The Massachusetts DEP has released their “Master Plan” for solid waste management in Massachusetts. The major components in the plan include increase in recycling, reduction in overall waste, monitoring and enforcement of waste bans, and modification to the incinerator moratorium. The proposed modification of the incinerator moratorium would encourage the use of alternative technologies, such as gasification, for converting waste to energy or fuel under certain conditions (nma.org).
The incinerator moratorium was introduced in 1988. At that time there were fourteen applications at DEP for new incinerators to be built. Fourteen were way too much for the DEP to handle. Having that many incinerators would mean our state would be burning all trash/MSW. Possibly hurting municipal recycling programs. ... read more
Have you ever wondered what happens to old and worn out tires once you get them replaced on your car? Fortunately, as Green Living notes, the latest improvements in technology have led to more options for recycling rubber tires. According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 80 percent of the 290-plus million tires a year are now saved from going to the dump, and are recycled and turned into other types of products.
Rubber Gets Used
For example, Green Living explained, old tires are often ground up and used in rubberized asphalt, as well as rubber flooring for educational and commercial locations. This style of flooring is especially popular with designers and architects due to its array of colors, designs and durability. In addition, ground-up rubber can be used for athletic turf, mulch, playground surfaces and walking and running trails.... read more
Following my recent Keen For Green article about the efforts being made in Europe to cut down on energy consumption, I thought for my next article it would be interesting to look at the issue of recycling – and specifically, the recycling of plastic. This is a huge issue because here in the UK it has been estimated that five million tonnes of plastic are consumed each year – with 4.5 million tonnes entering the waste stream annually.
In early March the European Commission launched a Green Paper on plastics, looking at plastics disposal and recycling across the whole of the European Union. It discussed the fact that approximately half of all plastic ends up in landfill – which in terms of energy is the equivalent of 12 million tonnes of crude oil being buried each year.
The paper also drew attention to the big problem of single-use plastic carrier bags – in just one year in the UK, 2010, it was estimated that 200 plastic bags were used per person. This has led to radical proposals, including a total ban on plastic bags across the whole of Europe. Italy has in fact already implemented such a policy, having banned non-biodegradable plastic bags on 1st January 2011.... read more
Think about how much trash you throw into your recycling bins at home each month. Now think about how much trash you produce in your office. Can you image how much garbage your office throws out could be recycled? If you think that recycling in your workplace would not make a difference, think again.
Each year, businesses throw away tons of garbage that could be recycled. It’s such a waste of resources and money, and it overruns our crowded landfills. Make the change to start a recycling program in your workplace today.
Make a Plan
It’s easy to say “we want to recycle in our office,” but it’s much harder to make a program that actually makes the workplace more efficient. Before you implement a recycling program, take a few minutes to make a plan. Be sure to decide:
What items you want to recycle
Who will head the recycling program
How you will dispose of waste
Each of these steps is very important because you need to stay focused in order to keep track of your results to see how much of a difference you are making with your new program.... read more
Plastic bags still seem to be one of the hardest materials to recycle. Although they are made of very easily recyclable materials they can many times be a contaminant in regular recycling. Problems with trying to properly recycle plastic bags is nothing new. Plastic bags have always been one of those commodities that have posed a challenge to collect and recycle. It’s no wonder why so many people would like to see them banned from being used.
Plastic bags are typically made from one of three basic types: high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The thicker glossier shopping bags from the mall or retail stores are LLDPE, while grocery bags are usually HDPE.
Today most recycling haulers are seeing plastic bags mixed in with recycling. This is occurring in both single stream and multi stream recycling programs. Plastic bags are being found mixed in both municipal and commercial recycling.... read more
So Christmas day rolled around at last and you were so excited to finally unwrap those shiny parcels twinkling wickedly at you from underneath the Christmas tree. But what if what you unwrapped was not everything your heart desired? What if – and don’t be shy here – you simply hated it? Now that it’s safely post-Christmas, we bring you our top tips on the best ways to recycle those lovingly gifted but simply off-the-mark presents.
Regift it
This one can be tricky! Don’t fall into the obvious trap of accidentally giving your unwanted present back to the very person who bought it for you. Combat this by jotting down who got you what and hopefully you’ll never make the ultimate gift faux pas. The golden rule with regifting is to make sure you give your unwanted present to someone who would actually like it - no palming it off at the first opportunity!... read more
So, you’ve successfully changed the toner cartridges in your printer – What’s next? It seems wasteful to throw them out. In fact, it can be dangerous to do so since any remaining ink is thought of as chemical waste that can contaminate soil and water. And, considering that these cartridges are thrown out at a rate of 500 per minute, they are consuming a lot of landfill space. But throwing old toner cartridges in the garbage is not the only option. This article will provide tips for anyone who wants to learn more about how to recycle toner cartridges.... read more
The world at large has a number of concerns. The amount of plastic in landfills is a major concern for some, but should be on the radar for all. Consider the following facts:
- Global consumption of plastics has increased from 5.5 million tons in the 1950s to 110 million tons in 2009.
- Today’s average American disposes of about 33 million tons of plastic. Despite recycling efforts, only 6.5% is recycled. Another 7 to 8% is involved in waste-to-energy projects.
- The rest of the used plastic makes its way to landfills, where decomposition takes more than 1000 years.
Despite recycling and energy pursuits, increased usage of plastics is still a serious issue. While broader global efforts are paramount for the health of our planet, each individual plays an integral role. The more people work together and take little steps, the more the impact will be. A little bit of work (even just word of mouth) goes a long way to inspire a bigger audience. Here’s how you can help curb the accumulation of plastic in landfills.... read more
In present times, where technology seems to have the ability to deliver and offer everything a man can wish for, computers and gadgets can be found everywhere. Especially computers, from offices, cafes, malls, these peripheral devices can be found even at your home. But what do you exactly do when your computer become obsolete, outdated, or all of a sudden, broke down.
Well, some creative minds offered the following ideas on turning their Apple iMac computers to cool and uncanny house decorations:
•iMac Aquarium – is computer-aquarium made by detaching the electrical component inside an iMac monitor including the cathode-ray tube and replacing it with a custom-made aquarium. The idea came from a professional photographer named Jake Harms from Nebraska, United States. He admitted that it took him a great deal of time to create a perfect curved shape similar to the iMac’s cathode ray tube. Presently, he sells iMac Aquarium online for $250 each, available in colors red, blue, aqua and white.
•Crunching G4 Table – is a geeky-chic table made of two iMac G4 CPUs. Mike Elgan of Houzz.com, described the Crunching G4 Table as, “a coffee table made with Macintosh G4s. The machine itself is obsolete. But the product is too beautiful to destroy or discard. Repurposing it into furniture lets us remember it.” It is available for the price of $600 at Reform-Designs.com.... read more
In the recent years, Lexmark has been earning a reputation in being an environment-conscious company contributing with its program that helps in our environment’s conservation and sustainability. From its efforts of designing its products with the environment in mind, to how they engineer their packaging to reduce materials, all the way to their recycling programs, Lexmark strives to be an environmentally responsible provider of products and services.
One of these recycling programs Lexmark have conducted is their Ink Cartridge Recycling Program, these allows its customers to ship back their used inkjet cartridges back to them to be remanufactured, re-filled with new toner and re-sale as quality Lexmark remanufactured printer cartridges. But last 2010, Lexmark came up with a bright idea to remanufacture or recycle empty inkjet cartridges and that’s by converting them into pens.... read more
Have you ever wondered what happens to old and worn out tires once you get them replaced on your car? Fortunately, as Green Living notes, the latest improvements in technology have led to more options for recycling rubber tires. According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 80 percent of the 290-plus million tires a year are now saved from going to the dump, and are recycled and turned into other types of products.
Following my recent Keen For Green article about the 
Think about how much trash you throw into your recycling bins at home each month. Now think about how much trash you produce in your office. Can you image how much garbage your office throws out could be recycled? If you think that recycling in your workplace would not make a difference, think again. 
So, you’ve successfully changed the toner cartridges in your printer – What’s next? It seems wasteful to throw them out. In fact, it can be dangerous to do so since any remaining ink is thought of as chemical waste that can contaminate soil and water. And, considering that these cartridges are thrown out at a rate of 500 per minute, they are consuming a lot of landfill space. But throwing old toner cartridges in the garbage is not the only option. This article will provide tips for anyone who wants to learn more about how to recycle toner cartridges.
The world at large has a number of concerns. The amount of plastic in landfills is a major concern for some, but should be on the radar for all. Consider the following 
In present times, where technology seems to have the ability to deliver and offer everything a man can wish for, computers and gadgets can be found everywhere. Especially computers, from offices, cafes, malls, these peripheral devices can be found even at your home. But what do you exactly do when your computer become obsolete, outdated, or all of a sudden, broke down.
In the recent years, Lexmark has been earning a reputation in being an environment-conscious company contributing with its program that helps in our environment’s conservation and sustainability. From its efforts of designing its products with the environment in mind, to how they engineer their packaging to reduce materials, all the way to their recycling programs, Lexmark strives to be an environmentally responsible provider of products and services.