By Christopher Thompson The internet cheered in December when Trader Joe’s announced it would take meaningful steps towards making its packaging more sustainable. The supermarket chain outlined a plan that included reducing and eliminating excess waste, using materials that could realistically be recycled and avoiding harmful substances. It’s the last part that medical and environmental […]

By Ryan Johnson With the first day of summer just around the corner, millions of Americans are flocking to the beach. In addition to being a family-friendly source of outdoor recreation, our beaches contribute billions of dollars to local economies across the country. In Florida alone, tourists spent an estimated $2 billion dollars from 2012 […]

In California, we pay deposits on the packaged beverages we buy and are entitled to get our nickels back or see them used to improve recycling and protect our environment. Instead, consumers are forfeiting almost half of every nickel, recycling centers are closing right and left, and the quality of recycling is dropping.  The consumers […]

Thousands of people are headed to the Oregon coast this weekend for fun and for a chance to give back. The SOLVE Spring Beach Clean-up have become an annual tradition at the coast. Many people have done it for a number of years, but SOLVE’s Jon Schmidt said it’s a fun and easy process for […]

A pay-as-you-throw bag-tag rubbish program could be revisited after it was rejected first in 2009 and again in 2015. The Solid Waste Advisory Committee, a group convened every decade to update the county’s Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, is again recommending a program where people would have to purchase tags or stickers to throw away […]

By Adrian McDermott Styrofoam, or Expanded Polystyrene Foam (EPS), is the second-most commonly found item of debris along many coastlines. Polystyrene is 98% air. It is very light, and it floats. The worst thing about this material is that it does not photodegrade; however, when exposed to heat, it releases harmful toxins. It is easily […]

By Alex Mardikian Plastics are ubiquitous. They are everywhere. A quick look around will inform us that nearly everything we use contains plastic – chairs, pens, brushes, headphones, tables, plates, clothes, bottles, caps…the list is endless. These don’t degrade fully, and after its useful life is over, plastic often ends up in the ocean. Each […]

Our species is pretty good at wasting food. Some we discard at the farm for being undersized or oddly shaped. Others we allow to decay in their shipping containers, thrown away before they even reach shelves. We leave even more foodstuffs wasting away in grocery stores, often by letting it sit there until it reaches […]

By Adrian McDermott If you work in the construction industry, then you need to find the best way to dispose construction waste and debris. Safe and compliant disposal of construction and building waste will save you money and you will be contributing to a healthy environment. Landfill space is at a premium. Disposal costs are […]

By Adriam McDermott Recycling is a green alternative to landfills.  Before considering recycling, it is worthwhile to understand that if we really wish to tackle the issue of pollution and waste disposal then we need to incorporate the three Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle. When we reduce the amount we consume, and use well-designed […]