Sustainability In Your Ear

Happy Earth Day, everyone! The Earth911 team sits down to talk about the history of Earth Day, the actions each of us can take to support endangered species, reduce our carbon footprints, and improve recycling outcomes across the world. Earth Day 2019 is focused on preserving and educating people about the extinction of species. Next year, the Earth Day Network aims to bring a billion people out into the streets. Evelyn Fielding-Lopez, Sarah Lozanova, and Mitch Ratcliffe also discuss the evolution of pesticides and the use of natural alternatives that control pests. A great place to start is in your own garden, planting native species to attract birds and monarch butterflies. Are large wind and solar farms a potential location to rebuild pollinator species? We also look back at some of the most inspiring stories on Earth911 this year, including the story of Health In Harmony's revolutionary approach to preventing illegal logging in Borneo, the Healthy Climate Alliance's efforts to kickstart direct air capture of CO2, and the importance of international treaties to prevent illegal transportation of endangered species as traditional medicine and souvenirs. There is much to encourage environmental action, and you'll come away from this week's podcast with a raft of good ideas.In our Earthling Questions this week: Can silicone be recycled? How to recycle motor oil? What to do with used cat litter buckets? Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

Billy Johnson, the chief lobbyist for the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), joins Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe to talk through the major policy issues facing recycling in 2019. From the growth in ferrous metal exports despite China's ban on contaminated scrap imports to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board's impact on domestic recycling prices, we cover the growing sophistication of recycling companies as the United States shifts toward circular economies that preserve materials for reuse instead of sending them to landfills. We also talk about the job and entrepreneurial opportunities in recycling and the national, state, and municipal rules changing with the times.It's also a great introduction to ISRI on the eve of its annual convention in Los Angeles, where Earth911 will be participating in a residential recycling workshop on plastic pollution and collection strategies. Tune in to get on top of recycling politics and policy.Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

April Fool's Day could be the global holiday for greenwashers and ecological mythmakers, but the Earth911 team is on the case. We discuss the realities of products labeled biodegradable and compostable, how to shop for sustainability when presented "organic" and "recyclable" products, and the habits that will make a real difference in your carbon impact. From myths and truths, how to recognize and avoid greenwashing, and the FTC Green Guides to use to find responsible manufacturers. Evelyn Fielding-Lopez, Trey Granger, Sarah Lozanova, and Mitch Ratcliffe also talk through approaches to socially responsible investing, how to evaluate charities, and, in Earthling Questions, how to recycle large amounts of business waste - such as a 1,500 cases of beer -- and the disposal of gel packs and using plastic to solarize a garden to prevent weeds.Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

The fast-growing cannabis industry is a growing source of packaging waste, with billions of packages made of plastic, composite materials, and glass already contributing to a new problem. Sana Packaging, founded by two University of Colorado Boulder students, Ron Basak-Smith and James Eichner, has developed hemp- and ocean-plastic-based alternatives for cannabis packaging that is made from natural and recycled materials. Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks to the Ron and James about their experience as young entrepreneurs in a young industry. Sana makes packages for cannabis flower (the part you smoke), extracts and vape pens, as well as edibles. The company' latest tube packages are made from 100-percent recycled ocean plastic. Because cannabis products are tracked from "seed to sale," it may be the first industry to grow up on a circular packaging model, but the early packaging investments by cannabis distributors were not sustainable. Sana Packaging is working with more than 50 customers to change how pot is packaged.We also discuss how older laws, such as those requiring child-proof seals, present special challenges to sustainability -- the locking caps are made with parts of harder plastic that can be more difficult to recycle. If you are considering legal cannabis, consider the impact cannabis packaging will have when you buy. Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

The Global Recycling Day episode of Sustainability In Your Ear features a conversation about the future of recycling, circular economies, the business value of preserving resources, and the power consumers have to drive companies to embrace environmental values. Evelyn Fielding-Lopez, Trey Granger, Sarah Lozanova, and Mitch Ratcliffe discuss producer responsibility laws, global access to waste removal services (more than half of the human species does not have regular trash pickup), and the viability of recycling on the West Coast after China's ban on contaminated waste imports. With recycling changing rapidly, the gang talks about how to reduce plastic use in the home, And, of course, we talk Earthly Questions: How to recycle K-cup coffee waste; The difference between compostable and biodegradable materials, and how to clean wax off glass bottles before recycling.

The Sustana Group is a pioneer in paper recycling. The company's Rolland division started producing recycled paper decades ago and now provides annual sustainability and production lifecycle assessments of its supply chain to ensure customers have all the necessary environmental information to make a carbon-aware purchase. Today, Sustana is partnered with Starbucks and other food packaging makers to capture and separate plastic and paper fibers used in wet packaging such as coffee cups and microwaveable food dishes.Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Sustana's senior marketing director, Michele Bartolini, about the power consumers have to shape an industry's production process. She shares how consumers can identify recycled paper products to support environmentally resonsible products. They also discuss the role of technology in creating more efficient and carbon-neutral products and lifecycles. You can check how purchasing Sustana products will impact your personal or organizational footprint with the company's Eco-Calculator.

The Earth911 gang sits down to talk about the water we drink, the water we use, and the consequences of extreme water-related weather events. Evelyn Fielding-Lopez and Trey Granger survived the flu and travel challenges that kept the usual group from gathering, and they talk through the growing recognition of lead, carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl used in dozens of familiar products in the water supply. California also introduced new legislation to establish a public trust for safe drinking water that could serve as a model for national approaches to preservation of supplies. We also discuss the rising tide of water-related weather impacts due to atmospheric warming that could severely limit fresh water available for human and agricultural use. Did you know that 38.4 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought at the beginning of February 2019? Evelyn and Trey dig into the reports from NOAA and other organizations warning of increasing drought. They look at recent news from Northern and Southern California, where weather aberrations are changing local life and economies. We also look at five natural solutions to dry skin and eco-tips for personal hygiene.The recycling crisis is also on tap with Earthling questions. Trey explains how PET plastic recycling is poised for a recovery, the ability to earn money from recycling, and the disposal of mercury.

Making changes to improve the sustainability of our lives is not easy. Old habits, long-held assumptions, and preferences built over decades can keep us from making the moves that will help to reduce the CO2 and other greenhouse gas levels, as well as reduce water pollution and waste. Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe tells the story of his recent conversation from a gas-guzzling sports car to an electric vehicle, a used 2016 BMW i3. He shares how his doubts about range prevented him from taking action and, ultimately, how quickly the EV proved itself during commutes and longer trips. The change also caused friction in his household and impressed and influenced friends to think about their carbon footprint.In this "One Person's Impact" podcast, Mitch talks about the immediate reduction in CO2 produced during his commute and the potential to do more for the environment. One of the key learnings shared is that examining your electric utility's sources is key to making a change for reduced CO2 emissions. Mitch's utility generates only 1.5 percent of its power from coal, but if he'd been with a different utility, one that uses coal as a major source of power generation, his used EV would have reduced his impact very little. Change takes time and it comes hard. We'll be sharing more stories of personal decisions, how to research them, and what they do for the planet. Stay tuned!

The Green New Deal (read the actual bill) was announced with great fanfare in Washington D.C. and has received a flurry of Presidential-hopeful endorsements. But it is short on details while packed with related social goals that make it politically challenging to turn into policy. The Earth911.com reporting team sits down to talk about the Green New Deal, the important components, and the projects, technologies, and initiatives we see making progress toward a sustainable economy. Many of the reason for an urgent ten-year project to transform society have been laid out here on Earth911 and we cheer the bill's introduction. But saving the environment will be a process, not just a turn of the page, so it will take a long time and requires specific investments and incentives for technology to change corporate packaging and distribution systems. The national conversation is just starting. We talk about how to keep it moving forward, as well as how the bill may be asking for solutions to poverty that will be a product of economic policy. The first economy to master sustainable practices will certainly grow and with the United States already near full employment, it may be more productive to focus on the environment to create jobs instead of making an issue of guaranteed jobs. The gang attempts to break down where the most progress is possible. We also discuss carbon removal technologies, which will be critical to returning the atmosphere to re-industrial CO2 levels.Join the gang and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.

In our continuing conversations with sustainability writers and bloggers we admire, Earth911 talks with Kathryn Kellog. She founded GoingZeroWaste.com after a personal health issue and has grown the site into a comprehensive source of sustainable living ideas. We have pointed to many of her articles, including he excellent Top 10 To Get Started Going Zero Waste, 7 Tips To Avoid Greenwashing, and her summaries of recycling and sustainability conferences. Kathryn also explains how she chooses the products available in the GoingZeroWaste store and her growing consulting business.Kathryn's upcoming book, 101 Ways To Go Zero Waste, due April 2nd, is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.