On December 15, 2011, the city council in Austin, Texas, voted unanimously to approve the Zero Waste by 2040 plan. And now the program is starting to take effect. Starting with the comprehensive master plan (pdf), the executive summary: Zero Waste is a design principle that goes beyond recycling to focus first on reducing wastes …
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From a high of 6.3 pounds of trash per day in 2005, Californians have lowered their output in 2011 to a record-low of 4.4 pounds/day. Good news for the state with the highest population, and yet compared to the national average – 4.4 pounds – that’s not much of a drop, more like stopping the …
Continue reading “Californians create record-low trash in 2011 – still more than national average”
For 25 years volunteers have gathered together for Coastal Cleanup Day. The annual event takes place this year on the morning of September 15, 2012. To volunteer in California visit the California Coastal Commission. For anywhere else visit International Coastal Cleanup. You can also take a pledge to keep our waters trash free, and follow …
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We are getting better, but one can never rest on their laurels: Garbage drops as CA’s recycling goal grows Californians have slashed the amount of stuff they throw away each day, pushing per capita disposal rates down to a record low last year even though the economy picked up steam. It’s a good showing — …
Continue reading “California moves one step closer to Zero Waste – 75% reduction by 2020”
When thinking about the sustainability of REI’s operations, the complexity of the task quickly becomes apparent. Where does a person start? Our annual stewardship report details one such area: our efforts to reduce REI’s waste-to-landfill. We conducted a retail waste audit to better understand the details. To paint a picture, imagine this: Our teams literally went “dumpster …
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Welcome to Rent A Green Box, the first Zero-Waste pack and move solution in America! Do you ever wonder why we’re cutting down our trees to make cardboard moving boxes that are used once, maybe twice, and then tossed into a landfill? After all, cardboard boxes aren’t just wasteful and inefficient, they’re also expensive, hard …
Continue reading “Zero-waste moving – Recopack moving boxes – made from recycled plastic trash”
A recent cleanup of trash on a scenic Mexican beach seemed to confirm what many there thought: Most of the plastic garbage comes from outside Mexico. On Feb. 25, a cleanup collected more than 6 tons of trash and allowed participants to examine pieces for signs of where it came from. The answer: all over. …
Continue reading “Our trash pollutes beaches around the world”