 1.1 billion people annually, two-thirds of their butts are dropped irresponsibly, ultimately ending up in the sea. Cigarette butts, which are made of non-biodegradable plastic fibres, are the most common form of marine litter, and have been reigning ocean pollution champions for more than three decades, according to beach clean up data from Ocean Conservancy, a non-governmental organisation. They are, by far, the most littered item on the planet. Yet it is the makers of plastic bags, drink bottles and drinking straws that shoulder most of the blame for the plight of the oceans. And while a cigarette butt is less likely to choke a turtle or starve a whale than a plastic bag, there have been calls from activists in the United States to ban cigarette filters because of the environmental damage they cause. Researchers have found remnants of cigarette butts, which contain synthetic fibres and a smorgasboard of toxic chemicals used to treat cigarettes, in the guts of 70 per cent of seabirds and 30 per cent of sea turtles. Cigarette butts take anywhere between 18 months to 10 years to break down in the environment, depending on the conditions, and 12 billion butts are discarded around the world every day. Laurence Ruffieux, director of operations, sustainability for New York-headquarted Philip Morris International, said to tackle the problem requires the three e’s—empowerment, by providing smokers with places to responsibly dispose of cigarette butts; education, making people aware of the damaging consequences of butt-flicking; and enforcement, fines and other ways of punishing litterers. She added that the role of tobacco companies in contributing to the final ‘e’ was obviously limited. Ruffieux said that Philip Morris, the world’s largest multinational tobacco firm that makes about US$30 billion a year from selling cigarette brands such as Marlboro and Chesterfield, has been stepping up its efforts to combat littering by getting involved in clean-up operations such as World Cleanup Day, and awareness-raising campaigns. “We need to tell people [smokers] that it’s not okay to litter. We also need to raise awareness that [butts] contain plastic. Filters are made from bioplastic [known as cellulose acetate], but still, they can take years to degrade,” she told Eco-Business.

Even if we create a biodegradable filter, it sends the message that it’s okay to litter. Laurence Ruffieux, director of operations, sustainability, Philip Morris International

So why don’t tobacco companies, armed with vast resources to pool into research and development, make biodegradable filters? Ruffieux said a biodegrable cigarette has yet to be invented, that can be handled and extinguished easily and has “the right taste”. “If it [a biodegradable filter] altered the taste of your favourite cigarette, you might stop buying it,” she said. And even if the industry developed a biodegradable filter, it would send the message to smokers that it’s okay to litter, she added.

Butt tax?

Doug Woodring, founder and managing director of Hong Kong-based marine plastic solutions group Ocean Recovery Alliance, said that what tobacco companies are doing now to combat cigarette butt pollution is not nearly enough. Woodring argued that it’s much easier for people to casually flick a cigarette butt than drop a plastic bottle or drinking straw. “Education [to stop butt-flicking]? Good luck with that,” he said. To tackle the problem effectively, serious legislation is required, said Woodring. He proposes a butt tax—not to be confused with anti-obesity legislation—where an additional tax is placed on cigarettes that goes towards a fund for cleanup efforts, or a system where smokers are given rebates for disposing of smoked cigarettes at public collection points. “Without an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law [that makes tobacco companies responsible for post-consumer tobacco waste], or some kind of tax on cigarette butts, not much is going to happen [to reduce butt littering],” he said. Ruffieux said that Philip Morris supports policy measures to reduce cigarette littering, including EPR laws for tobacco companies, as cigarette butts could be considered single-use plastic. But she added that such laws “need to make economic and environmental sense”. “We are often asked why were are not recycling cigarette butts. This is because they are contaminated with toxicants, and washing butts to make them clean enough for recycling does not yet make sense from an economic or environmental perspective.” Woodring pointed out that recycled butts can be used to make new products. New Jersey-based firm Terracycle has used cigarette butts to make park benches and shipping pallets. Though the recycling process is expensive, Terracycle receives funding from tobacco companies to make the system work. Though EPR laws for tobacco companies do not yet exist, as they do for other companies that make plastic and electronic products, soon they will, Woodring said. “Everywhere, when you increase the tax on cigarettes, you see a decrease in smoking. If you introduce a system that holds tobacco companies to account for their environmental damage, you’ll see a decrease in their environmental impact,” Woodring said.” The world is moving towards EPR systems for all issues, and tobacco companies that make major changes to reduce their environmental impact now could buy themselves time before regulators legislate, Woodring added. One country that has leant on tobacco firms to help combat cigarette butt pollution is France. If firms did not take voluntary action to address the problem they would face legislation, France’s environment ministry warned. British American Tobacco responding by saying it would work with the government to educate smokers and distribute pocket ashtrays, but rejected the idea of a butt tax. Imperial Brands said it encouraged smokers to dispose of butts responsibly, and had no plans to re-engineer its filters to make them less polluting. In June, the European Union issued a directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, a law that will apply an EPR to the tobacco industry. Companies will have until 2024 to comply. Ruffieux said that Philip Morris is “not waiting for regulations” and is already taking action to tackle cigarette filter pollution, and is also well aware of the impact of the heat-not-burn electronic products the company says it wants to replace cigarettes to bring about its mission for “a smoke-free future”. “We have set up recycling and takeback centres that cover the majority of our [heat-not-burn] devices. This is something we’re doing regardless of the regulations,” she said, adding that the industry needs to work with governments and non-governmental organisations for any measures to be effective. Electronic devices such as e-cigarettes are much less likely to be littered than regular cigarettes, Ruffieux added. Last week, Philip Morris announced a plan to make all of its factories carbon-neutral by 2030.   Though reducing the harm its products do to its customers by encouraging a switch to heat-not-burn products is the company’s main sustainability priority, according to Ruffieux, the firm’s 136-page 2018 sustainability report highlights emissions reduction, biodiversity, deforestation, water, fair working conditions and child labour as other strategic priorities.

It’s appalling how much we waste in this country.   Americans throw away 262 tons of trash each year, and over half of all this goes to a landfill.   Some of the trash that doesn’t end up in a landfill finds its way into our beautiful blue oceans, playing a part in killing off aquatic species in record numbers.   Some people want to combat ecological devastation by attempting to get their waste output as close to zero as possible.   Some even set a lofty goal of fitting all the waste they produce in one year in a single mason jar.   Do you think you could do that?   If you fully commit to the principles in this article, you’ll be able to.   This will save you TONS of money.  

The Beginning of a Worldwide Movement

  The mother of the zero-waste movement is Bea Johnson, who started the Zero Waste Home blog in 2008.   It chronicles her family’s efforts over the years to reduce their waste stream so that today, it’s a mere trickle.   Johnson estimates she reduced her household costs by 40% by embracing a zero-waste lifestyle.   Before she captured the collective imagination of millions, only geeky policy wonks inside the government were using the term “zero waste.”   But thanks to her efforts over the years, everyone now knows what it means.   She went on to pen a best-selling book on the subject and is an in-demand speaker who’s inspired millions to take the plunge to zero-waste living.   But she can’t take all the credit for people around the globe rising up against the constant tide of waste that threatens to engulf us all.   Cataclysmic events like the 2008 financial crisis helped people to see that corporate greed is a rapacious evil that pushes people into lives of out-of-control consumption.   And, natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy have caused people to realize that we’re doomed if we don’t start taking drastic action to combat climate change.  

The Five “Rs”

  To become a devotee of the zero-waste philosophy, engrave its five simple commandments on every neuron in your brain: REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, and ROT.  

1. Refuse

  Refuse anything you’re offered that you don’t really need.   This way, you won’t contribute to the growing mountain of waste we humans are generating at a prodigious rate.   This includes things like refusing free pens at a bank, plastic straws at a takeout joint, or a bobblehead given out at a minor league park.   It might be incredibly difficult to pass up the seductive allure of all that free stuff, but in the end, you’ll pay for it.   That’s because free isn’t really free.   That shoddily made key chain a bank gave you to tempt you to open up an account with them was manufactured in a pollution-spewing factory.   Plus, the cost of promotional materials is passed along to all their customers.   That includes YOU if you fall for their gimmick and become one of their customers.   By refusing to accept these doodads, you’re striking a subversive blow for frugal warriors everywhere who also happen to deeply care about our planet.   With this one action, you’re telling companies you won’t sell your soul for a bunch of cheap crap.   Tell them to take the money they would have spent and donate it to environmental causes.  

2. Reduce

  There are several excellent ways to put this rule into effect.   First, reduce the number of things you buy to the bare minimum.   To help you accomplish, ruthlessly ask yourself this question every time you’re about to buy something: “DO I REALLY NEED THIS?”   You’ll be flabbergasted by the amount of money you can save if you get into this simple habit.   Second, take care of the things you already own so they last longer.   This way, you reduce the frequency with which you have to purchase replacement items.  

3. Reuse

  If you can’t refuse or reduce it, reuse it.   This is the time to summon forth insane amounts of creativity from deep within you and find ways to reuse everything.   Start out simple—like repairing a hole in your jeans.   If you don’t know how to do it, it’s easy to learn how.   Just go on YouTube and search for one of the many tutorials they have here.   This simple fix will add years to the life of your garment.   If your garment wears out to the point where it’s no longer worth fixing, cut it up into squares and use it to wipe up spills instead of using paper towels.   This one little hack will save you $182 a year and help save entire forests from the hungry blade.   That’s because half a million acres of trees are senselessly sacrificed each year to satisfy our insane desire for disposal products.   Besides, the plastic packaging the paper towels come in has to be tossed out, which is needless waste.   When the rags wear down to the point you can’t clean with them, compost them.   By doing this, they’ll be transformed into fertile soil for next year’s garden.   You can also use squares from old clothing to blow your nose instead of buying facial tissues.   The key to mastering this principle is every time you’re about to thoughtlessly toss something into the trash, come up with 101 ways to reuse it instead.  

4. Recycle

  There comes a point in the lifecycle of every object where it reaches the end of its useful life.   By this time, you won’t be able to use the previous four “Rs” to redeem it.   Because it’s time for the next stage in its cradle-to-cradle journey: the recycling bin.   If the object in question isn’t the kind that people typically recycle, check out the TerraCycle website.   Here, you’ll find a way to recycle virtually everything.   According to their website, TerraCycle “is a social enterprise on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste.”   Imagine that—a world where waste as a concept ceases to exist!   This is the kind of world I definitely want to live in.   They offer a range of national, easy-to-use platforms that makes recycling even items thought to be nonrecyclable a breeze.   They also have Loop, a sustainable shopping experience moving the world away from single-use packaging.   To locate the nearest recycling center to you, check out the Earth911 database.   And if it’s an old appliance you want to recycle, bring it to Habitat for Humanity’s Restore.  

Why Recycling Isn’t the Answer for Everything

  Some people question why recycling isn’t higher up on the “Four R” hierarchy.   After all, recycling is supposed to be a good thing.   Just make sure the right recyclable goes into the right bin, and we can make sure old waste gets turned into new products, right?   Unfortunately, it’s not that easy because almost 25% of the items a person puts out to be recycled still find their way into landfills.   Consumers often aren’t clear what can be recycled and what cannot.   They frequently throw things into a bin believing it should be repurposed, without really knowing whether it can be.   This is known as aspirational recycling, and it’s a HUGE problem.   Many items can contaminate an entire batch of recyclables, causing the whole load to be disposed of.   One way to contaminate a load is by throwing food receptacles into a bin without washing them out first.   Filthy food containers cannot be recycled, so they’ll either contaminate the entire load, or they’ll be snatched out of the waste stream.   Then, they’ll end up in a landfill, sad and forlorn that they couldn’t reach the end of their recycling journey.   Another reason recycling isn’t a cure-all for our trash woes is we used to send our trash to China.   However, in January 2018, China banned the import of many types of plastic and paper.   So, recyclers and waste management companies ended up with tons of recyclable material on their hands with no place to send it.   With China no longer in the picture, it’s often more cost-effective to send this trash to a landfill than to recycle it.  

5. Rot

  To put the fifth commandment into action, you’ll have to learn how to become a master at composting.   Composting is when you put dead plant material into a pile.   And then, through the fantastic aerobic action of fungi, bacteria, and other cool organisms, the material is magically transformed into fertile loam.   Composting creates high-quality dirt that’s way better than anything you can buy at a garden supply store.   Composting plays an integral part in the zero-waste picture because things don’t really decompose in landfills.   This is because they have nonporous linings that prevent material from leaching into the groundwater.   This keeps everything far from soil and air, which can’t team up with microorganisms to carry out the natural alchemy of transforming disgusting waste into fertile soil.   If you want to recycle your food scraps, try kitchen vermicomposting.   Or, find a local nursery that’ll accept your food scraps.   You could also offer them to a community garden.  

Follow the Order

  These commandments must be applied in a linear order.   First, adamantly REFUSE to buy something, no matter how other people might tempt you to do so.   If this is an abject impossibility, then REDUCE what you’re about to purchase.   If there’s no way for you to buy less of something, make sure you REUSE it when you’re done using it.   If you’ve racked your brain and can’t figure out how to reuse it, then RECYCLE it.   If there’s no way to do that, let it ROT.   See how that works?  

What Products to Buy

  One of the very best ways to live a zero-waste lifestyle is to buy in bulk.   Bring your own cotton drawstring bags, so you don’t have to use theirs.   You save money, and you only buy what you need.   Oils, vinegar, and pet food are just a few of the products that can be bought in bulk.   And when you’re buying items you can’t buy in bulk, look for options that have as little packaging as possible.   With less packaging, you’re bound to save money, because packaging typically cost between one and 10 percent of the total product cost.   For example, if you’re buying soap, buy locally made products with compostable labels or no packaging at all.  

Buy Local Produce

  Big-box grocery stores ship in their veggies from all over the world, resulting in a HUGE carbon footprint.   Lots of produce you buy at chain grocery stores travel 1500 or more miles to get to your plate.   But when you buy locally, your food doesn’t have to travel that far, and you drastically reduce your food miles.   This is the distance your food travels from where it’s grown to where it’s ultimately purchased.   Buy locally, and your food doesn’t have to take a circuitous trip over the ocean or mountains just to get to your plate.   This reduces the carbon footprint of what you eat, and therefore, its negative environmental impact because it cuts down on fuel consumption and with it, air pollution.   Another reason to buy locally is that large retailers have a significant waste problem that farm-to-table producers don’t have.   When you buy from chain supermarkets, you end up paying for all this waste in higher food prices.   Many local producers pride themselves on having produce that is pesticide and hormone-free as well as organic.   So, not only will it be infinitely more delicious than what you can find at big retailers, it’ll be healthier for you as well.   The benefits don’t stop there, because not using pesticides improves air quality and crop quality.   And by supporting local farmers, you help keep them in business.   Plus, big developers won’t get their grubby hands on the land, turning it into condos and such.

Once Upon a Farm Packaging Nationally Recyclable Through TerraCycle^®   TRENTON, N.J., October 22, 2019 – Once Upon a Farm, the beloved kid nutrition brand that makes organic, cold-pressed baby food, smoothies and applesauce, has expanded their partnership with international recycling company TerraCycle® to offer consumers a free, easy way to recycle packaging from their entire product line.   “Sustainability is an ongoing journey for Once Upon a Farm and we are always striving to do better and leave a better planet for the next generation,” said Ari Raz, President and Co-Founder of Once Upon a Farm. “While our ultimate goal is a recyclable pouch, our partnership with TerraCycle gives consumers an easy, free option to recycle our packaging.”   Participation in the Once Upon a Farm Recycling Program is easy. Simply sign up on the TerraCycle program page https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/onceuponafarm and mail in the packaging using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. Additionally, for every pound of waste shipped to TerraCycle, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.   “Thanks to companies like Once Upon a Farm, families can offer their children the high-quality, real food nutrition they need, while being rewarded for doing the right thing,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “Through the expansion of their recycling program, consumers have an opportunity to divert even more packaging from landfills and while making a positive impact on the environment for future generations.”   The Once Upon a Farm Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling program, visit www.terracycle.com.   ABOUT ONCE UPON A FARM   Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Once Upon a Farm was founded with the dream of providing yummy and nutritious “farm-to-family” food to children of all ages. The company currently offers lines of baby food, applesauce and smoothies that are cold-pressed (HPP) to better lock in nutrients, taste and color compared to shelf-stable alternatives. Once Upon a Farm is B-Corp certified and committed to nurturing our children, each other, and the earth in order to pass on a healthier and happier world to the next generation. For more information, please visit www.onceuponafarmorganics.com.   ABOUT TERRACYCLE` TerraCycle is an innovative waste management company with a mission to eliminate the idea of waste®.   Operating nationally across 21 countries, TerraCycle partners with leading consumer product companies, retailers, cities, and facilities to recycle products and packages, from dirty diapers to cigarette butts, that would otherwise end up being landfilled or incinerated. In addition, TerraCycle works with leading consumer product companies to integrate hard to recycle waste streams, such as ocean plastic, into their products and packaging. TerraCycle has won over 200 awards for sustainability and has donated over $44 million to schools and charities since its founding 15 years ago. To learn more about TerraCycle or get involved in its recycling programs, please visit www.terracycle.com.

We take environmental initiatives seriously and we know that many of you do too, so we’ve rounded up all sustainable brands and green initiatives that are available here at Yorkdale below – take a look!   Reformation Uses eco-friendly materials and reuses offcuts created during the manufacturing process. They also provide a RefScale for each of their garments –  breaking down the item’s impact on the environment for you. They use recycled paper hangers and minimise the use of packaging with 100% consumer waste materials.   Apple Trade in your eligible device for an Apple Store Gift Card. If it’s not eligible for credit, they’ll recycle it for free. No matter the model or condition, they can turn it into something good for you and good for the planet.   EB Games Pick up a recycled game or trade in your used games, accessories, and consoles for an in-store credit or prepaid Visa or Mastercard.   H&M When you drop off your unwanted textiles (clothing, linens, towels, etc) in a H&M store, you’ll get rewarded with a voucher for your next purchase. Just ask for the garment collecting box, usually located by the cash.   The Levi’s Store Bring in your old denim and receive a 20% coupon towards one item that same day.   Starbucks Help Starbucks reduce the number of cups by bringing in your own tumbler and receive 10 cents off.   Tim Hortons Get a 10 cent discount when you bring in a TimMug or any travel mug.   Nespresso Nespresso capsules are made of aluminum, an infinitely recyclable material. Collect your capsules in their reusable bag, seal it and drop it off in store.   Lush Bring back 5 empty, clean black LUSH pots to the store for recycling and receive a Fresh Face Mask, free!   Kiehls Recycle and be Rewarded Program. Bring back 5 of  your empty bottles and get $16 off your next purchase.   Aveda 100% recycled packaging on all of their products.   L’Occitane L’Occitane has partnered with TerraCycle to make it easy for you to recycle your used beauty and skin care packaging. Bring back your empty products for 10% off your same-day purchase.   LEGO The Sustainable Lego blocks is a collection of botanical elements such as trees, leaves, and bushes made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane. By 2030, Lego intends to manufacture most of its products and packaging using environmentally friendly materials or recycled sources.   Bose Will mail any old Bose products to their head office for disposal.   David’s Tea Bring your own mug and get 10% off your drink, 50 cents if you bring your own tin.   Innisfree The brand has initiated a number of campaigns like the Play Green Campaign, Recycling Used Bottles Campaign, and Eco Handkerchief Campaign.   Dynamite For every shopping bag sold, a donation will be made towards One Tree Planted.

A spooky Halloween doesn’t have to be a horror show for the planet. Join the Earth911 team as we talk through how to reduce the waste and garbage produced by the scariest holiday of the year.   First off, a green Halloween can be a budget Halloween with these ideas about making, renting, and recycling costumes for kids and adults. You cosplay enthusiasts out there can bring the environmental ideal to your fun, too. Making your own Halloween decorations is another way to take the old and make it new this year. We share ideas about how to reuse household items as All Hallow’s Eve decorations.   Torn over the prospect of handing out processed sugar packaged in single-use bags and boxes? We have some suggestions for greener alternatives to candy and their wrappers.   We also answer your Earthling Questions. This week, we address how to recycle the #7 plastic bags for bird seed, the best way to replace a private-labeled battery — many companies, such as ADT, provide their own batteries with their products — and the challenge of recycling pens and markers. TerraCycle has a convenient, but somewhat expensive, office zero waste box that can help with marker and pen recycling.

Descartar incorretamente potencializa a poluição ambiental.

TerraCycle, a company eliminating the idea of waste by recycling the "non-recyclable," has teamed up with Schneiders' Lunch Mate and Maple Leaf Simply Lunch to bring schools the opportunity to win a share of $3,700 in TerraCycle points.   The top 10 schools that earn the most Lunch Mate points between Sept. 1 and Nov. 31 will be awarded a share of 370,000 TerraCycle bonus points (equivalent to $3,700).   Students, staff and the surrounding community are encouraged to vote for a school of their choice once a day during the contest period.   The Eco Squad and Green Team at Baxter Central Public School have joined the Collection Craze contest. Any proceeds won from the contest will go toward the creation of a butterfly garden connected to the school's “no-mow zone” to enhance student learning.   The first time you vote online, you will need to complete a one-time verification of your email. After this, you can vote daily without needing to verify it. The school is listed under Baxter Central Public School. In order to vote, please visit terracycle.com/en-CA/contests/2019-schneiders-lunch-mate-and-simply-lunch-collection-craze.  

One year after the legalization of cannabis, Alberta retailers and producers are gearing up for the introduction of edibles to the market but aren’t sure what to expect.   “The regulations aren’t very understood for us right now,” said Jayne Kent, who co-owns a Spiritleaf cannabis store in St. Albert.   “We welcome the opportunity to get that literature to see what the products are and understand how they’re going to work for consumers.”   Health Canada has released its rules surrounding potency, packaging and marketing of edibles, but retailers haven’t seen the final products.   “It’s a bit of a grey area,” said Michael LeBlanc, manager of a Canna Cabana store on Parsons Road in Edmonton.   “The agency has regulations around flavouring and enticing children, so I’m still curious about how they’re going to roll out products like gummy bears or flavoured cookies.”   While edibles will technically become legal on Oct. 17, they won’t be available for purchase until mid-December, since licensed producers have to submit their products to Health Canada for a 60-day review.   Despite the uncertainty, Aurora, an Edmonton based cannabis producer, has been investing in edibles for the last year.   “We are extremely well-prepared for legalization 2.0,” said Aurora chief corporate officer Cam Battley.   The company is rolling out a diverse line of edibles, Battley said, ranging from vaping products to cannabis-infused beverages.   “We are anticipating significant interest among adult consumers in the new product forms. It’s a novelty.”  

‘PIONEERING AN INDUSTRY’

  Edible products could translate into $2.7 billion worth of sales in the next year, according to Deloitte’s June report on the country’s cannabis industry.   LeBlanc hopes the launch of edibles will be smoother than the introduction of legal cannabis in October 2018, which led to stock shortages and delayed licences for retailers.   “It’s a bit of a wild west,” he said. “I know we’re pioneering an industry, so hopefully it gets rolled out pretty well.” Customers have a keen interest in cannabis edibles, says Jayne Kent, who co-owns a Spiritleaf store in St. Albert. (Josee St-Onge/CBC) Customers are excited, Kent said, and have been asking for more information.   “People are curious, they really want to see what’s coming.”   Regardless of the format edibles will take, providing accurate information to consumers will be crucial, she said.   “It is a different way to consume cannabis and we need to be responsible about that,” said Kent.   Users should start with a small dose, LeBlanc said, and be aware of how cannabis can interact with other intoxicants, like alcohol.   “We make sure to pass that information along to the customers and always tell them ‘start low and go slow.’ ”  

INDUSTRY TACKLES WASTE

  Health Canada’s strict rules are meant to keep cannabis out of the hands of children, but have also had unintended consequences.   The fledgling industry is grappling with the waste it generates through packaging, which must be child-proof and tamper-evident.   It has motivated at least two companies, Canopy Growth and High Tide, to create their own recycling system, in partnership with recycling company TerraCycle.   High Tide installed receptacles in its 25 Canna Cabana stores to collect empty packages, said chief operating officer Alex Mackay. Every Canna Cabana store in Alberta participates in the recycling program offered by its parent company, High Tide. (Josee St-Onge/CBC) Customers have embraced the program, Mackay said, returning about 210,000 pieces of recycling as of September.   “With what’s going on with climate change, and awareness around the environment, people are really trying to have an impact at the grassroots level.”   Restrictions around marketing are also perceived as excessive within the industry, said Battley. Producers and retailers are not currently allowed to advertise or promote their products.   He hopes Health Canada will loosen its rules over time to reflect the public’s acceptance of legal cannabis.   “Cannabis has become mainstream, quite normal, and that’s a healthy thing,” Battley said.   “You’re going to see that trend continue and that will be reflected, I believe, in the regulations surrounding cannabis in the future.”

Awareness of good management and waste reduction in Manicouagan will be in the foreground from October 19 to 27 on the occasion of the Quebec Waste Reduction Week (SQRD), which is held on the theme "I can, You can, We must, Together Reduce".   As usual, the Manicouagan Residual Materials Management Board (RGMRM) will contribute to the theme week. This year, it will take the form of two days of activities offered to the population.   Considered as a unique model of reduction, reuse and recovery both in the immediate region and throughout Québec, through its Phase 2 re-use store, the RGMRM will open the doors of its ecocentre on October 25 to a guided tour that will start on the stroke of 10 am.   This visit will include the transfer center where the recycled materials are compacted and the workshop where a second life is given to certain objects. As places are limited, you must book.   "The goal is to raise awareness about good consumption habits and raise awareness about the cycle of the object, which too often is directed too early to burial," said the organization in a statement.   Zero waste   In addition, the Phase 2 re-use store will be distributing zero-waste samples free of charge on October 22, a way for it to promote its Zero Waste section and its suppliers, including some of the Manicouagan such as Cadelli beauty products. natural and artisanal.   Three local companies are also becoming ambassadors for the cause by launching the first TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes. Tim Hortons, Provigo and the Côté Goulet Lamarche Dental Clinic are providing the citizens with boxes to collect what can not go in the blue bin. These include coffee pouches, baby food bags and toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and dental floss containers.   Other initiatives are included in the programming of the Quebec Week for Waste Reduction. Cynthia Lebel, owner of Cadelli, a zero-waste company, will offer visitors free coffee and a demonstration of soap making with coffee residue from October 22-25 in the afternoon.   Serge-Bouchard High School, an institution recognized for its achievements in the management of residual materials, will send students to the re-employment store at 1:30 pm on October 22 to inform and educate visitors about good recycling and composting practices using a quiz. Prizes will be at stake.   Finally representatives of the project MAVIE will also be on hand at the same time to address a section of the circular economy with the manufacture of biscuits for dogs that they make from the recovery of the drought resulting from the manufacturing activities of beer from the microbrewery St-Pancrace. A box for recovering baby food bags is available at Provigo. We can see here his director, Luc Thibault, director at Provigo.