Over the last few years, the push to get food waste out of landfills and incinerators has become the new kale. Or cupcakes. Or bone broth. You get the picture. And rightfully so! As a nation, we waste a staggering amount of food every year: about 40 percent of what we produce. That’s more than… Continue reading Are You Composting Yet? If Not, Now Is a Good Time to Start!
The owner of a new, low-waste, personal and home care store in Cambridge, MA, Sarah Levy has re-envisioned the way we shop while helping our community to reduce its waste. For as long as I can remember, I’ve tried to use resources efficiently (i.e., not waste stuff), which is likely a result of growing up… Continue reading Redesigning the Way We Shop
Our recycling system is in a crisis. Up until last year, recyclables collected for the U.S. were shipped to China for processing. But then, China stopped accepting our recycling, setting off a chain reaction of problems. In New England and across the country, the cost of recycling for towns and cities is skyrocketing, forcing local… Continue reading Our Recycling System is Broken
Think for a moment about the trash you produce every day, either directly or indirectly. First, there’s what you throw out at your home or your job; then there’s the trash that restaurants, laundromats, doctors’ offices, and other businesses you frequent throw out after you leave. Next, add the waste from the farms that produce… Continue reading Municipal Solid Waste: What is It and Why is It a Problem?
“None of the systems in Massachusetts accept or collect coffee cups,” said Kirstie Pecci, director of the Zero Waste Project at the Conservation Law Foundation, referring to Styrofoam and the new cups. “Do not put coffee cups in your bin.
We live surrounded by trash, especially single-use plastic. It’s in our homes, schools, restaurants, offices, communities, and the environment. There’s so much waste that it can be easy to miss its full scale in our lives. Manufacturers and brand owners have created this throw-away culture by mass-producing disposable goods. But when it comes time to… Continue reading Can You Slash Your Trash for One Week?
We use dangerous plastics for just minutes – plastics that poison us, plastics that trash our waters and wildlife, and plastics that throw fuel on the climate crisis fire. It’s time to tell the plastics industry enough is enough and kick our plastic habit for good. The only way to solve this problem is to eliminate the use of single-use plastic products and hold corporations accountable for the public health and environmental impacts of their toxic plastic trash.
What do Styrofoam cups and containers, plastic grocery bags, paper coffee cups, most plastic food ware and straws have in common? None are recyclable, and they are costing the city of Portsmouth a lot of money. Furthermore, lots of them end up on our beaches and shores as ugly reminders of our throw-away lifestyle.
Rhode Island – and all of New England – has a trash problem. There’s simply too much of it, and the ways we dispose of it hurt our health and environment. What’s more, plastic pollution is damaging our communities and putting wildlife on land and in the sea at risk. Rhode Island had the chance… Continue reading Burning Waste is a Bad Idea. So Why is Rhode Island Taking Time to Study It?
The owners of the Coventry landfill are champing at the bit to supersize Vermont’s only active disposal site. But state regulators are holding out on approving one last permit needed for the expansion. This is because Casella has not yet addressed how it will safely dispose of one of the landfill’s most toxin-laden byproducts: leachate.… Continue reading Is Toxic Landfill Wastewater Coming to a Stream or Farm Near You?
