The “freshman 15″ is something that all new college students want to avoid. So how can students protect their weight and the planet at the same time? Take away cafeteria trays.

According to the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a research organization that tracks the sustainable practices of 300 colleges and universities with the largest endowments, 126 of these schools currently have either cut out trays completely from their dining halls, or they have dedicated certain days as “trayless days.” This is all in an effort to reduce waste, conserve energy and water, and to save money at the schools.

The “freshman 15″ is something that all new college students want to avoid. So how can students protect their weight and the planet at the same time? Take away cafeteria trays.

According to the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a research organization that tracks the sustainable practices of 300 colleges and universities with the largest endowments, 126 of these schools currently have either cut out trays completely from their dining halls, or they have dedicated certain days as “trayless days.” This is all in an effort to reduce waste, conserve water and to save money at the schools.

So, is it working?

Here are a few schools that are reducing waste by eliminating trays:

• Williams College – College has saved 14,000 gallons of water a year by taking away the trays.
• Rochester Institute of Technology – School is dramatically reducing waste and has saved 10% on food spending.
• Cornell University – Faculty did not like the idea of going trayless in the beginning, but since the school has transformed its cafeterias to include slate-fireplaces and do-it-yourself food stations, everyone likes the waste reduction and energy conservation efforts.

So far the only downfall these schools have seen from using no trays has the increase in traffic. Since people have to get up multiple times to get food, dining hall time increases.

Oh, and the trays can’t be used for sledding in the winter.

But if this green initiative is adopted in all schools around the U.S., then faculty and students will eventually learn how to handle the transition and develop a better understanding of how to control their college trash.

Do you think that going trayless is a good green idea, or does it just make you frustrated because you can’t fit everything on your plate?

Source: The New York Times

The largest retailer of consumer electronics has just started a trial e-waste recycling program in over 117 stores across 8 states.

Best Buy, which supplies a huge portion of the electronics waste that ends up in our overcrowded landfills, has finally succumbed to the pressure of environmentalists…

The largest retailer of consumer electronics has just started a trial e-waste recycling program in over 117 stores across 8 states.

Best Buy, which supplies a huge portion of the electronics waste that ends up in our overcrowded landfills, has finally succumbed to the pressure of environmentalists.

The Program

Although the retailer has already accepted cell phones, batteries and ink jet cartridges for several years, it is going to upgrade its e-waste intake by including computers and televisions up to 32 inches for consumers to drop off at stores.

Right now in the trial states, which are Northern California, Minneapolis and Baltimore, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Virginia and Washington, D.C., consumers can bring in up to 2 gadgets per day.

You can see the complete list of participating stores here.

If the program is a success, it will hopefully expand to all the other 922 stores throughout the U.S.

You can read the entire article here.

This entire recycling program might just be a clever trick to get consumers to think that Best Buy is eco-friendly, when in actuality has a rather large company carbon footprint.

But at least the company is doing something, so it deserves some credit for its efforts.

We’ll just have to wait and see if the program works.

According to the EPA, Americans discard about 2 million pounds of electronic waste (e-waste) every year, but that’s nothing compared to the 50 million pounds that are produced by the entire world.

To battle the e-waste problem, the U.S. Postal Service is working with recycling company Clover Technologies Group to develop a free national collection program for small electronics…

According to the EPA, Americans discard about 2 million pounds of electronic waste (e-waste) every year, but that’s nothing compared to the 50 million pounds that are produced by the entire world.

To battle the e-waste problem, the U.S. Postal Service is working with recycling company Clover Technologies Group to develop a free national collection program for small electronics.

The Program

This would be the first ever national electronics recycling program in America.

The program would provide pre-paid envelopes to people to send in their unwanted electronics, like cell phones and cameras. Then Clover Technologies would refurbish and resell them.

If the program works, it would dramatically cut down or even discontinue our shipping of e-waste to developing countries.

Apparently the e-waste that is shipped to developing countries is either stripped for parts and then dumped into the ocean, or it is burned as fuel, emitting hazardous toxins into the air.

You can read the entire article here.

Not only would the program reduce U.S. shipping prices and encourage people to recycle, but it would also reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions around the world.

Right now the program is on trial in Chicago and Los Angeles, collecting only certain electronic devices. If it works, it will hopefully spread to other cities.

Let’s cross our fingers.

A new project financed by the government of Norway and the Global Environment Facility will have inmates at an African prison working towards purifying human waste and producing biogas to reduce carbon emissions.

This is one of a series of projects created by the Addressing Land-Based activities in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO-LaB) initiative, which aims to tackle problems that degrade marine and coastal environments…

A new project financed by the government of Norway and the Global Environment Facility will have inmates at an African prison working towards purifying human waste and producing biogas to reduce carbon emissions.

This is one of a series of projects created by the Addressing Land-Based activities in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO-LaB) initiative, which aims to tackle problems that degrade marine and coastal environments.

The Problem

Sewage pollution has been one of the toughest problems facing water treatment facilities in many developing countries.

According to an article published by the Natural Resources Defense Council, ‘untreated sewage that enters the environment is enough to fill both the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden.’ And that’s only in America.

Can you even imagine the sewage pollution statistics in underdeveloped countries? Many of these countries have no access to proper sanitation facilities, or they are too poor to afford high-tech water treatment systems, making them more vulnerable to disease and death.

Luckily, this new project will cost significantly less than average water treatment methods and will also benefit wildlife and marine organisms.

The Project

This project will use ponds of natural algae to sanitize the wastewater. The algae will detoxify the pollution in the water, which can then be used as fertilizer or animal feed.

The project itself will cost about $110,000, which includes labor and construction costs, as well as the upgrading of sanitary facilities inside the prison.

You can read more about the story here.

Of course this is a lot of money, but it is still drastically cheaper than other water sanitation methods used in the past.

Plus, if this project works, it will send a powerful message to other countries that there is progress being made in the fight to strengthen human health.

If you’ve ever wanted to get others more involved in your recycling efforts at home, work or school, then I’ve found a great site that offers tons of great containers for pretty much anything that can be recycled!

Providing recycling bins for everything from paper and ink cartridges to bottles and cans, RecylingBin.com is the perfect way to promote the preservation of the environment…

If you’ve ever wanted to get others more involved in your recycling efforts at home, work or school, then I’ve found a great site that offers tons of great containers for pretty much anything that can be recycled!

Providing recycling bins for everything from paper and ink cartridges to bottles and cans, RecylingBin.com is the perfect way to promote the preservation of the environment.

Why Choose RecyclingBin.com?

Want to know why organizations like Pepsi, NC State University, The Columbus Zoo and the United States National Park Service, to name a few, use the bins from this site? Here are a few reasons:

• The bins are made from printable recyclable polymers and wood
• 95% of the bins are compact and can ship flat, so more fit in a shipping truck (which conserves gas)
• If your durable bin (which rarely ever gets damaged) needs to be replaced, you can send it in for a 10% reimbursement
• The bins are packed in 100% recycled cardboard

So not only do these bins promote recycling efforts, but the company itself follows eco-friendly practices.

Cool Products

Here are a few of the cool bins and containers you can find on this site:

Transcycle Portable Recycler

Use this portable container to carry your bottles and cans to the recycling center.

Cell Phone Recycling Bin

Made of durable plastic and galvanized steel hardware, this bin can hold hundreds of cell phones and even has an internal chute to prevent phones from breaking when you drop them in.

HexCycle II

One of the most popular items on the site, this heavy-duty polypropylene plastic container comes with 3 lid choices: Can and Bottle Flap, Paper Lid or Large Opening.

Russell Lord Event Recycling Bin

This bin is easy to assemble and can be used at any type of community event.

Junk Mail Junky Paper Recycling Bin

Perfect for any environment, this bin adds some humor with the saying ‘Junk Mail: Get in My Belly!’ on the front.

You can also get garbage cans and recycling signs at this site, so there’s something for everyone here.

If you’re looking at expanding your eco-lifestyle to the people around you, this site is the perfect place to start. Just choose the best type of bin that works for you!

It’s not hard to see why college students are notorious for accumulating tons of trash both in and out of their dorm rooms.

There wasn’t a week that went by when I was in college that I didn’t see fast-food containers, packets of ketchup, empty paper towel rolls, soda cans, half-empty bags of Doritos, plastic CD wrappers or Chinese take-out containers lying in random piles in someone’s room…

It’s not hard to see why college students are notorious for accumulating tons of trash both in and out of their dorm rooms.

There wasn’t a week that went by when I was in college that I didn’t see fast-food containers, packets of ketchup, empty paper towel rolls, soda cans, half-empty bags of Doritos, plastic CD wrappers or Chinese take-out containers lying in random piles in someone’s room.

It not only proves that college students will take anything for free from the cafeteria, but they’ll also spend money on things that they don’t even need! And the more junk that they take or buy, the more trash that will accumulate.

That’s exactly why a proper waste management and recycling program needs to be implemented on campuses across the nation.

The Three R’s

Now it may seem cliché, but the old ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ term can be applied to waste management and garbage removal practices in your very dorm room.

If you follow these easy tips then you can have a waste-free dorm that is sure to impress and influence others around you.

Reduce’

• Your lunch trash by using a washable bag or lunchbox instead of paper or plastic bags
• Post-it note or scrap paper piles by writing reminders on a wipe board
• Paper use by printing on both sides of the paper or sending documents through email
• The items you take from the dining hall or fast-food restaurants (if you don’t need 12 packets of sugar or 10 tubs of barbeque sauce, don’t get it!)
• Printer ink cartridge consumption by proofreading and spell-checking papers before you print them out
• Unnecessary trash by buying items with little or no packaging
• The germs in your room by using environmentally-safe cleaning products
• The amount of money you spend (and receipts you accumulate) by borrowing items whenever possible!

Reuse’

• A bandanna or washable napkin instead of paper towels
• Food boxes and plastic containers to store personal items
• A thermal mug when you go out to get coffee
• Plastic silverware in your dorm room by washing it after every use
• Plastic grocery bags for lunch if you don’t have a washable lunchbox
• Binders, computer disks, file folders and notebooks
• Handkerchiefs instead of tissues
• Cloth rags to clean up spills rather than using paper towels

Recycle’

• #1 and #2 plastic items
• Cardboard boxes
• Magazines and newspapers
• Aluminum cans
• Glass bottles
• Cell phones
• Computers
• Ink cartridges
• White and color paper
• Batteries

It really isn’t hard to follow proper waste management and recycling practices.

All college students have some sort of unique routine, whether it’s drinking a pot of coffee every morning before class or playing guitar before they go to bed.

If they just make eco-friendly waste management a part of their daily routine, they’ll actually be doing something good for themselves, their neighbors and their entire campus.

When I think of worms I visualize icky and squirmy creepy crawlers that are great to be used as fish bait and to feed to birds, but not so great when they form massive piles in the street after it rains. And when I hear the word ‘garbage’ I automatically think of that foul-smelling junk that used to accumulate in my next-door-neighbor’s dorm room. So what happens when you put these two tainted things together? Well, for two former Princeton University students it means…

When I think of worms I visualize icky and squirmy creepy crawlers that are great to be used as fish bait and to feed to birds, but not so great when they form massive piles in the street after it rains. And when I hear the word ‘garbage’ I automatically think of that foul-smelling junk that used to accumulate in my next-door-neighbor’s dorm room. So what happens when you put these two tainted things together? Well, for two former Princeton University students it means the beginning of a successful multi-million dollar business!

An Idea is Born

Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer came up with the idea of TerraCycle, better known as worm poop fertilizer, when they were at Princeton just hanging around in their dorms and watching a box full of worms. They realized that the waste from the worms could be used as totally organic, all-natural plant food that would be 100% safe for the environment. All that they needed to do was to wait 3 weeks for the waste to liquefy and then package it in a spray bottle so that it could be a sprayed on plants. To learn more about the history of TerraCycle you can watch a video here.

Bottle Brigade

Now what’s more even more amazing than the concept of recycling worm poop is that the product is packaged in used 20 oz plastic bottles! The bottles are gathered from an environmental fundraiser known as the Bottle Brigade, which sets up in elementary schools and other organizations. The Bottle Brigade in return offers $.06 per cleaned and de-labeled bottle to the organization’s charity of choice. Once TerraCycle gets the bottles to the factory, they’re cleaned, repackaged with a new label, filled up with TerraCycle and are ready to fight the green fight!

TerraCycle is an eco-friendly product that has effectively found a way to recycle waste and use it to produce a healthy product for all plant vegetation. To learn how you can become part of the TerraCycle team you can visit the homepage.