Many businesses make an attempt at some type of recycling in their offices. But, no matter what you are doing at the office, more of an effort can be made. And it is simple. Even though Earth Month is drawing to a close, here are a few ideas on how you can do more Reducing, Reusing and Recycling at work.

Firstly, placing more recycling containers around the office will always help. Don’t just have one by the copy machine. Be sure there are recycling bins at each desk or at each cluster of desks. Perhaps add a dual stream recycling system in the employee break room so that everything can be recycled including glass, paper, aluminum and waste.

Recycling is important, but first and foremost: Use less whenever possible. And don't think you can't make a difference by recycling... recycling just one aluminum can saves the amount of energy required to run a TV for three hours! Here are a few suggestions that will help reduce our use of precious natural resources.

Many computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials that should not sit in landfills, and you'd be surprised how many retailers and other companies will take your old gadgets for recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency (link: http://www.epa.gov/) will help you find local electronics recyclers.

Say no to junk mail - 100 million trees' worth are sent out each year. Visit www.dmachoice.org/MPS/ to opt out of the Direct Marketing Association's member mailings.

Packing peanuts and other loose fill will sit in a landfill for centuries, but there are lots of places you can bring them for recycling. Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

If every household in the US replaced 1 roll of 1000 sheet bathroom tissues with 100% recyclable rolls, we could save 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water.

For more information on recycling bins for your office, contact the Fibrex Group.

greenlivingapartments.com

On April 22, 1970, millions of people took to the streets for '60s-style demonstrations and marches, calling attention to the perilous pollution of America's land, air and water. Ten thousand flocked to the Washington Monument for a folk music concert featuring Pete Seeger and U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie.

Today, Earth Day isn't just a national event; it's a global phenomenon. And it's not just one day; it's a whole week – or month in some cases!

"It is now the largest secular event in the world," Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network, told NBC News. "We have over 1 billion participants from 192 countries."

Tens of thousands came to Washington's National Mall on Saturday to hear Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige and other pop stars, as well as the United Nations' secretary-general and the World Bank's president, at a music-packed kickoff for 2015's Earth Day observances.

"Is Earth Day still relevant? I think so," Rogers said.

The call to action that started with Earth Day has had a huge impact as well:

• Air: The EPA says aggregate emissions of six major air pollutants have dropped more than 60 percent since 1980.
• Water: Only about a third of American water was safe for swimming or fishing before the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. Today, that proportion has risen to about two-thirds.
• Land: Tens of billions of dollars have been spent since 1980 under the EPA Superfund program to clean up hazardous waste sites (although the cost has become increasingly controversial in recent years).
• Species: The bald eagle has become a poster child for the environmental protections added by 1972's restrictions on DDT pesticide use and 1973's Endangered Species Act.

And yet, even Rogers acknowledges that the challenges facing the environmental movement are at least as daunting as the pollution woes that led to that first Earth Day 45 years ago.

"Back then, we could see it," she said. "Although there's still lots you can see — you can see landfills from space — what we have now is a much more insidious and harder-to-see problem called climate change."

Earth Day 2015 is on the bandwagon as well: In addition to the performers and the politicians, the stars at this weekend's National Mall concert included the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle.

"It's no longer just about movement-building, it's about technology," said Rogers, the president of the Earth Day Network. "It's not about reflection, it's about doing things."

**First published April 19th 2015, Alan Boyle is the science editor for NBC News Digital.

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Waste collection has usually been performed using static routes and schedules where containers are manually emptied every day or every week regardless if they are full or not. The Enevo ONe smart bin sensor makes that method a thing of the past by using wireless monitors to collect data from waste containers inside the bin.  Enevo equipped smart bins reduce costs, emissions, road/vehicle wear, noise pollution and staff hours and provides you up to 50% in direct cost savings in waste logistics.

Revolve is made out of rust resistant galvannealed steel and has no exposed fasteners. All units come with an architectural grade powder coated finish both inside and out. Revolve recycling/waste/compost containers can be made in the color of your choice and fitted with your custom logos. On the front are two large spring hinged drop-in openings fitted with an interior chute to guide the recyclables into the carts. Two universally keyed front doors lock for security and open all the way for easy emptying. Custom easy to read, pre-applied vinyl or magnetic decals on the front of the unit indicate the desired waste/recycling stream to your users.

The Revolve smart design can be shipped un-assembled to reduce freight. It’s easily assembled with standard tools. Fully assembled shipping and installation is available as well. The Revolve Depot contains 30% minimum recycled content and is made entirely in the USA. Custom designer colors, advertising panels and signage are available upon request.

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With different rules and recycling services for each city, it can be difficult to have a firm grasp on what exactly is recyclable and what’s not. Even the most environmentally conscious folks stop short when it comes to disposing of certain food containers. It sounds right to be safe rather than sorry by just throwing that item we’re not sure about in the recycling. However, it turns out that this method of thinking is causing more harm than good.

According to The Coloradoan, putting non-recyclable items into the recycling bin is what drives loads of recyclable items to landfills. Why? How is this possible?

Well, for one, many items that we think are recyclable are actually contaminated. Take a greasy pizza box, for instance. These cardboard boxes are recyclable on their own, but if they are covered with grease or some other food substance (which they usually are), they no longer can be recycled.

And if these greasy pizza boxes are thrown into recycling, they unfortunately contaminate the items around them, making them non-recyclable as well. So when recyclers try to create new materials out of these recycled items, the brand new items are contaminated and not usable. Therefore, markets and other vendors will not purchase these items from recyclers, which makes the whole process useless and bad for the environment.

This, unfortunately, is bound to happen. Recycling and environmental education is pretty sparse in a lot of communities. And although this may not be affecting us financially at the moment, it could end up costing everyone money in the long run.

For example, recycling services in Fort Collins, Colorado, have to take the waste they find mixed with the recyclable materials and send them to the county landfill. The landfill charges for the amount of trash sent their way, and prices can also depend on what type of waste it is.

This means that the more recycling services find waste in their materials, the more they will have to pay the landfill. If prices continue to go up, the recycling services may find incentive to begin charging residents for recycling who would otherwise get their recyclables picked up for free.

What can you do about this?

The best way to go about avoiding recycling dilemmas is to try to avoid disposable products altogether. For example, instead of purchasing food with a disposable container, make use of your own washable container. A lot of disposable items can be cut out of your life if you practice habits like this. On the other hand, if you have a recyclable item that’s covered with grease or other food remnants, you can always separate or cut out the part that’s contaminated.

We have a long way to go with recycling education and knowing right from wrong when it comes to our recycling bins. But if we take steps to learn the rules of our neighborhood recycling services and choose reusable items over disposable, we can be on our way to making a difference.

Original by April Stearns www.1800recycling.com

An action a day can helps keep waste and greenhouse gas emissions at bay.

April 22 is Earth Day, when we purposefully think about our impact on the earth and how we can lessen it, but there’s no reason to limit this thinking to one day. The whole month of April is Earth Month, so let’s try to become a little more environmentally responsible for 30 days straight. By the end of it, maybe your family will have formed some new green habits, or realized some ongoing things we can do to minimize our carbon footprints.

For inspiration, here is a list of 30 things that we can do to observe Earth Month, one for each day of the month. You can use this list or make up your own.

1. Go around the house and unplug every possible appliance or electric item that doesn’t need to be plugged in, to minimize the impact of energy vampires.
2. Use natural egg dyes instead of artificial ones to decorate your Easter eggs. Make your own from leftover produce and other kitchen items.
3. When you wash your hands in a public restroom, shake them dry instead of using a paper towel.
4. Create a Pinterest board of meatless recipes. Next time you’re planning your week’s menu, pick a few meatless meals to try out.
5. Let it mellow at home. Don’t flush the toilet unless you need to — even modern, low-flow toilets use around 1.6 gallons each flush. If you normally flush the toilets 5 times, flushing it only once will save more than 6 gallons of water.
6. See if you can eat only unprocessed foods for the day: whole grains, fruits and vegetables, meats. Not only are they better for you, but they require fewer resources and less energy to produce.
7. Use the Greendex calculator to see how you rank in being environmentally responsible compared to others.
8. Empty out your car’s trunk. Every 50 pounds of stuff you drive around with in your car can reduce fuel economy by 1 percent.
9. Buy a WaterSense-labeled showerhead. Your household can save as much as 2,900 gallons of water a year… not to mention the energy needed to heat all that water.
10. Run your errands on foot or bike. Ditch the car and walk to the post office, school, or supermarket today.
11. Replace at least one of your cleaning products with a homemade cleaner.
12. Install GreenPrint on your computers at home and at work. It’ll prevent you from printing unnecessary pages.
13. Go to bed an hour early. Chances are, you could use the extra shut-eye, and you’ll be saving energy by turning off the lights, TV, computer, and other electronics.
14. Make dinner in the pressure cooker. It’s a super energy-efficient way to cook.
15. Swap out your petroleum-based lip balm for one made of a renewable resource like beeswax or shea butter. Or make your own.
16. Research Community Supported Agriculture shares for the summer. You’ll be supporting local farmers and getting some great produce.
17. Share errands with a friend by carpooling to the store.
18. Sign yourself up for Catalog Choice to stop unwanted junk mail and catalogs.
19. Pull your refrigerator away from the wall and clean the coils. It’ll help it work more efficiently.
20. Work from home for a day to save on gas and avoid contributing emissions from your car commute.
21. Try to go a day without throwing anything away, by using only reusable items.
22. Sign some petitions. Take a look at some of the environmentally focused petitions currently being circulated and sign the ones that resonate with you to make your voice heard.
23. Read an environmentally focused book.
24. Spend some time earning Recyclebank points (then shop for rewards when you’ve accumulated a bunch!).
25. Buy a house plant. Many of them can clean the air.
26. Switch one of your favorite packaged foods to an organic version.
27. Link your Amazon.com account to contribute to the Environmental Defense Fund via the Amazon Smile program.
28. Gather up your old magazines and find someplace to donate them. Or find other ideas for reusing them.
29. Change at least one incandescent light bulb to a more energy efficient LED bulb.
30. Research renewable energy companies in your area and switch your service.

And as always, recycle, recycle, recycle! Collect your recyclables at home, school, work or play in a recycled plastic receptacle from Fibrex Group. They have a large variety of personal and public friendly recycling containers for all of your needs. Work. Play. Recycle.

Original by Jessica Harlan - www.recyclebank.com