The United Kingdom made it official this year: they are banning single-use plastics as of October 1, 2023, backed enthusiastically by 95% of individuals polled. Starting in October, retailers and food vendors cannot use these items, even if they have some left in stock. They are being encouraged to find immediate alternatives. It is estimated […]
Plastics are made of various chemical combinations. To remove some of the headaches of sorting plastics for recycling, a method was invented that sorts them by weight. The process is called Sink Float. An entire water bottle, for example, is ground into small flakes in a vat of water. The caps are made of a […]
There’s a popular comedy show skit about a couple at a restaurant who won’t order the chicken until they know everything about it: its name (Colin), where its diet was sourced, where it lived and whether it had been happy. They even visit the farm to see for themselves before they will order. Such concern […]
What happens when a #7 gets mixed up with a batch of #1 or #2 recyclables? It contaminates the whole batch. Plastics may start with the same basic ingredient of crude oil, but they become bound differently with the addition of polymer combinations that make a plastic girder feel and act differently from stretch pants. […]
Recycling isn’t magic. What you put in the recycling can goes into various kinds of machinery to be chopped, melted or broken down in some way. Some things can’t be broken down at all. Others get stuck between moving parts, and sometimes an entire batch can be contaminated by just one thing. Recycling only works […]
There are some things that you may have thought were curb-recyclable, but aren’t. Even if they have recyclable markings on them, local recyclers often don’t have the machinery to process them, or they are coated with something problematic. To name a few: You can toss corrugated, plain cardboard and paper food containers into the recycling […]
Composting at home without a garden is possible, whether indoors or outside. Outside – Even if all you have is an apartment patio, you can get an aerated small compost bin, or else drill holes generously into the sides of a standard plastic storage container. Just remember to layer vegetable kitchen scraps and coffee or […]
Industrial composting is completely different from home composting. Each works in very different ways to break down compostable material. Home or community outdoor composting is acceptable for ‘green’ and ‘brown’ matter such as grass clippings, twigs and kitchen scraps that are not animal-related. Occasionally turning these clippings and scraps over with a pitchfork or shovel […]
We have been accustomed to tossing kitchen scraps and wasted food into the trash to be hauled off to a landfill. But the landfills are full, and the methane gas they expel from incomplete decomposition is toxic. Methane has as much as 80 times more earth warming capacity than carbon dioxide. It’s a major contributor […]
You may know that an organic banana peel can be composted at home, but what about PHA bioplastics? Polyhydroxyalcanoates (PHA) are plastics that are made from canola oil instead of chemical polymers. It will be in use more often as major companies make a concerted effort to go green. But ultimately it’s up to you […]