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DIY: Turn a Produce Net into a Dish Scrubber

Few things delight me more than a good upcycle. Why? Upcycled crafts not only feed my creative soul, but they also help us care for the planet by preventing waste. This simple kitchen upcyle is a two-for-one way to be green. You’ll save a produce net from a landfill and also reduce your consumption of abrasive dish scrubber pads in the kitchen!

It’s always nice when doing something you love also benefits our environment. Ready to craft?

Upcycled Produce Net Dish Scrubber

Supplies needed:

2 produce nets (think sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, etc.)
String or twine
Scissors

Directions:
1. Begin by laying the produce nets as flat as possible, one on top of the other.

2. Roll them up nice and tight, like you are rolling up a tortilla. (Now I’m hungry. Is it Taco Tuesday yet?)

3. Fold the roll over in half, bending it directly in the center.

4. Tie the twine or string at the center of the rolled and folded produce bags. Tie a knot tightly. Double knot.

5. Take your scissors and snip apart the ends of the produce bags. This will fan the bags open and create the “fluff” you want.

6. Continue to trim to even out the dish scrubber and get rid of any loose ends. Shape the scrubber with your scissors and pull apart the layers to fill it all out.

7. Tie an additional piece of string around the scrubber to create a hang tag. This way it can easily hang on your faucet to dry when not in use.

Now smile because you just did the earth a service and brightened up your kitchen in one go! While you’re at it, check out these other eco-friendly tools for washing dishes.

More Kitchen Stories:
10 Kitchen Hacks to Make Your Life Easier
How to Cook Up a Zero-Waste Kitchen
The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Greener Kitchen

About
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Jennifer Gervens

As an Alabama native and resident, Jennifer Gervens enjoys sharing Southern food and culture with her Jersey-born husband as well as her readers.

Sweet T Makes Three

is all about homemaking and hospitality in the Heart of Dixie.

Latest posts by Jennifer Gervens (see all)

DIY: Turn a Produce Net into a Dish Scrubber – November 14, 2016

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DIY: Turn a Produce Net into a Dish Scrubber

Posted in A Greener Kitchen, eco-friendly, FF, GE, LG, ONA, PUR, Ultima, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on DIY: Turn a Produce Net into a Dish Scrubber

How To Give Your Bathroom A ‘Go Green’ Makeover

If you’re an eco friendly individual looking to go green, there are a few obvious places to start — perhaps you create a recycling command center in the garage, outfit your backyard with a compost bin, and stock your fridge and pantry with minimally processed, minimally packaged healthy food and drink.

These are all fantastic ideas and indeed, essential components of an eco friendly home, but in planning for the garage and the backyard, the kitchen and pantry, we’ve left out one very important area: the bathroom. Chronically overlooked and left to last on the list, the lowly bathroom presents a fantastic opportunity to go green by making just a few simple changes.

Go green in the bathroom in 3, 2, 1

Chronically overlooked and left to last on the list, the lowly bathroom presents a fantastic opportunity to go green by making just a few simple changes. Image Credit: Iriana Shiyan / Shutterstock

First, the basics. It’s easy to make a massive reduction in paper waste just by switching to 100% post-consumer recycled toilet paper. Over 27,000 trees are cut down every day worldwide just to make toilet paper — so choosing a recycled roll can put a significant dent in the number of trees lost with virtually zero effort on your part.

Second, if you’re a woman, consider rethinking the way you have your periods. Rather than using committing to a lifetime of disposable pads or tampons, it may be worthwhile to do some research into cloth pads or menstrual cups like the Moon Cup or Diva Cup. Cloth pads are an easy go green switch and they simply get tossed in the washing machine (just like cloth diapers would) to be washed and reused. Likewise soft silicone menstrual cups are a great, virtually waste-free alternative for tampon users. Full disclosure — There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s also a great way to reduce the amount of waste associated with your monthly cycle.

Also for the ladies (sorry, we do most of the heavy lifting in the bathroom it seems), evaluate your makeup and see if you can cut down on the packaging, the number of cosmetics products used, or even switch to a more eco friendly brand. If you’ve established a loyalty to one specific brand, don’t worry! You can go green while still looking good.
Recycling powerhouse Terracycle offers a recycling brigade for cosmetics and beauty products, where you can collect and send back an incredible array of product packages which would ordinarily be destined for the trash. Products included in this recycling program include,

Hair gel tubes and caps,
lip balm tubes,
lipstick cases,
lip gloss tubes,
mascara tubes,
eye shadow cases,
bronzer cases,
foundation packaging,
powder cases,
eyeliner cases,
eyeliner pencils,
eye-shadow tubes,
concealer tubes,
concealer sticks,
and lip liner pencils.

That’s a whole lot of waste that can completely bypass your bathroom wastebasket!

A sharp idea

A gender-neutral way to go green? Switch out your razor! Image Credit: Nejron Photo / Shutterstock

Next, a gender-neutral way to go green — switch out your razor. When your shave gets less than smooth, instead of buying some eight-bladed monstrosity where a package of replacement heads cost as much as a nice meal, invest in a stainless steel safety razor, instead. There’s a reason the world shaved this way for decades — it works! It’s clean, efficient, and waste-free, and replacement blades are a few bucks for a pack of five razor blades. It’s also an excuse to avoid gendered marketing. I don’t have to pay more for a pretty pink razor to fit my delicate lady hands, I’ve been using a “man’s” safety razor for almost three years now and I absolutely love it. Find one secondhand and disinfect it by boiling, or visit your local shave shop for options.

Prescription to go green

It’s now time to tackle the medicine cabinet. Disposing of medications properly is rarely mentioned, but it’s a vital part of prescription medicine safety. Emptying expired or unused pills into a garbage can be quite dangerous because of the possibility of small children or pets ingesting them, and if you think you’re being safe by flushing them down the toilet – think again. A story in the Harvard Health Letter states,

“A study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1999 and 2000 found measurable amounts of one or more medications in 80% of the water samples drawn from a network of 139 streams in 30 states. The drugs identified included a witches’ brew of antibiotics, antidepressants, blood thinners, heart medications (ACE inhibitors, calcium-channel blockers, digoxin), hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), and painkillers.”

Yikes. Moral of the story? Don’t flush your pills! Take any old, unused or expired medications back to your pharmacy to ensure that they’re disposed of in a safe manner.

A clean slate

And last but not least, the task that we often leave until the bitter end: cleaning the bathroom. It’s easy to whip up a few simple recipes to give your bathroom a sparkling green makeover. Tub scrub, shower door spray, and an easy toilet cleaner — the recipes are all here and unbelievably easy to whip up with just a few natural ingredients. These DIY cleaners are a great way to go green in the bathroom without spending a ton on cleaning products with questionable ingredients, packaged in wasteful plastic bottles. They work like a dream and they make the often-onerous chore of bathroom cleaning seem a little less like drudgery.

Being able to go green means taking on all aspects of your house — from the fun and glitzy eco-tech to the more, ahem, down-to-earth aspects of green living, like embarking upon an eco friendly bathroom makeover. By addressing everything from your toilet paper to your cosmetics and beauty care products, tackling menstrual care and shaving gear, and even being a responsible adult by disposing of medications and finally getting rolling up your sleeves to get rid of that toilet ring, going green in the bathroom is a great idea.

Feature image credit: Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock 

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Madeleine Somerville

Madeleine Somerville is the author of

All You Need Is Less: An Eco-Friendly Guide to Guilt-Free Green Living and Stress-Free Simplicity

. She is a writer, wanna-be hippie, and lover of soft cheeses. She lives in Edmonton, Canada with her daughter. You can also find Madeleine at her blog,

Sweet Madeleine

.

Latest posts by Madeleine Somerville (see all)

How To Give Your Bathroom A ‘Go Green’ Makeover – June 22, 2016
When Is Composting Better Than Recycling? – June 9, 2016
TrailRider Proves Access To Nature Is Attainable – June 4, 2016

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How To Give Your Bathroom A ‘Go Green’ Makeover

Posted in Down To Earth, eco-friendly, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Oster, PUR, Uncategorized, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How To Give Your Bathroom A ‘Go Green’ Makeover

Considering An Electric Car? 7 Questions To Answer First

Electric cars are growing in popularity, and we’re not complaining. These swift and silent green machines emit less pollution and have lower operating costs than their conventional counterparts. So how do you know if you’re ready to ditch the pump and plug in your very own electric car? Ask yourself these seven questions first to find out.

Electric car exploration

1) What are the overall benefits of electric cars?

Before deciding if an electric car may fit your lifestyle, it helps to first understand how much of an impact driving electric cars can actually have on the planet and on your wallet. Image Credit: andrea lehmkuhl / Shutterstock

Before deciding if an electric car may fit your lifestyle, it helps to first understand how much of an impact driving electric cars can actually have on the planet and on your wallet.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric cars can help reduce emissions, and they can also help increase energy security by reducing our dependence on imported fuel. In addition, while purchase prices for hybrids and electric cars are often higher than conventional cars, owners can see an overall savings in fuel costs, maintenance costs, and tax credits. Indeed, there was a time when electric cars were sold at significant price premiums relative to comparable internal-combustion models. However, in recent years that situation has shown signs of change, and electric cars are now more affordably priced. Furthermore, pretty much all electric cars (except for those made by Tesla) are deeply discounted on the used market.

According to InsideEVs, an industry site that tracks the latest news and trends for electric vehicles, electric car sales in the first four months of 2016 have shown an increase year over year. This suggests electric car sales growth is once again gathering momentum, so it seems our love for these emissions-free marvels of modern technology is only getting stronger.

2) What’s your daily mileage?

Mileage is a consideration when choosing an electric vehicle, because you have to keep in mind how much ground you can cover in between charges. You may have a reasonably short trip to and from work, but if your lifestyle involves running lots of errands, your daily mileage could greatly exceed your commute. If you’re a parent who has to take kids to school and soccer practice, for example, you could wind up putting a significant number of miles on your car each day. The good news is that electric cars have made tremendous strides in recent years with the range they offer.

According to EPA estimates, the 2016 Tesla Model S has a range of up to 265 miles, while the more modestly priced Chevrolet Spark EV will travel for up to 100 miles between charges. Still, keep in mind the 476 miles of range you’ll get with a gas-powered Toyota Camry.

Take a look at the number of miles you travel each day and decide if your driving pattern fits within the range restrictions posed by electric cars.

3) Do you take lots of long road trips?

While in years past, going on a long road trip in an electric car might not have been an option, these days public electric charging stations put road trips back on the map.

Just know that your trip won’t be all that spontaneous: You’ll need to plan your route carefully and determine the stations you’ll visit along the way, as well as account for the time it takes to charge.
Level 2 (220-volt) stations – which are more prevalent – will still generally take three to four hours to charge.
A number of websites, including this electric car charger station locator from the U.S. Department of Energy, offer tools to help you plot your stops.

4) Do you have easy access to a charger?

Access to your charge source, whether public on installed in-home, is a big consideration when it comes to electric car ownership. Image Credit: Matej Kastelic / Shutterstock

Some electric cars can take as long as several hours to charge, but you can reduce the charging time by 50 percent or more by installing a home charger. This adds tremendous convenience to electric car ownership. Just keep in mind that if you rent your home, a home charger may not be an option. Before you buy, talk to your landlord about getting permission for a charger and how the electricity bill should be handled.

5) How’s the weather?

While frigid temperatures will result in a diminishment of range between charges, electric cars work just fine in cold weather. The electric car fleet management company Fleet Carma took a look at trips made in the Nissan Leaf in cold weather and found that the car’s range drops from 80 miles to 50-60 miles when it’s driven in icy conditions. However, it’s worth noting that gas-powered models also suffer a drop in fuel efficiency of up to 20 percent when the mercury plummets, due to factors such as cold engine oil.

6) What’s the terrain like?

Electric cars do best in the flatlands. Mountainous terrain is not a deal breaker for electric cars: Just note that this terrain will tax the cars and diminish their range, so it’s something to consider if you spend lots of time driving in the hills.

7) Is electricity expensive in your neck of the woods?

If you live in a region with expensive electricity, an electric car will be more costly to own. Still, this doesn’t mean you should rule these vehicles out. Electric cars tend to have a low cost of ownership due to the fact that they require less maintenance and repair. You won’t be taking your electric car in for an oil change anytime soon, for example. If you’re discouraged by steep electricity rates in your region, take the time to compare the total cost of ownership of an electric car with that of a gas-powered vehicle before making a final decision.

If you’re one of the fortunate car shoppers whose lifestyle supports electric car ownership, take a moment to celebrate. These whisper-quiet wonders of automotive wizardry afford you the opportunity to glide efficiently into the future.

About the Author

Warren Clarke is a consumer advice writer for CARFAX who prides himself on offering helpful advice regarding car shopping, car buying and car ownership.

Feature image credit: GlennV / Shutterstock

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Earth911

We’re serious about helping our readers, consumers and businesses alike, reduce their waste footprint every day, providing quality information and discovering new ways of being even more sustainable.

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Considering An Electric Car? 7 Questions To Answer First – June 20, 2016
How To Solar Power Your Business – June 6, 2016
3 Simple, Natural DIY Recipes To Repel Bugs – May 25, 2016

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Considering An Electric Car? 7 Questions To Answer First

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Robots And A Recyclables Recovery Revolution

It’s exciting to watch the green economy unfolding all around us. There are many problems to solve and many companies out there solving them. Take, for example, recyclables and a startup named Jodone.

Recyclables, robots and a recovery revolution

What’s Jodone?

Today, a municipal waste worker at a facility typically stands next to a moving conveyor belt, picking out recyclables like glass and plastic by hand. Jodone envisions letting robotics do the dirty work. Image Credit: Jodone (LinkedIn)

This Massachusetts-based company has a patented system of robots and software designed for use in waste recovery facilities – specifically municipal waste, which is some of the toughest to handle. Unlike waste streams like construction waste or medical waste which are confined to a subset of materials, municipal waste handles everything – from packaging to dead animals.

Today, a municipal waste worker at a facility typically stands next to a moving conveyor belt, picking out recyclables like glass and plastic by hand – an unpleasant and dangerous job.

Jodone envisions a day when that worker sits in an office with a tablet while a robot arm stands by the conveyor. Cameras over the conveyor relay images of the waste back to the worker’s tablet. The worker uses a super-simple touch screen to virtually “sort” the recyclable materials into appropriate bins – at a pick rate far higher than what a human can typically do (400 picks per hour vs. 2500 picks per hour for the robot.) According to Michael Rivera, Jodone’s COO, at that rate of speed, the cost per pick drops from about 50 cents/item to about 12 cents/item – a huge reduction.

The worker uses a super-simple touch screen to virtually “sort” the recyclable materials into appropriate bins – at a pick rate far higher than what a human can typically do. Image Credit: Jodone (YouTube)

Benefits: Both the “green” and profitable kind:

It helps mitigate climate change
Better, faster sorting of recyclables from waste reduces the amount of recyclables that are sent to landfills. And that means that landfills can become physically smaller. Indeed, many landfills are increasing the amount of waste they incinerate in order to shrink their physical footprint. There are simply better uses for land than landfills, as exemplified by the epic restoration of the enormous Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island.
Smaller, fewer landfills will also result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) like methane and less leaching of toxic materials like mercury and lead into water ways.

It helps cities make money through:
Sale of recyclables. Cities have long handled municipal wastes and recycling because they have been a revenue stream in the past. As Jodone CEO Cole Parker says, “By saving perfectly good recyclables from the waste stream, you stop burning money.” Instead, those materials can be sold to companies that use them for new products.
Handling more customers. In addition, when recyclables are removed from the waste stream, more actual trash can be burned by the waste facility. They can take on additional customers. And lest you worry that burning trash creates more GHGs, most of what comes out of those carefully monitored smokestacks is steam, which may be sold to industrial customers for heating and other purposes.

It’s a boon to MRF workers
A marriage of technology and people. Not many kids say, “I want to grow up to sort trash for a living” — but they might once they see Jodone’s system. The system is designed to augment workers — not replace them. Robots do what robots do best — the heavy lifting — while people do what people do best — identifying and handling exceptions.
Safety. The U.S. Department of Labor acknowledges that working at a waste handling facility can be dangerous for many reasons. Jodone’s system enables the removal of workers from that environment to an office environment (even a home office!), and that will reduce lifting injuries, trips, falls, and exposure to toxic fumes.
Fun. The fancy word for this is “gamification.” A key feature of Jodone’s system is a software platform that allows workers to engage in a little “friendly competition” as they sort the material coming in. Should waste facility management wish to incent workers on speed and/or accuracy of their work, they can turn the work into a game, and reward winners with performance pay. Jodone’s system introduces an element of fun into a set of tasks that traditionally have been unpleasant at best and dangerous at worst.

This patent-pending gaming interface allows humans to use their intelligence and problem-solving skills to solve real-world tasks in real-time. Additionally, Jodone decreases liability by removing employees from non-desirable environments. Jodone’s software platform works with industry-standard robots, from multiple providers. With the intelligence provided by humans, the robots can now complete complex tasks at extraordinarily quick speeds. The gaming interface also enables the collection of massive amounts of data. The data collected enables statistical modeling for improved performance, concrete performance data for training, performance rewards, and audits. Jodone’s solution provides practical solutions for seemingly impossible automation tasks. (Jodone LinkedIn)

What’s next

The team at Jodone is currently piloting their system at the Pope/Douglas Waste-to-Energy plant in Minnesota. They are busy calibrating everything from their software to the speed of the conveyor belt so that the facility runs optimally.  They are also preparing to train workers on using the tablets.

In addition, because their software includes a database that keeps a history of pictures and picks, the robots actually learn and get better every day. By year end, Jodone will have millions of data points to use to make the robots smarter and their human handlers even more efficient.

Their 5-minute “pitch” video on YouTube is worth a look!

How Jodone exemplifies the green economy

Jodone’s systems support a circular economy, which is fundamental to achieving a sustainable future. What’s neat is that, rather than asking people to make sacrifices, Jodone’s systems ideally will mean more money, more safety and more fun for workers and citizens alike. Jodone also represents the best in innovation, combining everything from “software-as-a-service” to machine learning to gamification.

Now that’s a future to look forward to!

Feature image credit: Photick / Shutterstock

About
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Alison Lueders

Alison Lueders is the Founder and Principal of

Great Green Content

– a green business certified by both Green America and the Green Business Bureau. She offers copywriting and content marketing services to businesses that are “going green.”Convinced that business can play a powerful and positive role in building a greener, more sustainable economy, she launched Great Green Content in 2011.

Latest posts by Alison Lueders (see all)

Robots And A Recyclables Recovery Revolution – June 15, 2016
Get Ready To ‘Spring’ Into Composting – March 25, 2016
Waste Reduction, Recycle Rates And Yard Trimmings – February 26, 2016

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Robots And A Recyclables Recovery Revolution

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"Happy Birthday" Finally Slogs to an End

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Exciting news! The trial over the copyright to “Happy Birthday” has been canceled and all parties have signed on to a settlement. This might mean that commercial use of the century-old song will finally be allowed royalty-free.

Then again, it might not. It’s possible that the copyright will simply be transferred to a different owner. We’ll find out when the settlement is made public.

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"Happy Birthday" Finally Slogs to an End

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How to Make a Natural Screen Cleaner for Your Electronic Devices

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Why Recycled Polyester Fashion Is NOT Sustainable

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