Reusable sandwich and snack packs: One less plastic sandwich bag in a landfill October 6, 2010

Lunchskins

snackTaxi

I recently came across Lunchskins and snackTaxi after doing a search on reusable sandwich bags. The thick cotton which is coated with a food-safe polyurethane liner provides a durable and multi-use product that is also dishwasher friendly and has a velcro seal. With  various sizes and multiple designs, it is a great topic starter about the detrimental use of plastic sandwich bags.

More than 20 MILLION sandwich bags find their way into landfills every day. With such a staggering fact we need to take the matter into our own hands and start using alternatives to plastics.

Both companies offer whole sale purchases and is a perfect fundraiser for schools. Educate the community about the gravity of plastic and start thinking about other ways to keep plastics out of landfills!

Printer buying 101 October 4, 2010

Smart eco consumerism will require extra preparation to find the optimal printer of your choice. Ideally, you want to find a printer that has the highest pages per minute (ppm). Here are some pointers to get more bang for your bucks while also considering its eco impact. Refer to PC magazines for reviews or Consumer Report. Kodak and Epson are best known for high ppm, quality of ink and best deal for ink cartridges.

My HP printer went kaput a few weeks ago when I turned off the power strip the printer was plugged into. I ran myself ragged trying to trouble shoot the problem. I even tried a hard reset but to no avail. I finally decided to purchase another printer but I had a list of questions to ask the sales associate. Consider the below the next time your in the market for a printer.

Individual Cartridge vs. Packaged Cartridge

Individual cartridges are preferred because a packaged cartridge will have more than one printer color and if one color runs out, you will need to replace the entire packaged cartridge. On the other hand individual cartridges need to be changed only when they are “empty.” HP and Cannon tend to have packaged cartridges.

Empty Cartridge or Not?

Your ink empty cartridge message may be an error or at least a premature message. Cartridges require a certain level of ink to prevent the printer head from becoming damaged, if the ink level falls too low. Find a printer that wastes the least amount of ink.

Invest in a printer that the most cost efficiency per page.

In closing, do your research, ask questions about ppm, ink cartridges and their take back policy. I decided to purchase the Kodak ESP7250 because the cartridges were 100% full unlike the HP cartridges that are only 25% filled.

Your Plan “E”

Best Buy’s Greener Together™ is a new initiative where most household electronics are accepted free of charge with a couple exceptions. Regardless of the brand or where you purchased it, Best Buy will recycle TV’s, DVD players, computer monitors , audio video cables, cell phones etc.

In an effort to “divert materials from the waste stream”, Staples Soul will take back Dell computers and other office technology products are accepted free of charge to be recycled. All other brands of computers, monitors, deskstop/laptop computers, printers, scanners, all-i-one and fax machines require a $10 fee to cover shipping fee.

Find an E-steward in your area to dispose of your electronics appropriately.  Unfortunately, recyclers export old products to developing nations so choose your recycler with care.

October 9th is National Costume Swap Day

The lifespan of a child’s Halloween costume is probably 2-5 hours. After October 31st has passed what happens to them? Anything is better than ending up in a landfill.

National Costume Swap Day was started by Green Halloween, “a non-profit, grassroots community initiative to create healthier and more Earth-friendly holidays, starting with Halloween. It began in the Seattle area in 2007 with backers such as Whole Foods Market and was such a huge success that in 2008, the initiative expanded nation-wide.”

Swapping or exchanging a costume can “reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 TONS a year or equal to the weight of 2,500 mid size cars.” It instills eco values to young children and community about the importance of reusing costumes rather than throwing them out.

Visit the site to find out more about the initiative and where the closest Swap is to you.