Cleaning up the entire world sounds like a daunting task, but every Sept., 35 million people in 130 countries put in work toward cleaning the world as a part of the United Nations’ Clean Up the World program. Clean Up the World weekend is similar to Earth Day, as businesses, schools, governments and individuals come … Continue reading
If you’re familiar with the secondhand clothing industry, you may have come across the statistic “70 percent of the world wears secondhand clothes.” It’s a useful figure to show that used clothing is a major part of the lives of billions of people, but what exactly does it mean? Let’s take a closer look. Industry … Continue reading
It’s easy to take them for granted, but trees are a living, breathing part of our communities. Trees are commonly associated with where they grow naturally: forests, fields, mountains and other “natural” areas. Although trees aren’t immediately associated with cities, urban areas are where trees have some of their greatest benefits—and that’s often where they’re … Continue reading
Ah, spring. For those of us in the Midwest, it feels like it’s taking a bit too long to arrive, but when it finally does, many of us will head to our closets armed with a plastic bag and intentions of getting rid of everything we don’t need. Spring cleaning isn’t the most enjoyable part … Continue reading
It’s better to give than to receive, and to take the old saying one step further, the best way to give is to give green. Gifts, like many products available in stores, are heavily packaged, and packaging accounts for a significant amount of waste in landfills. According to the EPA, packaging is responsible for as … Continue reading
If you’re thinking of Valentine’s Day, a few common things probably come to mind: love, affection, roses, boxes of chocolate, the color red and recycling. Hold on a minute – recycling? OK, recycling may not be a mental image associated with February 14, but as is turns out, some parallels can be drawn between Valentine’s … Continue reading
Solid Waste Collection Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) is working toward changing the mindset of Lake County, Ill., residents. Without thinking twice, many people trash household items like shampoo bottles, food containers, utensils, plant pots or broken electronics. Such items may appear to be useless at first glance, but as SWALCO is stressing in their … Continue reading
It’s difficult to discuss USAgain’s 2012 recycling successes without mentioning the sheer volume of clothes, shoes and other textiles the company was able to divert from landfills around the country via the nearly 10,000 collection bins it operates in 17 states. Nearly 58 million pounds of textiles were collected, preventing the emission of 406 million pounds … Continue reading
We’ve been surprised at just how many cute infographics and informative articles have been popping up this season in regards to Santa Claus, the environment, and the holidays in general. So we thought we should post some of them here, for all of our readers to see. Most are silly, but others are quite thought-provoking … Continue reading
The holiday season is a love/hate relationship for many people. We love visiting family and friends, and sometimes we receive gifts, but our wallets and purses often hate us for buying gifts for others. Many shoppers are out en masse searching for that perfect gift; one that is thoughtful and special to the person it’s … Continue reading
