By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 19th,2010%  I remember a time when facebook was to connect with friends not to play “social”games. The latest game I have heard of,is a recycling game created by Greenopolis,a company founded to reward the population for recycling. In the game,called oceanopolis,the user is trapped on an island paradise and must collect and turn in recyclables on the island. As they collect items the user is educated about recycling,earns points and can purchase items. I tried the game for a few minutes and found it even less appealing than most regular games . . . →Read More:A Facebook Recycling Game By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 12th,2010% Workplaces are starting to pay attention to sustainability and want to develop a “green”workplace. While many are addressing this by reducing paper output and encouraging reuse of coffee mugs,many are putting recycling programs in place. How do we increase the rate at which employees actually use these office recycling bins? Here are a few ideas I have,comment below if you have any ideas I have missed. Label recycling bins clearly with what may be placed in the bin. Many office recycling programs accept different materials than the surrounding communities curbside pickups. Eliminate confusion, . . . →Read More:Increase the Success of Your Office Recycling Program By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on October 2nd,2010%  Recycling bins are available in more and more locations. However there is no standard signs for recycling. Every time an individual encounters a recycling bin they must first recognize that it is a location for recycling and then determine what can be recycled at that location. This may cause confusion that leads to a reduced recycling rate. As reported on Treehugger yesterday,Recycle Across America is trying to encourage standardized labeling for recycling. They hope that by providing standard labels an increase in consistency will be seen in schools,malls,workplaces,public buildings and homes. Free PDFs are . . . →Read More:Standardized Recycling Signs to Reduce Confusion By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on September 25th,2010%  From time to time a structure is built to illustrate a point about the wastefulness of our society. The building is made of hundred to hundreds of thousands of objects that would be found in our society’s waste stream. Often the objects are part of packaging. Here are a couple recent examples Beer Crate Pavilion Currently located in Brussels,from a distance the building looks like it is constructed of giant yellow Lego blocks. It was constructed in 2008 by Belgian and UK architecture firm SHSH to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Expo 1958. These “Lego”blocks are . . . →Read More:Plastic Structures By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on August 21st,2010%  I originally posted this blog post on Greenwala on August 12,2010 As I browse environmental websites on the internet,I have often seen statistics that relate to the lack of plastic that makes it into the recycling stream. The Wikipedia Article on plastic recycling (as of August 12,2010) states the following: Plastic recycling rates lag far behind those of other items,such as newspaper (about 80%) and corrugated fiberboard (about 70%). All plastic bottles were recycled at a rate of 24% in 2005. The EPA Common Wastes and Materials reports states the . . . →Read More:Does Recycling Confusion Hurt Plastics? By Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou,on April 9th,2010% recycle logo by TheTruthAbout… Are you recycling aware? This is as obvious a question as it seems. In the past when I talk to people about bioplastics they’ve asked “Well aren’t they recyclable? They have a recycling symbol on the bottom”. While having a recycling symbol on the product may mean that the product is in some way recyclable,it does not mean that the plastic will be accepted at your local recycling facility. Every municipality is different in what they will accept. By adding any plastic with a recycling symbol to the waste stream you may . . . →Read More:Can you recycle that? | CreditsBlog design elements by Kate HadfieldUsed as non-profit generating blog TOU |
