We CAN Be Green

Green News: America Recycles Day

CONTACT:
Skip Anderson
anderson.skip@epa.gov
202-564-9551
202-564-4355

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 13, 2009

Make Everyday America Recycles Day


WASHINGTON – Want to help the environment?  Why not spend some time this America Recycles Day, November 15^th, looking for new opportunities to recycle throughout the year?  Keeping good recycling habits at home, work, and on the go can help with climate change.  By reusing, recycling, and being smarter in the amounts and types of materials used, people can save energy, use fewer natural resources, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Thousands of Americans across the country are making a difference, simply by keeping plastic bottles, paper, unwanted electronics, and other recyclable materials out of the waste stream.  The lifecycle energy savings of recycling rather than landfilling one aluminum can is equivalent to the energy use of a laptop for 5 hours, a 60-watt incandescent light bulb for 4 hours, or a 60-watt compact fluorescent light bulb for 20 hours.

America Recycles Day is a great time to think about our role in creating a sustainable environment by being responsible consumers.  Products are created from raw materials that are transported and processed, distributed, consumed, reused or recycled, and ultimately disposed of in a landfill.  Each stage of this materials lifecycle creates impacts on the environment.  By making smarter choices, consuming less, and reusing and recycling, each of us can contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment.

More information on recycling:  http://www.epa.gov/recycle/
More information on America Recycles Day:  http://www.americarecyclesday.org

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Green News: EPA Announces Winner of the TV Recycling Challenge in Celebration of America Recycles Day

CONTACT:

Latisha Petteway

petteway.latisha@epa.gov

202-564-3191

202-564-4355

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 9, 2009

 

EPA Announces Winner of the TV Recycling Challenge in Celebration of America Recycles Day

 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is recognizing Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM) as the winner of the National TV Recycling Challenge for responsibly recycling approximately 3 million pounds of TVs.  MRM, a joint venture between Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba, developed a TV collection network that uses a variety of collection approaches, including establishing collection points with charities and self-storage units.

 

EPA evaluated challenge participants’ efforts based on innovation, longevity, cooperative partnerships, consumer outreach, accessibility, pounds of TVs collected from January through August 2009, and ability to ensure that responsible recycling practices were followed. 

 

EPA launched the TV Recycling Challenge to spur manufacturers and retailers to increase the collection and responsible recycling of TVs discarded by consumers as they replaced analog TVs with digital flat-screen TVs.  To date, TV Recycling Challenge participants have recycled approximately 8.2 million pounds of materials.  As America Recycle Day approaches on November 15, 2009, EPA encourages everyone to step up their recycling efforts to conserve resources and save energy.

 

The TV Recycling Challenge is part of EPA’s Plug-In To eCycling program, which is a partnership between EPA and leading consumer electronics companies. The program seeks to increase public awareness of the importance of donating and recycling used electronics, and fostering opportunities for individuals to eCycle. 

 

More information on the TV Recycling Challenge and recycling electronics:  http://www.epa.gov/plugin

 

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Green Quick Tips: Repackage Your Thinking On Packaging

Be Green: Less is more when it comes to packaging

As we start to approach the Holiday shopping season, it is important to think about the packaging that the gifts you buy come in. If there are comparable products that you are interested in but one comes in a big box full of Styrofoam, choose the one with the smaller packaging as it will make less of impact on the environment.

Thank you for reading and here's to Being Green!

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Sustainability in Packaging 2010: Strategies to make sustainability sustainable

Announcing Sustainability in Packaging 2010: Strategies to make sustainability sustainable

Dates Announced: Sustainability in Packaging 2010 Conference taking place March 15-17, 2010 in Orlando, FL, The Rosen Plaza Hotel. Call for Papers: Now accepting presentation submissions.

Portland, ME (PRWEB) September 9, 2009 -- IntertechPira is pleased to announce the Sustainability in Packaging 2010 (http://www.sustainability-in-packaging.com) conference and exhibit, taking place March 15 -17, 2010 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, in Orlando, FL.

Now that sustainability is a way of doing business instead of just another buzz word, it's even more important to align all of the elements from defining the company's mission statement on sustainability to the materials and processes used in daily operations in order to make sustainable initiatives meaningful and sustainable.

The conference will bring together people with various levels of experience (sustainability veterans to novices), from different departments within the company and very diverse industries, but with one mission - to make it work and to make it work well.

"The IntertechPira 'Sustainability in Packaging' conference was an extremely informative industry event. It was content rich and I was impressed with the global diversity and quality of the presenters. I was never bored. There was a relevant activity for everyone from the extensive choices of breakout sessions to the networking mini trade show. Well done!" -- James Downham, President & CEO, Packaging Association of Canada

IntertechPira is now accepting submissions for presentations at the 2010 event. Of particular interest are submissions for sessions on: Sustainability strategy, Global perspective on sustainability, Marketing and communicating sustainability internally and externally, Procurement, Supply chain cooperation, Materials & processes and Design & innovation.

Additional topic ideas are also welcome and will be given full consideration. Case studies are of particular interest.

Topics should focus on the business and technical information that is the subject of the conference, rather than the product line, sales interests or management structure of an individual organization. The total time allotted for each presentation is 30 minutes, with 20-25 minutes for the presentation and 5-10 minutes for questions and discussion.

Topic ideas for preconference seminars are also invited at this time. Preconference seminars are classroom style workshops intended for 20-30 participants. They are designed to provide ample time for in-depth discussion, questions and answers, and student-instructor interaction.

A completed submission should include company name, speaker name, job title and contact information, a topic summary of no more than one page and a tentative title and sub-headings for the presentation. Abstracts must be received by September 25, 2009 and may be submitted by fax: +1 207 781 2150 or email: olga(dot)adamovich(at)pira-international(dot)com.

For more information about the conference program and speaking opportunities, please contact Olga Adamovich: +1 207 781 9628.

To learn more or register for the conference, visit the event website at www.sustainability-in-packaging.com, or contact Brian Santos at IntertechPira: +1 207 781 9618. Exhibit and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

IntertechPira is a leading information services provider that specializes in giving industry executives strategic information and analyses pertaining to advanced materials and technologies driving the development of innovative products. We serve niche segments of the lighting and displays, high-performance pigments, fillers and fibers, energy and advanced materials, and electronic materials and devices industries by producing international conferences and publishing focused, relevant reports on which actionable business decisions can be based. IntertechPira is a subsidiary of Pira International, with offices in the United Kingdom and Portland, Maine, United States.

# # #

Contact Information 
Joan Woodbrey
IntertechPira
http://www.sustainability-in-packaging.com
207 781 9636

Olga Adamovich
IntertechPira
http://www.intertechpira.com
207 781 9628

Going Green: 5 Ways To Go Green For Halloween

Go Green: How to make Halloween not so scary for the environment

1. Similar to hosting a family swap party, you could host a costume swap party
2. Compost any unwanted candy (remove the plastic wrappers first)
3. Compost pumpkins and gourds
4. Buy reusable Halloween decorations instead of one use and done decorations
5. On November 1, walk around your neighborhood and clean up from the Halloween activities

Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green on Halloween!

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Green Quick Tip: STOP! Only Print IF Necessary

Go Green: A friendly green reminder to your email readers

A simple one line statement such as the one below can help remind your email recipients to only print an email if absolutely necessary.

"Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail."

If you found this post helpful, please pass it along to a friend.

Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green! 

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Green Quick Tip: Donate Your Old Glasses

Going Green: Can you see me now?

To help reduce waste donate your old prescription or non-prescription glasses to charity. There are millions of people around the world who require glasses, but can’t afford them.  These charitable programs recycle your donated glasses by fixing and cleaning them, then they deliver them to people in need. By donating, you’ll be helping people and the environment by keeping your glasses out of the landfill.

Here are two programs for recycling eyeglasses:

OneSight
Lion's Club International

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Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green!

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Green Product of the Week: Preserve Toothbrushes

Go Green: Preserve toothbrushes Made From Yogurt Cups

Preserve is a company that believes in the reduce, reuse & recycle mantra. In that spirit they have several different lines of products that are made from #5 polypropylene plastic that they collect from individuals via their Gimme 5 program.

My family was introduced to Preserve at Target while shopping for toothbrushes.  My wife needed an ultra soft brush and it was the only brand that Target carried that had an ultra soft brush. Mind you, our first purchase had nothing to do with it being made from recycled plastic (it didn't hurt obviously) but that it was our only choice. However, my wife loved the toothbrush and we now buy them for her all the time. It is a high quality product, which all green products should be, and meets our criteria for green product of the week. Enjoy.

Here's to Going Green (and fresh green breath)!

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Green Quick Tip: Squeeze More Out Of Your Toothpaste

Go Green: Reduce Waste by Getting More Out Of Your Toothpaste

Sometimes we overlook simple things we can do to reduce waste; like using the entire tube of toothpaste rather than throwing it away once it becomes hard to get anymore out of it. There are little gadgets out there like this that make the job easier to do not to mention saving you some money over time from not having to buy as much toothpaste. 

Here's to Going Green!

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Going Green: Don't Throw That Away!

Green Tip: Hold a Family Swap Party

In these tough economic times, families are looking for ways to save money while still getting the things that they need. One way to do this is to develop a trading system like a family swap party. In case you don’t know what a swap party is, it’s a family get together where you trade items with other members of your family.

You might have things that you don’t use that someone else in your family might need. Before you add those items to the garbage, see if someone else in your family can possibly (re)use it.

A family swap helps to meet the needs of everyone and keeps many items from going to the landfill. You’ll want to get your extended family involved so be sure you let your parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts & uncles. cousins and even your friends know about it. To make it easy, come up with a system that your family can use to post their items that they want to trade.

One idea is to use a free blog.  Each household will list what they have to swap and include pictures if they can. The blog can even be made private so just your family is able to gain access. If you see an item you want, offer something of yours in trade. 

Then, once every couple of months, you can gather at someone’s house and each family member can barter for something they may need or want.

Family swap parties can be fun for everyone. Kids can swap their toys and learn some good habits early on. And others can avoid buying baby clothes and other apparel.

While maybe a little unconventional, family swap parties are a great way for the entire family to save some money while preventing more garbage from going to the landfill.

Have you ever participated in a family swap party?  Have any tips to share?

Here's to Going Green!

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