Posts Tagged ‘Recycling Tips’

Bag Recycling Shows Dramatic Growth in Los Angeles County

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Here in Sacramento, I make sure to take my bags and product overwraps back to my neighborhood Raley’s every week for recycling.  It’s a habit that fits easily into my regular routine.  But in LA, residents don’t have to bring it back because their curbside bins accept bags and film, and a new report indicates that they’re embracing that option in impressive numbers. 

The study, recently released by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc.,  shows a remarkable 39 percent growth in the curbside recycling of plastic bags and film in Los Angeles County between 2007 and 2009. While bags and film can include clings and product wraps, plastic bag recycling alone grew by 62 percent during this time period, suggesting that Los Angeles County Residents, in increasing numbers, are taking advantage of being able to put their plastic bags and film into curbside recycling bins.

Plastic bags and film comprise a broad category of materials that can be recycled together, including plastic grocery and retail bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags, commercial pallet wrap, and product wraps from bread, beverage cases, diapers, baby wipes and bulk snack foods.

In addition to the curbside collection of plastic bags and film, there is a growing infastructure of approximately 400 large grocery and retail stores in Los Angeles County and over 15,000 nationwide that take back plastic bags and film for recycling.  Plastic bags and film can go on to live second lives as durable composite decking, home building products, and even new plastic bags!

No matter where you live in California, large grocers and pharmacies will take back your plastic bags and film for recycling.  Ironically, bag bans have the potential to eliminate these programs.  

And now that we’re seeing evidence of just how well bag recycling is catching on with Los Angeles families, it’s better timing than ever to maintain and expand programs to recycle bags.  It doesn’t matter if recycling happens curbside or at the store; recycling works, and this study suggests that when education meets opportunity, we’re all empowered to recycle more and make a difference.

For more information on where to recycle your bags or additional information on innovative plastic bag recycling programs, visit http://www.plasticbagfacts.org.

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Top Five Plastic Bag Crafts

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

There are many ways to reinvent things we regularly use by reusing plastic bags. Here are some fun ways to fill the gap between reducing and recycling, by reusing plastic bags in creative ways:

  • Make a bigger and more durable tote bag:  Using different colored plastic bags, crochet them into a more durable and stylish bag using these easy directions.
  • Braid a jump-rope.  All you need is nine plastic bags, scissors, a ruler and tape to make a jump-rope that can entertain kids for hours. Get started by following these easy directions and they’ll be braiding and jumping in no time.
  • Jazz up your closet by re-vamping your hangers with colorful plastic bags.  Follow these directions to learn how to keep your clothes from slipping and sliding off hangers. Your organized closet will thank you.
  • Create décor for your house. Looking for a rainy day activity? Crochet plastic bags. Check out the simple step-by-step directions here.
  • Construct a storage basket.  A lot of storage containers we already use are made out of plastic – why not reuse your plastic bags to make a new container?  Find simple instructions here and turn those bags into a pretty and functional receptacle for recycling. 

These are just a few creative ways to get crafty while reusing your plastic bags.   Remember, all of the leftover plastic from these crafts can be recycled–just keep them all in one plastic bag, tie it up when you’re done and return it to a participating grocery store’s plastic bag recycling bin. 

I’d love to hear your ideas for reusing plastic bags around the house.  Please post them in the comments section.

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Reducing Waste from the Comfort of Your Cubicle

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

We’ve all heard the advice for helping businesses reduce waste: Print double sided! Recycle scrap paper! Provide coffee mugs instead of paper cups! So, in the interest of reducing, reusing and recycling at work, I thought I’d share my favorite recommendations on the Top Five Ways to Reduce Waste from the Comfort of your Own Cubicle.

1. Think Before You Print: It sounds obvious but sometimes we forget to ask ourselves if we really need a hard copy of a document or if we can edit it on the screen first and then print a final. The fewer sheets of paper that come off the printer and end up stashed in a folder, never to be seen again, the better!

2. Reusable Water Bottles – Not Just for The Gym Anymore: Keep a reusable water bottle on your desk and not only will you find yourself closer to drinking eight glasses of water every day, you’ll also get the added benefit of several trips back to the water cooler to visit colleagues along the way.

3. Turn it All Off: At the end of the day, shut down. Completely. Your computer worked hard for you so let it take a break too and shut everything off at night so it doesn’t suck energy until the next morning.

4. Coffee Mugs Make Great Conversation Starters: Ever wondered what you were going to do with that kitschy tourist mug that your great aunt brought back from Florida? Now you know – bring it to the office and reuse it for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. and trade stories with your colleagues about where they got their favorite mugs. 

5. Be a Squeaky Wheel: If your company doesn’t buy recycled office supplies, ask why not. If the faucet in the restroom is leaky, see if building maintenance can fix it. If there is leftover lunch from a meeting, send out an email to co-workers to help themselves to leftovers so it doesn’t go to waste. Sometimes, it just takes one person to notice that there’s a better way and everyone can reap the benefits.

If we all make the effort to individually reduce, reuse and recycle at the office every day, we’ll make great strides toward reducing our businesses’ carbon footprints. And – even better – we’ll save money and add to the bottom line.

Have more ideas that you want to share about how you reduce, reuse and recycle at work? Post comments here and share your thoughts!

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Lessons in Recycling

Friday, October 30th, 2009

As my little boy grows up, I will teach him all sorts of healthy habits: from eating healthy foods and drinking plenty of water to taking responsibility for his own actions and handling plastics appropriately. One of the ways I plan to do so is by teaching him about recycling.

He’s too young now to grasp the concept and prefers to play with plastic bottles rather than put them in a bin for recycling, but we’re working on it (we’re also working on learning to call me “mama” instead of “Bob” but that’s a story for a different kind of blog). There are several ways to help engage your own children in recycling. Here are a few ideas:

  • Together, look up your city or county’s public works department Website and determine what items you can place in your recycling bin for collection.
  • Take turns making one child the recycling coordinator for a week and allow them to determine what items can be placed in the recycling bin.
  • Have a contest to determine which child collects more recyclables during his/her week.
  • Put your child in charge of locating the plastic bag recycling bin at the grocery store (CA law mandates all large grocery outlets have recycling bins) and then bring back your plastic bags for recycling. You can even recycle the plastic wraps that cover bathroom tissue, paper towel rolls, etc.
  • While on the road, play a “spotting” game by having your kids look for recycling bins in public locations.

Small, easy to implement activities can help create healthy recycling habits that benefit all of us in the end. And who knows, you may even find yourself more apt to recycle when you know there are little eyes scrutinizing your bins.

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A Chance to Educate about Healthy Habits

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Promoting the launch of the Go H2O! Challenge at the LA's BEST Health Fair

As the mom of a 10 month old little boy, I strive to model behavior I want him to emulate, including trying to drink enough water throughout the day. That’s why I’m pleased with the beginning of an exciting new partnership between ACC and LA’s BEST. Celebrating with about 5,000 children and families at the LA’s BEST Annual Family Health Fair in Carson, CA, we recently launched the Go H20! Challenge. The program will challenge students to make a habit of using reusable plastic bottles and drinking more water instead of sugary drinks. Kids at 91 LA’s BEST sites will receive a reusable water bottle that they can use throughout the day. Each day, the LA’s BEST coaches will talk to them about the health benefits of choosing water or the environmental benefits of reducing, reusing and recycling more plastics.

LA's BEST students enjoying the Health Fair activities

LA’s BEST is an impressive nonprofit organization that has been providing after school enrichment programs to thousands of students in the city of Los Angeles since 1988. We decided to partner with LA’s BEST so we could work together to positively impact the health of kids by teaching them about smart habits and the importance of recycling. Learning to reduce, reuse and recycle is a way that all of us, regardless of age, can make a difference for the environment.

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