REDUCE, REUSE, AND RECYCLE the pizza box of the future

Posted on May 9, 2009 by Buck

I can see the utility in this product, because at least a portion of the box is recyclable—if reusable plates are used to prevent contaminating the perforated pizza box top with grease. Furthermore, it’s simple and doesn’t contain any dyes or inks, so it certainly can be used for suppressing weeds or composting if there is an insignificant or negligible amount of grease. According to the Stanford Recycling Center:

Pizza boxes are made from corrugated cardboard, however the cardboard becomes soiled with grease, cheese, and other foods once the pizza has been placed in the box. Once soiled, the paper 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 the various paper categories.

Regarding composting greasy pizza boxes:

Another option to recycling cardboard is to compost it, although the grease rule still applies here as well. “Even with oils, you shouldn’t compost [greased cardboard]. It causes rotting, you get more bugs and smell and it’s just not good for the plants,” said Gellenbeck.

Hat tip to Kevin.

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CONSUMERISM: The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Buck

Very recommended video (in case you haven’t seen it or need a refresher):

What is the Story of Stuff?

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

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E-WASTE literally becoming a mountain of problems

Posted on November 9, 2008 by Buck

60 Minutes recently investigated the black market for e-waste, and how some companies are not practicing what they advertise by not solely dismantling and recycling e-waste in the United States. Instead, it appears that some companies are knowingly selling e-waste on the black market. Certainly, this illegal activity is frustrating for the consumers who want to be good citizens by recycling their electronics, and the companies that are legitimately practicing what they advertise. I watched the 60 minutes special tonight on e-waste, and I highly recommend it.

60 Minutes: The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste

Responsible E-Waste Recycling

On the Net: E-waste: West Africa continues to drown in the rich world’s obsolete electronics

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SYNTHETIC SEA: Litter is impacting ocean ecosystems and killing wildlife

Posted on March 22, 2008 by Buck

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Synthetic Sea are areas of the Pacific Ocean where trash is carried and concentrated by ocean currents into a soup. Since this human waste is having adverse impacts on marine ecosystems and on marine life, the area has become a concern for conservationists and environmentalists.

To keep oceans clean and to keep wildlife from ingesting our trash, it is important that we either recycle unwanted materials or place them into a trash receptacle. Albatrosses will feed plastic — mistaken for marine food— to their chicks, and the chicks die slowly from a diet of indigestible trash.

Other marine life suffers from anthropogenic waste too. Sea turtles can die from ingesting plastic, because the plastic impacts within their gut. Marine debris also impacts other marine life such as fish.

Do you need proof that trash such as plastic adversely impacts marine wildlife? The images below show decomposed albatross chicks that have died from consuming marine debris. Obviously, the indigestible trash must result in a painful and slow death. More information can be found here and here.

On the Net: