Replace a bunch of disposable plastic, cut down on your utility and clothing bills, and make your food last SO much longer.

33. And if you still have swimsuits, curtains, pillows, or other textiles you don't want to send to a landfill, you can pay to have them recycled through Terracycle.

Because yeah, unfortunately recycling costs money, and if a recycler can't make a profit off of your discards paying is sometimes the way to go. (IMHO if this isn't in your budget, don't worry about it.) Fabric and textile boxes start at $103 from TerraCycle.  

Natural Habitat Adventures wants to reduce the national park’s staggering amount of waste—and give you an awesome summer safari

JEN MURPHY

  The leave-no-trace concept sounds simple, yet each year, over 100 million pounds of waste is generated in national parks. Natural Habitat Adventures, the world’s first carbon-neutral travel company, aims to reduce that number with a new zero-waste safari in Yellowstone National Park. More than a year of research went into this industry-first expedition. The goal, says the company’s sustainability director, Court Whelan, is to divert 99% or more of all on-trip waste produced throughout the week. From your glamping base just outside of Big Sky, Montana, you’ll dine on locally sourced foods without plastic plates, cups, or straws and scrape leftovers into a compost pile after each meal. Everything that can’t be recycled or composted locally will be brought back to the company’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, and handed off to TerraCycle, a company that recycles otherwise unprocessable waste. The hope is that you’ll leave with memories of bison, elk, and wolf encounters as well as new habits you can use back home. From $5,695; July 6–12.  

Take It Home

The average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash per day, says Court Whelan. Here are three things you can do at home to get closer to zero waste:   Compost. Making the extra effort to separate compostables and take them to the curb or to a local composting facility drastically decreases the amount of waste we send to landfill.   Forgo Plastic. Set a goal of purchasing fewer single-use plastics such as food containers, travel toiletries, and water bottles. Take a stand against purchasing plastic bags, straws, and cotton swabs, which often end up in our oceans.   Recycle. Find out if there are alternative recycling facilities, like TerraCycle, for items that can’t go into your home single-stream container.

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - According to the EPA, the average American produces close to six pounds of trash a day, and only a fraction of that gets recycled. Here's how you an give those things a second life. Let's start with cell phones. How many do you have stuffed in a drawer? The EPA, again, says fewer than 20 percent are recycled. If you do it, you can help victims of domestic violence through Cellular Recycler  and to help active-duty military and vets through a program called "Cell Phones for Soldiers." Eyeglasses. I have so many of these lying around because, well, I wear glasses not contaccts. Donate them, non-perscription sunglasses, too, because they go to help folks around the world to see. Check out New Eyes for the Needy, a non-profit with a goal to help the poor see. Same with hearing aids. My daughter wears one so this interests me. The Starkey Hearing  Foundation wants this one when my kid outgrows it. It can go to someone without the resources to buy one. Running shoes. Nike has a re-use program called Re-Use a Shoe Program that accepts old sneakers to make ball courts. Inhalers. I have these, too. I usually toss these asthma aids into the garbage. Well, don't. Ask your pharmacist if her pharmacy recycles. Batteries.  Do not throw these things away. Check to see if your office has a program for single-use batteries. Many do. Ours does. Many retailers like Home Depot take the re-useable ones. A few cosmetics lines want your empties.  If you use Lush, Mac, Avedaand Kiehl's, save your pots and containers. Greeting cards. St. Jude's Ranch for Children takes your new and used ones. They recycle and make new ones. Although, one hiccup: They can't take Hallmark, Disney or American Greetings, according to their website, for copyright reasons. Finally, those juice pouches and other things that come in pouches. A group called "Terra Cycle" wants them.  And cigarette butts, too. Yeah, they make new things from those. Don't overwhelm yourself. It's like dieting. Just make one small change at a time so that you create a new habit, not a new chore. Start with those pouches for juice and laundry pods. Toss them in a bucket until full then recycle.   And before you toss out anything now, take to your keyboard and see if there is a way to re-use it before you put it in the garbage can.  

This post is partially sponsored and partially gifted. All thoughts and opinions are my own.   Spring is here and it's a great time to freshen up your routine or add some new things to it! I've gathered some new and unique items to do just that! Watch the segment here from Today in Nashville.     Molly Green Molly Green's always one of my go-to shopping places. I shopped for this outfit at the East Nashville location and I admit it's worth the trip to check our the location. It's spacious, airy and everything I imagine Molly Green to be. Be sure to check out some of their Spring styles - ask for Laura or Heather and tell them Kayla sent you!   Riley Top (in-store East Nashville)   Maeve Pant     Beautiac Beautaic is a patent-pending system of interchangeable, refillable brush heads and a universal handle. Never clean your brush heads again with the new, revolutionary makeup brush subscription.   The problem with make-up brushes: Health - Overused, dirty makeup brushes harbor harmful bacteria causing blemishes, breakouts and even illness Time - Properly cleaning makeup brushes takes hours Cost - Premium quality makeup brushes are expensive Consumer Paralysis - Too many products on the market that don’t solve the problems Transparency - Lack of disclosure of ingredients and manufacturing   Beautiac gives back once a quarter to a charity that’s voted on by you from one of the four quadrants! (Environment, Cruelty Free, Women Empowerment, Health & Wellness)   Beautiac offers complimentary recycling on brush heads through TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box program. Simply collect your dirty brush heads and place them in the recycling bag in the Beautiac starter kit. Then send the recycling bag to the corporate headquarters located in Nashville, TN.     Fressko Fressko flasks are eco-friendy, re-usable, leak-proof, BPA-free, alternative to plastic, rubber or paper cups. Fressko uses premium glass- and bamboo-encased stainless steel flasks and infusers. The Original Series has a range of bamboo and double-walled glass infuser water bottles that keep beverages cold for up to 12 hours and hot for six hours. The bamboo flasks keep coffee hot for 6-8 hours.     Reon Revive Just tear, pour and go — the tasty powder just melts on your tongue! Reon Revive's more convenient than carrying an energy drink around with you - just put 3-4 packets in your pocket or purse. Each packet contains 80 mg of caffeine, about the equivalent of a double espresso, plus Vitamin B12, 50 percent of your Daily Recommended Allowance.   It's sugar-free and the super fast melting powder shots dissolve on your tongue in a flash so you can maintain your alertness & energy levels. The pouches contain four tasty pomegranate flavor packets that you can take easily on the go!     Proud Pour The Proud Pour mission is to make delicious wines, beers, and spirits that help the planet. It's always sustainably grown and high quality. They support 20 nonprofit environmental partners across the U.S. restoring bee habitat and wild oyster reef ecosystems. The wines so far have restored 53 acres of wildflowers for bees and 11 million oysters. Available in stores and restaurants in 21 states, including in the Nashville area - find yours here.   They give back 13% of top line revenue, about 10x what the typical give back company does (usually 1% of revenue of 10% of net profits).     Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino County, California, beautifully balanced.   Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, very pretty but also has wonderful grip and earthiness.   Just launched a Kickstarter campaign for their Cider for Sea Turtles. It will support sea turtle hospitals across the U.S. to rehabilitate injured sea turtles and get them back in the wild.       Furbo Dog Camera Furbo's the world's first treat-tossing dog camera. Watch your dog live in full HD. The barking alert lets you know when you're dog is barking. Record photos and videos, plus dispense treats to your dog while you're away. Furbo comes with sticky pads on the bottom to prevent spills.   Check out some footage of my dogs, Magnum and Stella, interacting with Furbo!

SUNY Oswego students and faculty have started collecting exhausted writing utensils — markers, pens and even mechanical pencils — and sending them to a recycling company in the latest of many efforts the campus community has taken to go green.   Six students in a technology class of Daniel Tryon launched the effort, manufacturing 212 wooden collection boxes last semester from old Swetman Gymnasium bleachers.   “Each box has a laser-engraved finish to add design details on the top, inside and front panels,” said Erika Wallace, a senior in technology education who helped manufacture the boxes. The boxes are “designed to be easy to use, light weight and magnetic to fit right into the school environment.”   Sustainability advocate Kate Spector, mathematics specialist with the Office of Learning Services, plans to work with students to continue distributing the boxes. They will mount the boxes on magnetic whiteboards in classrooms and other likely spaces around campus — the Tutoring Center, Penfield Library and others — where empty dry erase markers and other writing implements routinely have been tossed in the trash. The wooden boxes, fronted with a slotted acrylic panel, hold 15 to 20 dry erase markers each, more for smaller implements.   After routine collection, students will empty the utensils into a well-labeled green cardboard recycling box — TerraCycle refers to it as a “zero waste box” — just outside the College Store on the mezzanine level of Marano Campus Center. The larger box holds about 5,000 depleted implements.   Eliminating waste   Spector believes the presence of the boxes and the recycling effort will add one more action item for students and faculty in the college’s effort to promote sustainability. All campus members are encouraged to use the TerraCycle central collection box for their worn-out writing utensils.   “The primary goal of this project is to re-direct a segment of our waste stream, giving a second life to these materials,” Spector said. “In a larger sense, this project aims to spark conversations about shifting from a throwaway culture toward one that creates zero waste.”   TerraCycle, a private U.S. recycling business headquartered in Trenton, N.J., operates on the slogan, “Eliminating the Idea of Waste.” Besides the national effort to collect used writing utensils, the company runs a volunteer-based curbside collection program to gather heretofore non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, and then partners with corporate donors to turn it into raw material to be used in new products.   “The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into metals, fibers, and plastics,” TerraCycle says on its website. “Metals are smelted so they may be recycled. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.”   Materials accepted in Oswego’s TerraCycle project include pens, pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers, marker caps, permanent markers and permanent marker caps, according to the company.   SUNY Oswego’s sustainability efforts are reflective of a pledge college President Deborah F. Stanley signed in 2007, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, to demonstrate both regional and national sustainability leadership by modeling the campus as an example of ways society can reduce its carbon footprint.   Under the leadership of the Office of Sustainability, SUNY Oswego’s students and employees have helped drive initiatives that move the sustainability needle in ways large and small: Save the Trees to reduce paper use, substituting paper straws for plastic ones in campus dining halls and other locations, the Perk Up program to utilize reusable cups, Tap In to promote reusable water bottles, Bike Share to invest in a green way of transportation and the student-programmed Bus Share web application to encourage use of mass transit on and around campus.   Wallace said she wanted to leave her mark for future students, much like the ones she teaches locally. The recycling project served as her capstone for the technology course, her senior project under Tryon’s mentorship. “In the future, I want students, like my own, to be able to utilize energy more efficiently,” Wallace said.   Being a part of the marker recycling project serves as a positive reminder to Wallace. “Do something special, so that in 10 years you can look back and say, ‘I made a difference.’”   For more information, contact the Office of Sustainability at oswego.edu/sustainability, call 315-312-6601 or email sustainability@oswego.edu.

SUNY Oswego students and faculty have started collecting exhausted writing utensils — markers, pens and even mechanical pencils — and sending them to a recycling company in the latest of many efforts the campus community has taken to go green.   Six students in a technology class of Daniel Tryon launched the effort, manufacturing 212 wooden collection boxes last semester from old Swetman Gymnasium bleachers.   “Each box has a laser-engraved finish to add design details on the top, inside and front panels,” said Erika Wallace, a senior in technology education who helped manufacture the boxes. The boxes are “designed to be easy to use, light weight and magnetic to fit right into the school environment.”   Sustainability advocate Kate Spector, mathematics specialist with the Office of Learning Services, plans to work with students to continue distributing the boxes. They will mount the boxes on magnetic whiteboards in classrooms and other likely spaces around campus — the Tutoring Center, Penfield Library and others — where empty dry erase markers and other writing implements routinely have been tossed in the trash. The wooden boxes, fronted with a slotted acrylic panel, hold 15 to 20 dry erase markers each, more for smaller implements.   After routine collection, students will empty the utensils into a well-labeled green cardboard recycling box — TerraCycle refers to it as a “zero waste box” — just outside the College Store on the mezzanine level of Marano Campus Center. The larger box holds about 5,000 depleted implements.   Eliminating waste   Spector believes the presence of the boxes and the recycling effort will add one more action item for students and faculty in the college’s effort to promote sustainability. All campus members are encouraged to use the TerraCycle central collection box for their worn-out writing utensils.   “The primary goal of this project is to re-direct a segment of our waste stream, giving a second life to these materials,” Spector said. “In a larger sense, this project aims to spark conversations about shifting from a throwaway culture toward one that creates zero waste.”   TerraCycle, a private U.S. recycling business headquartered in Trenton, N.J., operates on the slogan, “Eliminating the Idea of Waste.” Besides the national effort to collect used writing utensils, the company runs a volunteer-based curbside collection program to gather heretofore non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, and then partners with corporate donors to turn it into raw material to be used in new products.   “The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into metals, fibers, and plastics,” TerraCycle says on its website. “Metals are smelted so they may be recycled. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.”   Materials accepted in Oswego’s TerraCycle project include pens, pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers, marker caps, permanent markers and permanent marker caps, according to the company.   SUNY Oswego’s sustainability efforts are reflective of a pledge college President Deborah F. Stanley signed in 2007, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, to demonstrate both regional and national sustainability leadership by modeling the campus as an example of ways society can reduce its carbon footprint.   Under the leadership of the Office of Sustainability, SUNY Oswego’s students and employees have helped drive initiatives that move the sustainability needle in ways large and small: Save the Trees to reduce paper use, substituting paper straws for plastic ones in campus dining halls and other locations, the Perk Up program to utilize reusable cups, Tap In to promote reusable water bottles, Bike Share to invest in a green way of transportation and the student-programmed Bus Share web application to encourage use of mass transit on and around campus.   Wallace said she wanted to leave her mark for future students, much like the ones she teaches locally. The recycling project served as her capstone for the technology course, her senior project under Tryon’s mentorship. “In the future, I want students, like my own, to be able to utilize energy more efficiently,” Wallace said.   Being a part of the marker recycling project serves as a positive reminder to Wallace. “Do something special, so that in 10 years you can look back and say, ‘I made a difference.’”   For more information, contact the Office of Sustainability at oswego.edu/sustainability, call 315-312-6601 or email sustainability@oswego.edu.

In a move to reduce waste and reward participating bicycle riders, Shimano today launched the first-ever cycling shoe recycling program in Canada through a collaboration with international recycling leader, TerraCycle®. The global bicycle component and footwear leader will partner with 70 participating bicycle retailers across the country who will utilize TerraCycle® Zero Waste Boxes™ to collect used shoes from any brand and reward recyclers with an incentive on new Shimano footwear. The program aims to collect thousands of pairs of shoes through its conclusion on April 20, 2019 and equip participating riders with new shoes in time for Earth Day on April 22.     This initiative is in line with Shimano’s corporate mission: To promote health and happiness through the enjoyment of nature and the world around us. “While we bring to market cycling shoes across Canada, we need do our part in protecting nature and recycling plays a key part. With this program we’re ensuring that Shimano is also taking products back in the most ecologically way possible,” said Tim Hadfield, General Manager of Shimano Canada. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with TerraCycle® and with our retail partners spanning the entire country to accept shoes even from our competitors as a way of being able to make a difference.”       Consumers can participate in this program immediately. On April 21, 2019, all 70 participating bicycle retailers across Canada will be returning the TerraCycle® Zero Waste Boxes™ to TerraCycle®. At that time, TerraCycle® will break down the shoes into reusable raw materials out of the key shoe components: carbon fibre, rubber or nylon outsoles, uppers and buckles.  

Spring program incentivizes consumers to go green and get new gear in time for Earth Day

TORONTO (March 10, 2019) – In a move to reduce waste and reward participating bicycle riders, Shimano today launched the first-ever cycling shoe recycling program in Canada through a collaboration with international recycling leader, TerraCycle®. The global bicycle component and footwear leader will partner with 70 participating bicycle retailers across the country who will utilize TerraCycle® Zero Waste BoxesTM to collect used shoes from any brand and reward recyclers with an incentive on new Shimano footwear. The program aims to collect thousands of pairs of shoes through its conclusion on April 20, 2019 and equip participating riders with new shoes in time for Earth Day on April 22. This initiative is in line with Shimano’s corporate mission: To promote health and happiness through the enjoyment of nature and the world around us. “While we bring to market cycling shoes across Canada, we need do our part in protecting nature and recycling plays a key part. With this program we’re ensuring that Shimano is also taking products back in the most ecologically way possible,” said Tim Hadfield, General Manager of Shimano Canada. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with TerraCycle® and with our retail partners spanning the entire country to accept shoes even from our competitors as a way of being able to make a difference.” Consumers can participate in this program immediately. On April 21, 2019, all 70 participating bicycle retailers across Canada will be returning the TerraCycle® Zero Waste BoxesTM to TerraCycle®. At that time, TerraCycle® will break down the shoes into reusable raw materials out of the key shoe components: carbon fibre, rubber or nylon outsoles, uppers and buckles. For more information or to find a participating retailer, please visit https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/information/scl-dealer-list-trade-in-shoe.html

Only in Canada for now, Shimano has started a recycling program for used cycling shoes. Turn in any brand of bike shoe in any condition at one of 70 participating bike shops throughout Canada, and you’ll get 25% off the price of any new pair of Shimano cycling shoes. The deal runs through April 20, 2019. The old kicks will be collected by TerraCycle to be broken down into their parts and re-used or otherwise recycled in some way. Everything from buckles to rubber to carbon fiber soles to whatever upper material was used. The goal is to collect thousands of pairs of old shoes so they don’t end up in a landfill. All boxes will be collected from the shops on April 21, so even if you don’t need a new pair, just swing by and drop off your old shoes so they can recycle them! Bike.Shimano.com

The 40 days of Lent, which began last week, are a time when many Christians around the world decide to voluntarily give up bad habits or luxuries. This year, it might be time we all consider how to give up – or at least reduce – our reliance on disposable products. A year ago, I decided to create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable kitchen, focusing particularly on reducing my use of disposable products such as plastic sandwich bags, aluminum foil and paper towels. It's worth the effort: Americans toss 185 pounds of plastic per person each year while also going through 13 billion pounds of paper towels as a nation. Aluminum foil sounds like a "natural" alternative to a lot of people, but it can actually take a hundred years or more to biodegrade. If composting kitchen scraps or reusing old coffee grounds for a body scrub seems like a step too far, there are a few simple ways to reduce the environmental footprint of your kitchen without sacrificing modern conveniences. I'm not going to sugarcoat my experience. It takes commitment and a willingness to change long-held habits. In creating my sustainable kitchen, I tried a lot of different alternative products and some plain old common sense; the result, however, has been worth the effort. I'm recycling more and relying less on single-use products. The kicker: I'm saving money too.   Invest in alternative storage. I'm not kidding when I say that I used to really love plastic storage bags, from snack-size to gallon-size zip-top bags — so this was, perhaps, the biggest challenge for me. Switching to reusable storage bags was a financial investment up front, but the cost was reasonable considering that I previously spent at least $100 annually on disposable plastic bags and wrap. My favorites: Stashers, heavy-duty reusable silicone zip-top bags that can go from the freezer to the microwave ($10 to $20 each), and Food Huggers, silicone disks that slip over the ends of cut pieces of fruits and vegetables ($12.95 for a set of five), are functional and durable (except for that avocado-shaped Hugger, which I want to love but it never really fits correctly). Fabrics coated in beeswax are handy for wrapping sandwiches or oddly shaped pieces of food and for covering bowls; variety packs from Bee's Wrap, Abeego, and Etee all run about $18, while Trader Joe's has a pack for under $10, but you can also make your own. For packing lunches, consider the highly affordable Japanese bento box, designed with food compartments that negate the need for disposable wraps. The proof is in the pudding: I haven't purchased any disposable plastic bags for a full year. Recycle. Really recycle. Americans are estimated to recycle just 30 percent of the recyclable materials that they consume each day. Plastic and glass bottles and jars, aluminum cans and newspaper are common items that we've gotten used to throwing in the recycling bin, but milk, eggs, Tetra Pak cartons, pizza boxes and plastic deli and pet food containers are also items that may be accepted at local recycling centers; check online periodically in your local jurisdiction for recycling updates. TerraCycle offers a pack-and-ship zero-waste box for a wide variety of non-organic kitchen items, from party supplies to silicone or mixed-material food containers. The company recommends getting together a group of friends, neighbors or co-workers to purchase and contribute to the box. (They cost from $130 to $475 and range in size from 11" x 11" x 20" to 15" x 15" x 37", but the largest box — split among a group or sponsored by an employer — can be the most cost-effective.) Once the filled box is returned to TerraCycle, the company will sort the waste into four categories (fabrics, metals, fibers and plastics) that are then recycled, upcycled or reused — depending on the type of material. The company also works with a wide range of manufacturers to offer free recycling of individual hard-to-recycle items, like Brita water filters and Clif Bar energy bar wrappers. Keep it clean and eco-friendly at the same time. I'm a clean freak and used to go through an unseemly amount of paper towels on a daily basis, but it's easy enough to take old T-shirts or towels and cut them up to use to wipe down surfaces. (If you're cleaning surfaces that have been in contact with raw meat, poultry or fish, throw those towels in the washing machine to get them really clean.) I'm also a fan of bamboo paper towels, which have the look and feel of traditional paper towels, yet are made from a highly renewable source and also break down in landfills in just 45 days. Better yet, they can be reused up to 100 times. I can attest to how sturdy they are because I bought a single roll of bamboo paper towels for $7 a full year ago and still have more than half the roll left, using a single bamboo towel to clean my countertops and stove for a few weeks until it's worn out (rinse the sheet in hot water, then wring and let air dry). When I consider that I probably spent up to $15 a month on single-use paper towels before, that roll of bamboo paper towels was a huge bargain. As for kitchen sponges, keep an eye out for those made with natural materials, because typical polyurethane sponges cannot be recycled and end up in landfills. Think before you buy. In our disposable society, it's easy to purchase items that are convenient but not sustainable — and more environmentally friendly options are generally available once you know what to look for. Juice boxes that include plastic straws, dishwasher tabs individually wrapped in plastic and coffee makers that use K-Cups are all examples of items that can create additional waste. When grocery shopping, ask yourself if you really need to use individual plastic bags in the produce section for those lemons, potatoes or apples. Consider packaging as you peruse the shelves for your favorite purchases, from cookies to pasta to frozen pizza. For instance, the plastic window on that pasta box may make it convenient for you to see what the pasta inside looks like, but the mixed-material container can be a problem for some recycling facilities. When purchasing bulk pantry or other household items online from companies like Amazon or Jet, ask to have them shipped in as few boxes as possible to cut down on the number of boxes you receive, and if you get a single small item sent in a huge box, let the company know that you'd prefer that it pay more attention to how it is packaging items for delivery.