By the way, the #1 best way to save the environment is by not consuming so much in the first place, right? The less you buy and throw away, the better. The “3 R’s” begin with REDUCE, after all!

Also, make sure you check with your local municipal solid waste office to verify what you can and can’t recycle in your community. Some communities let you recycle everything – including the kitchen sink! Others offer more limited options. Recycle as much as you can, and pay attention to what you can’t so you can buy less of it and figure out creative ways to reuse it.

NOTE: Sponsors like BetterCleans.com enable us to bring you the expert content you need to lead the greener life you want. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post 7 Easy Ways To Recycle At Home appeared first on Big Green Purse.

That’s the idea behind #WeWantRefill, an important new petition drive asking retailers to put plastic container refilling stations in their stores to make it easy for us consumers to use and throwaway less plastic.

WeWantRefill is sponsoring this post. We’re working with them because we support the idea of refilling and reusing plastic containers 100%.

Why Refill?

Fewer than 40% of plastic bottles are recycled. Instead, they get thrown away, where they can break into chunks and little pieces called #microplastic and easily get into our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.

It’s estimated that every square mile of ocean has 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it. And no matter what we’ll do, we’ll never get that plastic out of the ocean.

But we don’t need to add to the problem. The key is to prevent plastic waste in the first place. Of course, the most important step you can take is to go plastic-free and use non-plastic packaging as much as possible. But when you do use plastic bottles and jugs, shouldn’t they be refillable?

That’s where We Want Refill comes in. #WeWantRefill is leading a global petition drive to pressure retailers like grocery stores to set up refill stations so it is easy for you and me to refill our plastic jugs an bottles instead of throw them away.

How Does a Refill Station Work?

If you buy food in bulk, you already get this idea. You simply go to the bulk bin and refill either your own container or a bag you can get at the bin. Many traditional grocery stores, food co-ops, and Whole Foods-type stores devote aisles to bins of grains, tea, nuts, dried pasta, cereal, flour, sugar, dried herbs, candy, and more. You simply fill up your container and note the SKU number on a tie or the container so the cashier can charge you the correct price when you check out.

Some retailers also have in-store stations set up when you can squeeze your own orange juice into a bottle, grind your own peanut butter, dispense your own olive oil and honey, and package up your own feta cheese and tofu.

Why not refill shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, laundry detergent, and liquid soap the same way? Here’s how easy it is:

Some retailers offering refill stations already exist. Here’s one in France. It’s called “Day by Day,” and it’s committed to zero waste.

Here’s one in Brooklyn, NY called The Fillery.

Why Do We Need a Petition?

Organizers of the effort say “the whole purpose of the #WeWantRefill campaign is to show retailers and manufacturers that we, the consumer, want change and we’re ready for this technology. Stores will never do this on their own; when we’ve approached them, their answer is that consumers won’t shop this way.”

By signing the WeWantRefill petition, and liking the campaign’s Facebook page, we can show retailers that there is grassroots support for eliminating plastic by being able to refill plastic containers when we shop.

Won’t It Make a Mess?

“The types of technology available makes the mess obsolete,” reports WeWantRefill. “The refill machine recognizes the size of your container and refills it appropriately.” It’s not a hand-pump system, which can be messy, but rather an automated system that makes refilling clean and efficient.

Please Sign The Petition

WeWantRefill is planning to send copies of the petitions to WalMart, Target, and Whole Foods, as well as manufacturers like Pepsi, L’Oreal, and Procter & Gamble to show them there is support for setting up in-store retailers. We’ve signed, and we hope you will too.

And remember: Follow #wewantrefill on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest campaign news.

The post Want to Eliminate Plastic Pollution? Sign the #WeWantRefill Petition. 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.

There are lots of practical and “green” reasons for decluttering your home:

√ Getting rid of extra stuff allows you to share with others.

√ Selling unwanted items earns you extra cash.

√ Freeing up useful space allows you to enjoy your home more.

√ Giving your excess stuff to others is good for the planet because it saves energy, reduces trash, and extends the life of our natural resources.

While these are all smart anti-clutter solutions, there’s actually an even better one:

Decluttering your home is good for your health.

Clutter Can Make It Harder to Breathe

 How often have you been late because you can’t find your keys? Are you constantly arguing with the kids because they’ve misplaced their personal items?

The post 5 Ways Decluttering Your Home Improves Your Health appeared first on Big Green Purse.

• Leave it behind when you buy a new phone. Sprint, Verizon,T-Mobile, AT&T, Nokia, and Motorola all participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Plug in to e-cycling” program and will accept any cell phone or PDA at any of their retail outlets.

• Take it to Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, or Radio Shack. Most outlets will have a box you can drop your phone in with absolutely no hassle.

*  Send it to Collective Good, a company that refurbishes the phones, re-sells them, and shares the profits with the charity of your choice. Address:

Collective Good International
Include Charity Code
5763 ARAPAHOE AVE STE G
Boulder, CO 80303-1350

Why bother? Every week, 3 million cell phones are thrown away. More than 1 billion used mobile phones clutter our shelves, take up space in our drawers or worse – are decaying in landfills.

Cell phones are constructed with a host of heavy metals – like antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc – that can pollute ground water and potentially cause cancer. Recovering those metals for re-use keeps them out of the environment and makes them available for reuse in other electronics manufacturing.

Have an APPLE I-Phone or IPOD you need to unload?   Apple’s Recycling Program provides prepaid mailing label you can download from the company website.

Recycle used phone batteries, too. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Coalition links to 50,000 locations, including Target, Lowe’s Home Depot and Office Max.

Want more ways to recycle your phone? Here are 50, courtesy of VOIP.
.

Research by Rachel Goglia

The post Where Can You Recycle Cellphones? Everywhere. appeared first on Big Green Purse.