Cut your trash open just in case something blows away or falls out of trash. We never know what will get popped out of the trash truck, blown around at the landfill, ripped open coming out of a dumpster, or blown away in travel. This can be tags, hair ties, six pack rings, etc. This…
We collected 10 LARGE BAGS of towels, linens and jeans for Austin Wildlife Rescue (AWR) in my neighborhood. Neighbors responded to their emergency needs so quickly and overwhelmingly! This is also a great way to clear out space in your home and reuse linens that may otherwise end up on the landfill! Check with your…
More and more companies are working with TerraCycle to recycle their pet food packaging bags and pouches. These bags and pouches are not normally recyclable locally because they are a mix of materials (a composite) or a mix of plastics and single-stream recycling only processes single source items. If there are choices you make for…
Animal fur can go in curbside compost carts. Sunday was the spring shearing of our fluffy dog. She fills up two kitchen compost bags, each 2.5 gallons so that’s 5 gallons of “waste” diverted from the landfill. We’ve tried to leave fur out for birds and other animals but it doesn’t seem to get taken…
Small but super helpful, can lids like those pictured here are great at helping preserve the freshness of your canned items sealed in the refrigerator. These here are from Tomlinson’s Feed. They are $1.00 each. You’ll see that there are multiple ridges on the lid, this is so it can fit several types of cans…
*03.18.21 the word “feminine” was removed from this post and as much social media as I could without affecting post dates and comments, and replaced with “menstrual,” to allow for gender neutrality. In this new year, many of you are working to “be greener.” One of the areas you may be looking into is the…
I just learned about the Buy Nothing Project/group about a month ago. I’m used to seeing, reading, and writing about posting about (for or away/give or want) items on craigslist, Freecycle, Marketplace and our neighborhood social media platforms. My neighbors started mentioning our area’s Buy Nothing group as a way to re-purpose/re-home/donate items. It’s awesome.…
Pets have a lot of stuff! It can be hard to be 100% zero waste with an animal. Here are a few ideas that may help lower the environmental impact of your furry friend(s). Buy in bulk if it’s available. Do ask the store how they fill the bulk bins. The store may be using…
I’ve received enough questions about pet waste that I feel I should address it. According to multiple sources, about 4% of residential waste is generated by our pets. Pet waste of any kind may not go in the City of Austin green compost carts. The City of Austin’s curbside compost contractor Organics by Gosh will…
Austin Resource Recovery shared a great way to put those home food/cooking delivery service ice packs to a great [re]use. Veterinarians and the Austin Animal Center could use them to aid in medical or surgical needs. Check your local animal service providers or your local vet. (Originally shared by Austin’s Captain Can to the Zero…