TerraCycle Inc.

I came across this organization called Terracycle. They take all sorts of trash/recycleables and refilles them with worm compost and sells them to use as plant food. They also have sponsorships for each different item you can send in and you can choose to donate the money you would receive to a school or the Adopt A Classroom project.

My office building doesnt recycle and it pains me to throw away the many water bottles we all collect (we have no water fountain or water cooler so bottled water is really the only option). I have been keeping these bottles under my desk and have accumulated about 100 of them. I just became a member of the bottle brigade and I am awaiting boxed with pre paid UPS labels. All I have to do is fill the boxes with the de-labeled bottles and BAM! I have my leg room back, I am sending the bottles off to be reused AND the proceeds from the bottles are going to help a school. That's what I call efficient & sustainable!!

Also, it looks like this program is in desparate need of a sponsor. If you or your ocmpany would like to do something to really feel proud of, go here

Easy Green Tip: Thirsty for a Sigg

So, I feel like a dummy, and I'll tell you why. I, like many people, drink water from bottles. As you know, water comes in plastic bottles. This industry, at last glance, is worth $8 BILLION dollars (it has a higher growth than any other drinks in the beverage industry, even alcoholic beverages!). The reason why I feel like a dummy is: the public perception is that bottled water is cleaner than drinking water from the tap, when in actuality the opposite is true:

While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the quality of public water supplies, the agency has no authority over bottled water. Bottled water that crosses state lines is considered a food product and is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which does mandate that it be bottled in sanitary conditions using food-grade equipment... The FDA is allowed to interpret the EPA's regulations and apply them selectively to bottled water. As Senior Attorney Erik Olson of the NRDC explains, "Although the FDA has adopted some of the EPA's regulatory standards, it has decided not to adopt others and has not even ruled on some
points after several years of inaction."

One brand of "spring water," which had a graphic of mountains and a lake on the label, was actually taken from a well in Massachusetts in the parking lot of an industrial facility. The well, which is no longer used for bottled water, was near hazardous waste and had experienced contamination by industrial chemicals.

That's pretty disgusting! So essentially this "natural spring water" that we are being sold is actually not at all from a spring and is actually dirtier than the water coming from my faucet. Once again, THANKS FDA!! (I'm really beginning to believe this government agency is completely useless)

Additionally, only 3-5% of plastics are actually recycled! When I tell you the number of plastic water bottles added to U.S. landfills EVERY DAY, you're going to freak...brace yourself....ready?

More than 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day – a total of about 22 billion last year. Six times as many plastic water bottles were thrown away in the US in 2004 as in 1997.

Not to mention, it has been discovered that plastic does something called "leaching" which means the teeny, tiny, toxic molecules that make up the plastic actually break down into whatever is being held inside the container. This includes water that we drink and anything in cans as, nowadays, cans are lined with plastic. Crazy huh?

And if you read the Plastic Ocean article I'm obsessed with you will know that this "leaching" is linked to the following health disorders: mimicking the effect of estrogen on the human body in males, which has been making male animals grow female organs, cause birth defects and also are linked cause of obesity.

But, I love my water. I like it still, fizzy, mixed with fruit juice. You name it, I'm drinking it at an unprecedented rate (especially since my diet coke ban, which I would like to point out is now at 21 days!). So what's a water lovin' girl to do?

I was at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago and saw these awesome water bottles. They are made by a company called Sigg and they are made of aluminum and NOT lined with plastic. I leave it at my desk and just fill it up at a water fountain. There are many companies out there that make a similar looking bottle, but I like these best. I got one in classic off white. Pretty fancy huh?


Are you going to get a Sigg and stop the "leaching" into your body? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts!