Archive for April, 2008

(P)recycle

Published
by
JB
on April 20, 2008
in action and waste
. 2 Comments

Have you heard of precycling before? I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of this term until a few weeks ago. Basically, precycling means reducing waste by avoiding purchasing items that will generate more waste.

Recycling is still something we should all do, as it helps reduce the amount of trash going int our landfills, but you should note that it requires a lot of energy to transport items, break them down and re-manufacture them.

Precycling is a way to stop waste before it even happens, allowing us to avoid the amount of stuff that gets sent to recycling centers and into landfills to begin with.

There are a ton of tips on the internet to help you be a better precycler. Here are few that I really like, courtesy of the City of Grand Rapids. [Source]

Cut down on packaging

  • Avoid excess packaging, buy in bulk when you can and look for beverages in refillable bottles.
  • Re-use or carry your own grocery bags to the market. Decline a grocery sack when you can carry the items by hand.

Be an active consumer

  • Write to manufactures and tell them you’d like to see their products in returnable, recyclable or less wasteful packaging.
  • Buy goods packaged in recycled and recyclable materials.
  • Get your name off of “junk mail” lists. Send to: Direct Marketing Association, Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. Include: complete name, full address, and your signature
  • Get your name off “pre-approved offers” lists (like credit card offers) Send to: Equifax Options, P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123. Include: complete name, full address, and your signature.

Buy smart!

  • Buy products that are made to last
  • Buy reusable products such as sponges instead of paper towels and coffee mugs instead of Styrofoam cups.

Here’s a compelling statistic on why you should precycle:

If 10% of Americans purchased products with less plastic packaging just 10% of the time, we could eliminate some 144 million pounds of plastic from our landfills, reduce pollution, and send a message to manufacturers that we’re serious about finding better ways to package our commodities. [Source]

Share your precycling tips with us! And let’s do our part in eliminating the millions of pounds of plastic that hit our landfills.

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Wal-Mart is pushing their entire supply chain to go green

Published
by
greenhl
on April 19, 2008
in action, corporate and retail
. 2 Comments

As we saw in the previous article, Wal-Mart has taken a lot of action to reduce its environmental footprint. Recently, Wal-Mart has been taking steps to reduce the environmental impact through its entire supply chain and not just within its own walls. For once, I think this is something we can all applaud – namely, Wal-Mart using its massive scale and influence to push others in a positive direction. You can be certain that when Wal-Mart wants something, most suppliers will listen as Wal-Mart is often the largest distributor and sales channel for these companies.

Perhaps a lofty goal, Wal-Mart hopes there will be no dumpsters at its stores and no landfills with Wal-Mart garbage. While it may take a while to get there, Wal-Mart has set some solid goals. Wal-Mart wants to cut packaging waste by 25 percent in three years and reduce overall packaging by 5 percent by 2013. Achieving this alone will save over 650,000 metrics tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to taking nearly 250,000 trucks off the road. By 2025, Wal-Mart has set a goal to become packaging neutral. Of course, only by working with suppliers can Wal-Mart achieve these goals.

Most recently, Wal-Mart has asked certain suppliers to measure the amount of energy they use when manufacturing products. Wal-Mart has started with DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soda. Although Wal-Mart has not been specific as to why it wants this information, the speculation is that Wal-Mart may use this as a factor when selecting which suppliers to purchase from. If they start pushing all their suppliers to reduce energy waste, the potential savings can be enormous.

Wal-Mart worked with suppliers to eliminate plastic wrapping from individual rolls of paper towels or toilet paper by selling them as multiple unit packages. Wal-Mart also worked with a toy supplier to reduce packaging on 16 items. Through this initiative, Wal-Mart saved about 356 barrels of oil and 1,300 trees by using 230 fewer shipping containers. By expanding this program to 255 items, Wal-Mart expects to save over 1,000 barrels of oil and 3,800 trees (not to mention associated transportation costs) this year.

Finally, one last initiative I will discuss is related to seafood. I’m sure we’ve all heard about over-fishing in our waters and the disappearance of seafood some time in the next 50 years. In 2006, Wal-Mart announced a plan to purchase all of its wild fish from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fisheries by 2010. The MSC label on seafood packages lets consumers know that sustainable practices were used to harvest the fish. In addition, Wal-Mart is also working with the Aquaculture Certification Council and Global Aquaculture Alliance to certify all shrimp suppliers are following Best Aquaculture Practices.

When doing research for this article, I was surprised at the sheer number of initiatives Wal-Mart has and plans to undertake. It was simply astonishing. In fact, Wal-Mart talks about sustainability all over its investor reports, websites, and even has web properties devoted to the discussion of sustainability. walmartstores.com is one example of this. I’m sure a lot of this is done to get positive press. Who can blame Wal-Mart for wanting some after all the years of negative press they’ve received. In fact, I support those who applaud Wal-Mart’s efforts. Will this change my shopping behaviors? Probably not immediately given the disastrous state of the Wal-Marts in my area. However, more retailers and businesses should follow Wal-Mart’s steps and implement policies and programs to reduce their environmental footprints. Only by taking active steps will we be able to invoke change and inspire others to action.

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Viral donations on Earth Day!

Published
by
Paul
on April 18, 2008
in action and gardening
. 2 Comments

earthday.jpgWant to do something quick and easy for Earth Day? Google Checkout is making it easy to donate to ten environmental charities with this special Earth Day site. If you donate, you can invite others to donate, and watch as your friends and colleagues add to the fun on your own personal Google map.

By the way, the cool bag pictured above is what I got when I donated here at work. It’s a Garden in a Bag, and looks awesome.

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Help the Earth by swapping your stuff

Published
by
JB
on April 17, 2008
in action
. 0 Comments

swaptree.jpgHave you heard of Swaptree.com? They are an interesting company that enables you to list the books, DVDs, CDs and video games you want to get rid of, and swap them for other items - for free! The only thing that you pay for is shipping.

Trading items like books and DVDs is good for the environment, helping you to recycle more and throw away and buy less. Some startling statistics:

  • Recent studies estimate that every book contributes 8.85 lbs of Co2 to the atmosphere, while every CD/DVD contributes 2.2 lbs;
  • 100,000 lbs of CDs and DVDs (along with their chemicals) are deposited in US landfills every month; and
  • The book industry chops down 19 million trees yearly.

Check out Swaptree and let us know what you think. One added bonus: in honor of Earth Day, if you sign up for and use their service, they will make a $1 donation for each trade to a very worthy organization - the Sierra Club, the oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in America.

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Wal-Mart’s big scale means huge environmental impacts

Published
by
greenhl
on April 16, 2008
in action, corporate, recycling and solar
. 7 Comments

walmart_solar_array walmart_hybrid_diesel_truck

To understand the positive environmental impacts Wal-Mart can make, it’s important to first understand Wal-Mart’s massive scale. We all know Wal-Mart is “big”, but here are some Wal-Mart numbers to help put things into perspective.

  • Over 4,100 stores in the US and another 3,125 internationally for a total of over 7,200 stores globally
  • Saw nearly $350 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year and over $100 billion in this past 4th quarter
  • Visited by over 100 million shoppers each week (that’s only counting America)
  • Employs over 1.9 million people
  • Accounts for 8 percent of retail sales in the U.S. (excluding automobiles)

As we can see, anything Wal-Mart does is simply huge. One thing Wal-Mart has done well is experiment with energy saving techniques such as solar power, wind power, new HVAC technologies, waterless urinals, and new lighting technologies. In 2005, Wal-Mart opened two experimental supercenter stores in McKinney, Texas and Aurora, Colorado. These stores employ the latest technologies and use 20% less energy than the standard baseline superstore. They are platforms for a lot of the technology rolled out to their other stores. In January 2008, Wal-Mart opened a second high-efficiency store, which employs state-of-the-art technologies to use 25% less energy than standard stores. They employ technology such as water reclamation, waterless urinals, and intelligent lighting sensitive to time of day and store traffic. As some of this technology is rolled out to their other stores, efficiencies and energy savings will really add up quickly.

Wal-Mart is employing solar technology in 22 of its Hawaii and California stores. These stores generate 30 percent of the power needed to operate a store, or over 20 million Kilowatt hours of energy per year. This helps reduce greenhouse gases 6,500 – 10,000 metric tons per year.

In 2006, Wal-Mart installed high efficiency auxiliary power units on all trucks that make overnight trips, allowing drivers to turn off their truck engines during breaks. The annual impact is estimated to be 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and a savings of 10 million gallons of diesel fuel. Also, the company estimates it will save $25 million per year. In addition, Wal-Mart is working to convert its entire fleet of trucks to hybrid diesel technology by 2010 and to double the fuel efficiency of its fleet within 10 years.

By May of this year, Wal-Mart plans to only sell concentrated liquid laundry detergent in all its U.S. stores and Sam’s Clubs. Although this may sound like a small change, reduced packaging and water needs will save an estimated 400 million gallons of water, 125 million pounds of cardboard, and 95 million pounds of plastic resin. There are also huge transportation reductions and savings.

On October 3, 2007, Wal-Mart sold its 100th million compact florescent light bulbs. Each CFL saves $30 in utility costs, uses 70 percent less energy than a traditional light bulb, and prevents 450 pounds of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere. Multiply these benefits by 100 million, and you can see the impact add up quickly.

Wal-Mart also started selling reusable plastic bags for $1 in its stores. If Wal-Mart sells its projected 2 million bags, Wal-Mart will have avoided producing 100 million disposable plastic bags. This is equivalent to 1,185,000 pounds of plastic resin.

Again, the cynic in me says that Wal-Mart is likely taking these actions to increase their bottom line or to create some good press. However, whether or not we are personal fans of Wal-Mart, the fact is Wal-Mart is taking action, and they are making a huge, noticeable difference. In the next and final article, we’ll discuss how Wal-Mart is working with suppliers to increase efficiencies beyond its own stores.

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