Author Archives: jreddigital

DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Reducing Plastic Packaging

Just over a quarter of all plastics are used for packaging and approximately 95% of the plastic used in packaging is disposed of after one use. One-third of this packaging is not collected, becoming pollution that generates significant economic costs by reducing the productivity of vital natural systems such as our oceans. This damage toContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Reducing Plastic Packaging”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Reducing Single-Use Plastics

Currently, about 430 million tons of plastic is produced every year. One-third of this total takes the form of single-use plastics, which humans interact with for seconds or minutes before discarding.Most of the plastic we make, 72%, ends up in landfills or the environment, according to a 2022 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operationContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Reducing Single-Use Plastics”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Fall Decorations

Fall decorations are often completely compostable but unfortunately never make it to a compost pile. Instead, they end up in trash bags and trash cans heading directly to the local landfill. In fact, by some estimates, three-quarters or more of all compostable fall decorations end up in a landfill each year! This costs our townContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Fall Decorations”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Recycle Right

Durham’s curbside recycling program does not currently accept plastic bags, film, or wrap of any kind – not even if plastic bags are placed in curbside bins filled with recyclable items.Why can’t I put my plastic bags in my curbside recycle bin?Plastic bags, wraps, and films get tangled up in the equipment in facilities thatContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Recycle Right”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Recycle Right

In keeping with IIWMAC’s September sustainability theme, “Recycle Right”, we’d like to answer a few more common questions we receive about recycling.Did you know that Amazon’s plastic packaging is recyclable with plastic bags at Hannaford Supermarkets in Dover? All paper labels must be removed from all plastic bags and plastic mailers.Did you know that whenContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌎 – Recycle Right”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌏 – Optical Brighteners

There are some ingredients that product manufacturers are not required to list on their labels. One of these is optical brighteners, which are often included in conventional laundry detergents.What are Optical Brighteners?Optical brighteners are chemicals that conventional product manufacturers use in their detergent formulations to make laundry look whiter and brighter. They do this byContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌏 – Optical Brighteners”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌏 – REASONS TO START COMPOSTING NOW

It’s good for the environment. About half of what we throw into the garbage bin is food and garden vegetation. Composting reduces greenhouse emissions and reduces your carbon footprint, because when organic waste ends up in landfill, it decomposes without oxygen, and produces methane and carbon dioxide, both of which contribute to Global Warming. EveryContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌏 – REASONS TO START COMPOSTING NOW”

DID YOU KNOW? 🌏 – MORE ABOUT COMPOSTING

There are a number of benefits to compost that not everyone is aware of. Some examples are listed below:—Organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By composting food scraps and other organics, methane emissions are significantly reduced.—Compost reduces and in some cases eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers.—Compost enhances water retention inContinue reading “DID YOU KNOW? 🌏 – MORE ABOUT COMPOSTING”