Green Holiday Ideas *updated*

Here are a few tips from the Oasis Bags teams to help make your Holidays greener:

1. Make your own decorations: This is a fun, easy and efficient way to reuse any packaging or craft supplies you already own. Ornaments, wreaths and stockings are simple to make and add a nice personal touch. We have tried a couple of ideas from the Martha Stewart website and they have all turned out great

2. Use energy-efficient lights: LED lights use a small amount of power (80-90% less than regular ones) and last ten years or more. Since LEDs do not have a filament, they are not damaged under circumstances when a regular incandescent bulb would be broken. Because they are solid, LED bulbs hold up well to jarring and bumping. Although LEDs are more expensive, the cost is recouped over time and in battery savings.

3. Wrap gifts in recycled wrapping paper and reusable bags: Reduce paper wastage by reusing last year’s wrapping paper, purchasing recycled wrapping paper or using environmentally friendly bags to wrap gifts. According to Eco-Chick.com, if every American family wrapped just three presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. Wrapping paper and shopping bags alone account for about 4 million tons of trash annually in the U.S. To top it off, traditional wrapping paper is not recyclable.

4. Try buying some non-traditional gifts this year: You can make a charitable donation to an important cause in the name of your recipient. Some charities to consider: Canadian Cancer Society, charity:water, American Red Cross

Try buying something that has been lightly used at consignment stores and antique shops, for those who appreciate vintage and unique items. Or, try making some of your gifts. Knitting, sewing and scrap booking help personalize the gift giving experience.

Another cool gift buying option is the Join Red Campaign. Products from various retailers/companies ranging from Apple, Starbucks, Nike, etc. A portion of profits from each (PRODUCT) RED product sold goes directly to the Global Fund to invest in African AIDS programs, with a focus on women and children.

5. Try making you gifts: There a lot of great do-it-yourself (diy) books and websites available that help create you create handmade gifts for the holidays. These include projects for sewing, crochet and even duct tape! Some of our favorite titles include:

Stick It!: 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects

One Yard Wonders

Check back often as we will be updating and adding more tips daily!

-Team Oasis Bags

5 Things You Should Always Recycle

Chances are you’re already recycling the cans, bottles, and paper that gets picked up at the curb, but what about all that other stuff that’s lurking in your drawers or closets – like outdated gadgets and dead batteries – that you’re not sure how to recycle? The following household items are especially important to donate or recycle because they contain materials that can contaminate the environment if they wind up in landfills or that can easily be reclaimed for use in new products. Here are some convenient ways to keep them out of the trash:

1. Electronics: All Office Depot, Staples, and Best Buy stores accept larger electronics like desktop computers for recycling for a small fee (usually $10) and smaller ones like cell phones and PDAs for free. Goodwill stores accept used computer equipment (some locations also accept televisions) for free. 

Why: You’ll keep toxic materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants out of landfills. And useful materials will be recovered, saving energy and resources.

2. Rechargeable batteries: From cordless phones and power tools, digital cameras, and other gizmos – these can be recycled for free at 30,000 drop-off points nationwide, including retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, RadioShack, Sears, and Target. Enter your zip code at Call2Recycle to find one near you.

Unfortunately, it’s more difficult to find places to recycle alkaline (or single-use) batteries. Try Earth911 to find drop off locations or order a box (for $34.50, including prepaid shipping) from Battery Solutions and send them up to 12 pounds of alkaline and/or rechargeable batteries for recycling.

Why: Like many electronics, batteries contain heavy metals and other chemicals best kept out of the waste stream. Plus, recyclers reclaim metals from them that are used to make, for example, new batteries and steel.

3. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, but they contain a small amount of mercury and shouldn’t be thrown in the trash. Take them to any Ikea or Home Depot store for recycling or go to Lamp Recycle to find other drop off locations near you.

Why: CFLs in landfills can break and release mercury, a neurotoxin, into the environment.

4. Plastic Bags: Even if you’ve switched to reusable bags for your shopping, you probably have a bunch of these stored in your home. Luckily, lots of retailers like Wal-Mart, Safeway, Albertsons, Wegmans, Krogers, and Giant now have bins where you can recycle plastic grocery bags (and newspaper, drycleaning, bread, and sealable food storage bags). To find a drop off location near you, go to Plastic Bag Recycling or Earth911.

Why: They’re made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and when thrown away they take a very long time to decompose. Recyclers will turn them into new products like plastic lumber.

5. Anything you don’t need that could be of great value to others – for instance, you can donate your used prescription glasses to the nonprofit OneSight at any LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, Target Optical, or Sears Optical location (or go to One Sight for more locations near you). You can also donate unused, unexpired medications including antibiotics, pain relievers, and others by mailing them to the Health Equity Project. The glasses and medications will be distributed to people in need in developing countries.

Keep in mind that you should always recycle hazardous substances like paint, pesticides, propane gas tanks, and motor oil at your town’s household hazardous waste collection events or permanent collection center. Go to Earth911or call 1-800-CLEANUP to find collection sites and events.

Can you suggest more ways of recycling items that aren’t picked up at the curb? Share them with us by commenting below:

(article via recyclebank.com)

Retailers Pay Customers to Bring Their Own Bags

Retailers are finding that the best way to get consumers to ditch plastic bags and go green is to give them money back. Targer and CVS are the latest retailers who are giving discount incentives to customers who bring in their own reusable bags instead of using the store’s plastic bags. The move establishes them as green companies in the mind of consumers and reduces pollution caused by plastic bags.

Although smaller retailers have offered incentives in the past, CVS/pharmacy (with about 7,000 stores) and Target (about 1,700 stores) are the largest to do so.

“The general public wouldn’t think of them as green companies,” said Dr. Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “If CVS can differentiate itself and be looked at as the ‘green’ drug store then conceivably they’ll gain more customers.”

In order to participate, CVS/pharmacy customers will have to buy a tag (which costs 99 cents) to attach to their reusable bag and swipe it every time they bring it in. The tag is connected to the company’s ExtraCare Rewards program. On every fourth visit, customers will earn a $1 Extra Care Buck that will print on their receipt and they can redeem for future purchases.

At Target, customers will get 5 cents off their bill for every reusable bag they use when they visit. The retailer piloted the program in 100 stores and counted a 58 percent increase in reusable bag use. The program officially begins in stores on November 1, 2009.

Besides generating a greener image, marketing experts say the move could also help the companies save money by reducing plastic bag use. However, both companies say that money is not their motivation: “We wouldn’t be giving back extra bucks” if it was just about saving money, said Melissa Studzinski, director of relationship marketing at CVS.

“The savings is about the same amount as what we’re rewarding our guests for the program,” said Target spokesperson Amy Reilly.

Tackling plastic bag use is a smart move for retailers, experts say, as disposable plastic bags have been a target of environmentalists and lawmakers for years. They say the bags take up too much space in landfills and pollute waterways.

San Francisco was the first city in the United States to ban plastic bags two years ago. Other cities have tried, but so far Los Angeles is the only other major cities to ban plastic bag waste. The ban goes into effect in the middle of next year. Washington D.C. will tax the bags next year in an attempt to reduce use.

Just this week, San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi—who played a major part in getting plastic bags banned—introduced a new plan that would make it mandatory for supermarkets and pharmacies to give customers a 10-cent discount every time they use a reusable bag.

While Target and CVS are the latest retailers to introduce bag benefits, smaller retailers have already offered the same types of incentives.

Regional supermarket Stop & Shop gives customers 5 cents off their total bill for any shopping bag they bring from home.

For over a year, Whole Foods Market has been giving customers up to a 10-cent discount for bringing in a reusable bag. The company banned plastic bags from its store checkouts in favor of paper bags in 2008.

The company announced in April of this year that since the ban, 150 million bags were kept out of landfills and reusable bag use had tripled, and continues to grow.

“Consumers are sensitive to being taken advantage of,” said Kristin Heist, a senior strategist at  Continuum, a global innovation consultancy.

“With an incentive,” she added, “consumers feel like they’re winning—they’re helping the environment and saving money at the same time.”

[Article from CNBC]

Ottawa Green Bin Program

Ottawa is beginning organic recycling pickup starting January 2010 and has started distributing their green bins all over the city. The first phase of the Green Bin program will target the majority of Ottawa residents: People living in single and low-rise residences in urban, suburban and rural village areas that currently have single set out garbage and recycling pick up. Over 2010-2011, the City will be investigating service for high-rise buildings, and residences with common pad collection. Roll out to remaining residences including rural, non-village residents will be determined with the new collections contract, set to commence 2012.

Check out Green Bin Ottawa’s fun and interactive website for more information, tips and more.

Green your Halloween!

Halloween is just around the corner, so here are a few quick tips to “green” it up:

- Make your own costume or buy one at a second hand shop. It also helps to purchase costume items that you can reuse in the future. If you are feeling extra creative, take a look at your blue recycling bin and create a costume from leftover recycled items- toilet paper rolls and cardboard boxes can go a long way!

- Instead of using plastic/paper bags to collect candy, opt for a Halloween themed reusable bag. Environmentally-friendly shopping bags are not only great for the Earth, but are more durable, sturdy and comfortable for children to carry.

- Instead of using the usual disposable Halloween decorations, look into using natural items like pumpkins, gourds and straw bales which are inexpensive and can be composted after use. Decorate with home made crafts- rake the leaves in your yard and stuff them inside old clothing to make a creepy scarecrow or “dead” body.

- Create a “spooky” atmosphere but turning off all lights except perhaps your front porch light so trick or treaters know you are home. Light a couple of candles instead to help keep the mood alive and save electricity at the same time.

 

Reasons to Go Green with Reusable Shopping Bags

We found a great article on “50 Reasons to Go Green with Reusable Shopping Bags” and wanted to share our favorites with you:

• Plastic is forever. Almost every plastic bag you have touched in your lifetime still exists in some shape or form. With few exceptions, plastic bags will take thousands of years to break down. The bag my first pair of shoes came in a couple decades ago is out there, somewhere.

• Consumer Cost. At 5 cents a bag in many North American shops, the bucks add up! Ireland pays a hefty 15 cents per bag “Plastax” tax. Buying a bin or reusable bag can save you hundreds over the years. While keeping costs down is a concern for many, there are more pressing plastic matters at stake!

• Global Warming. Manufactured plastic and paper bags contribute to global warming. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy since forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases.

• Marine Life. Over 100,000 marine animals are killed each year from plastic bags. Sea turtles, water birds, and other creatures mistake them for food or become entangled in them. In some parts of the ocean, there are six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton.

• Shopper incentives. Many stores offer shoppers discounts and program points for bagging with reusables. Small cents add up to big dollars over time.

• Multipurpose. Reusable bags can be used for tasks beyond grocery shopping. Cart gardening gear, sort clothing, move to a new apartment – the options are endless.

Thank You!

A quick ‘thank you’ to everyone that came to visit us (booth #1427) at the Expo East Show this past weekend..It was a great show and lovely to meet clients old and new!

Come See Us at the Natural Products Expo East Show!

Oasis Bags will be exhibiting at the Natural Products Expo East show in Boston from September 24-26 at booth #1427. Come by to say hi and pick up one of our reusable bags!

‘Save the Bay’ unveils annual list of most-polluted local waterways

By Tracy Seipel 

tseipel@mercurynews.com

As the San Jose City Council prepares to vote this fall on whether to ban plastic and paper shopping bags, a new study being released today underscores the growing problem of plastic trash in Bay Area waterways, including Coyote Creek.

The creek, which runs through parts of unincorporated Santa Clara County as well as Morgan Hill, San Jose and Milpitas before emptying into San Francisco Bay, is among the Top 10 “Bay Trash Hot Spots” of 2009 named in the study by Save The Bay.

The environmental advocacy group’s fourth annual list of polluted area waterways was compiled based on the number of plastic bags volunteers removed from those sites during last year’s Coastal Cleanup Day. All told, 184 tons of waste were collected from the bay, including more than 26,000 plastic bags. About 1,100 bags were collected from Coyote Creek alone.

Save The Bay estimates that 1 million plastic bags end up in the bay annually.

“On that day alone, 15,000 bags were removed from just these 10 spots,” said David Lewis, executive director of Save The Bay. Countless others, he said, blow and wash into creeks and storm drains that carry them into the bay.

Lewis is asking Bay Area mayors to prioritize legislation that would end the distribution of free single-use bags, both plastic and paper, and require residents to switch to reusable bags.

“I think the support for this is very strong in San Jose,” Lewis said.

Last month, a four-member San Jose City Council committee agreed to push forward on a proposed ordinance directing major grocery stores and big-box retailers to stop giving out plastic bags. Paper bags made with mostly recycled materials would be allowed, but only for a fee. The council has asked city staff to study the issue before drafting an ordinance.

Mayor Chuck Reed said the city should “work together with the entire county on some sort of uniform ordinance. San Jose alone can’t solve this problem.”

In the Bay Area, only San Francisco and Palo Alto have enacted plastic-bag bans.

Representatives from the plastics industry said they agree that plastic bags should not end up in the waterways, but they say calls for a ban are misguided.

“Plastics don’t belong in the oceans or the watersheds, they belong in the recycling bin,” said Keith Christman, senior director of market advocacy for the plastics division of the American Chemistry Council.

But Lewis of Save The Bay said recycling plastic bags doesn’t work. He points to a California Integrated Waste Management Board estimate that less than 5 percent of all single-use plastic bags in the state are recycled “A lot of it ends up in landfills,” he said.

Christman points to a different study that suggests municipal bans on plastic bags only lead to consumers using more paper bags, which he says require massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions to produce.

Lewis said people can judge the scope of the problem themselves by volunteering for Saturday’s Coastal Cleanup Day, which is organized by the California Coastal Commission. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon at sites around the state; for more information, go to www.coastal.ca.gov.

To read Save The Bay’s Top 10 list, go to www.savesfbay.org