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 

 

Green Graduation Celebrations: How to Keep Your Grad’s Party Environmentally Friendly

Recycle your plastic bottle today and graduate in it tomorrow! This spring, over 190 colleges will graduate in eco-friendly gowns made with REPREVE recycled fibers. Based out of NC, this company has turned more than 12.7 million plastic bottles into graduation gowns since 2012. When the graduation ceremony is over, you’re probably planning to have family and friends over to celebrate and give gifts. While you’re planning your bash, be sure to consider a few easy ways to recycle and minimize the environmental impact of your party!

First things first, you’ll have to send out invitations. Rather than send paper invitations (which are costly to print, send, and will just end up in the recycling bin at some point), send electronic invites! There are a number of sites that will perform the service for you. You could even create a Facebook page to let people coordinate travel plans or let others know what they’re bringing.

Next, if you already compost then this idea won’t be hard to incorporate, but put out containers for food waste that can easily be composted later. Also, mark special bins as recycling for all your party’s recyclables. This is a great opportunity to educate and show others how easy composting and recycling is.  These recycling and compost bins will work the best if they are well labeled and placed right next to the trash can, twin those bins!

For decorations, consider using products that are made from recycled materials or upcycle some everyday items! Ideas could include stringing together CD’s for a flashy backdrop or banner, borrowing from your stash of old party decorations, or displaying photos using old bottles that also serve as a vase! Repurpose those old newspaper comics by gluing them together and creating a fun table cloth. You could even shred colorful magazine papers to create multi-color confetti (that you can also toss into the compost pile during cleanup).

At the party, be sure to use reusable dishware and silverware to avoid paper plate waste. It actually takes less energy to simply put the dishes in an energy efficient dishwasher, as opposed to the energy required to make the paper plates, ship them, package them, use them, toss them, and dump them into a landfill.

By using these tips, your graduate’s celebration will not only be fun, but environmentally sustainable as well. Congratulations on graduating!

--If you have a tip for other green elements to add to your entertaining plans, leave us a comment below and share your ideas!--

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.

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?