PaperlessKitchen Blog

EPA to Make Hazardous Waste Tracking Electronic

This week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passed a new rule that will eliminate the use of paper for tracking hazardous waste in the United States. Instead, a system called e-Manifest will be used to track what types of hazardous waste are being transported through the country.

The e-Manifest is good news for the environment on a number of fronts. First of all, it will allow for a faster response in cases of spills and disasters, reducing the impact on ecosystems and communities. In addition, the elimination of paper will mean less paper waste produced by the government.

In addition to helping to better protect the planet, e-Manifest will also save between 300,000 to 700,000 of work time per year and save for more than $75 million. There is still work that needs to be done before the rule can be fully implemented and e-Manifest can be launched, so the EPA states that the system will not be up and running for at least another year.

General Motors Manufacturing Plant Goes Landfill Free

Many businesses are struggling to reduce the amount of waste that they produce and dealing with many obstacles along the way. A recent press release shows the importance of not giving up on the goal of being waste-free, as it explains how a large manufacturing facility in Rochester, New York, managed to go completely paperless. That's quite a feat for 1.7 million square foot facility.

It took an effort over 4 years to finally eliminate all landfill-bound waste from the facility and required the teamwork of every employee. Some of the changes the company implemented to reach its goal were quite simple. For instance, management moved the location of recycling bins to make them more accessible in office areas, on the shop floor and outside in dumpster areas.

The company also did an excellent job of communicating with employees about what the benefits of their waste reduction efforts are. They shared information about how much the company saved by recycling. In addition, they showed employees profiles about the various recycling facilities that accepted their paper, cardboard and other recyclable waste. The training and communications helped to get everyone on board.

While GM did have to invest in the development of new technologies to eliminate much of their industrial waste, many of the changes the company made could be easily implemented at your business or any other in the country.

McDonald's Switches from Plastic to Paper

This week, McDonald's announced that every location in the U.S. will soon be using paper cups for hot beverages instead of plastic. The move is meant to be a positive one for the health of the planet, but it's evident that the fast food giant still has a long way to go to truly be more environmentally responsible.

McDonald's explained that by switching from plastic to paper, the company will be able to recycle more of its cups. Plus, paper cups that are carried out of the restaurant and end up in the garbage will break down more quickly in landfills unlike the current plastic cups that do not readily biodegrade.

While there's no doubt that paper is more biodegradable than plastic, concerns about deforestation should be considered when evaluating the true sustainability of McDonald's plan. The company has stated that they will be using "more" recycled content in the paper cups than in the plastic ones, but has not specified how much more.

A far more green option for McDonalds and other restaurants is natural non-paper recyclables, such as corn or sugar cane-based products. So far, none of the major fast food restaurants have experimented with using these types cups, but doing so could make a big impact on the planet.

What do you think about McDonald’s announcement? Does it make you more likely to eat there than you are now or less likely?

Walmart Pledges To Remove Some Toxins From Its Shelves

When Walmart is in the news, the last thing that you expect to read or hear is that the company is taking a positive step toward improving environmental health, but that is precisely what the latest news from the discount store chain concerns.

This week, Walmart announced intentions to stop carrying products that contain 10 toxic chemicals. The ban would be throughout all of their stores; however, it will not occur overnight. The company will not begin to make its anti-toxin push until January 2014 and will eliminate applicable products slowly. Walmart states that the company will have a major update on the progress available for the public in January 2016.

One thing that remains a mystery about the announcement is which toxins Walmart has chosen to eliminate. We'll continue to follow this story and let you know when Walmart reveals more.

Penn State University Unveils New Waste Reduction Program

Kudos to Penn State University! This year, the public land grant college has instituted a new plan to dramatically reduce the amount of solid waste produced by the university that ends up in landfills.

Called Mobius, the program focuses on food waste. The university has set up special Mobius stations all over the campus for students, faculty and visitors to deposit compostable waste. The bins are found in all buildings that contain classrooms, dining halls and food courts and residence halls. They are also located in many of the athletic venues where the Nittany Lions hold home games.

Penn State will compost all of the waste and use it on campus. With the program, the university states that only 25 percent of the total amount of waste generated at the campus will need to be taken to landfills. That's a 10 percent decrease over the amount that is currently transported off of the campus.

We hope that other universities around the country will be inspired to follow  Penn State's lead.

The Paperless Future of Textbooks

Textbooks are an important part of learning in schools and colleges, but they are also a significant consumer of paper. In many subjects, particularly scientific fields, new editions are released annually, so students cannot even opt for used books to conserve paper.

    One company, Trunity, is seeking to reduce the amount of paper used for textbook printing while helping educators access timely, useful material for their classes. The company has developed a cloud platform and has uploaded articles and other resources that schools and universities can access by paying a fee per class. New information is constantly being added with older information regularly updated and removed when needed.

    Trunity is not the only company interested in taking textbooks paperless. Several major textbook publishers, including McGraw Hill, now offer electronic versions of popular titles. Not only are the electronic versions greener, but they're also less expensive. In some cases, the e-books cost only one-third of the paper versions.

    If you're a college student, check out the electronic options for textbooks as the new semester gets underway. While not all titles are available in e-book format, the number is increasing rapidly.

Paperless Kitchen Gets Some Press!

We have some exciting news! Just last week, we were featured on the CBS website! A link to our store was published on a page related to a segment that aired on The Talk, in which actress Sara Gilbert gave a variety of green tips to help viewers decrease the size of their eco-footprints.

Among the tips that Sara reviewed was to choose more sustainable utensils for cooking. She explained that wood, glass or bamboo tools and dinnerware was better for the body and the planet than plastic. On the website recap, a link to Paperless Kitchen was provided as the place to shop.

We're very proud to have been selected for inclusion on the buying guide for Sara's piece. We do have a large number of sustainable kitchen utensils and dinnerware available on our site and are glad to have the opportunity to introduce our products to the viewers of The Talk. You can catch the show daily at 2:00PM EST on CBS.

The Future Is Bright for Green Energy Jobs

Earlier this month, the Pew Charitable Trust published the results of a study that shows a promising future for the clean energy industry.

The Pew study examined data from green energy companies in the United States collected from 2009 to 2011 and used this data and additional information to create projections from 2012 to 2018. The results show that by the end of the six-year period, the clean energy industry could create up to $1.9 trillion in revenue.

 The U.S. Department of Energy released a statement following the results of the study that reiterates the importance of the clean energy industry to our nation's economy. Currently, around 237,000 Americans are employed in the biomass, wind and solar energy sectors, and DoE predicts those numbers to increase by thousands over the next six years.

DoE also anticipates that the number of clean energy power generation stations will grow by more than 200 percent. This will bring revenues not only to the companies who establish them, but also to businesses in communities in the surrounding areas of these plants.

If you believe like we do that clean energy is important to the future as a nation, we recommend that you let your senators and state representatives know your position. To find your senators, use this search tool on the Senate's website. The House also has its own search tool.

Encouraging People to Steal Your "Trash"

Last week, my trip to the market coincided with garbage day. As I walked along the sidewalk, I saw trash bag after trash bag after trash bag. My mind went to the landfill, the ultimate destination for all that trash. I wondered how much of the things inside were biodegradable, and how much of it was metal and plastic that would linger in the dump for decades to come.

 Just as I was beginning to feel despondent about the trash, I saw something that made me stop in my tracks. There, beside a trash bag was a vacuum cleaner. Taped to it was a piece of cardboard with two words written on it.

 "I work."

 I paused for a moment, wondering if anyone who happened by like I had would see the sign and take the vacuum home. After a moment's consideration, I continued on to the store. On my way back, the trash bags loomed as ugly as ever in front of each house, but the vacuum cleaner was nowhere to be seen.

 I always knew that people took things from the curbside when they were left out for the trash, but it had never occurred to me to leave trash out with the intention of having someone take it. When I got home, I thought about the matter more and wondered how many things were in those trash bags that I saw could have been useful to someone else.

 When I was catching up on green news yesterday, I found this interesting story about the Goedzak. This is a special type of trash bag available in the Netherlands that is meant to encourage "trash shopping." The bags are made from heavy-duty clear plastic, so you can fill them up with all types of things. In the pictures on the news article, I saw computer keyboards, books, coffee mugs and all types of other items.

 Although you can't buy Goedzak trash bags in the states, you can easily create your own version by purchasing clear construction waste bags or clear biodegradable bags to hold items that could be useful for others. This is great for people who live in areas where recycling programs are limited. I bought a supply of compostable clear bags online and plan to start using them as soon as they arrive, and I wanted to share the idea for any Paperless Kitchen blog readers who might like to do the same.

 If you do try this new technique of encouraging others to steal your trash, tell us about your experiences in the comments section. If you’re already doing something on your own, we’d love to here about it, too.