This month Earth 911 posted an article titled, “Everything Your Child Needs for a Waste-Free School Year” and “Be Prepared: Your Complete Back-to-School Guide” These articles point out some new “green” school and office supplies that are more environmentally friendly than traditional supplies. However; while I appreciate their intent, and yes compostable materials and recycled…
One of Austin’s zero wasters posted about an incredible new lending library she is creating for dishes! You can check out her post on the Dish Lending Library here; it’s so good I’m not going to repeat it! I would love to see this used at the block parties in my neighborhood! Libraries aren’t just…
Toys can be recycled! One thing I see a lot of during Austin’s Bulk Collection is unwanted or unusable toys left curbside. I would love to see these toys donated to those who don’t have toys, or if unusable then recycled! Plastic toys without batteries or plugs, know as “Hard Plastics,” can be recycled in…
Crafts, Hobbies and Stationary at great low prices! Austin Creative Reuse is a great place in Austin you may not know about! You can donate your old school supplies, office supplies, craft, and hobby materials and anything else you think might be good for creative purposes and they’ll collect them, sort them, and sell them…
Eyeglasses and Contact Lens Recycling Eyeglasses A super common but often overlooked item that can be reused/recycled are eyeglasses. Everyone has old eyeglasses laying around, some of you may even have old childhood pairs or pairs from before your surgery. There are several places to take eyeglasses so they can be reused and provided to…
My neighborhood has an annual Egg Scramble every April. We always ask for donations of eggs with prizes inside. This year we did remember to collect as many empty eggs as we could at the event, but many eggs go home to be opened and played with later. I put out a collection bucket to…
On my street, we have a birthday party for the person our street is named after every year. We also have a lot of events in the community. So when I was asked to provide ideas on how to host a zero waste block party this year, the following is what I came up with.…
Does your neighborhood have a forum to buy, sell or give away items? In my neighborhood we have a Facebook Marketplace Group for residents in our neighborhood where we can post items for sale, for free, or items you’re looking for. It’s a great way to give away perfectly usable items but that you don’t…
One of the questions I had recently was about baby formula canisters, like the one pictured here. Most of these containers are made out of liquid paperboard (LPB), a combination of paper and plastic (and sometimes also metal) to keep moisture out. In the City of Austin, these are not recyclable since they’re a composite/mixed…
Do you need a new car seat or an upgrade for your child or grandkid? April 22 – May 4, 2019 is this spring’s Target Car Seat Trade-in event! Quoting from Target’s website, “Guests who trade in their old car seats will receive a 20 % off coupon toward a new: car seat car seat…