WASTE WATCHERS BLOG

Between food scraps and convenience-based shortcuts, the holidays heighten waste production more than any other time of year. But, by following a few simple tips for waste reduction and recycling, you’ll have the opportunity to make sustainability a Thanksgiving tradition.

  To many, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season—a time for togetherness, cheer… and, unfortunately, 25% more U.S. waste generation than any other time in the year. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, Americans send an additional one million pounds of trash to landfill every week. And not to be overshadowed by the December celebrations, convenience-factor flatware choices, inevitable spill cleanup, and a feast’s worth of food scraps have made Turkey Day increasingly wasteful.  But, it doesn’t have to be.  By following a few simple tips for waste reduction and recycling, you’ll have the opportunity to make sustainability a Thanksgiving tradition.

Glass is an ideal recyclable for both manufacturers and consumers. But the U.S. recycling system has made a material that’s incredibly easy to recycle substantially more difficult.

  Over 3,000 years before plastic usurped our soda pop, olive oil, and peanut butter containers, glass was as valuable as the items it held. Fast-forwarding to modern day, glass is no longer a marvel, yet it’s worth is not lost on us. Even as commercial glass has been largely relegated to beer, wine, and liquor bottles, American consumers have shown a thirst for its sustainability through recycling. Why, then, are glass recycling programs being discontinued across the country? The answer is both economic and process-related, and as we’ll cover below, the U.S. recycling system has made a material that’s incredibly easy to recycle substantially more difficult.

Product packaging requires a significant amount of raw materials, and now more than ever, we need to prioritize using efficient and sustainable packaging materials. In this post, we take a deep dive into the packaging industry to determine the eco-friendliness of common packaging materials and what major brands are doing to minimize their environmental impact.

From food wrappers, to Amazon boxes, to drink bottles, to toothpaste tubes, most of us don't realize the extent to which product packaging is built into our everyday lives. Product packaging requires a significant amount of raw materials, and now more than ever, we need to prioritize using efficient and sustainable packaging materials. In this post, we take a deep dive into the packaging industry to determine the eco-friendliness of common packaging materials and what major brands are doing to minimize their environmental impact. Continue reading to learn more!

In this post, we wanted to focus on the 'full picture' of recycling, so we created an infographic that details the series of events that occur during the life cycle of your recyclable materials - from generation, to consumption, to turning the recyclables back into new products.

  If you're a frequent reader of our blog, you know we like to include interesting recycling tidbits in our posts, like the fact that you can recycle an aluminum can, and after only 60 days, it will be back on a store shelf. Or for every ton of mixed paper that is recycled, 17 trees are saved. In this post, we wanted to focus on the 'full picture' of recycling, so we created an infographic that details the series of events that occur during the life cycle of your recyclable materials - from generation, to consumption, to turning the recyclables back into new products. Let us know what you think in the comments below and please share with your colleagues who would be interested in learning more about this!

We created this post to help you understand the unique challenges involved with recycling in the manufacturing industry and what you can do to streamline your operations, increase diversion from landfill, and control costs.

  Manufacturing businesses in the United States generate an estimated 7.6 billion tons of waste every year. Simply put, waste & recycling for manufacturers should not follow a one-size-fits-all approach. Developing systems for managing the wide-range and high volume of waste materials can be rather challenging. We created this post to help you understand the unique challenges involved with recycling in the manufacturing industry and what you can do to streamline your operations, increase diversion from landfill, and control costs.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your materials after they have been tossed in the recycling bin? After collection, each material is set on its own path to become a new product. Learn about the recyclables’ journey from the recycling bin back to the shelf.

  Have you ever wondered what happens to your materials after they have been tossed in the recycling bin? After collection, each material is set on its own path to become a new product. Some materials can cycle through the process indefinitely, while others can only be recycled a few times before they lose their quality. Continue reading to learn about the recyclables' journey from the recycling bin back to the shelf.  

In our post, we discuss what happens to your materials after you toss them in your recycling bin! Check out the many uses your recycled materials have.

  Have you thought about what the materials you use every day were in a previous life? The fleece jacket you’re wearing right now may have been made with recycled plastic from water bottles. Or, the tissues next to your desk may be made from recycled computer paper. On past blog posts, we’ve focused a lot on how, why and what to recycle, but below we discuss what happens to your materials after you toss them in your recycling bin! Continue reading to learn the many uses your recycled materials have.