ParkHowell.com

Posts Tagged ‘recycling’

Ed Begley Jr. Gives Me His Take On The Two Biggest Lies About The Environment

Ed Begley Jr. and I Discuss Eco Consumerism and Green Marketing following Valley Forward's Livability Summit

Ed and I Discuss Green Marketing & Simple Sustainability

Hollywood’s most eco-centric celeb, Ed Begley Jr., graciously spent a few minutes with me following his keynote speech at Valley Forward’s Livability Summit in Phoenix, Az. One of the quotes from his talk that resonated the most with me was…

“The two biggest lies about our environment are: There is no problem with the environment, AND; The problems are so dire that we can’t do anything about them.”

If you’ve seen his TV show, “Living With Ed,” or read his new book, “Living Like Ed,” you’ll know he’s all about the easy and inexpensive things you can do to live more sustainably. I am surprised at how few people have seen his incredible documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car.” Definitely Netflix-worthy.

My three take-aways for green marketers from Ed and our conversation:

  1. Emphasize the health issues: “It is your right to have healthy air and water.”
  2. Talk about the little things people can do: “All I hear about is solar panels and electric cars. Do the easy stuff like recycling and conservation first.”
  3. Living sustainably is not expensive: “Can you afford to ride your bike to work or use a CFL?”

Eco-Capitalism: How to Build a Small Empire from Worm Droppings

worm-castingsWhat better way to follow-up Earth Hour as we move towards Earth Day than with a spotlight on one the world’s leading eco-capitalists: TerraCycle.

Essentially, Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, upcycles trash and turns it into new products.  We’re not talking just plastics, cans and glass. We’re talking just about everything.

They got their start by feeding organic waste to worms, liquefying their poop and packaging it in reused soda bottles.

Today, TerraCycle produces a host of organic lawn & garden products, household cleaners, fire starters and logs, bags, and office products; all from upcycled materials.

TerraCycle isn’t just selling to you. The company gets you involved.  Check out their “Capri Sun & Honest Kids Drink Pouch Brigade” From their site:

capri-sun-bagEvery year BILLIONS of drink pouches end up in dumpsters and landfills across America. TerraCycle, Capri Sun and Honest Kids are working together to put an end to this awful loss of resources. As an eco-friendly innovator, TerraCycle is going to convert the used drink pouches into unique fashion bags, tote bags, and pencil cases for kids and adults!

Where a lot of “green” companies fall down is the lack of education on how exactly they produce their products, which leaves much to the imagination of a cynical public.  Not TerraCycle. Throughout their site they do a nice job showing how the products are made.

Finally, you don’t become a great eco-capitalist without some great eco-marketing. Last year TerraCycle teamed with Target stores and Newsweek Magazine on a brilliant promotion. Again, one designed to get their customers involved in their mission while generating the “raw materials” they needed for their inventory: In this case, plastic bags.

org-246TerraCycle ran an ad on the cover of Newsweek and created a postage-paid envelope that invited readers to send in their used plastic Target bags. The returned bags were then re-purposed into the store’s unique ReTote bags. Those mailing in their bags received a coupon for a free ReTote from Target. This ad ran last year in the April 7 edition of Newsweek.

Keep an eye for hopefully another clever marketing/recycling/educational stunt by TerraCycle.

TweetIt from HubSpot

26 Things You Can Do at Your Office to Save the Earth in Five Minutes or Less

image011I’ve had a lot of great feedback on my post about taking the CoolPeopleCare.org’s Earth Hour to Earth Day Challenge. It covered the 26 different things you can do every day to help save the planet five-minutes at a time. Here are 26 things you can do at the office for the challenge.

You can start by signing up for Earth Hour to Earth Day Challenge on Twitter for your daily tip.

For each of the 26 days, take five minutes to do one of the following:

  1. eh2ed-challenge1Turn off ALL lights on Friday when you leave for Saturday’s Earth Hour.
  2. On Sunday, make five minutes to take your lunch to work.
  3. On Monday, change out one old fashion light bulb to a compact flourescent lighting (CFL) and encourage your staff to do the same.
  4. Take five to learn how to control heating and cooling costs.
  5. Calculate your monthly commute cost.
  6. Promote carpooling through easy online sources like erideShare.com., and with companies in your area like RideShare.com.
  7. Give up your car and telecommute one day a week during the EH2ED Challenge and see how it goes.
  8. If you have to drive, learn how to increase your gas mileage, whether you own a hybrid or not.
  9. Tricks and tips for biking to work. This site is pretty good, too. Or the book.
  10. Purchasing always loves to hear from you. So forward this site and encourage them to buy greener office products.
  11. Opt out of receiving wasteful yellow and white pages printed phone directories.
  12. Take five minutes to learn about zero-waste offices. Actually becoming one usually takes a little longer.
  13. Pick-up a desk-side recycling bin.
  14. Paper comprises up to 40% of the municipal waste stream, so take a minute to learn how you can start a paper recycling program.
  15. Give your dead mouse a proper burial. Reduce, reuse and/or recycle old computers and other electronics.
  16. Take a second to learn how to recycle printer cartridges.
  17. Every company needs to print something, sometime. So start by making a list of green printing companies in your area and then use one.
  18. Take five minutes to learn how carbon offsetting works so that you can apply it in your office.
  19. Whew, take a five minute break and play “Tip Tank” water conservation concentration game.
  20. Locate a green web hosting company to host your Earth-friendly site.
  21. Use your blog or website to offset 350 pounds of carbon by placing the Brighter Planet badge on your site.
  22. Make your website carbon neutral with a click of your mouse (and a small monthly fee).
  23. Wake up five minutes earlier every morning and put that time to use for a green project or thought.
  24. Sign up for CoolPeopleCare.org’s daily email on easy things you can do to help the planet five minutes at a time.
  25. Donate/recycle your office furniture and computers to Goodwill.
  26. Go green with your gifts to employees, colleagues, clients and vendors?

What are you going to do at the office to make a difference for the Earth Hour to Earth Day Challenge? Please let me know by commenting below and/or sending me and your followers an email or tweet.

TweetIt from HubSpot

New Year’s Resolution: Can You Save 365 Days Worth of YOUR Trash?

Sustainable Dave started exactly one year ago to save and manage all of the waste he has generated as a consumer.  He has attracted a lot of attention for his feat and to his blog: 365 Days of Trash. You can find his story in many of the major media, including the New York Times, Time Magazine, and NPR.

Here are the rules he’s been living by:

The Rules

1. If something is waste that I have generated, I’ve got to deal with it. If I buy something for myself, the packaging is mine to deal with. Hopefully this will entail figuring out what it is made of, what would happen to it if it were “thrown away” and what I will be doing with it.

2. Any waste that I generate that can be recycled, will also be saved. Recycling is better than “throwing away” but it still takes energy and creates waste so I think accounting for recycling will be an important factor.
3. Any waste, which for health reasons (dog poop, medical waste from doctors visits, etc.) cannot be saved, will at least be noted and examined regarding the impact of its creation and disposal.
4. Food preparation has been something that I have been struggling with as I have a wife and two daughters who are not undertaking this experiment. Since food will be prepared for the family at times, I’ll have to figure out how to account for this and will be as honest as I can be in my accounting as I go along. In order to make up for any possible discrepancy in this area, I have decided that when out with my daughters, I will be responsible for any waste they generate as well.

5. Finally, I know there will be gray areas that I haven’t thought of, and some of this will have to morph as I go along. That said, I think the golden rule is going to be “when in doubt, it’s my responsibility to deal with”.

Ok, so maybe we’re not ready to tackle our 365 days worth of trash this year. So how about a One Week Trash Challenge?

Can you sustain that?

Happy New Year!

How to Get 4.8 Million Views of Your Online Video About Sustainability

The Story of Stuff represents one of the best examples of storytelling about sustainability for 2008. If there was a green carpet for the online eco movie business, Annie Leonard would certainly be walking down it. Her 20-minute video takes us through the conspicuous consumption of America and what it’s costing our planet. Why does her production work so well?

  • The Story of Stuff is user-friendly: This is an entertaining jaunt through the five stages of product consumption, including extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal with tangible examples in every chapter.
  • It’s believable: Annie talks about the process in a very friendly, matter-of-fact way that is impactful, because instead of ranting, she’s educating.
  • It is efficient in its storytelling: The simple animations are fun and clever as they accentuate her points without being overproduced. The creative style further supports the central message of the video: “Conscious consumption.”
  • It’s universal: The video doesn’t solely rely on its narration to deliver the story.  The visuals tell a powerful story in their own right, which makes the piece more accessible to non-English speaking audiences. Demonstrating its global appeal, The Story of Stuff has been translated in 11 languages, which can be downloaded from Annie’s new international website.
  • Evangelist distribution: Annie has made it easy for anyone to promote and distribute her movie with free banner ads, posters, movie trailers, and the movie itself. She even educates you on how to host a screening.
  • The Story of Stuff Blog: And of course, Annie has a blog to keep all of her followers up to speed on new stuff about stuff.

It’s a brilliant production backed by a brilliant use of rich, online media to activate the word-of-mouth buzz of person-to-person interaction.  That’s how you get nearly 5 million hits to your green video on sustainability.  See for yourself.