These nontoxic biodegradable pencils will sprout when you plant them. From EcoshopGirl.com.   Aug. 22, 2019   Going back to school is a perfect time to share our love of the planet with our kids. Choose earth-friendly school supplies so that the younger generation gets a lesson in green along with their math and geography. Here are some eco-friendly options we found: ECO SCHOOL KIT Start your student off right with this Eco School Kit ($32.99 at Amazon) that includes a Stone Paper Notebook made of real stone, recycled from construction site debris, three retractable pens made from recycled milk cartons, 10 pencils made from recycled newspaper, three erasers made from recycled rubber, plus a double pencil sharpener with casing made from 100 percent bamboo – all packed in a reusable burlap linen bag. The products are created by Onyx and Green, known for their eco-friendly office and school supplies. Other choices include a 12-pack of Colored Pencils made with recycled newspaper ($6.99), and 3-pack of Mechanical Pencils made from recycled water bottles ($6.08). All packages are recycled and printed with soy-based ink. Amazon offers many other eco-friendly school supplies. SPROUTABLE PENCILS These amazing pencils actually grow plants when they become too short to use. Simply insert the nubby pencil into soil and watch it sprout! Pack includes eight biodegradable and non-toxic graphite pencils tipped with seed capsules for growing herbs such as basil, flax and thyme (varieties vary). What a great way to teach your child that nothing should go to waste! $17.99 at EcoGirlShop.com. BENTO BOX MANIA The Japanese art of lunch packing is rising in popularity, partially due to handy compartmentalized kits called bento boxes. Office Depot offers several colorful and fun choices such as this delightful Llama pattern, by Bentology. Two containers inside help keep food fresh and squish-free. Front pocket holds snacks and side pouch can fit most reusable bottles. Includes matching ice pack. Lunchbox is fully insulated and washable. Bento containers are phthalate-free, BPA-free, lead-free and PVC-free. $19.99. Mate up with an Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, made by Ello, $14.99. Keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours. Both at Office Depot around town or OfficeDepot.com   FREEZABLE BENTO BAG If your kids complain that their “cold” sandwich is warm by the time that they can eat it, grab a Packit Bento Container & Bag and you’ll be the coolest parent in town! Freeze the entire bag and everything inside will stay chilled for up to 10 hours. Features a patented gel liner that stays in place over the entire surface of the bag. PVC and BPA free, it slips easily into backpacks. Other sizes and styles available. Style shown is $19.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. REUSABLE AND COMPOSTABLE BAGS Single use plastics have been the bane of this planet’s existence – but now there are choices that minimize negative impact. Check out Full Circle’s Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags in colorful patterns. $6.99-7.99/2 pack at Container Store and Target. You’ll also love Open Nature’s plant-based zippy bags. Offered in snack-sized to quart-sized, they are tough enough to be used multiple times and then composted when they wear out. From $2.99-$3.99 per 20-30 pack at Albertson’s and Tom Thumb. Bright and inexpensive are Lunchskins (pictured), similar to the wax paper bags that we had as kids – only $4.99/50 pack at Target. Simply discard them into your compost heap after use. Great for birthday party goodie bags too with their shark and apple patterns! Lunchskins also makes reusable sandwich bags in fabric similar to food storage used in bakeries and restaurants. Lots of fun patterns and colors. $6.99 at Lunchskins.com. Dolphin Blue offers Eco-Ditty Sandwich Bags in 100 percent organic cotton. Nifty designs for kids and adults, they can be washed and re-used hundreds of times! On sale for $12.37 at DolphinBlue.com.

As consumers become more conscious of their shopping habits, they’re looking not only for sustainable products but businesses dedicated to being environmentally friendly in all aspects of their operations. Shipping is an essential part of running an online business, with close to 600 million items mailed on a daily basis in the United States alone. The way these purchases are packaged and shipped has a major impact on the planet—and customers are taking note. We spoke to eight merchants about their business journeys and how they’re packaging, shipping, and fulfilling their orders with the environment in mind. Here are some of their tips for sustainable packaging and shipping:

• Offer carbon-neutral shipping by offsetting emissions
• Ship items in bulk
• Use sustainable packaging that can be repurposed
• Offer a returns program for your empty product containers 
• Recycle on behalf of your suppliers and offer shipping-friendly items
• Work with wholesalers to reduce individual shipments and limit return shipping
• Reduce the size of your packaging
• Use compostable mailers

Offer carbon-neutral shipping by offsetting emissions

Eric and Yana Dales met while doing humanitarian aid work in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Being in a garment manufacturing hub, the Dales saw the environmental and social drain from fast fashion’s use of unsustainable raw materials and labor conditions. Instead of complaining about the bigger players, they decided to create the fashion company they wanted to see in the world. The couple started TAMGA Designs to create a sustainable movement within the fashion industry and build a company that is style, people, and planet conscious. Their main objective is to not contribute to the deforestation taking place in ancient Indonesian jungles. They found a production partner that produces fabric from sustainably grown eucalyptus and beechwood trees to create pieces colored with low-impact dyes. As they’ve successfully scaled, Eric notes that their garments are sourced in Asia, travel to their facilities in Canada, then ship out to consumers in more than 25 different countries. With all the miles that their garments are traveling, the Dales set their sights on becoming a carbon-neutral company by offsetting the emissions that came from fulfilling orders. “We looked at the carbon emissions per kilometer per kilogram of garments on different modes of transportation,” says Eric. “We have a big spreadsheet and at the end of the month, we put together a tally and purchase offsets on those emissions.” TAMGA shares its process openly in the hope of creating systems other business will follow. TAMGA Designs packages each of its garments in 100% biodegradable cassava-based mailers that require no air exposure to compost. Eric believes financial costs incurred and the time invested for research are well worth the effort. “It’s really important for small businesses to know this isn’t something that is going to take away from their profitability,” he says. “In the long run, we honestly believe it’s a net-positive impact on our bottom line because customers do see it and they do value it.”

Ship items in bulk

Harriet Simonis, David Fragomeni, and Scott Ferguson first became friends while living in Bali. When surfing the local waves, they were distressed to find that the ocean was overflowing with single-use plastics and discarded fishing nets. That moment served as the catalyst to adopt the zero-waste lifestyles they still practice today. As they searched for plastic-free and environmentally friendly products, they realized something ironic. “A lot of eco-friendly products come affixed in plastic,” Harriet says. “It almost undoes the good.” Determined to create a solution without the same compromise, the trio founded Zero Waste Cartel to offer environmentally friendly bath, body, and kitchen products in packaging that’s either reusable or biodegradable. Their pledge to go plastic-free came with its own set of distinct challenges. For example, Harriet says the company had a hard time finding a warehouse that would actually use the compostable mailers they provided because of the additional time and effort involved. They’ve since found a suitable partner in the United States, where most of their orders are placed, which further reduced their environmental impact by shortening the shipping distance between warehouse and customers. “We prefer to ship in bulk, for the dual reason that it’s a better value for customers and better for the environment too,” Harriet says. Living up to their commitment to stay environmentally conscious has even required a few firm stances. For example, Zero Waste Cartel only sells its bamboo toothbrushes in packs of 10 to encourage customers to plan their purchases or share orders, so that products can ship in a more sustainable manner. What might otherwise seem like an inflexible policy has resonated with Zero Waste Cartel’s customers, who see value in bulk purchases for the planet and their own wallets.

Use sustainable packaging that can be repurposed

Since 2016, Roth Martin and Stephen (Hawthy) Hawthornthwaite have created beautifully designed, durable, machine-washable footwear made from plastic water bottles, under the moniker Rothy’s. With products that place style and sustainability on equal footing, Rothy’s counts Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and supermodel Karlie Kloss as fans Lauren Taflinger, Rothy’s director of production, says the company has repurposed more than 34 million water bottles to date. Rothy’s production process also knits shoe uppers to shape, which creates virtually zero waste, unlike traditional cutting, where 30% to 40% of material is wasted. Like TAMGA Designs, Rothy’s also offsets its carbon emissions from production and fulfillment by partnering with the Envira Amazonia Project to fund ecosystem services and forest conservation projects.

Using tote bags at the grocery store. Refusing straws. Taking my reusable coffee mug to a local cafe. But after another Plastic-Free July, I realized that my plastic-free efforts weren’t anything new. And actually, my efforts no longer felt good enough compared to being a zero-waster—that is, fitting a year’s amount of trash in a single mason jar. Ten years ago, I saw the documentary Bag It and started advocating against plastic bags and began using reusable water bottles and carrying tote bags everywhere. That’s when I first learned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how plastic waste harms marine life. As the film predicted, things have gotten way worse. Every year, eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons currently circulating in various marine environments. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas, and 10 years ago, it was already the size of Texas. The Ocean Cleanup gives me hope, along with local groups like Recology and the Surfrider Foundation, but there’s also the problem of the U.S. running out of landfill space. Australia may be the world leader of Plastic-Free July, but more people in the Bay Area are taking action by joining the zero-waste movement. Inspired by local zero-waste bloggers Bea Johnson at Zero Waste Home and Kathryn Kellogg at Going Zero Waste, I wanted to step up my “saving the world” game. But instead of tallying up what’s in my stinky bins, I thought I’d try being a zero-waster for one day. The rule of thumb is what you would think: throwing zero (or fewer) things away, especially single-use plastics, which end up in landfills or the ocean. Easier said than done. Here’s how my day of trying to be a zero-waste supermom went: 6:45 a.m. I wake up and go to the bathroom. Dang, I just used some toilet paper. Reminder: use a washcloth, or get a bidet attachment to minimize T.P. I spritz my face with White Sage Wellness’ Triple Goddess Anointing Spray. The bottle is made of reusable brown glass, but the top is comprised of two pieces of plastic. I could reuse it or list any used bottles on a freecycle site, like Bunz. Our son, Donovan, likes to pick the plastic stickers off store-bought fruit, and I tell myself we’re reusing them as fine-motor-skill toys. I brush my teeth with a bamboo toothbrush. I realize that when I replace it, I’ll have to pluck out the plastic bristles with pliers and throw them away because the plastic won’t decompose like the bamboo will. But that’s better than throwing away a chunky plastic toothbrush. I throw on some clothes from before my son was born, about two years ago, so they could be considered vintage. They certainly feel used. 6:55 a.m. I enter my son’s room singing “Good Morning, Starshine,” change his diaper, and dress him. We don’t use cloth diapers or a local diaper service, but we use Seventh Generation, which seems like a better sustainable baby product because they use recycled content. If there’s a number-two waiting for me, I flush the poop but death-grip the diaper so I don’t accidentally drop any wipes in the toilet and contribute to a massive fatberg in Bay Area sewers. His wardrobe is a mix of hand-me-downs and gifts from Grandma. We use diaper-pail garbage bags made from 20% recycled materials, but—sigh—we can do better. 7:15 a.m. My husband has already made French-press coffee and cut up some fruit — bonus points when they’re from our fruit trees. Our son, Donovan, likes to pick the plastic stickers off store-bought fruit, and I tell myself we’re reusing them as fine-motor-skill toys. But it could be worse. If given a choice between balloons or stickers, I choose stickers all the way because we all know where balloons can end up. Parental side note: there are compostable Band-Aids! I pack my son’s food in his lunchbox. I cringe when I throw in string cheese. I’m transitioning our family from Tupperware to ECOlunchbox and Stasher Bags, but what am I supposed to do with old Tupperware? My breakfast is homemade granola (gold star for me) and store-bought yogurt (minus a gold star). I have yet to find a grocery store close to me that sells yogurt in glass jars, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled. Food waste goes into our compost bucket, which we empty into our green bin at the end of each day. 7:45 a.m. I drive Donovan to his nanny share. We live in the ’burbs, and it would take 45 minutes for me to bike there. Driving takes 15 minutes. Plus, I can run errands on the way home. Plus, I haven’t ridden my bike since before he was born, so I’m just circling around the fact that I’m being lazy. If his daycare were closer, I would try to get back in the saddle (or have my husband do it). On the drive, I finish my coffee in my reusable to-go cup. If I were in Berkeley and wanted a refill, I could take advantage of their reusable-coffee-cup program. I don’t take public transportation for daycare trips, but my husband and I share one car, so that’s less waste, right? 8:45 a.m. I arrive back home and take a shower. I use a bar of soap (not body wash in a plastic container) and usually shampoo and condition my hair every two to three days—due to equal parts lack of effort and conservation of the plastic bottles they’re in. I haven’t found bar shampoo I love (but please let me know if you have). I should use my husband’s metal razor for shaving, but I still use my girlie plastic razor with a refillable blade. When that razor dies, I’ll get a stainless-steel safety razor, which should last me an eternity. A phaseout was announced for banning single-use plastic food containers by 2030. That’s in 11 years. We need to make changes now, people. Beauty and makeup products are a zero-waste challenge, as I like trying new things. Lush is the original reusable beauty brand, but if you go to Credo in SF, you’ll find modern brands, such as Axiology’s recycled aluminum lipsticks and Kaejr Weis’ refillable mascara. I wear minimal makeup on most days, but I have dry skin, so I need moisturizers. For body products, I support local brands with glass packaging and plant-based ingredients, like Earth Tu Face. Admittedly, $52 for a face wash is crazy, but how many glass containers can you find at Rite Aid? The thrifty option would be making my own products. That’s not high on the list because of a lack of time and energy — maybe for DIY Christmas presents. My husband and I share a natural deodorant, but I’d like to try a reusable-deodorant company, like by Humankind. I get dressed in clothes from my pre-child vintage wardrobe or in a consignment buy from a local shop such as Labels Luxury Consignment, Goodbyes, or Poshmark. 9:30 a.m. I fill up my mason jar with water from our Soma water filter and get to work. When our filter wears out, I decide I’ll get an activated-charcoal stick to use with a glass bottle. As a writer, my job is relatively waste-free; most of my waste is banana peels and Post-its. A protein-bar wrapper often makes its way into my trash too; if it’s a Clif Bar, I could collect and recycle the wrapper through their TerraCycle program. When I go into offices or have appointments in the city, I take BART, bring a reusable water bottle, and pack snacks. Retailers and vendors in San Francisco have recently stopped selling plastic straws, stirrers, and other small plastic pieces with food items, replacing them with paper and reusable materials. Right on. But in February, a phaseout was announced for banning single-use plastic food containers by 2030. That’s in 11 years. We need to make changes now, people. Recycling isn’t enough to make a difference anymore, especially since China is no longer accepting our recycling. But if I haven’t mastered the art of buying a to-go lunch using my containers (versus using the supplied single-use plastics), how will everyone else? I’d need to leave the house with a backpack full of Tupperware and mason jars, with some for lending to others. Or I can assemble a zero-waste travel kit, a kit that I could bring everywhere with a water bottle, cloth napkins, a reusable straw, a food container, and reusable cutlery. 12:30 p.m. Lunch is usually a homemade sando or salad, and I squeeze in a quick trip to the grocery store. I bring my own tote bags — I keep a stockpile in my car — and also try to keep used plastic bags inside those for wet or bulk items. But the grocery store is arguably the biggest zero-waste challenge of all. If I want strawberries, am I supposed to take them out of the plastic container? No, not cool. I can put potatoes in my cart, but what about items in sealed containers, like those plastic-suctioned beets, refrigerated pasta, and Talenti Gelato? Lucky for us, Rainbow Grocery and Berkeley Bowl have refrigerated bulk sections where you can stock up on some of these provisions. The best habits to get into are buying from the bulk sections and shopping at farmers’ markets. (Don’t forget your refillable bags and containers.) 3:45 p.m. I got my period–bleh. I’ve been using a menstrual cup for years, which is better than wasteful tampons. I could take it a zero-waste step further with Thinx period-proof underwear. Are they gross? Not as gross as the chemicals in tampons, which could make my cramps worse. 4:45 p.m. I leave to pick up my son from daycare. Where did that Pellegrino in my drink holder come from?! I grabbed one from the fridge for the drive. Why am I not using my SodaStream and reusable to-go cup? Because it’s the end of the day, and I’m rushing. At least the can is recyclable. But not everything is, and many of us are confused about what we can and can’t recycle. If you’re wondering what to do with those paint cans sitting in your garage or what to do with those empty medication bottles, local recycling resource RecycleWhere has the answer. 5:45 p.m. We arrive home, and it’s straight to my husband and I tag-teaming dinner and playtime. For my sanity, I usually plan meals a day or two ahead, which reduces food waste and saves money. On other days, we rely on heaven-sent Planted Table, an Oakland-based meal provider committed to zero waste. We usually go out for one meal or order in once a week. I wonder how I can make our favorite Chinese-food restaurant halt their use of plastic to-go containers. And I usually forget to bring containers for leftovers. Inspired by California lawmakers who’ve challenged the plastic industry to reduce production, I realize I can set an example in my local community. I could tell the Chinese restaurant to use eco-friendly containers. I could host a “how to live zero-waste” powwow among my mom friends. Then my son makes me laugh, and I temporarily forget about my zero-waste-supermom ideas. 7:30 p.m. After Donovan goes to bed, my husband and I clean up and catch up. Sometimes we talk about home improvements, like how to fashion a custom kitchen island from a place like Urban Ore. I also scour local buy/sell/trade Facebook groups for used toys and furniture. I consider the pros of renting furniture or just throwing more pillows on the floor since we have a toddler. 9:45 p.m. I meditate and replay my day, thinking about what I could have done differently, including 10 things I could do to seriously live zero-waste. Then I’m grateful for another good day and everything I have. I read Stealing Fire, purchased from Amazon. I get library books for my son, but I like buying my books new from Amazon or used from a local bookstore, like Spectator Books. But, as I remember, Amazon really needs to figure out their packaging-waste issues. If the world’s biggest retailer and shipper can’t get their act together — and they’re trying — it must be because it’s more costly. Being a zero-waster when you’re living on a budget is doable in the Bay Area, where there are even zero-waste school supplies, but what about the rest of the country? Where Walmart and Starbucks reign, single-use plastics are still king. This is yet another progressive movement that the Bay Area is at the forefront of. However, it’s cheaper to make your own coffee and prepare your own food at home — those are zero-waste basics anyone can adopt. I open my book. There’s beauty in the crisp feel and paper smell of a new book. There’s also beauty in a book with weathered edges and a past life. New or old—it’s about the mix for me and when it makes sense to conserve or reuse. For now, I’m OK with being a less-waster rather than a zero-waster. But let’s talk in 10 years. If Earth still exists

Isopor para o hambúrguer, pote plástico para o açaí, um canudo para o refrigerante, talheres de plástico e uma sacola para a entrega. E, claro, não pode esquecer dos 20 sachês de mostarda e ketchup. Assim é formada a cadeia dos serviços de delivery (entrega, em tradução livre) — com excesso no uso de plástico que, posteriormente, será descartado de forma irregular. Justamente pensando em mudar esse e outros hábitos, que pessoas aderem ao conceito do Lixo Zero (ou Zero Trash, em inglês).

A monthly look at some of the hits and misses in the packaging world from the viewpoint of Joe Public, Canadian Packaging magazine’s revolving columnists. From the July/August 2019 issue. When I first learned legal recreational cannabis use was to become a reality, like a true Checkout columnist, I wondered what the packaging paradigm would come to look like. Would we be forced to buy legal weed in pimped out packages covered with indulgent pot-memes? Or would dreadlock stereotypes give way to a more refined experience, like purchasing a fine wine or a well-aged cheese? After finally venturing out to purchase some legal weed, it turns out to be neither. Strict rules aimed at ensuring young people aren’t enticed into using cannabis have pretty much legislated the fun out of things from a packaging perspective. For once, package design has had nothing to do with the insatiable demand for a product that has led to shortages in availability and a bit of a backlash against the way some provincial governments have rolled legalized weed out to consumers. In the end, I’m glad it’s legal because it was the right choice for a mature society. That said, I wish the industry could have been given the creative leeway that its primary competitors—namely the wine, spirits and beer industries—enjoy to market their products. In lieu of exciting marketing options, most pot shops have had to rely on personal service and store set-up to gain that competitive edge. On my first visit to one of Toronto’s recently opened storefronts, the service and selection happened to be as bland as the pot packaging itself. In the end, I settled on a one-gram box of a strain called Harmonicproduced by AltaVie, the recreational offshoot of Markham, Ont.-based medical marijuana producer MedReleaf. The red-eyed salesperson handed it to me in a grey cardboard box, which is consistent with the government’s rule limiting packaging to a single, uniform color. A little larger than a deck of cards, the most prominent elements on the package were the “stop sign” logo that denotes it as a cannabis product, and the large black-on-yellow health warnings cautioning users about weed’s darker side. The only real packaging innovation I could detect was how AltaVie dealt with the childproofing requirement. As the handy infographic located on the top panel indicates, people need to simultaneously push in two tabs along the backside of the box in order to slide the inner plastic packaging free from the cardboard. Hopefully, this doesn’t get more difficult as users indulge. While regulations require the containers to be intentionally bland, the government did give producers some leeway on the size, shape and packaging materials that they can use. Fittingly, Smith Falls, Ont.-based producer Tweed Inc. have used this wiggle room to distinguish themselves and their products by offering dried flowers in black plastic cube containers. The 3.5-gram container I got (empty) from a friend was about the size and weight of a standard Rubic’s Cube, which uses a child guard mechanism similar to those found on prescription pill bottles. Each strain gets its own name and color association, such as the pale-pink Balmoral strain pictured here. The only real problem I initially had with the container was on the environmental level: I would loathe to see these cubes form yet another garbage island somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. To their credit, though, Tweed has joined forces with Toronto-based upcycling specialists TerraCycle Canada to create a recycling program ensuring cannabis containers get diverted from landfill sites. Once you’re done with your cube, you can take it back to a Tweed-partnered retailer and conveniently drop it in the recycling box on-site. If that’s too much trouble, you can set up an account, print up a UPS label, and send it to TerraCycle for free. From there, TerraCycle will see that the plastic is melted down and reused in some other fashion. Pot producers certainly face heavy restrictions, but those involved in the exploding paraphernalia market have obviously been getting creative. One visit to a local head shop and you’ll see a rainbow of products, from high-tech vaporizers to blown glass bongs and pipes of all shapes and sizes. What caught my eye, however, was the colorful display of rolling papers found in the display case of the Toronto Hemp Company, where I ended up purchasing two packs of the Trailer Park Boys-branded rolling papers from Jimmy Zee’s, the Port Coquitlam, B.C.-based distributor of so-called “Man Cave” items. If you’re unfamiliar with the Trailer Park Boys television show currently streaming on NetFlix, think of it as a crass modern-day cross between The Three Stooges black-and-white films from the 1930s and 1940s and the low-budget flicks put out in the late 1970s and early 1980s by the once-groundbreaking stoner comedy duo Cheech and Chong. With 32 leaves per pack, it’s a fun and gimmicky way to inject a bit of made-in-Canada humor into one’s pot experience. My wife and I look for just about any reason to celebrate—pot legalization, an important anniversary, the arrival of the weekend, etc. As many will agree, a real celebration requires a bit of bubbly to make it official, which is why a single-serve 200-ml bottle of Freixenet from Spanish bubbly producer Freixenet S.A. is a frequent fixture of our kitchen refrigerator. Styled after the standard-sized 750-ml bottle of Brut, these mini bottles are not really all that new, but for many occasions they offer just the right amount of celebratory cheer for couples who may not necessarily consume 750-ml of the sweet and highly carbonated libation or, worse still, just leave the leftovers in the fridge to go flat, or worse. With all that celebrating, it’s important to take care of ourselves and eat well, which is what lead me to discover Fresh City, billed as Canada’s largest city farm, located at Downsview Park in Toronto’s north end. With one storefront in the city, and another on the way, the company, along with its network of member farmers and its 3,000-square-foot greenhouse, relies mainly on its delivery service and pick-up hubs to provide consumers with locally produced organic options on a year-round basis. I recently tried their delicious gluten-free, vegan Falafel salad jar, which arrived on my doorstep in a reusable, insulated tote bag, along with a cooler pack, to keep everything fresh. Layered with quinoa, chickpeas, grape tomatoes, cucumbers and falafel—and topped with a delectable tahini dressing—this healthy option is perfect right out of the jar or for sharing. shared with others. Once done I just leave the delivery tote with the rinsed out jars on my doorstep for pick-up on my next delivery date.  

The end of summer is rapidly approaching and so are those Labor Day parties and gatherings.   Solo cups, those red or blue disposable plastic cups you use for parties and barbecues to make cleanup a snap, are not recyclable curbside or at drop-off sites anywhere in Northwest Indiana. Even worse, once thrown in the garbage, it is estimated that each cup will take hundreds of years to break down in a landfill.   On the bottom of the cups, you’ll note the recycling symbol, or “chasing arrows,” with a “6” in the center, which indicates they are made from polystyrene. Many people believe the chasing arrows symbol designates a product is acceptable for the recycle bin; however, this is not the case. That mark with the number is solely to identify the type of plastic from which it is made!   Because the chasing arrows symbol has been widely misinterpreted over the years, there is a movement to replace the chasing arrows with a solid triangle to avoid this confusion. On many items, you’ll already see the change.   The types of materials that are recyclable curbside in Northwest Indiana may be different from the materials accepted for recycling anywhere else in the United States, because what’s accepted depends on the capabilities of the materials recovery facility (MRF) that ultimately sorts, bales and sells them.   • If the MRF cannot process the material or product, then it is not recyclable curbside in your area. • If the MRF cannot sell the resulting baled material because there is no market for it, then the material is not recyclable curbside in your area.   In Northwest Indiana, our recyclables go to sorting facilities in Illinois that have determined there are no markets for #6 plastic; no one wants to purchase it, and it’s not profitable for the MRF to process it and ship it elsewhere.   Solo cups that end up at the MRF ultimately get buried in a landfill. Inappropriate material that goes to sorting facilities can contaminate valuable materials, add time and expense to material processing time and drive up recycling fees.   Because a material isn’t recyclable curbside doesn’t mean it’s not recyclable at all. Many times, there are other places you can take the material where it can be recycled.   In the case of Solo cups, a company called TerraCycle will accept and recycle Solo cups. Participants can even turn Solo cup recycling into a fundraising opportunity. Visit www.terracycle.com for details.   In addition, area Subaru dealerships are working with TerraCycle and are now accepting disposable cups for recycling:   Castle Subaru, 5020 US Highway 6, Portage; 219-764-5020 International Subaru of Merrillville, 1777 West US Route 30; 855-315-4266   If you are looking for an alternative to Solo cups at your event, try offering reusable cups or serve drinks in their original containers: bottles and cans that are recyclable. If you want to split hairs, you can offer plastic disposable cups that aren’t Solo cups or a cup that is not #6 plastic, as that is the material that really isn’t recyclable here in Northwest Indiana.   Events create a lot of waste. If you are concerned about your event’s impact on the planet, remember the slogan “Reduce, reuse, recycle, RETHINK!”   REDUCE: Don’t buy products like Solo cups. Reduce your consumption of disposable products.   REUSE: Will reusable cups, plates and utensils work? What would your guests say if you asked them to bring their own cups (BYOC)?   RECYCLE: If reusable items just aren’t convenient, offer products that can be recycled, like cans and bottles. Be sure to offer recycling bins at your event so your guest can recycle. We can help!   RETHINK: your event; don’t plan, buy or do things just because you’ve done it that way in the past. Change can be good; good for you and the planet!   For more information on Porter County Recycling & Waste Reduction, call 219-465-3819 or visit www.PorterCountyRecycling.org. In the case of Solo cups, a company called TerraCycle will accept and recycle Solo cups. Participants can even turn Solo cup recycling into a fundraising opportunity. Visit www.terracycle.com for details.   In addition, area Subaru dealerships are working with TerraCycle and are now accepting disposable cups for recycling: • Castle Subaru, 5020 US Highway 6, Portage; 219-764-5020 • International Subaru of Merrillville, 1777 West US Route 30; 855-315-4266  

Converse's new Renew Chucks are composed of either canvas crafted from 100-per-cent recycled polyester made from discarded plastic bottles, upcycled denim or a composite yarn made from the company's cotton-canvas waste mixed with polyester.   In July, Zara announced its new sustainability initiatives, including recycling packaging and creating a new eco-conscious line called Join Life. Not everyone was enthusiastic about the news. Eco-activists such as Livia Firth have railed against mega-brands such as Zara and H&M for adopting, or setting goals to adopt, sustainable measures when the ideal solution would be to not produce so many, or any, mass items at all.   But having access to more mindfully made clothing is better than not having it, so there is encouragement to be found in the sustainability decisions being made by large-scale brands, slow-moving as they may be.   Dr. Elizabeth C. Kurucz is an associate professor of leadership and organizational management in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph who focuses on businesses implementing organizational changes toward more sustainable business practices. She says that for both businesses and consumers, more mindful practices were slow to be developed and adopted, and even more so, standardized and vetted.   In the early days of her doctoral research, in the late 1990s, Kurucz says, “There were certain companies that were trying to do well by doing good, but it wasn’t viewed broadly as a strategic business advantage for organizations; it was more a corporate social-responsibility viewpoint of, ‘We’ve got to do the right thing.’ But often those companies were just continuing to do their bad business practices while doing some nice sort of philanthropic things on the side.” Kurucz contrasts that with today, when “we’re looking at organizations who are reorienting their whole business strategy around sustainable-development goals or societal-level goals.”   The Sustainable Apparel Coalition was founded in 2012 after a meeting of minds at Patagonia and Walmart, and it has since launched a business toolkit, the Higg Index, which allows big brands to better understand the scope of their social and environmental impact. “Part of the issue is the tools weren’t there to be able to identify all of the multifaceted impacts, environmentally and socially, of the supply chain,” Kurucz says about one reason why sustainability has become a manufacturing approach – and a marketing focus.   Nina Marenzi, founder and director of the Sustainable Angle, an organization that provides advisory services and runs the Future Fabrics Expo in London, has seen an increase in eco-minded activity among larger mass brands. “We’ve certainly noticed quite a few differences in the last 12 to 18 months,” she says. “I think a lot of these companies that looked at [sustainability] and didn’t really move because they kept thinking ‘Oh, this might go away,’ or they didn’t have the resources or they struggled with convincing the board … all of a sudden, it really caught momentum and now they’re struggling to keep up.”   But there’s the matter of resources to contend with. “It does take a long time to change your supply chain, or to improve your supply chain, and there’s a lot of homework to do,” she says. “And if you haven’t done that by now, then you’re not going to have a product that is going to come out that is having a lower environmental impact for another year.”   Some might argue this is all too little, too late. It’s hard to be optimistic when you read current statistics about carbon emissions and how much plastic is in the sea. While Uniqlo currently has a sustainable denim initiative, there’s not one that addresses the myriad other product categories it produces. The “beach bottle” announced this spring by hair-care brand Herbal Essences and waste-management company TerraCycle is, at this point, made of only 25-per-cent recycled plastic. And H&M has committed to using 100-per-cent sustainable materials by the year 2030, but that’s 11 years away – which is the time cited at a recent UN General Assembly meeting that we have left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change. All these ideas are the start of more sustainably minded production, yet they also shed light on how much more work is needed to move such large companies over to greener pastures. Converse had a bunch of its employees come in with items to repurpose as a way to acknowledge the potential of reused materials. These sneakers were made from a repurposed dress.   Converse, the Nike-owned brand that launched the much-loved Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker more than 100 years ago, announced its new Renew collection this summer. With three different approaches to more sustainable design and manufacturing, Renew’s Chucks are composed of either canvas crafted from 100-per-cent recycled polyester made from discarded plastic bottles, upcycled denim sourced in partnership with London-based vintage retailer Beyond Retro, or a composite yarn made from Converse’s own cotton-canvas waste mixed with polyester. Polyester, however, is a material that makes many environmentally minded people such as Marenzi cringe and the shoe brand says it’s exploring additional blends for the line. “I think from a materials perspective, we’ve already been making a lot of advances,” Converse’s director of materials, Jessica L’Abbe, says about Renew’s initial fabrications. “Even [our] standard canvas is sustainably sourced, so we were already really working to make a lot of our ingredients better.”   L’Abbe also addressed the use of materials such as glitter in the collaboration collection with fashion brand J.W. Anderson, since it’s been highlighted as a major eco-no-no. “[Even] when using non-renewable materials, there are always ways to make things better,” she says. “Following Nike Inc. and a lot of the processes that they already have set up, we’re always … building our library up to have better ingredients in it.”   This focus on better has long been championed by Swedish lifestyle giant IKEA. “[Sustainability] is not a new concept for us,” Melissa Mirowski, its Canadian sustainability specialist, says. “It’s always been at the heart of the business.” In addition to adopting more sustainable manufacturing processes – the company committed to using wood from 100-per-cent sustainable sources by 2020 and reached that goal in 2017 – the home-focused brand has developed products that allow consumers to lead more sustainably focused lives themselves. Mirowski cites IKEA’s Kungsbacka kitchen cabinetry as an example, which is made from recycled wood and covered with a plastic foil made from recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles. [At] end of life, you basically peel off the foil front and it’s fully recyclable,” she says.   Such a product journey is also a useful marketing angle, Nina Marenzi says: “These days, everyone talks about needing to have authentic value. Customers really want to associate themselves with the products and with what the brands stand for.”   Many behemoth brands have far to go as they launch environmentally and socially minded measures and prove they’re not just paying lip service, but shoppers also have to do their part when it comes to digging in to decision-making, using their purchase power to ultimately dictate what messages and companies they believe in – and want to buy into.

A operação brasileira do Santander recebeu um dos maiores reconhecimentos corporativos globais. O banco foi selecionado para o top 10 do ranking Change The World 2019 da revista americana Fortune, que aponta as empresas que colaboram para tornar o mundo um lugar melhor por meio de seus próprios negócios. O Prospera Santander Microfinanças, maior operação privada de microcrédito orientado do Brasil, foi a iniciativa destacada na disputa deste ano. Ao lado do Santander Brasil, figuram nas dez primeiras posições do ranking Qualcomm, Mastercard, BYD, TE Connectivity, Walmart, Centene, Bank of America, Schneider Electric e Terra Cycle. A lista completa é formada por 52 empresas selecionadas.

We all want to do our best for the planet, but are our recycling efforts going – forgive the pun – to waste?   Going green is a no-brainer at a time when we are increasingly aware of the need to clean up our world – from plastic pollution to the strain on resources posed by fashion.   But confusion over how to recycle is a significant roadblock when it comes to living in a eco-friendly way, with close to four in ten of us (37%) claiming we don’t always know if products can be recycled.  

Items which can’t be recycled

 

Cotton buds

  Let’s start with an easy one: cotton buds.   You only have to have seen that viral picture of a seahorse to know plastic cotton buds pose a problem to the planet – and thankfully there is a ban coming in next year.   “Some items are just too small to recycle - they might fall out during transit to a recycling plant or drop into the wrong place at a plant where small items that might contaminate a load are extracted,” explains Rachelle Strauss, founder of Zero Waste Week, which runs from 2 to 6 September this year.   In the mean time, make sure you invest in eco-friendly alternatives made from bamboo or paper.  

Ready meal plastic trays

  Do yourself – and the planet – a favour by avoiding microwave and oven-ready meals.   “Black plastic trays that convenience meals are packed in is difficult for lasers to see, so it can cause problems in a recycling plant,” she says.   Our suggestion to give up the ready meal habit? Keep it simple and chuck a baked potato in the microwave then go crazy with toppings – cheaper, more nutritious and almost as speedy.  

Toothpaste tubes

  Yup – your regular dental must-have is a big, fat nuisance when it comes to the recycling planet.   “Toothpaste tubes cannot be recycled as they are heavily contaminated with the product and contain several different materials that can’t be separated within our current recycling facilities,” explains Sophie Hadden, PR officer at Wrap.   In a similar vein, crisp packets and cat food pouches – which are also made up from composite materials – can pose problems for recycling.  

Pyrex dishes

  Broken your favourite Pyrex tupperware? Our commiserations – but make sure you don’t stick it in the regular recycling.   Pyrex products “can't be recycled with glass because Pyrex has been specially treated in the manufacturing process to withstand high temperatures,” says Strauss.  

Sanitary products

  A number of sanitary towels and tampons from leading brands are not recyclable, and they are flagged as “serious contamination” risk if mixed in with other products, according to the WRAP website.   However, there are recyclable alternatives available, or alternatively women could use a reusable silicone menstrual cup.  

Receipts

  You may think that paper receipts are fine to chuck in with the rest of your paper waste, but sadly it’s not the case.   The majority of receipts are non-recyclable. While the paper itself is recyclable, “93% of thermal receipts contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic industrial chemical that’s used to produce specific kinds of plastic,” according the Recycle Coach website.   Opt for digital receipts instead to reduce your impact in a small, yet significant way, advises Strauss.

Perfume bottles

  You might think you can chuck your perfume bottles in with the rest of your glass waste, but sadly that’s not the case.   “Perfume bottles cannot be recycled as part of normal household services as they need cleaning, and the metal elements taking apart and recycled separately,” explains a press release from The Perfume Shop.  

What to do with non-recyclable items?

  The simplest option? Don’t purchase non-recyclable items in the first place. Hunt for alternatives at your local supermarket, or visit the Eco Friendly Shop website for everything from paper straws to bamboo toothbrushes.   It’s worth mentioning that each local authority treats recycling differently – so what’s true for one area might not be the same for another, explains Strauss.   You can check your local council’s policy by calling up their waste department, or typing your postcode into the Recycle Now website to see your local recycling options.   If you have non-recyclable items, contact TerraCycle to arrange a waste collection. You can do this as a household, or as a wider institution (speak to your company’s lead to arrange a regular office collection).   Going forward, supermarkets such as Co-Op and Iceland are looking to remove all hard-to-recycle dark and plastic plastics by 2023.   And for those items – like perfume bottles – that you can’t help but purchase? Try to buy from companies which have their own recycling schemes, like The Perfume Shop’s bottle recycling scheme, launching this month.   “We are delighted to be leading the way in recycling luxury perfume bottles,” says Cathy Newman, marketing & customer experience director at The Perfume Shop.   Read more about supermarkets and shops which offer recycling initiatives here.