Talking Trash

Are hazards hiding in your home?

Are hazards hiding in your home?

CAUTION! DANGER! POISON! These words are designed to keep people away, yet many everyday household products are labeled with these warnings and left on shelves or cabinets long after they are needed. Families in a typical home store about 100 pounds of unwanted...

Educating young environmentalists

Educating young environmentalists

How does plastic get into the ocean? How is paper recycled? What happens to cans in the recycling bin? If you have little people in your life, then you know that children are forever asking how and why things are the way they are. You also know that an internet search...

EPA and SWANA work on battery best practices

EPA and SWANA work on battery best practices

Beginning next month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a series of virtual working sessions to address best practices for battery labeling, collection, and recycling. Interested parties can participate by completing this form for more information....

Boxes, boxes, boxes!

Boxes, boxes, boxes!

It used to be that we saw an increase in boxes to our homes during the holidays, but now, buying items online and having them delivered to our homes is a year-round event. All those shipping boxes, packing materials, and padded envelopes can pile up. According to...

Say “no thanks” to the plastic bag

Say “no thanks” to the plastic bag

Plastic bags can be found almost everywhere. We see them in stores and restaurants, piling up in our homes, floating in creeks and rivers, and blowing around like tumbleweeds outdoors. Sadly, once the bags escape into nature, they stay there, breaking down into tiny...

Quick Tips for Food Scraps

Quick Tips for Food Scraps

Collecting food scraps in the kitchen as you cook or clean up is simple. Just follow these few steps. First, if you are participating in a community organics collection program, be sure to check the list of acceptable food waste that you may include for curbside...

A Life Less Throwaway

A Life Less Throwaway

In an age of disposability and easy overconsumption, Tara Button’s book, A Life Less Throwaway, serves as a wake-up call and a guide to living more consciously. Button addresses our modern tendency to discard items and experiences too quickly, urging readers to...

Four Tips for Safe Battery Disposal

Four Tips for Safe Battery Disposal

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), millions of single-use and rechargeable batteries are bought, used, recycled, or disposed of in the trash each year in the United States. There are various types of batteries depending on the size and how they...

What have you heard about recycling?

What have you heard about recycling?

Recycling has been in the news, and some of the stories sound pretty dire. For example, maybe you’ve heard that much of the plastic produced is never recycled. But you need the full story. It is true that some plastic is never recycled, BUT that's because much of the...