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  • How Women Are Leading the Charge to Recycle Whole Houses

    To avoid the waste that would incur from demolishing structures such as houses and apartment buildings, a reuse center in Maryland works with deconstruction crews to disassemble the buildings and then sells the salvaged materials at a reduced cost. Although "the trend is hardly noticed," this type of movement has spread across the United States and is mostly led by women.

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  • Living without plastic: One family's journey

    For one family, living plastic-free was a lifestyle decision made after they learned more about the harm that plastic waste causes. The Watt family lives as plastic-free as possible – carrying their own utensils, buying in bulk and bringing their own glass containers, making their own household cleaner, and using reusable beeswax wraps instead of cling wrap. While these are all steps in the right direction toward reducing the nearly 335 million tons of plastic produced every year, experts say we need to rely less on individual actions and push for tougher laws and systemic changes.

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  • Are bioplastics better for the environment than conventional plastics?

    As people around the world become increasingly aware of the harmful nature of plastic use, bioplastics have risen in popularity. But the term “bioplastic” actually means different things and the type of bioplastics out there may or may not be as environmentally-friendly as they purport. While scientists continue to experiment in the design of a truly biodegradable plastic, many say that simple reduce and reuse is the way forward.

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  • Campus Thrift Stores

    Recycling and repurposing second hand items helps to reduce a community’s carbon footprint. At Bard College in New York, the FreeUse Store collects second hand items from students and redistributes them free of charge to members of the community. Run by the university’s Office of Sustainably, the program provides a model for using campus bins to recycle textiles and other items to reduce landfill use.

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  • How grassroots partnerships are working toward long-term food security

    Overcoming the causes of social isolation plays a crucial role in combating food insecurity. From faith-based community meals paired with job programs in Branson, to food recycling initiatives that tap into local markets in Kansas, multiple organizations across Missouri and the United States are developing solutions oriented toward local needs. In some cases, such as the work of Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard in Bloomington, IN, building community leads to political advocacy and civic engagement.

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  • Think Globally, Sustain Locally

    A New Jersey nonprofit, Sustainable Jersey, is taking a collaborative approach to environmental health, action, and sustainability. The organization is primarily a certification program, giving New Jersey towns guidelines to follow when it comes to energy use, waste, water, and health, and spotlighting those that are doing it well. At its annual summit, it brought together organizations from across the state, calling upon them and others to take more drastic actions, especially when it comes to waste reduction.

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  • Vermont adopts the most comprehensive plastics ban in U.S.

    Vermont’s governor has signed into law legislation that bans four different kinds of single-use plastics, including straws, bags, drink stirrers, and foam take-out containers. Such legislation is the only kind that covers so many products, but is part of a growing, global movement to ban such plastics.

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  • Eskilstuna: how a Swedish town became the world capital of recycling

    Recycling provides an economic alternative to heavy industry. In the former steel town of Eskilstuna, recovery from economic decline has meant re-platforming into a model of sustainability. From the city’s second-hand article mall to state-of-the art trash sorting technologies, innovations in closed-loop economics have created new jobs and possibilities for longtime residents and new arrivals alike.

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  • Why this company wants your old underwear

    New startups are recycling worn fabrics as a way to combat the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Knickey is a subscription service where people can trade in worn-out underwear for a new pair of organic cotton underwear. After just six months, the company has collected thousands of pairs that is then sent to a nonprofit to be recycled. While the recycling process itself isn’t always sustainable, companies are trying to educate shoppers to pay attention to where their clothes come from.

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  • A South Burlington Nonprofit Aims to Recycle Every Tennis Ball in America

    The Vermont nonprofit, RecycleBalls, has partnered with over 950 tennis facilities to collect and recycle used tennis balls. The organization has collected more than 1.7 million thus far, and using a processor is able to shred and separate the fuzz from the rubber – the latter of which gets reincorporated into tennis courts. While the organization is looking to scale and financially sustain its own efforts, making sure the process remains no-cost for partnering facilities is important to RecycleBalls, citing it as a leading incentive for participation.

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