Greening Up Your Graduation



Dreamstime Stock Photos / Graduation Robe © Uciekinier  ID: 5257063

Congratulations graduates! Graduation is here and so are the graduation celebrations. There are many things you, your family and friends can do to green up your festivities!

 

Whether you are graduating from high school or college, jobs are probably one of the things you’re thinking about. Did you know that your bottle really means jobs? Recently, the Carolina Plastics Recycling Council created the Your Bottle Means Jobs campaign which was launched in the Carolinas. The goal is to capture more of the 3 billion plastic bottles thrown in the trash each year. By recycling only two more bottles a week you’ll help create jobs, grow the economy, support local businesses, reduce energy and other natural resources, and save valuable landfill space right here in your own backyard.

Chances are you might be wearing some of the fruits of your recycling efforts to your graduation. North Carolina based company Unifi Incorporated, creator of REPREVE ® recycled fiber, in partnership with Oak HallCap & Gown have created green graduation gowns. Each Oak Hall GreenWeaver® and NuHorizon® gown is made from about 27 post-consumer plastic bottles. As of today, over 87.7 million plastic bottles were recycled and made into new, recyclable graduation gowns. Now that’s getting off to a green start for your next journey!

Don’t stop there! Greening up your graduation festivities starts with the invitations and announcements. Consider emailing...not only will it save you on postage, it will save money from ordering the paper invitations as well. Do you still want to go the paper route? That’s ok! Be sure to ask everyone to recycle the announcements and invitations when they no longer need them.

Dreamstime Stock Photos | Wild Flowers Including Daisies And Corn Flowers

ID: 82988084 | © creativecommonsstockphotos

Decorating can be beautiful and environmentally friendly. Instead of buying new decorations, ask family or friends if they have any you could reuse. If they don’t, try incorporating nature into your decorations with greenery, flowers, shells or other natural materials.

Dreamstime Stock Photos Free Picture | Fruit Market

ID: 4369081 | © Michael Zysman 

A little preparation can go a long way! When you are planning the meal, first get a list together. Then try incorporating local foods into the menu. Local farmer’s markets are a great source of local food. Once the meal is over, don’t throw away those leftovers, reinvent them into other meals or compost them.

Dreamstime Stock Photos | Festive Table Setting

ID: 84940824 | © creativecommonsstockphotos 

Take steps to reduce the waste from your celebration. At your party, consider reusable dining ware and cloth napkins and table cloths. Can’t get away from using disposable items? Use one-time use items made from biodegradable or compostable materials where possible. Recycle all other materials such as plastic, aluminum, paper, and if possible try to avoid using Styrofoam.

Whew! Now that the festivities are over it’s time to clean it all up. Clean post-graduation messes with environmentally friendly cleaning products. Carefully pack away any decorations and excess supplies that may be used again.

 

As always, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle as much as possible. Now got get ‘em graduates: the world is your [recyclable] oyster! 

Dreamstime Stock Photos | Graduates Throwing Graduation Caps

ID: 84994878 | © creativecommonsstockphotos 

 

Home Improvement Tips

My husband and I are making some updates to our kitchen. The room has not been updated since its construction in 1984, so we thought it was time to replace some of the features. As we are undergoing the DIY renovation, I have thought of some environmental sustainability tips you may want to consider when planning your own home improvements. These suggestions are meant to help you save money and reduce waste.

• First, I must acknowledge that the most environmentally sustainable thing to do is keep using what you already have. If the only thing wrong with your old linoleum floor is its visual appeal, then is replacing it really necessary?

• If you decide that certain things in your house simply have to be updated, try to replace them with secondhand materials. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is the first place I browse when I am updating anything in my house. You can find great-looking kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, ceiling fans, light fixtures, doors and windows. My friend even found enough hardwood flooring at the ReStore to redo her whole downstairs. You may have to go and look around a few times to find what you are looking for because new materials are donated to Habitat every day. You’ll save a lot of money by not buying first-hand retail. For instance, I just bought a light fixture to go above my kitchen sink. I got it in good shape from the ReStore for $25. The last time I was at a large hardware store, I found the exact same light fixture for $100. I think a 75 percent savings is pretty good.

• One of the kitchen updates my husband and I are undertaking is replacing the cabinets. When you are removing your existing cabinets or any installed feature, resist the temptation to demolish them with a sledgehammer. No matter how ugly and outdated the cabinets, countertops or bathtub may be, take the time to unscrew, cut the caulk seals and remove them carefully so they can be donated to places like Habitat for Humanity. You may be able to make some money by selling the items to a neighbor or placing them on Craigslist. My husband and I put an ad on Craigslist advertising that we had kitchen cabinets for free for anyone who would haul them away. The man who ended up taking them said he was going to install them in his garage to store his tools. If we had busted the cabinets apart during extraction, the only place the cabinets could go is the landfill. The landfill should always be your last resort.

• Most items you buy new, like cabinets, vanities, windows or microwaves will most likely come packaged in lots of cardboard and Styrofoam. The way in which you dispose of these materials is important. Take the time to cut the cardboard down to the size that is accepted by your community’s recycling program. If your community does not accept Styrofoam for recycling, be sure to bag it all up and secure it in your outside trashcan. Don’t let any of it blow out and become litter. Or, instead of throwing them out, you could store the cardboard and Styrofoam in your attic to avoid having to buy as many expensive packing materials when you move.

• When I am picking out features that are expensive and have to be installed, like kitchen cabinets, sinks, light fixtures or faucets, I choose designs that are less trendy and are more neutral, timeless designs. My thinking is that the trendier something is, the sooner I or the next owner will want to replace it. To avoid dull and uninteresting rooms, I add interest by accenting with eye-catching pillows, artwork or curtains. As styles change, these items are less expensive to switch out, they can easily be donated to a place like Goodwill, and the likelihood of unintentionally destroying them during extraction is minimal.

As the weather begins to cool down, it is a great time to start a home renovation. Go ahead and make your home a place you are proud of, but make the renovations as environmentally sustainable as you can.

My Trip to Australia, Part 2: Recycling

Kristen Aubut

My husband’s grandmother’s house sits on a country road way out in the middle of nowhere. Still, her house has curbside recycling collection.

Her recycling can is slightly larger than her garbage can. I have always thought that a lot can be determined about a community based on the size of its recycling bin. Stamped on top of the yellow recycling can lid is a list of the recyclables accepted: paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, aerosol cans, juice and milk cartons, and all plastic containers #1-7. Stamped on the red garbage can lid is the statement “No Recyclables.”
Recycling seemed to be very accessible even while out-and-about. I found these neat looking rubbish (garbage) and recycling cans at a mall. From what I saw during my visit, every rubbish can was accompanied by a recycling container. The two went hand-in-hand. And, yes, I was the odd tourist taking pictures of the rubbish containers.

We drove past the Taree Recycling Center. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to tour the inside. This recycling center is where my husband’s aunt’s recyclables are taken for sorting.

This paper recycling container is inside a subway station in Sydney. I like that the containers are clear. Maybe it discourages people from throwing garbage in because others will see it!

Recycling seemed to be a top priority for most Australians, with recycling being accessible whether at home or on-the-go.

Reasons to Recycle

Do you have a friend, family member, coworker or neighbor that just doesn’t get it? He or she just doesn’t get the importance of recycling. For instance:

• At your friend’s parties, he never puts out a recycling bin for party guests to toss their empty cans and bottles.
• At family gatherings, that family member always starts up a conversation about how recycling is not worth her time and effort.
• At work, that coworker always tosses her plastic bottle in the trashcan, giving you no choice but to fish it out once she has left the break room.
• That neighbor’s trashcan is overflowing with cardboard and aluminum cans every week, and his recycling bin is shoved up under his back deck.
  

Maybe people like this just need the facts given to them plain and simple. Jot down this list of reasons to recycle so you’ll be ready the next time you have the opportunity to shine the recycling light on those around you who just don’t get it.

• Recycling helps prevent the need for more landfills.
• Recycling also reduces problems associated with trash and litter.
• Recycling helps to conserve natural resources.
• Recycling also saves energy and reduces pollution.
• Recycling has created more than 14,000 jobs in North Carolina

Want a more detailed explanation of why recycling is important? Try this link: http://www.re3.org/facts.htm

Source: RE3.org

http://www.re3.org/whyrecycle.html

RE3.org Posters

RE3.org has lots of posters for you to download, print and put up around your work, campus, restaurant… Wherever you want to encourage people to recycle. Find the downloadable posters at http://www.re3.org/artwork.html.

Here are some examples.

This one is great for a bar or restaurant.

How about putting this one above the trashcans at a sports arena?

How about the break room at your work?

How about in the campus cafeteria?