Osprey Recycled Courier Bag

Plastic bottles fill up more landfill space than any other product we currently use today.  So many people simply don’t think to recycle them or find it too inconvenient to.  While recycling is on the rise, it will be difficult to clear out all of those plastic bottles.  Landfills will be full of them for decades.  However, there are a number of different ways that plastic bottles are being recycled and reused today.

One interesting product that is made from recycled water and soda bottles is the Osprey Recycled Courier Bag.  This bag’s tape, webbing, and mesh are all constructed from recycled plastic bottles.  The buckles are also crated from reground and recycled buckle straps.  This incredible bag has plenty of different little pockets to stash things in, and it’s even got a padded sleeve for your laptop.  The different divisions make it easy to keep it all organized, and the two different carrying straps (one handle, one over the shoulder strap) make for easy carrying.  It even has a mesh pocket for a water bottle which, of course, you’ll recycle after you’re done with it. It’s just as durable as any bag, naturally, so you don’t have to worry about it falling apart.

While it may not empty out those landfills any time soon, the Osprey Recycled Courier Bag will help deal with some of them.  If you’re looking for a great green gift for yourself or one of your friends, this cool bag is perfect.

Recycled Plastic Trash Bags

It seems like we all use a lot of trash bags every week.  How many bags of trash do you take out to the garbage for pickup?  Two?  Three?  More?  Now think of how many trash bags that would be every year.  It’s a huge number, and all of that plastic ends up in a landfill somewhere.  However, the Seventh Generation recycled plastic trash bags are made from recycled plastic, and using them will help save a ton of resources.

According to a study, if everyone simply swapped out one box of brand new 20 tall kitchen bags with a box of recycled ones (made from 65% recycled material), it would be enough to save 3,900 barrels of oil and would cut down on 720,000 cubic feet of landfill space.  It would also cut out 15,000 tons of pollution.  That’s just by replacing ONE box!  Imagine what would happen if every household started using recycled trash bags for all of their trash needs?

The savings only goes up if the bags are made from more recycled material.  Bags made using 80% recycled materials, for example, could save 81,000 barrels of oil and cut down 30,000 tons of pollution if every household purchased a 20 count box.

These recycled plastic trash bags aren’t that much more expensive than those made from virgin plastic.  They come in a variety of sizes, including 13 gallon tall kitchen bags and 33 gallon trash bags.  They’re made out of tough, quality recycled plastic, too, so they won’t rip or tear easily.

Sometimes, it seems like going green requires a huge change, but there are some things we can do that are small yet have a huge impact.  Changing out a box or two of traditional trash bags for recycled ones can be one of those small things.  If you want to go green but aren’t sure how, this is a great place to start.

College Creates Freecycle Store

If you’re a college student and looking for a way to get involved in helping your campus go green, here’s one great idea: create a freecycle store.  That’s exactly what the Earth CORPS group at Mills College in Oakland, California, did.  The students in the group realized that many students, especially those who were moving back home and didn’t have space to take a lot of things, simply threw away stuff they had purchased over the course of the year.  These items included things like stereos, cooking items, small televisions, computer equipment, and more.

Almost all of these pieces of equipment were in perfect working order.  Why, then, the Earth CORPS students wondered, were they being tossed in the garbage and being sent off to landfills?  It seemed like a waste, and so they decided to open a freecycle store.  The point of a freecycle store is that, instead of throwing away all of that good stuff, the students bring it to the store.  Then other students can come into the Reuse Store, as the Mills College group calls it, and select items they’d like to have.  There is no charge.

Earth CORPS takes their Reuse Store one step farther, however, and allows community members to take items that they need as well.  Community members and students alike find themselves looking through different holiday decorations, equipment, phone chargers, and even some designer clothes and other expensive things.  School supplies, of course, are in high demand, but they are also the top donated item.

The students at Mills College modeled their Reuse Store after a similar store located at Berkeley.  When setting up the store, they didn’t go out and buy new tables or shelves.  Instead, they visited a local landfill and gathered wood and other items, plus some bookshelves and tables were donated from other campus departments that no longer needed them.

Five Things to Never Throw Away in the Garbage

When it comes to recycling, some people find it a chore.  In fact, up to 70 percent of everything that goes into a landfill could be recycled.  A good amount of those items, though, simply take up space in a landfill.  However, there are some items that absolutely should never be thrown away because, in addition to taking up landfill space, they are toxic and can work their way back into our water or our food.  These five items must always be recycled or disposed of in the proper way.

•    Electronics, including televisions, old computer monitors and parts, cell phones, and stereos.  Often, these items contain harmful substances like mercury.  Many cities have special electronic recycling days or collection areas, and most electronics stories will take old cell phones and recycle them.
•    Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs are another danger.  They contain mercury, which means they don’t go in landfills.  Some stores, including Home Depot, are now taking old CFL bulbs.  Since they last so much longer, however, you won’t need to recycle them that often.
•    Car fluids, including wiper fluid and antifreeze.  Basically, any type of fluid that comes out of your car should not go into a landfill due to its toxic nature.  Check with your local garbage company to learn how to dispose of these fluids.
•    Likewise, paint should be taken to the local hazardous waste collection center.  Many cities have laws against disposing of what is called free-flowing liquids in the garbage, so in addition to putting toxins in the ground, throwing away your paint may actually be illegal.
•    Finally, lithium-ion batteries should not be thrown away.  These include rechargeable batteries and batteries used in cell phones and other devices.  Many electronics stores also recycle these batteries.

Increase your Recycling

While some nay-sayers claim recycling doesn’t really do much, we all know that’s not true.  Even if it does take a good amount of energy to recycle materials, at least those materials aren’t going into a landfill somewhere.  Many people, however, only recycle their newspapers and plastics.  There are many other things that can be recycled.  Here are some ways you can increase your recycling efforts.

1.    Recycle your plastic bags.  Many grocery stores have recycling boxes located at the front of the store for used shopping bags.  You can also use these small bags as trashcan liners.

2.    Rather than recycling catalogs, unwanted magazines, and junk mail, do your best to contact the sender and cancel the subscription or have your address removed from their mailing list.  Recycling is great, but never using the materials is even better (and getting less junk mail is always good).

3.    Don’t forget that many electronics stores will accept cell phones and ink cartridges for recycling.  Many places will also take old computers, monitors, and printers.  If they’re in good working condition, you may even get a bit of a discount off a new product.

4.    Know what you can recycle and what you can’t.  If you know of materials that your local recycling center does not take, try to avoid those materials.  Likewise, know how to recycle or dispose of hazardous wastes.  Compact fluorescence light bulbs, for examples, should not simply be thrown in the trash with other garbage.

5.    Instead of buying plastic containers, reuse butter tubs and other plastic food containers that include lids.  Most can be recycled, too, so once a container gets worn, toss it in with the recyclables.

6.    Create a compost heap as a way of recycling your organic waste.