Check out this tremendous idea to clean up the ocean’s garbage patches from Dutch teen Boyan Slat. This is a great opportunity to take action and test an innovative idea to solve a problem long plaguing the plastic industry.
Knowing I work on sustainable packaging issues, a friend recently mentioned the phenomenon of people saving their Apple packaging. Like, saving it FOR YEARS. Initially I dismissed the idea, but when I thought about the people I know who have Macs, I realized it’s an actual habit not seen in PC-users. My in-laws, who otherwise religiously get rid of everything, still have their Mac box. … More
This post-Thanksgiving NPR segment discusses the massive amount of food waste produced by restaurants and their customers. Though the National Restaurant Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the Food Marketing Institute have formed the Food Waste Reduction Alliance to tackle this problem, they admit they still have a long way to go. According to the report, a half pound of food waste is created for every meal served in … More
This past September, we held the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s 2012 Fall Members Meeting at the Sheraton Station Square hotel in Pittsburgh. Upon checking in, I was informed about Sheraton’s “Make a Green Choice” program. To participate in this program, I would be required to hang a special tag on my doorknob each day I wanted to participate and agree to skip all housekeeping for that … More
A few weeks ago, nearly 200 Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) members came together for the annual 2012 SPC Fall Members Meeting. While the Fall Meeting has always been a chance for members to roll up their sleeves and shape SPC project work, this year’s meeting in Pittsburgh also gave members a chance to step back and think about the bigger picture: the future direction of … More
The numerous services we receive from nature don’t typically come with a price tag that’s easy to see. Unfortunately, without that price tag, our economic system makes it difficult to appreciate these ecosystem services or take them into account when a competing business opportunity comes up. Wetlands and mangrove forests provide us with (free!) flood control and nurseries for fish and crabs. Vegetation near streams … More
I recently attended and spoke at the Sustainable Packaging Symposium in Houston, Texas. One of the major themes of the meeting was the topic of food waste, which makes up a hefty 14% by weight of the US municipal solid waste stream (2009 EPA estimate). Food waste is an issue where food manufacturers, grocery retailers, and restaurants, in particular, feel especially responsible and engaged. The … More
I was connecting through the Atlanta airport last week and noticed the Recycle Runway special exhibit as I moved between terminals. Atlanta is the country’s busiest airport, with over 43 million passenger boardings in 2010, so I imagine a lot of you have seen the exhibit as well. Recycle Runway is the work of artist and environmental educator Nancy Judd. It features clothing—dresses, coats, shoes, and … More
Lately I have been feeling like a character in one of the children’s novels I have loved and reread numerous times over the years. Maybe it’s Alice in Wonderland, The Phantom Tollbooth, or perhaps Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? The central plot of these books features an average person transported to a fantasy world for a series of adventures each more fantastic, silly, puzzling, absurd, … More
Have you seen a sign like this near your home or favorite campsite? Maybe you are familiar with exotic-sounding creatures with names like “Asian longhorned beetle” or “emerald ash borer?” If you aren’t already, you should be. It turns out that over half of all US states already have restrictions on firewood movement, and another six advocate leaving firewood at home. But why? The reason … More