Paper towels are the absolute easiest throwaway item to replace in your kitchen. We’ve teamed up with Swedish Dishcloths company Swedish Wholesale to introduce you to their reusable eco-friendly dish cloths by sharing 5 ways reusable dish cloths are better than paper towels.

1. They’re more convenient. When you stock up on reusable dish cloths, you always have a few on hand. You can use them for your regular cleaning or pull one out in case of an unexpected spill. Because you don’t run out of them, you’ll never find yourself making an emergency run to the store to buy some. When a crisis like the Corona virus pandemic strikes, you won’t have to put yourself in a compromised position going out to get paper towels.

2. They save money. It’s a no brainer that buying something once that you can reuse over and over again saves more money than buying something once, throwing it away, and then buying the replacement. Swedish dish cloths last at least as long as 15 rolls of paper towels. If one cloth costs you $2, and each roll of paper towels costs around $1, that means 15 rolls of paper towels cost $15 – but you spend only $2 on a cloth. You could save at least $13 with every cloth you use.

3. They create less throwaway trash. Every year 13 billion pounds of paper towels are sent to landfills. Paper towels themselves are specifically designed to be thrown away. They come wrapped around a cardboard core you throw away, too.  Swedish reusable dish cloths are made from biodegradable cellulose and cotton, and can be composted, so there’s no trash along the spectrum.

4. They avoid plastic. Paper towels usually come wrapped in throwaway plastic. If you use a synthetic sponge, that’s actually plastic, as well. Reusable dish cloths skip the plastic in favor of eco-friendly cellulose and cotton that will biodegrade.

5. They create less kitchen clutter. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t have room in my kitchen or pantry for 15 rolls of paper towels – or even a six-pack! All I want in my kitchen sink or on the drainboard are one or two reusable dish cloths.  Here’s a stack of 10 reusable dish cloths. That would be the equivalent of 150 rolls of paper towels!!

NOTE: Swedish dish cloths dry hard. The benefit of this is that they don’t get smelly the way a sponge that stays damp does. But that also means that before you use it, give it a quick run under your kitchen faucet to dampen it up a bit. That will make it super absorbent and pliable. Also, lay these dish cloths out flat to dry after you use them. Then you can stand them up in your kitchen sink drainer for quick access whenever you need them.

Also, these dish cloths really do function more like sponges or paper towels than kitchen tea towels. You wouldn’t use them to dry a glass or a plate; you would use them to wash out a glass or wipe off a plate, as well as wipe down counters, walls, and floors as needed.

To wash Swedish dish cloths, throw them in the dishwasher; rinse them out with hot soapy water when you’re doing the dishes, or toss them in the washing machine, as long as you’re not adding fabric softener to the wash. Don’t put them in the dryer; just lay them out flat to dry.

You can get more information about Swedish reusable dish cloths here.

Want to get your own Swedish Dish Cloths? You can find them on Amazon here (my affiliate link, FYI). You can get a 10 pack for only $19.99, plus free delivery if you’re a Prime member.

NOTE: Partnerships with companies like Swedish Wholesale help us bring you the expert content you need to live the greener life you want. All editorial positions are our own.

The post 5 Ways Reusable Dish Cloths Are Better Than Paper Towels appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Want to reduce paper waste and clutter? Start by setting up paperless banking, which also allows you to electronically transfer money online. We’re partnering with WesternUnion.com to show you how to get paperless banking going and to easily send money online.

Why Bother?

Paper is one of the largest sources of clutter at home and in the office. Bills and bank statements are some of the most constant sources of wasteful paper you probably have that you could get rid of. Going paperless will immediately reduce the amount of paper cluttering up your house.

Making paper also takes a big toll on the environment. The US EPA says the average American uses the equivalent of about one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree every year. Going paperless saves trees and stops the pollution caused by cutting trees down, turning them into pulp, bleaching them (often with toxic chemicals), and creating paper. Going paperless is a total environmental win!

Going paperless also may reduce identity theft. Many people don’t bother shredding their bills before they throw them out, or even recycle them. That makes their personal information vulnerable to anyone who wants to rifle through their trash or recycling bin.

Online banking and money transfers save time, too. Rather than file bank statements, pay and file individual bills, write and mail checks, or physically have to go to a bank, you can deal with it all online. Easy peasy!

Plus, you can download apps on your mobile device so you can bank, pay bills, and transfer money all from your phone, if needed.

How To Do It

Almost every bank in the U.S. now offers paperless banking. All you need to do to take advantage of it is create an online account and agree to have your bank statements emailed to you rather than paper mailed. Once you do, it becomes very easy to monitor your bank account, or accounts if you have more than one.

You can also set up online billing so that, not only are you getting bank statements mailed to you, but credit card and other bills as well. Then, you can pay those bills electronically with no need to write paper checks, mail them in paper envelopes, and add a stamp!

If you need to send money to someone, you can easily do that, as well. In the case of Western Union, you can electronically transfer money directly to a bank account with no paper involved. You can also send money for cash pick up or to a mobile wallet, all without needing to use any paper.

Paperless and Online Is The Name of the Game

If you worry your electronic bills and transactions might get lost among your other email, you can set up a new email address just to receive your bills and billing statements. You can also set your calendar to notify you when a particular bill is due and payment must be made.

Here’s one more benefit: convenience. You can download your bank statements and billing history to your own computer, so you always have access to your accounts. With your mobile apps, you can pay bills or send money from wherever you area.

It’s Quick and Easy

Every bank makes it easy to switch to online banking. Create an account, then just start using it. The system is similar for setting up an account to transfer money from an account to a recipient.

You can get more information from Western Union on how to easily send money online here.

NOTE: Partners and sponsors enable us to bring you the expert content you need to lead the greener life you want. All editorial opinions remain our own.

The post Cut Clutter and Easily Send Money Online With Paperless Banking appeared first on Big Green Purse.

The company is also introducing a reusable shopping tote. The foldable, metallic brushed linen bag will feature a cityscape design representing every city where a Nordstrom store can be found. The bag comes in a little case that serves as the bottom of the bag when it is unfolded. Big enough to fit two shoe boxes, the bag will retail for  $21.95. Look for it first in the Northwest, Northern California, and Southern California.

Let’s hope Nordstrom’s next step is to sell clothing made from recycled, hemp and organic cotton fibers.

The post Nordstrom Bags It appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Clutter drives me crazy almost any time, but it seems like it gets worse during the holidays. We’re working with the charity Boat Angel, which accepts boat and car donations, to offer what we think are the 6 easiest ways to declutter before the holidays hit.

They’ll help reduce the stress of trying to deal with all your anxiety-causing, space-wasting “stuff”  by helping you focus on what you can get rid of (the first secret to decluttering), while organizing what you want to keep.

1) Start With Your Clothes – Keep What You Love and Wear; Donate the Rest

Clothing is one of the biggest sources of clutter in my home and maybe yours, too. We have a tendency to hold on to clothes we’ve outgrown or whose styles have outgrown us. Little wonder that all those shoes, dresses, shirts, pants, sweaters, scarves, coats and jackets end up in big piles at the back of our closets, or falling off hangers, or stuffing up drawers.

Here’s how I keep my clothes clutter under control.

At the beginning of every season, I make a big pile of the past season’s clothes that no longer fit, that are no longer stylish, or that I just don’t like any more.

For example, with winter arriving, I’ve put the fall season sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans, flannel shirts, blouses, skirts and dresses I never or barely wore into a pile. That created room in my closet and drawers for the winter clothes I think I want to wear.

Next, as I put my winter clothes away, I’m looking at them critically and trying on some things before they automatically go into a drawer or get hung up.

From that lot, I also put aside the apparel I just don’t think I’m going to wear anymore.

It probably takes two hours to go through my closet and all my drawers.

I make the time go faster by playing some music and having a cup of tea on hand to sip as I sort. When all is said and done, I have more room, my clothes are better organized, and I have a bag full of garments to donate to Goodwill or the local thrift store.

Since Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Purple Heart all do pick-ups, I simply call them to say the goods are ready, then put them on my porch and voilá, they’re gone before I know it.

2) Work Room by Room, One Room at a Time

The same sorting process works well in every room in the house. In the kitchen, pull out items from the pantry you no longer use. Donate old housewares to a community kitchen or half-way house. Donate unopened food to a food pantry.

In the garage, collect excess tools and sporting gear, and consider whether now is the time to donate your car, boat, trailer or motorcycle.

A quick internet search will provide you a list of groups that are always looking for these types of goods and will allow you to even donate a boat without title.

3) BOGO – Buy One, Give One

Once I’ve made room in closets, cupboards and drawers, the trick is to keep them from filling up again. I make a practice of trying to give away the old version of something when I replace it with the new. It helps to keep a “donation bag” handy to put the old items into, rather than stuff them in some out-of-the-way place.

4) Recycle electronics

Among the biggest sources of household clutter are old electronics. Smart phones, computers, lap tops, tablets, printers, fax machines, cables, chargers – who doesn’t have a drawerful of electronic clutter they’d love to see emptied? Fortunately, electronics are as easy as clothes to unload, since pretty much every big box store that sells them also takes them back. Staples, OfficeMax, and BestBuy all make it easy by having drop-off boxes so you can just walk in and leave your old gear. Just make sure to swipe the data drives and remove the sim cards before you do.

Here’s our post on 15 Things You Can Recycle to Ease Christmas Clutter Clean-Up

5) Cancel Catalogs

Retail catalogs are a constant source of clutter in my home. They’re also a scourge on the planet because they want so much paper! You can cut that way back by refusing to provide your address or phone number when you shop in person (of course, if you buy online, you’ll have to provide your address). Another option is to call the 1-800 number provided in the catalog and ask the operator to remove your name from the company’s mailing lists. This will only take a couple of minutes. You can also sign up with CatalogChoice, and they’ll help you cancel the catalogs you no longer want to receive.

6) Give Everything a Place

Once you’ve gone through your home and removed the unnecessary and unused bits and pieces, you can organize what’s left.

But don’t be random about it. Put shoes in an over-the-door hanging shoe rack. String ties on hangers or tie racks. Use shelves so you can see what you have where.

Visit the Container Store to get ideas for the best way to organize your belongings, and pick up some baskets, shelves, or boxes if you need them. Clear boxes and bins are best for seeing what’s inside, but you can also label them on the side or top to keep track of their contents.

By the way, if you have kids at home, make sure you teach them to keep their clutter to a minimum, too. Even when they’re still quite young, kids can be taught to place dirty clothes in hampers, hang their back packs in a mud room, put their toys in the toy box, and place art supplies in a container when they’re finished using them. Setting aside 15 minutes before bedtime for everyone to put away their things is a good way to get the entire family involved.

Don’t forget to ask the kids to recycle and donate the toys, books, and gear they no longer use.

NOTE: Our partners helps us bring you the expert content you need to live the greener life you want. Our editorial opinions remain our own.

The post The 6 Easiest Ways You’ll Want to Declutter Before the Holidays Hit appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Plus, when you swap stuff free, in addition to getting rid of clutter and reducing trash, you free up your budget to afford other items that you need to buy. Some greener products can be a bit more expensive than their conventional counterparts, but when you swap stuff for free, you create more room in your budget for the green essentials you want.

Of course, another way to increase your budget for green goods is to use cash back credit cards when you do make a purchase, and to use that free cash back money to supplement your overall green living budget. That’s why we’ve teamed up with CreditLoan.com on this post. Swapping for what you want, and using cash back to help you afford what you need, is a pretty good way to help pay for your greener lifestyle.

5 Ways to Swap Stuff Free

Books – Put up a Little Free Library

Little Free Libraries are just about the easiest way to swap books I know of. Here’s how they work: You build or put up a water-proof box where it can be accessed any time of the day or night (many people put them on their front lawns). The box isn’t too big – maybe 24 inches wide and 30 inches high. It closes with a latch, but doesn’t lock, so anyone can put a book in or take one out. It might have 2 shelves in it so it can accommodate 20 or so books. Anyone walking buy is welcome to take a book out for free. You can also put one of your own books in for free – in fact, that’s the idea. Take a book out, put a book in. If you don’t want to build an actual box, you can get creative by using a water-proof trunk, an old refrigerator, a small furniture chest, or anything else that helps to hold the books.

Of course, you can always donate books to a school or a library. But for a true swap? Consider putting up a Little Free Library on your block, and encourage neighbors to do the same. You can also put up free libraries in apartment buildings and condo and townhome complexes.

Clothes – Set up a clothing exchange with friends and neighbors

Moms are masters when it comes to swapping their kids clothes. It’s easy to swap clothes an older kid has outgrown with a mom who has a toddler. Teenage girls are great at swapping, too. It extends their budgets  and keeps them up on the latest fashions without having to lay out too much cash. But what if you need to clear out your own closet and would like to change up your wardrobe a bit? Try organizing a clothing swap with friends and family, or colleagues at work. Here are the basic “rules” to help make it a success. Essentially, host a fun coffee or happy hour. Invite a group as large or small as you want. Ask everyone to bring clothing that is clean and in good condition. Have a place where all the clothes can be set out by size and/or style. Then let the swapping begin. Donate any leftover clothes to a local charity. GetRichSlowly.org lays out more precise guidelines for a successful swap here.

Garden Plants – Swap seeds, seedlings, and the plants themselves

Swapping garden plants is a no brainer for a lot of reasons. Plants can be expensive, and there’s no guarantee they’ll thrive in your garden. When you swap, you get plants for free, keep plants out of the trash if you don’t compost, and can get access to plants from gardens that get the same amount of rainfall, sunlight, or pests as yours. Swap plants informally via a neighborhood list serv, or join your local garden club and start an annual spring plant swap. By the way you can also swap the vegetables and herbs you grow for ones you don’t.

Don’t Miss: Don’t Buy Plants. Swap! (I did, and saved $50.)

Kids’ Stuff – Swap Toys, Games and Sporting Equipment

Kids usually outgrow their toys and games long before those things break. This is the kind of stuff that has a tendency to pile up and create a lot of clutter, so why not keep putting it to use by setting up a swap? You can organize it the same way you organize a clothes swap, but with an added bonus: get your kids involved, and teach them from an early age to swap and share rather than always think the first they should do is buy news.

Meals – You Make Two, She Makes Two

Swapping meals is great when you want to eat delicious home-cooked food but don’t have time to do all the cooking and shopping every week. One year, a neighbor and I who both worked outside the home and had two little kids to feed decided to swap meals during the week. She made enough for my family two nights a week, and I made enough for her family two weeks a night. It was a great way to have delicious suppers without having to worry about them every night. Plus, it introduced us to recipes that the other was unfamiliar with. If you do this, set it up for a trial for a month. Agree on ingredients and make sure you know if anyone has any food allergies. Then, figure out the best delivery time. (This is not a potluck, so people aren’t going to each others’ homes for dinner, though they could.)

What are your favorite ways to swap stuff free? Please share!

The post 5 Ways to Swap Stuff Free appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Is old electronic junk sitting around your house or office just cluttering up the place? Are you getting or giving new tech stuff for the holidays and already wondering what to do with the old stuff you’ll be left with? We’re partnering with GreenBuyBack.com to show you how to sell your old phones, electronics and other e-waste. Plus, during their holiday special, you’ll earn an extra $5 at check out when you sell old phones, electronics, and other e-gear.

Why GreenBuyBack.com?

GreenBuyBack.com buys old cell phones, tablets, smart watches and other devices, then gets them responsibly recycled. They make it incredibly easy for you to work with them because they not only give you a quote on what they’ll pay, but they also give you a free shipping label so it won’t cost you anything to send them your e-junk.

How easy is that?

Here’s the complete list of what GreenBuyBack.com buys:

There is no downside to checking with GreenBuyBack.com to see what you can sell your e-waste for. But the upsides are terrific.

You’ll get rid of all that e nonsense cluttering up your drawers.

You’ll make a little money.

You won’t throw that stuff in the trash.

E-waste is the fastest growing segment of the waste stream.

That means that all the heavy metals (think cadmium, mercury and lead) and plastic wiring and parts end up in our soil and water, and then you know what happens. Icky pollution. Contaminated groundwater. And just a big waste of all the resources used to produce the electronics in the first place.

Why would you trash the planet and throw away good money when you can sell old phones, electronics, and other devices to a company that will recycle them for you?

Give GreenBuyBack.com a try.

NOTE: We partner with companies like GreenBuyBack.com when they meet our strict standards for delivering quality green products and services. Our partners also help us deliver expert information at no additional cost to you. Our editorial opinions always remain our own. Thanks!

The post How to Sell Old Phones, Electronics? GreenBuyBack.com appeared first on Big Green Purse.

How many electronics cables do you have just lying around? Probably a lot! Worldwide, it’s estimated that we will throw away 40 million tons of electronic waste this year alone, including the wires and cables we use to charge our phones, power our computers, and keep entertainment centers, well, entertaining. We’ve teamed up with Eland Cables to explain why it’s so important to recycle old wires and cables rather than just throw them away.

Too Much Electronic Trash

Electronic waste is the fastest growing sector of the waste stream. In fact, 85% of our e-waste is sent to landfills and incinerators, and that’s not good for the planet. Electronics contain heavy metals and plastic made of various compounds that, as they break up over time, get released into the air, water and soil,potentially polluting the water we tap for drinking, washing and cleaning.

Communities are responding as the problem gets worse. Throwing e-waste away, even if it’s “only” electrical wires and cables, is illegal in the UK, much of Europe, and numerous jurisdictions in the United States.

Pollution aside, there’s another reason why it doesn’t make sense to trash e waste like wires and cables. They contain important and difficult to get metals like copper. Mining the copper needed to make cable pretty much destroys the environment around where the mines occur. Deep, open copper pits in places like Butte, Montana are infamous for how ugly, polluting and destructive they are.

Though other rare metals are used to manufacture wires and cable as well, copper is ultimately the most widely used electrical and electronic conductor on Earth. In the past few years, copper has become scarce, leading to higher prices, which in turns raises our cost of buying electronics, as well as more copper mines.

Recycling old wires and cables is one way to reclaim copper without all that environmental destruction.

How to Recycle Old Wires and Cables in Your Area

Recycle

Copper is selling for a little over $3 a pound. Any metal recycling center will be happy to accept your copper-cored wires, and the more the better. BestBuy, Staples and other stores that electronics will help out with electronics recycling, too.

In fact, they’ll accept most of your small electronics, in addition to wires and cables. You can also sell your used electronics here.

Reuse

Except for some Apple products, most of your home entertainment cords and cables can be used with other devices. For example, the cord I use to charge my Kindle Fire can also charge my Samsung Galaxy phone.

New electronics come with their own power cables but not necessarily HDMI or coax. It’s a good idea to keep one set of back-up cables you can use for your devices. Whatever you can’t reuse yourself, ask your friends and family if they can.

Donate

Many schools and non-profits happily accept electronics donations, even if all you have is the odd power cord or old Ethernet cable that wasn’t quite long enough.

STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – programs across the country are always looking for ways to save a buck on getting the items they need for their programs. Simply Google STEM or National Center for Electronics Recycling to find out what’s available in your area.

Last but not least, you can always visit Earth911 to learn more about where to recycle  electronics in your neighborhood.

NOTE: Paid partnerships enable us to bring you expert advice and information at no additional cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post Recycle Old Wires and Cables; They’re Worth a Lot of $$! appeared first on Big Green Purse.

In the spirit of the holidays, I want to help keep you happy – by helping you reduce the amount of trash you throw away. But I’m not here on my own. Once again, I’m teaming up with Junk King to help you reduce holiday waste.

Junk King is the #1 Rated Junk Removal Service in North America. I like them because they’re so “green.” When they take away your junk, they don’t just drive it to a landfill. They sort your stuff into metals, e-waste, paper, appliances, and more so it can be easily recycled. They also donate, repurpose, and reuse everything from clothing, toys, baby cribs and strollers to office furniture and supplies.

I love their newest infographic, and I bet you will, too. If you’ve wondered why you should skip the wrapping paper, or plant a live tree instead of buying a fake artificial tree, here are your answers!

In other words…

1. Use less: Did you know that if every family used just two feet of ribbon to decorate their gifts, we could save 38,000 miles of ribbon? That’s enough to tie a bow around the whole planet!
2. Wrap creatively: Wrapping paper and gift bags aren’t the only way to wrap presents. Try using a different material that you already have around your house. Newspaper, sheet music, and old maps are fun choices and are much more unique than commercial wrapping paper. You could also use scarves, t-shirts, or other fabric to wrap gifts. That way, the wrapping could be a gift as well!
3. Buy a potted tree: Every year, nearly 33 million live trees are sold across North America. Considering how much paper that we waste, saving a tree is the least that we can do. Buy a potted tree this year instead of cutting one down. This way, after the holidays are over and it’s time to take down the decorations, you can plant the tree in your own backyard.
4. Regift: Around 35% of Americans have an unopened or unused gift collecting dust somewhere. Instead of taking up valuable space or throwing it away, find it a new home. If you don’t know of anyone who would like the gift, take it to a donation center. During the holidays, there are plenty of organizations collecting gifts for those who are less fortunate.
5. Gift sustainably: There are a number of small steps that you can take to make your gift a little bit more environmentally friendly. For example, if you’re giving a battery-powered gift, consider gifting a reusable battery charger along with it! If you’re giving someone something made from paper, like a journal, try to find one that’s made from recycled paper. Buying a handmade gift from a local shop or online store, or even making a gift yourself, can also help reduce waste, as these products are not mass-produced.
6. Go digital: About 2.6 billion cards are given to people every year. That amounts to just about 50,000 cubic yards of paper — enough to fill a football field 10 stories high! And no matter how sentimental they may be, they usually end up stashed away in a box or thrown away. Instead of paying for overpriced, wasteful cardstock, send an electronic greeting card for free!
7. Donate your leftovers: Holiday meals are usually big ordeals, and it’s always better to have too much than too little, but most of the time the leftovers are too much to handle. Instead of wasting perfectly good food, consider bringing your leftovers to a local homeless shelter. There are plenty of people who go hungry during the holidays, and your donation could make a world of difference to someone in need.And remember! Don’t be a Grinch!!

   NOTE: Sponsors like Junk King enable us to bring you expertise and insights at no cost to you. Our editorial opinion remains our own.

The post Don’t Be a Grinch! 7 Ways to Reduce Holiday Waste appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Food waste is costing you, and America, a lot of money.

As a nation, we waste 40% of the food produced.

As consumers, we throw away at least 30% of the food we buy at the grocery store.

Here’s what that means: if you spend $100 on groceries, you’ll end up throwing $30 worth away.

EcoScraps believes that’s wrong, and they’re right! That’s why we’ve teamed up with them to introduce you to the smart way they’re turning wasted food – including bananas – into potting soil and other garden products. They’re also offering a $50 WalMart Gift Card to one lucky Big Green Purse reader so you can purchase your own EcoScaps stuff. But more on that later!

Disclosure: This blog post includes links sponsored by EcoScraps and their preferred distributor, Wal-Mart.

How Many Bananas Do You Waste? What About Lettuce? Grapes?

You may be so used to throwing away food that you don’t even think about it anymore. But you should. Consider this*:

Food Waste Causes Climate Change

All this food waste takes a big toll on our pocket books. But it’s also contributing in a major way to climate change.

At the front end, think of all the fossil fuels (and water) used to produce, harvest, process and get that food to your shopping cart or dinner plate. Burning especially oil to operate farm machinery and transportation systems generates tons of carbon dioxide that are adding to global warming.

But on the back end, all the food that’s thrown away – enough to cover 4,444 football fields a year – ends up in landfills.

As landfilled food waste starts to decompose, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that’s 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide (CO2).

EcoScraps to the Food Waste Rescue

Since 2010, EcoScraps has been working to be part of the solution by reusing food waste and keeping it out of landfills. “We want to make sustainability mainstream,” says the company.

And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Recycling 15 million pounds of food waste is equivalent to keeping 500,000 cars off the road for an entire day.

Between 2011 and 2015, EcoScraps recycled 75 million pounds of food waste, and they project recycling another 75 million pounds in 2016 alone. 

What are they doing with it?

Turning it into potting soil, compost and other garden products, including:

All Purpose Plant Food

Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron Plant Food

Compost Accelerator

Potting Mix

Raised Bed Garden Mix

Rose & Flower Plant Food

Tomato, Herb & Vegetable Plant Food

Moisture Retaining Garden Soil

All Purpose Liquid Fertilizer

Moisture Retaining Compost

I used EcoScraps’ Moisture Retaining Potting Soil to pot up the impatience and begonias I keep on my porch. Don’t they look beautiful?

What Can You Do to Reduce Food Waste?

√First and foremost, buy less food! Rather than buy as much as you think you need, realize you can buy 30% less – if you eat it all. Be smarter about what you buy and keep track of it so you eat it all.

√That goes for restaurants, too. When you dine out, order smaller portions, or share one large portion so you waste less. Bring home the leftovers so the restaurant won’t toss them in the trash.

√Change your shopping habits. Bagged salad, for instance, is one of the number one foods wasted. Buy bagged salads only on the days you plan to use them.

√And of course, choose products like EcoScraps that are made from food waste that’s been recycled.

What other ideas do you have for reducing food waste? Please share!

NOTE: Sponsors like EcoScraps enable us to bring you expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own.  

*Source – Packing News

WIN A $50 GIFT CARD!

EcoScraps wants to make it easy for you to try their product, so they’re offering one lucky Big Green Purse reader a $50 Gift Card, which you can use at any WalMart store. For a chance at winning the card, please leave a comment in the comments section below telling us what you are growing in your garden this year and why you think gardening organically is so important. The winner will be chosen at random.

Please leave your comment below by Noon ET on June 28.

The post Why Does EcoScraps Turn Old Bananas Into Potting Soil, Plant Food? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Packaging waste is a major concern for consumers and businesses alike.

In large part, that’s because businesses often don’t use the right size box for what they’re shipping out, which requires extra padding materials that create even more waste.

It never would have occurred to me as a business owner to make my own boxes, but our sponsor for this post, Packsize, recommends exactly that. I was so taken with that idea that I wanted to share it with you and give you some solid reasons as to why you should “evolve” and make your own box.

A Big Waste!

Packaging accounts for nearly 40 percent of all solid waste in municipal waste streams, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That’s because American consumers and businesses generate over 75 million tons of container and packaging waste annually. The waste that’s not recycled ends up in landfills, threatening the environment and human health.

Waste = Pollution

There are numerous issues with landfills, one of the biggest being that they can pollute our air, land, and water.

STYRENE Many of the materials sent to landfills, including plastics and polystyrene foam, contain toxic chemicals.

↓ Polystyrene, like the foam packaging that a lot of electronics come padded in,  is non-biodegradable and non-recyclable and takes approximately 500 years to decompose.

↓ High levels of styrene can get released into the atmosphere, affecting our respiratory and central nervous systems and causing environmental problems.

↓ Soil and sediments can also become polluted by the landfill disposal of styrene waste. And, styrene is just one of the many harmful chemicals found in waste materials.

LEACHATES Leachates, the contaminated liquids that drain out as materials decompose, pose more health and environmental threats.

↓ Though landfills contain protective barriers designed to protect us from toxins, they eventually deteriorate, allowing leachates to leak through and enter the soil, groundwater, and waterways.

↓ From there, toxic chemicals can up in our drinking water and even get into our food.

What Can You Do to Make Your Packing
More Eco-Friendly?

As a business, you have a responsibility to be as sustainable as possible. Make your product packaging a priority. Doing so will help your business minimize its environmental footprint, while reducing costs and improving customer loyalty.

Here are some ways you can make your packaging more eco-friendly:

Perform a Sustainability Audit

Are your packaging and shipping operations as sustainable as you think? The only way to know for sure is by performing a sustainability audit.

The auditor will examine your entire packaging process, from production to disposal, and provide specific recommendations on how your sustainability performance could be improved. With an audit, you’ll know exactly what areas need improvements and how they can be achieved.

Use a Box Making Machine to Make Your Own Box

Are you using the smallest box possible to ship your products? Research shows the average package has 40% wasted space. With this wasted space, businesses end up using unnecessary and excessive packaging materials, including cardboard and filler material like packaging peanuts.

Here’s the problem: Your boxes may be too large for your items because you’re buying your boxes in bulk, in just a few sizes.

Fortunately, box making machines (like the one pictured above) can resolve some of these issues. With a box making machine on-site, you can make the specific sized box you need for the item you’re shipping, right when you need it.

Using the smallest box size possible eliminates wasted space and the need for unnecessary packing material. And, now that dimensional weight pricing is applied to all parcels, a box making machine can help your business save money on shipping costs.

Get Creative with Packing Materials

Your customers care about sustainable packaging. A recent study shows the majority of Americans prefer more environmentally sustainable paper and packaging options; and millennials are willing to pay more for eco-friendly and deforestation-free packaging options.

Many companies are already getting creative with their packaging materials. For instance:

√ Dell uses bamboo and mushroom packaging in place of Styrofoam.

√ Tom’s of Maine is experimenting with using potato starch in its polylactic acid (PLA) packaging. The company is taking food waste and below food-grade crops from landfills and working on turning them into a bio-plastic resin.

√ You can also tinker with the design of your packaging to turn it into something your customers can actually use. Most notably, Puma created the “Clever Little Bag”, a reusable shoe bag, to replace the traditional shoebox.

These are some steps you can take to reduce your business’s packaging waste. For other ways to increase your business’s sustainability, don’t miss:

10 Ways to Become an Eco-Friendly Company

Sources:
U.S. EPA
Sustainable Brands 

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