DIY Decorations for the Holiday Season

I'm not sure how creative we all are with holiday decorating, but I recently noticed that Planet Green is looking to spread a little DIY to decking the halls this holiday season. In honor of new traditions, the website is giving folks the opportunity to get festive through reducing waste and consumption. Who ever said that old tin cans can't be festive?

To submit your ideas, visit: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/submit-diy-holiday-decorations.html

Planet Green already has a few ideas for recycled holiday decorations, which are discussed in their "10 Holiday Decorations You Can Make From Recyclables" countdown. For instance, one of the ideas mentioned is to break down plastic water bottles by cutting them into snowflakes that can be hung together on a strand similar to how holiday lights are connected.

Popcorn garlands are also another idea that are often forgotten in the excitement of holiday decorating. The garlands can also be made with cranberries and pinecones and hung to decorate a tree, hallway, or doorway. Always a fun roomie bonding or family activity!

Moral of the story: Think twice before purchasing the mass produced quantities of holiday decorations and first consider DIY household decorations! DIY decorations can bring creativity back into a family or living situation and are a great way to spend time with loved ones, not to mention oftentimes much cheaper. For more holiday decorations ideas, visit: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/homemade-recycled-holiday-decorations.html

Starbucks, 100% Recyclable Cups by 2012?

Today, I saw an interesting RT feed on Twitter, Starbucks 100% recyclable? Apparently in 2012, according to "How Starbucks is Changing Packaging" by Sam Oches in QSR magazine. Americans use 58 billion paper cups each year, which is about 645,000 tons of waste in landfills yearly. Starbucks contributes about 3 billion cups total globally each year. Hence, Starbucks is working with recycling and packaging industries to produce a product that lessens their ecological footprint

'“What you’ve seen in the past is somebody will call a product recyclable based
on the materiality of that product and not necessarily whether or not it’s
actually able to get recycled,” says Jim Hanna, director of environmental impact
for Starbucks. “So for our cups, for us to actually call our cups recyclable,
they have to be recyclable in the communities where we operate our stores.

In the past, Starbucks made efforts to switch to 10% post-consumer recycled fiber and to polypropylene cold cups. In preparation of introducing 100% recyclable cups, Starbucks conducted its first Cup Summit in Seattle to meet with " raw material providers, cup manufacturers, cup converters, environmental NGOs, waste management companies, Starbucks’ peer companies, academics, and municipalities." The Cup Summit was a way for the entire value chain of Starbucks products to meet and discuss ideas and concerns.

Currently, New York City, San Francisco, and Ontario are test cities for Starbucks front-of-house recycling methods. Starbucks is working on a plan to certify paper food packaging as corrugated cardboard, hence decreasing recycling costs. Recycling processes began testing with Praat Industries this September in seven Manhattan stores. Ideally, Praat Industries will be able to lead the nation in modification, changing, and enhancing of the recycling infrastructure.

“The cup is our icon, it’s the symbol of Starbucks, it’s our brand image, and we
need to get the cup right,” said Jim Hanna, director of environmental impact for
Starbucks.

http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/features/134/starbucks-1.phtml

In What World Can You Call Tetra Pak Green?

"In What World Can You Call Tetra Pak Green," by Lloyd Alter on the Tree Hugger website discusses Tetra Pak packaging and their "green" marketing campaign. Tetra Pak is an aseptic packaging product with the ability to extend canned and bottled perishable food items shelf lives, for example, extending the shelf life of milk for months when not refrigerated. The company is the largest packaging company worldwide and has done an amazing job of marketing its limited "green" qualities. In the UK and Ireland, Tetra Pak has been FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.

Tetra Pak boasts of its sustainability, yet only 20% of America has the recycling facilities that are able to break down the product's seven thin layers of various components (plastic, aluminum, and paper). However, even when "recycling" Tetra Pak, toilet paper is the only thing that can be produced from breaking down and reusing the product's materials. Hence, Tetra Pak cannot be recreated from recycling Tetra Pak. Alter refers to this as, "the most elaborate green washing scheme ever."

It was interesting when reading the "In What World Can You Call Tetra Pak Green?" article and then looking at the "ALL UK and Irish Tetra Pak Packaging to be FSC Certified" by Bonnie Alter that is also on the Tree Hugger website. It appears that the FSC certification is helping Tetra Pak become more dedicated to recycling in the U.K. and Ireland, as the Innocent drinks (London headquarters) have worked with Tetra Pak to have 100% recyclable product packaging. Hopefully, these changes will also begin to happen in the U.S. soon.

Resources:

"In What World Can You Call Tetra Pak Green?"

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/are-tetra-paks-green.php

"All UK and Irish Tetra Pak Packaging to be FSC Certified"

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/tetra-pak-fsc-certified.php