Join my colleague’s new Google Group - P2Assist is a Google Group for environmentalists. It is open to anyone who is interested in helping to preserve the Earth's resources. Subjects for discussion may include any environmental issues such as recycling, reuse, waste reduction, drought issues, resource preservation, etc.
2.27.2008
Careers in Recycling
I mentioned in a previous post that I was asked to do a presentation about Careers in Recycling. I hadn’t really thought about it much but once I did I realized there are lots of opportunities for students that want to work in the recycling field. Tell me if I missed anything on this list?
1. Engineer – This is an important occupation because recycling is always becoming more high-tech.
2. Public Administrator – For many communities, recycling infrastructure is handled by the government, thus an administrator to oversee these projects is needed.
3. Environmental Lawyer – Every field needs lawyers. Lots of recycling business is done via contracts between two parties.
4. Environmental Educator – It is important to provide environmental education to our school children and help them understand the reasons for recycling and how that impacts our community and the world in which we live.
5. Product Designer – With all types of material being recycled by residents and businesses we need to make sure we close the loop by making products from recycled material.
6. Economist – I love to use recycling as an example of economics. It is a great example of supply and demand.
7. International Business Administrator – Lots of recyclable material is now going overseas to make products that are eventually returned to the U.S. as goods we purchase. Being able to speak multiple languages and work in a global marketplace is very important for recycling companies.
8. Psychologist and Sociologist – As recycling professionals we are always trying to understand why some people recycle and some don’t. This is where psychologists and sociologists come in handy to conduct surveys and focus groups to learn more about people’s behavior.
9. Graphic Designer and Film Maker – Creative type people are needed immensely to further the recycling message.
10. Communications and Marketing Specialist – A C&M Specialist uses lots of material and information from all those listed above to increase the amount of material recycled.
If you are interested in borrowing this presentation, just let me know.
1. Engineer – This is an important occupation because recycling is always becoming more high-tech.
2. Public Administrator – For many communities, recycling infrastructure is handled by the government, thus an administrator to oversee these projects is needed.
3. Environmental Lawyer – Every field needs lawyers. Lots of recycling business is done via contracts between two parties.
4. Environmental Educator – It is important to provide environmental education to our school children and help them understand the reasons for recycling and how that impacts our community and the world in which we live.
5. Product Designer – With all types of material being recycled by residents and businesses we need to make sure we close the loop by making products from recycled material.
6. Economist – I love to use recycling as an example of economics. It is a great example of supply and demand.
7. International Business Administrator – Lots of recyclable material is now going overseas to make products that are eventually returned to the U.S. as goods we purchase. Being able to speak multiple languages and work in a global marketplace is very important for recycling companies.
8. Psychologist and Sociologist – As recycling professionals we are always trying to understand why some people recycle and some don’t. This is where psychologists and sociologists come in handy to conduct surveys and focus groups to learn more about people’s behavior.
9. Graphic Designer and Film Maker – Creative type people are needed immensely to further the recycling message.
10. Communications and Marketing Specialist – A C&M Specialist uses lots of material and information from all those listed above to increase the amount of material recycled.
If you are interested in borrowing this presentation, just let me know.
2.26.2008
Sporadic Posts
I know blog posts have been sporadic lately. There is always the travel excuse but with flu season upon us that is my newest excuse. However, here are some recycling bin pictures that I recently took to prove that RE3.org folks have been on-the-go.
Rest Areas Along I-40
Aluminum Recycling in Asheville Strip Mall
Rest Areas Along I-40
Aluminum Recycling in Asheville Strip Mall
2.22.2008
Recycle your used sports equipment
A friend of mine recently started to play in a tennis ladder (a fancy word for multiple little tournaments). Anyway, it was brought to my attention that the balls used in the tournament were only used once. They were then discarded as not “good enough” to continue to play with in future matches. I figured this was true for major league sporting events, but small local rec leagues do this also? It doesn’t make sense. On top of this, you have the cylinder like plastic tubes that the tennis balls come in that most likely gets thrown away also.
So I asked Hannah to do some research. Below is her post about this issue -
It's easy to remember to recycle those cans and bottles, but this year commit to recycling as much as possible. Sometimes it takes a little extra effort, but remember lots of creative ways exist to not only recycle items, but also to reuse them. This month when you're cleaning out the garage and getting organized think about donating your old sports equipment instead of trashing it. Freecycle Networks are a great way to list your sports equipment to a broad audience, but also consider donating to a local nonprofit. Sports Gift is one such nonprofit that accepts gently used sports equipment that they then refurbish and use in community service sports programs for underprivileged children.
This probably won’t be the last time you hear about this from me. I think this is a huge waste of material all in the name of sports.
So I asked Hannah to do some research. Below is her post about this issue -
It's easy to remember to recycle those cans and bottles, but this year commit to recycling as much as possible. Sometimes it takes a little extra effort, but remember lots of creative ways exist to not only recycle items, but also to reuse them. This month when you're cleaning out the garage and getting organized think about donating your old sports equipment instead of trashing it. Freecycle Networks are a great way to list your sports equipment to a broad audience, but also consider donating to a local nonprofit. Sports Gift is one such nonprofit that accepts gently used sports equipment that they then refurbish and use in community service sports programs for underprivileged children.
This probably won’t be the last time you hear about this from me. I think this is a huge waste of material all in the name of sports.
2.21.2008
New York City Ads about Recycling Mags
An article titled “Magazines Take Another Step in Green Direction” by Nat Ives on February 4, 2008 in Ad Age talks about a new effort from magazine publishers to go green. The campaign is called ReMix which stands for Recycling Magazines is Excellent. Isn’t that cute? Publishers want to increase the 17% magazine recycling rate. It is nice to see the industry working to decrease their environmental impact, but printing all those magazines still uses lots of natural resources in the first place. The article says that the main problem is feeding newsstands with magazines. More magazines are printed and delivered than what is needed just to make sure the newsstand doesn’t run out. This evidently leads to better overall sales. At least 95% of these overruns get recycled.
According to the article: ”Barnes & Noble, for one, has begun specifically promoting magazines that use recycled paper, including Shape, Fast Company, Mother Jones, ReadyMade, Nickelodeon Magazine and Body & Soul. And an advocacy group, Co-op America, calculated that if the whole North American magazine business used just 30% post-consumer recycled paper, nearly 1.7 billion pounds of greenhouse gases would not be emitted into the atmosphere.
Certain marketers have also begun to exert pressure. Aveda, the Estée Lauder hair and cosmetics unit, changed up its magazine mix back in 2004, when it began advertising only in consumer titles that use at least 10% post-consumer recycled paper, a policy it still holds.”
2.15.2008
The crazy plastics number game
I can’t tell you how many times I am asked “Why can’t I recycle my butter tub? It has a number 2 on the bottom of it.” I finally got smart and wrote down my answer so as to share my answer with others quickly. For other recycling coordinators – how does this sound?
“Plastics have the different numbers on them because they have different densities and are made with different materials. These differences mean they must be separated out from each other to be made into new products. Recycling markets depend on the collection of the material and the remanufacturing of it into a new product. #1 and #2 plastic bottles have good recycling markets - there are products being made from the material such as polyester thread, new bottles and other hard plastics. However the quantity of other types of plastic, #3 - #7, do not have good recycling markets.
There is also a difference between the way a bottle is made and the way a yogurt tub is made. A bottle is "blown" plastic. It has a little curve and point on the bottom of the bottle. This differs from molded plastic, like a child’s toy or yogurt tub. For some chemical/physical reason that I cannot explain, these two types of plastics cannot yet be recycled together. So even if they are both #1, but made differently, they must be separated.”
2.14.2008
The future of Environmental Education
I just came from an Environmental Education Forum for all NC DENR employees. I walked away with some interesting ideas.
1. Conversational learning increases behavior change – www.conversationcafe.org. I haven’t read up on this theory yet but it sounded a lot like the social marketing technique “norming.”
2. Post-ecologism is where people feel overwhelmed with all the environmental issues facing our world today. The speaker focused on the fact that we should impart messages of hope not despair. We try to use that theory with RE3.org.
3. Environmental education needs to leave the wilderness. I wholeheartedly agree with this. We can talk and educate about environmental issues in cities, in office buildings, etc.
4. We shouldn’t tie environmental education to science only. I was recently asked to do a presentation on recycling careers. I had never thought about it much, but once I did, it was amazing how many different career paths you could take but still work in the field of recycling. I’ll post more about that in the future.
1. Conversational learning increases behavior change – www.conversationcafe.org. I haven’t read up on this theory yet but it sounded a lot like the social marketing technique “norming.”
2. Post-ecologism is where people feel overwhelmed with all the environmental issues facing our world today. The speaker focused on the fact that we should impart messages of hope not despair. We try to use that theory with RE3.org.
3. Environmental education needs to leave the wilderness. I wholeheartedly agree with this. We can talk and educate about environmental issues in cities, in office buildings, etc.
4. We shouldn’t tie environmental education to science only. I was recently asked to do a presentation on recycling careers. I had never thought about it much, but once I did, it was amazing how many different career paths you could take but still work in the field of recycling. I’ll post more about that in the future.
2.13.2008
ARTICLE - Scientific American
Moms Better Recyclers Than College Kids
Maybe it's just easier because they're putting it out on the curb rather than finding on-campus recycling centers, but moms are more earth-friendly than their kids at college. Karen Hopkin reports.
If I asked you to picture someone who recycles, you might come up with an image of an idealistic young nature lover—someone who has the time and energy to take a personal interest in the environment. At the very least, you’d probably picture more Earth mother than soccer mom. But a new study from the University of Granada suggests you’d be wrong. Because scientists there have found that housewives are more ecologically aware than undergrads…in that they’re more willing to recycle.
The researchers assessed the recycling skills of some 500 university students and 150 homemakers. And they found that the housewives separate glass from their garbage more often than the students—even though students say they’re pro-environment. So why are housewives better friends to the planet than students? The researchers say that maybe it’s because it’s easier for them. Students have to haul their vast stockpiles of recyclables some distance to the proper receptacle, whereas housewives presumably just deposit their bottles at the curb. The researchers suggest that students could be encouraged to recycle by programs that emphasize how recycling is an ethical imperative for those who care about the earth. Or maybe the schools could just put a few extra recycling bins in the halls.
This article really reinforces lots of things that have been posted here before. How convenient does recycling need to be? People need to make some effort to carry their recycling to a receptacle or to the curb.
The Harris Report also had data that said those age 18-30 recycled less than those age 62 and older. We need to get the RE3.org message out there more. If you have ideas please post them below.
Maybe it's just easier because they're putting it out on the curb rather than finding on-campus recycling centers, but moms are more earth-friendly than their kids at college. Karen Hopkin reports.
If I asked you to picture someone who recycles, you might come up with an image of an idealistic young nature lover—someone who has the time and energy to take a personal interest in the environment. At the very least, you’d probably picture more Earth mother than soccer mom. But a new study from the University of Granada suggests you’d be wrong. Because scientists there have found that housewives are more ecologically aware than undergrads…in that they’re more willing to recycle.
The researchers assessed the recycling skills of some 500 university students and 150 homemakers. And they found that the housewives separate glass from their garbage more often than the students—even though students say they’re pro-environment. So why are housewives better friends to the planet than students? The researchers say that maybe it’s because it’s easier for them. Students have to haul their vast stockpiles of recyclables some distance to the proper receptacle, whereas housewives presumably just deposit their bottles at the curb. The researchers suggest that students could be encouraged to recycle by programs that emphasize how recycling is an ethical imperative for those who care about the earth. Or maybe the schools could just put a few extra recycling bins in the halls.
This article really reinforces lots of things that have been posted here before. How convenient does recycling need to be? People need to make some effort to carry their recycling to a receptacle or to the curb.
The Harris Report also had data that said those age 18-30 recycled less than those age 62 and older. We need to get the RE3.org message out there more. If you have ideas please post them below.
2.11.2008
Green Fashion
Guest Blogger - Hannah
Eco-clothing and accessories are no longer a mere speck on the fashion map. Terms such as “sustainable,” “organic” and “eco-friendly” are all over the market today; from food to cleaning products and now clothing and accessories. The links below contain a few examples of the growing push for stylish sustainability.
Men and Women’s clothes
Clothing, Footware and Accessories
Hemp clothes
Handbags
Organic Brand Name clothes
Clothing and Accessories
Mainstream retailers are also in on the eco-fashion movement. Check out this article from AOL Living about Saks new “eco-smart style” section.
With the green-trend sweeping the market today there’s definitely room for speculation about the validity of a product or companies proclaimed “sustainability.” This article from The Herald Tribune puts some perspective on the movement and the products consumers are buying.
Eco-clothing and accessories are no longer a mere speck on the fashion map. Terms such as “sustainable,” “organic” and “eco-friendly” are all over the market today; from food to cleaning products and now clothing and accessories. The links below contain a few examples of the growing push for stylish sustainability.
Men and Women’s clothes
Clothing, Footware and Accessories
Hemp clothes
Handbags
Organic Brand Name clothes
Clothing and Accessories
Mainstream retailers are also in on the eco-fashion movement. Check out this article from AOL Living about Saks new “eco-smart style” section.
With the green-trend sweeping the market today there’s definitely room for speculation about the validity of a product or companies proclaimed “sustainability.” This article from The Herald Tribune puts some perspective on the movement and the products consumers are buying.
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