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Learn recycling rules

8/27/2018

How many of us take the time to read the information for our local recycling service? It’s important to know what can and cannot be included, because putting the wrong things into a recycling stream can ruin an entire batch of recyclable materials, requiring it to be thrown away instead of processed for re-use. Don’t try to sneak forbidden things in, because your item could be the cause of a rejected batch. You can usually find the lists on a website associated with your curbside pickup or posted on the sides of the bins at a drop-off area. Recycling done right is a big help to the environment. Recycling mistakes reduce the cost-effectiveness of recycling and may lead a manufacturer to stop using recycled materials. A few examples of how “slipping something in” can ruin a batch:

Pizza boxes are made from corrugated cardboard, so it would be tempting to add them to the cardboard recycling bin. However, once the cardboard is soiled with grease and food, the cardboard cannot be recycled because the paper fibers will not be able to be separated from the oils during the pulping process. Food is a major source of contamination in paper and cardboard recycling.
Plastic bag recycling involves chipping the bags into pellets. Anything left inside the bags, such as receipts, stickers or food is a contaminant. Too many contaminants can make a batch unusable.
Heavily dyed, Astro-Bright, and neon papers are NOT Recyclable because of the chemicals used in the dye. Don’t include them in your paper recycling.
Be careful what you put in single-steam recycling bins. Some forbidden items are just nuisances that have to be sorted out and landfilled. Other forbidden items can ruin many acceptable items in the same bin. For example, a printer toner cartridge tossed into a single-stream recycling bin could break open and get ink all on all the rest of the items.

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Sun tea

8/18/2018

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Many people enjoy a glass of iced tea on a hot day. The traditional method of brewing iced tea involves heating the water, brewing the tea, and then pouring the hot tea over ice cubes. However, you can brew the tea without using gas or electricity by making sun tea. Put water and an appropriate number of tea bags in a large glass jar with a cover. Set the jar outdoors in the direct sunlight and leave it for a few hours until the tea is the color and flavor you prefer. Since the tea is not hot, you can then use fewer ice cubes to get cold iced tea. Also, you are not heating up the house making the hot water, so this provides several ways to reduce energy use.

Check into options for cold brewing coffee and various kinds of tea. It may change the nutritional properties and potentially the flavor, but many people prefer the cold-brewed versions. Cold-brewed coffee is becoming very popular.

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Green at work - Part 2

8/5/2018

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Keep a houseplant on your desk to help with indoor air quality. Having plants in your workspace can reduce stress, remove indoor air pollutants, and brighten up your office. Here is one website with information on plants that help clean the air.

https://greatist.com/connect/houseplants-that-clean-air

Use only one paper towel for drying your hands.
If you are lucky enough to sit by a window and if that window has a shade, manage the shade to reduce the heating and cooling load on the building. Let direct sun in when you want to warm the building and keep it out when you want to cool the building.
The janitorial service in many offices will only change the plastic bag in your trash can if it contains food waste. To reduce the number of plastic bags that are used every day in individual offices, take your food waste to a trash can (in an area such as the kitchen) that is going to be emptied every day anyway.

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