Talking Trash

Remove and donate — don’t demolish home renovation materials. Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or you contact a professional, home improvement is an exciting but messy business. Once the job starts, the disarray, dust, and debris can seem to seep into your soul, and...

The thought of strategic planning might make our eyes glaze over, but it is key to progress and moving forward. It is especially important for today's solid waste managers as the industry continues to undergo changes in worker priorities, technology, and ways to...

When flushed down the toilet or poured down the drain, medications can pollute our water and jeopardize public health by exposing people and wildlife to harmful chemicals. And according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), your unwanted medication could end up lost,...

New iPhones were announced last week and more of the latest cell phone models and electronic devices will arrive this fall. Are you planning to upgrade? Cell phones, computers, DVRs, DVD players, game consoles, TVs, iPads and tablets, and e-readers — how many of these...

Do you visit your local library? If so, have you ever thought about the library as a great place to practice the second R — Reuse? Libraries have books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, and sometimes even games on all kinds of topics, as well as access to online resources and...

In The Waste-Free World: How the Circular Economy Will Take Less, Make More, and Save the Planet (Portfolio, 288 pages), author Ron Gonen asks consumers, businesses, and banks to embrace a circular economy. A circular economy is a model of production and consumption...

Have some back-to-school folks at your house? According to the EPA, on average, each student throws away about 67 pounds of lunch waste per year. That might be more than some young students weigh! This total includes uneaten food and food scraps, as well as...

In the United States, about 40% of all food goes to waste. That wasted food costs a family of four about $1,500 each year! At home, you can reduce your food waste by using the 3 Rs — Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Reduce your food waste at home by planning your meals for...

The United States saw a rise in recycling rates for both paper and corrugated cardboard (OCC) in 2021. Paper recycling rates rose from 65.7% in 2020 to 68% in 2021. To put this into more concrete terms, U.S. paper mills accepted more than 8.6 million tons of recycled...