What makes up a milk/juice carton

Cartons are a type of packaging for food and beverage products you can purchase at the store. They are easy to recognize and are available in two types – shelf-stable (or aseptic) and refrigerated (gable-top).

Shelf-stable cartons, as the name suggests, are found on store shelves and are used mostly for juice, milk, soy milk, soup and broth and wine. Refrigerated cartons are found in chilled sections of grocery stores and contain products like milk, juice, cream and egg substitutes.

There are other products that are also called cartons – ice cream cartons and take-out cartons. From a recycling standing point, these are not the same as shelf-stable and refrigerated and are not included in the definition of cartons.

READ: Facts about Cartons

Paper, plastic and aluminum are the three materials layered together to make cartons. A typical shelf-stable carton averages 74 percent paper, 22 percent plastic and 4 percent aluminum. The refrigerated cartons skip the aluminum and usually stick to an 80 percent paper, 20 percent plastic combo.

Why should I recycle cartons?

Recycling your cartons is a great way to keep unnecessary waste out of landfills, but your green contribution doesn’t stop there. The paper in cartons comes from a renewable resource that is responsibly replenished – trees! This means you are conserving energy by choosing a sustainable product package in the first place.

On top of that, cartons require fewer natural resources to transport due to their efficient product to packaging ratio. On average, a product sold in a shelf stable carton is 94 percent product and 6 percent packaging. This means fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced since they can be shipped using fewer trucks.

Also, once they have been recycled, the high quality of the materials used in cartons makes them very desirable for remanufacturing into new products. All three materials used to make cartons can be repurposed.

READ: How to Recycling Milk and Juice Cartons

Finally, carton manufacturers are committed to increasing access to carton recycling in the United States, avoiding disposal in landfills and ensuring cartons continue to live on once the contents are gone.

Common misconceptions about cartons

Cartons are not recyclable.
False! Cartons are indeed recyclable. Made from mostly paper, cartons are in high demand to be made into new products. Manufacturers of cartons have joined forces as the Carton Council to increase access to carton recycling across the U.S. So far, carton recycling has increased from 18 percent of households in 2008 to 37 percent in 2011.

How did this happen? The Carton Council worked with all the key players in the recycling world from the recycling facilities to mills to make sure that cartons could be handled properly at recycling facilities and recycled into new products. By investing financial and technical resources, the Carton Council has made cartons a reality in over 2000 programs nationwide. Carton recycling may be coming to your program soon!

READ: Philly Now Offers Curbside Carton Recycling 

I cannot recycle cartons because they don’t have a symbol on them.
False! In order for any packaging to be able to feature the recycle symbol, recycling of that packaging must be available to a majority of households in the United States. This process is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. While cartons are making progress towards placing the recycle symbol on packages, the goal is to reach that majority by 2015. So for now, many cartons do not feature the recycle symbol. Consumers can determine if cartons are recyclable in their program by visiting www.recyclecartons.com or www.earth911.com.

Cartons are wax coated.
False! Cartons do not contain any wax and have not for many years. All cartons are made mainly from paper. Gable-top (or refrigerated) cartons contain additional layers of plastic, while aseptic (or shelf-stable) cartons contain additional layers of plastic and aluminum. Cartons were designed to keep the product inside as fresh as possible, blocking out light and odors that may cause products to spoil. A cool fact about cartons – the colorful labeling on the outside is printed on the thin plastic layer. When recycled, removing that layer leaves behind valuable paper fibers that are used to make new paper products.

Take a deeper look at the anatomy of a carton. Photo: Carton Council

How does it work?

So, what happens to that carton once you empty it out of your recycling bin? Typically, its journey begins at a materials recovery facility where it gets separated from other waste and types of recyclables. From there, the cartons get shipped to paper mills where they are mixed with water in a giant blender called a hydra-pulper. This process separates the paper from the plastic and aluminum. Once this is complete the paper fiber is ready to be transformed into other products such as tissues, office paper and even building materials depending on the area of the country and the mill.

The plastic and aluminum are collected from the hydra-pulping process as well. The plastic, when re-purposed separately, is often used for shipping crates and building materials. However, in North America it is left in a combined state with the aluminum creating a material called a poly/al mix. The poly/al mix has a limited secondary use market, but some mills have been able to use it to generate energy for their facilities.

READ: What Happens Next to Cartons?

What do I need to know?

• Always check your local program for guidelines in your community. Curbside pick up is gaining popularity, but is still not available everywhere.
• Be sure to remove any lids, straws, or fancy extras that come with your packaging.
• Only recycle empty cartons. Rinsing isn’t required for recycling them, but it does help ensure that the container is empty, as well as help reduce potential odor issues if you plan to store your recyclables.
• Flatten your cartons to aide storage and ease of handling.
• When in doubt, keep it out. This rule of thumb is important with all recycling practices. Rather than risk contaminating your local recycling stream, keep materials that you aren’t sure about out.

Editor’s Note: Earth911 partners with many industries, manufacturers and organizations to support its Recycling Directory, the largest in the nation, which is provided to consumers at no cost. The Carton Council is one of these partners.

SEE: Top 10 Green Labels Guide

So, where do you start? Check out this infographic from Ethical Ocean to see how consumers just like yourself are making it work.

Click on image to see full-size version

Infographic by Ethical Ocean

Written by Laura Moss, MNN

Photo: Flickr/D'Arcy Norman

Garbage

4.4 pounds
Trash the average American produces daily (EPA)

1,600 pounds
Trash the average American produces annually. With the garbage produced in America alone, you could form a line of filled-up garbage trucks that reach the moon. (EPA)

72 million tons
Amount of containers and packaging in 2009 in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream or MSW. Packaging makes up 30 percent of the America’s trash — the largest portion of MSW generated. (EPA)

60 percent
Amount of MSW that can be recycled (U.S. Department of Labor)

13 percent
Amount of MSW that’s actually recycled (Clean Air Council)

50 percent
Amount of MSW that can be composted (Clean Air Council)

How you can improve the numbers

• Avoid overpackaged products
• Strive to produce less waste
• Buy in bulk
• Recycle
• Compost

Plastic bags

240,000
Number of plastic bags consumed worldwide every 10 seconds (Sierra Club)

1 billion
Number of plastic bags Americans use every year (Clean Air Council)

30,000 tons
Landfill waste created from plastic bags each year (Clean Air Council)

Less than 1 percent
Amount of plastic bags that are recycled (Clean Air Council)

$4,000
Cost of recycling 1 ton of plastic bags (Clean Air Council)

$32
The amount that recycled product can be sold for (Clean Air Council)

How you can improve the numbers

• Use reusable shopping bags and produce bags
• Fight plastic bags in your city

Paper

100 million
Number of trees cut down in the U.S. annually to make the paper for junk mail (Clean Air Council)

9,960
Pieces of junk mail that are printed, shipped, delivered and disposed of in the U.S. every 3 seconds. (Chris Jordan)

How you can improve the numbers

• Reduce paper waste in the office
• Green your paperwork
• Stop the junk mail
• Recycle

Plastics

2.4 million pounds
Amount of plastic pollution that enters the world’s oceans every hour (Clean Air Council)

1 million
Number of plastic cups that are consumed on airline flights in the U.S. every 6 hours (Chris Jordan)

2 million
Number of plastic beverage bottles that are used in the U.S. ever 5 minutes. The number of plastic water bottles discarded in the U.S. every week could circle the Earth five times. (Plastic Pollution Coalition)

93 percent
Amount of plastics that are not recovered and go to landfills in the U.S. (Plastic Pollution Coalition)

500
Number of disposable cups the average American office worker uses every year. (Clean Air Council)

500
Number of years a Styrofoam cup discarded today will remain in a landfill (Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo)

How you can improve the numbers

• Reduce your plastic waste
• Don’t buy bottled drinks
• Use reusable shopping bags and produce bags
• Get involved with anti-plastic campaigns

E-waste

10-18 percent
Amount of electronics that are recycled. (Ewasteguide.info)

304 million
Electronics disposed of from U.S. households in 2005 — two-thirds of them still worked. (Clean Air Council)

18,500
Number of homes that could be powered for a year if we recycled all of the cellphones retired annually. (Clean Air Council)

How you can improve the numbers

• Green your e-waste
• Recycle your electronics
• Repurpose or recycle your cellphone
• Dispose of e-waste properly

Food

25 percent
Amount of prepared food Americans throw away (Scientific American)

$590
Cost of food thrown away by the average household of four (Scientific American)

How you can improve the numbers

• Reduce your food waste
• Use those leftovers — MNN has ideas for leftovers from spaghetti to hamburgers.

This article was reprinted with permission from Mother Nature Network. It does not necessarily describe the views or opinions of Earth911. You can read the original article here.

A growing number of cities including Dallas and Los Angeles are setting up recycling program for cartons used to package milk, juice, broth, soup and wine. Photo: Carton Council

Cartons keep your chicken broth, soy milk and orange juice fresh, but their melding of multiple materials – paper coated with plastic and aluminum – has made this product packaging traditionally difficult to recycle.

But now cities across the U.S., from Los Angeles to New York, are making carton recycling more convenient for their residents by offering curbside and drop-off carton recycling programs.

There are two types of cartons; the first kind, aseptic or shelf-stable cartons, is made from paper with a thin layer of polyethylene plastic and aluminum to preserve products without refrigeration. You’ll find aseptic cartons in the non-refrigerated aisles of a supermarket to store broth, soup, soy milk and even wine.

The second type of carton – refrigerated cartons – is used to package juice, milk and egg substitutes and, as the name suggests, is found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

A common misconception about refrigerated cartons is that their paper is coated with wax, said Anna Collinson, project consultant at recycling and waste management company Resource Recycling Systems. The company supports the Carton Council, a group of carton manufacturers and other organizations that aim to increase carton recycling.

Refrigerated cartons contain no wax, Collinson said; instead, they have a thin layer of polyethylene plastic over the paper.

READ: More Recycling Options for Food, Drink Pouches?

Carton recycling: coming soon to a city near you

Once a material with relatively few local recycling options, a growing number of U.S. cities like Boston and New York now offer recycling programs for cartons.

In 2008, only 18 percent of U.S. households had access to carton recycling programs, according to the Carton Council. Since the Council formed in 2009, that number has nearly doubled to almost 36 percent, with 40 million households in over 40 states now able to recycle cartons curbside or at a drop-off center.

The city of Dallas announced Thursday that its residents can now recycle cartons at the curb, making it the first major city in Texas to offer a carton recycling program. This summer, Los Angeles also started accepting cartons in its curbside recycling program.

The Carton Council assisted both Dallas and Los Angeles establish their new programs, helping the cities locate processers to break down the cartons into their material streams and manufacturers to turn the materials into new products.

To find out if your city provides carton recycling, visit the Carton Council’s website or search Earth911’s recycling database.

READ: What is a Producer’s Responsibility?

How are cartons recycled?

Separating the carton’s plastic and aluminum layers from its paper isn’t as difficult as one may imagine and doesn’t even require specialized or high-tech equipment – just a hydro pulp machine, which is common to many paper mills.

Cartons are placed in the hydro pulp and agitated like a washing machine, until the aluminum and plastic layers detach from the paper.

“It looks like a giant blender,” Collinson said.

The aluminum and plastic are skimmed off the top of the machine, revealing paper fiber that goes into the paper recycling market. Collinson said that much of the paper fiber from cartons ends up with companies that manufacture tissue and paper towels or molded paper products.

“The paper [from cartons] is pretty valuable,” she said. “Because the color and design is printed on the plastic layers, the paper is clean underneath, so no de-inking is required as part of the recycling process.”

The leftover plastic is extruded into high-density plastic mold, which can be used to make plastic shipping crates and building products.

Though recyclable on its own, the scrap aluminum is not separated from the plastic and becomes what is called a poly/al mix, Collinson said. Aseptic cartons with both plastic and aluminum layers represent such a small percentage of cartons in the U.S., so the market for their leftover aluminum is small.

While cartons may make up a fraction of the nation’s waste compared to newspaper or plastic bottles, Collinson said that setting up recycling programs for cartons is still worthwhile.

“Cartons seem like a small portion of the waste stream,” she said. “But cartons are mostly paper, which is a valuable material that can be recovered and made into new product.”

READ: The Lowdown on Recycling Juice, Milk Cartons

Homepage image by Flickr/stevendepolo

Nope, you didn’t read that wrong. Human hair is compostable and recyclable. Hair from your hairbrush or fur from your pet are full of useful nitrogen that can be thrown in the compost pile. Donating your hair could help clean up future oil spills. San Francisco nonprofit Matter of Trust collects human and pet hair to create booms that soak up oil. Currently, warehouses are full, but you can be placed on the email alert list when the need arrives again.

The family of four has produced only this handful of trash since October. Photo: Alexis Petru, Earth911

The average American throws out about 1,000 pounds of garbage every year, according to the U.S. EPA.

The Johnson family in California has created only one handful of trash in six months.

This family of four aims to reach zero waste – producing no trash going to landfill – or as close to it as possible. And they’re already pretty close.

SEE: Slideshow of Zero Waste Family

The Johnsons, who live just north of San Francisco in Mill Valley, aren’t just simply recycling their way to reach zero waste.

“Recycling is a last resort,” says Béa Johnson, who led her family’s waste reduction efforts and chronicles her experience in the blog, The Zero Waste Home.

Johnson is referring to the fact that while recycling is better for the environment than extracting and manufacturing raw materials, it still uses energy and creates pollution.

To make her home zero waste, Johnson relied on the three Rs of the recycling hierarchy in their order: reduce, reuse and recycle. Johnson even added her own R to the front of the hierarchy: refuse.

Why the Johnsons Went Zero Waste

Three years ago, the Johnsons decided to adopt a simpler lifestyle with less stuff and more meaning.

They moved out of their 3,000 square-foot house in a pedestrian- and bicycle-unfriendly suburb east of San Francisco and bought their current 1,400 square-foot home near downtown Mill Valley, where they can walk to shops and restaurants. They purged their belongings, keeping only the necessities.

“We started eating less meat and driving our cars less. And then I attacked our waste. I started shopping in bulk, but realized I could go further,” Johnson says.

READ: Reduce Your Food Waste in 10 Minutes

How It Works

Johnson buys nuts, nut butters, dried fruits and other snacks in bulk in reusable cloth bags and transfers them to glass jars when she gets home. She also stores her homemade preserves in glass jars. Photo: Alexis Petru, Earth911

Johnson buys everything she can in bulk – from grains, snacks and tea, to lotions, shampoo and Castile soap. She brings her own reusable containers to the store to transport items home: cloth bags for dry goods, glass jars for wet items like meat and cheese and refillable bottles for bath products. She takes fresh loaves of bread from the bakery home in pillowcases.

Forgoing canned food, she makes her own condiments like horseradish and mustard and annually cans her own preserves. She uses vinegar to make her own cleaning products and mixes baking soda and the sweetening herb stevia to make the family’s toothpaste.

READ: Save Your Food: Canning and Freezing 101

If she can’t find a zero-waste or recyclable alternative for a product, Johnson makes sure to contact the company to ask that they green their operations: from the plastic strip in the Netflix envelope, to the 3-D glasses and plastic wrapper her son recently brought home from the movies.

But the Johnsons’ report card isn’t spotless. They haven’t been able to ditch their two cars for longer trips, and Johnson knows carbon offsets don’t really make up for the family’s annual trips to France to visit her family. But reducing waste was a way to live a more sustainable life that worked for them.

Misconceptions of the Zero Waste Home

Publishing their journey to zero waste on her blog has attracted both supporters and “haters,” as Johnson calls them, who have several misconceptions about her family’s lifestyle.

Johnson understands the confusion surrounding her family’s way of life.

“Five years ago, if someone told me they had a zero waste lifestyle, I would have thought, ‘are they nuts? Does it take them all day to do those things?’” she says.

Johnson purchases dry goods like grains and flour in bulk in reusable cloth bags and stores them in glass jars in the cupboard. Photo: Alexis Petru, Earth911

Misconception #1: It takes too much time

Many of the family’s critics assume Johnson’s zero-waste lifestyle is a full-time effort. But Johnson, who works three part-time jobs, says going zero waste isn’t as time-consuming as people think. With all the systems in place, the Johnson family has zero waste on autopilot, she says.

Johnson says people forget that dealing with trash takes time: sorting through junk mail and removing and discarding or recycling packaging from new purchases.

“Now that we’re not burdened by stuff, we have more time do things we truly enjoy. I have more time to play with my kids,” Johnson says.

READ: Tackling the Barriers to Being Green – Time

Misconception #2: It’s too expensive

The family actually saves money by buying in bulk, avoiding packaged and processed foods and reducing their overall purchasing, Johnson says.

“People think we must be rich, but we’ve had a rough time the last two years, like everyone else, with both of us [her husband and herself] working for startups,” she says.

READ: Tackling the Barriers to Being Green – Money

Misconception #3: They feel deprived

Critics worry that the Johnsons, especially the kids, are missing out on the joy of life. “We don’t feel deprived,” Johnson says. “Our standard of living has increased.”

The Johnsons encourage family members to give their sons, ages 9 and 11, gifts of experiences, rather than just toys for presents. The boys are allowed as many toys as can fit into four bins.

When Johnson asked her sons what they wanted for Christmas last year, one of them responded, “I have too many Legos. No more Legos.”

3 Tips for Going Zero Waste

Johnson understands that her family’s routine will not work for everyone. You have to strike a balance and find what works for you, she says. Johnson gave her top three tips to help Earth911 readers go beyond recycling:

1. Graduate from just bringing your own shopping bags to the grocery store, Johnson says, and use reusable bags to buy produce as well.

2. Think twice before buying plastic products, and make sure you buy only what you really need. “Shopping is voting,” Johnson says.

3. Refuse junk mail through sites like dmachoice.org and catalogchoice.org.

You may also like…
Family Embarks on 365 Days of Local

1. OWI 6-in-1 Solar Robot Kit

Budding engineers will love this kit. Snap together the interlocking parts to build six different models, including an airboat, a windmill, a puppy and a plane. Then take them into the sunshine and watch them go!

This original owl from Etsy user buttercupbloom is handmade from an old sweater.

Price: $18.08

2. Adopt a Tiger

…or a panda, dolphin or snowy owl! Snag a cute plush animal along with an adoption certificate, and help the nonprofit organization Defenders of Wildlife protect endangered species all over the world. You can also adopt a whole family of animals, or buy an ice house along with your penguin or polar bear to protect its habitat.

Price: $25 to adopt one tiger

3. Upcycled Stuffed Animals

Craft mecca Etsy.com is a treasure trove for upcycled toys. You can find everything from a warren full of handmade bunnies to fanciful riffs on the traditional sock monkey, all repurposed from snuggly sweaters, socks and fabric scraps. We had a soft spot for this cuddly owl (see title link). But we couldn’t finish this post without linking to the second chance teddy bears. Who could say no to that face?!

Price: $24 for the Tiny Wee Hoot Owl

4. Stone Soup Garden Kit

Inspired by the classic fable, this beginner’s gardening kit helps kids set up their own vegetable patch. Featuring popular veggies like beans and carrots, and packaged in a charming recycled case, it’s sure to thrill your budding farmer. Flower lovers, don’t despair; Branch also stocks a Secret Garden kit, complete with a key – just like the key to the garden in the Frances Hodgsen Burnett tale.

Price: $26 for the Stone Soup Garden

5. PB Kids Eco Dough and Paint

Keep budding artists busy with this all natural, nontoxic paint and molding dough set from Pottery Barn Kids. The best part? The paint comes in powdered form, minimizing goopy messes.

Price: $24

Related articles
Earth911′s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide
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Earth911 Holiday Charity Highlight: Soles4Souls

Called the Nespresso Battery, mischer'traxler's installation combines aluminum in the Nespresso capsules with strips of copper, coffee grounds and salt water to make batteries. Photo: Flickr/theBlackBrian

Making “batteries” out of lemons and oranges has long been a staple of grade school science experiments. By suspending two metals with high electric potential in an acid solution, like salt water or citrus juice, it’s possible to generate a small electrical current, enough to power a tiny lightbulb.

In their exhibit for the Nespresso Austria window, mischer’traxler used aluminum and coffee grounds from 700 Nespresso coffee capsules, salt water and copper, to make coffee-powered batteries. The batteries were suspended from the ceiling and used to power a series of small clocks.

Each battery generated between 1.5-1.7 volts, and together, the entire installation could power a small radio. The 700 capsules mischer’traxler used reflect the average person’s yearly coffee consumption.

The eco-friendly exhibit aligned with Nespresso’s efforts to embrace recycling and sustainable sourcing. Long criticized for its single-use aluminum capsules and lack of fair trade certification, Nespresso has announced that its coffee will be 80 percent Rainforest Alliance certified by 2013. Nespresso has also worked to implement recycling programs for its capsules in many European countries.

On its website, Nespresso states that both aluminum and coffee grounds from used capsules can be salvaged. Coffee grounds can be used both as fertilizer and as “a source of green energy for domestic heating.”

Experimenters have attempted to use coffee as a power source before. Besides mischer’traxler’s batteries, other coffee-powered projects include a coffee-powered car, developed by the producers of British TV show “Bang Goes the Theory”. Like mischer’traxler’s batteries, the car works – but not very well.

The experimental car can reach 60 miles per hour, but costs 35-50 times more to run than a gasoline-powered car. Also, drivers needed to stop every hour or so to remove soot and tar from the car’s filters. The coffee batteries may not generate a lot of electricity, but they made an important point: even something as banal as used coffee grounds can be repurposed for good use.

Although coffee batteries aren’t likely to replace alkaline batteries anytime soon, like most forms of biomass, coffee grounds can be burned or processed to generate power. And like other forms of organic waste, coffee can enrich your garden: it breaks down rapidly in a compost pile and provides a rich source of nitrogen.

Related articles
The $8 Million Caffeine Jolt
Harvard Prof Creates Inhalable Coffee, No Cup Required
5 Fuel Alternatives to Petroleum

But even the most educated greenie with the best intentions can miss the fine print. Here are some common mistakes to look for when embarking on your own eco journey.

1. Tossing “biodegradable” items in the trash

The packaging says "biodegradable," so I can just toss it in the garbage and it will decompose, right? Not exactly. Photo: Flickr/the-g-uk

Good intention
Buying products labeled as “biodegradable” will reduce the amount of trash in landfills.

What goes wrong
The term “biodegradable” means that these products are capable of being decomposed by the action of biological agents, especially bacteria. The common misconception is if it’s biodegradable, it can be tossed or buried anywhere without consequence.

But a 2001 study proves just the opposite. A group of researchers from the University of Arizona excavated 21 landfills across North America and reported finding hundreds of undecomposed hot dogs, corn starch and lettuce dating back to the 1960s. They also found 2,425 newspapers – still readable – that were essentially used to date the food.

This is because for sanitary reasons, modern landfills are lined on the bottom with clay and plastic to keep waste from escaping into the soil. In order to reduce odor, landfills are covered daily with a layer of earth.

According to a 2007 Slate article, “The landfill, then, acts like a trash tomb – the garbage within receives little air, water or sunlight. This means that even readily degradable waste objects, including paper and food scraps, are more likely to mummify than decompose.”

The right way to do it
Buying biodegradable items is still one step in the right direction. However, these items are sure to break down in a commercial composting system. Instead of tossing them in the trash, look for local composting outlets that have high-heat facilities that promote aerobic conditions.

Read more
What “Bio” Really Means

2. Upgrading appliances without recycling the old

Good intention
Upgrading to a certified Energy Star appliance can save on your annual energy costs: $135 (clothes washer), $200 to $300 (refrigerator), $40 (dishwasher).

What goes wrong
When making the upgrade to a more energy-efficient appliance, some consumers often forget about properly disposing of their old model. This poses a huge threat to the ozone layer.

According to the U.S. EPA, “Household refrigerators and freezers manufactured before 1995 typically contain chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant. Most window air-conditioning units and dehumidifiers contain hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant. CFCs and HCFCs are ozone-depleting substances that, if released to the environment, destroy the protective ozone layer above the earth.”

Each year, Americans dispose of roughly 10 million refrigerators and freezers that contain ozone-destroying and heat-trapping CFCs or HFCs.

The right way to do it
When purchasing a new model, ask your retailer if it participates in an appliance take-back program. The EPA’s new voluntary Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program promotes environmentally responsible disposal of household appliances, and will significantly reduce emissions of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases.

Read more
Cash for Appliances is Official

3. Installing a programmable thermostat, but not weatherizing your home

Good intention
A programmable thermostat will save you $180 in energy costs every year you use it. That’s $1,800 over 10 years.

What goes wrong
While investing in a programmable thermostat will save a significant amount of money and energy, some homeowners are unaware of leaks in the home that virtual drains on your home’s energy.

The average, unweatherized U.S. home leaks air at a rate equivalent to a 4-square-foot hole in the wall, according to the “Solar Living Sourcebook” by John Schaeffer.

If that stat isn’t enough consider that in California, the average duct system loses 30 percent of its heating or cooling to leaks. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by as much as 20 percent – and sometimes much more.

The right way to do it
To detect them in your home, look to areas where different materials meet, such as between brick and wood siding, between foundation and walls and between the chimney and siding. Focus on sealing ducts that run through the attic, crawlspace, unheated basement or garage.

Use duct sealant (mastic) or metal-backed (foil) tape to seal the seams and connections of ducts. After sealing the ducts in those spaces, wrap them in insulation to keep them from getting hot in the summer or cold in the winter. Next, look to seal any other ducts that you can access in the heated or cooled part of the house.

Read more
Weatherize Your Home

4. Switching to CFLs, but tossing after use

Good intention
An Energy Star-qualified CFL will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. Plus, it uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

What goes wrong
While a CFL may last longer, disposal is harder than an incandescent bulb. CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury (about 4 milligrams on average) sealed within glass tubing, so they can’t be tossed in the trash.

The right way to do it
The EPA recommends that burnt out CFLs be returned to local recycling centers or household hazardous waste events that accept CFLs. Use Earth911 to find a local recycling center for CFLs.

Also, note that you’ll maximize the lifetime savings and effectiveness of your CFLs by keeping them on for 15 minutes or more at a time.

Read more
Yes, You Pay More For CFLs, But Are They Worth It?

5. Using recycled-content paper towels over reusables

Tired of seeing an empty paper towel tube on your counter? Try opting for reusable cloths instead. Photo: Flickr/CraftyGoat

Good intention
Paper towels made from recycled materials reduce our need for energy-intensive virgin fiber.

What goes wrong
On the short term, you can reduce your paper towel waste by using less and using towels made from recycled materials.

Some companies, like Seventh Generation, have towels made from 100 percent post-consumer paper. You can also use unsoiled paper towels in mulch and compost.

However, the problem with paper towels is two-fold: They don’t contain significant amounts of fiber for recycling, meaning incentive to recycle them is low (less fiber = less money). Also, they are often dirty or wet, which degrades them further and makes them non-recyclable.

The right way to do it
Buy reusable napkins and cleaning cloths to reduce your usage of rolls (and rolls) of paper towels. You can save up to $150 per year for a household that uses two rolls per week, conserving 30 pounds or more of tissue-grade paper.

Read more
Ditch Your Disposables

6. Driving a hybrid like a regular car

Good intention
Hybrid vehicles can reduce air emissions of smog-forming pollutants by up to 90 percent and cut carbon dioxide emissions in half, according to Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

What goes wrong
Many drivers forget about simple hypermiling techniques on the road. Accelerating quickly and pushing the engine to its maximum burns up fuel (and battery) much more quickly than gradual acceleration.

Also, last-minute stops or speeding up only to halt at a red light means more fuel burned. Most drivers apply their brakes between 10 and 25 percent more times than necessary.

The right way to do it
Hypermiling is different in a hybrid because the car uses the energy you save by regenerating the battery. A more powerful battery will give you more drive time in EV mode, resulting in less gas used.

Using hypermiling techniques can result in 35 percent better fuel mileage out of your current vehicle (even if it’s not a hybrid). It can be tough to slow down and mellow out, but it pays back in big savings on fuel consumption.

Read more
Test Spin With Ford

7. Planting a garden with pesticides

Good intention
Planting a home garden can provide your home with fresh, locally grown produce. This saves you both money, time and carbon emissions associated with transportation.

What goes wrong
Many gardeners use pesticides in order to control the pests that often creep around plants, this includes mice, insects, weeds, fungi and bacteria.

The EPA evaluates pesticides to ensure that they will not have unreasonable adverse effects on humans, the environment and non-target species, but because they are designed to kill or otherwise adversely affect living organisms, pesticides may pose some risk to humans, animals or the environment.

Some pesticides are more hazardous than others; the hazard may be from ingestion, getting the substance on the skin or in the eyes, or inhaling it.

The right way to do it
In addition to planting a variety of veggies and herbs, add some flowers to the mix to help ward off pests, since you’ll be eschewing chemical insecticides. Flowers and herbs attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, which keep aphids and other pests in check.

Putting a birdbath nearby will also invite more fine feathered friends, who will also be happy to help your cause by feasting on bugs.

You can also buy chemical-free fertilizers if your garden needs an additional boost. Just be aware that the word “organic” is not regulated the same way for fertilizers as it is for foods.

Biologically-based pesticides, such as pheromones and microbial pesticides, are becoming increasingly popular and often are safer than traditional chemical pesticides. In addition, EPA is registering reduced-risk conventional pesticides in increasing numbers.

Read more
Making Your Green Dreams a Reality: Organic Garden

There are currently 90 waste-to-energy facilities operating in the country that torch 14 percent of our trash and convert the heat into electricity. Photo: Flickr/james.thompson

The growing popularity of modern waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities in Europe and Asia has many in America asking: is burning trash bad?

We’re not big burners here in the U.S., but we’ve been known to light up some litter from time to time. The majority of our waste is buried in landfills, while 31 percent is recycled, but there are currently 90 waste-to-energy facilities operating in the country that torch 14 percent of our trash and convert the heat into electricity.

John Norton, engineering consultant and owner of Norton Engineering LLC, ran a now-defunct WTE plant in Dayton, Ohio for over a decade, and he is familiar with the internal goings-on of waste-to-energy and the misconceptions that often surround the facilities.

“Sometimes people would ask me if the plant was running,” Norton remembers. “When I asked them why, they said ‘because there’s no smoke!’”

“If you see smoke, you can bet that those operating the plant are running around like rats trying to fix something,” he says. “If there is visible smoke of any sort, we have a big problem. The EPA monitors all of the stack emissions all of the time. There’s just no cheating possible.”

Engineers like Norton advocate the cleanliness and safety of WTE facilities and are puzzled why an energy source as renewable as trash has not been explored further here in the states, but many environmental activists are pleased with American skepticism about waste-to-energy.

“There are incinerators in Japan and Europe that are newer than the ones in the U.S. because communities are so successful in questioning the approach of burning all of those resources,” says Monica Wilson, director of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).

In this hot-button debate, activists like Wilson remain unconvinced that waste-to-energy facilities are free of the hazardous fly ash, human health concerns and environmental impact of their predecessors.

So, how do these plants work, and are they really safe? Could garbage really be the renewable energy solution of the future, or is big-business pulling the wool over our eyes with a fancy new name and a “greener” business model?

The experts weigh in

The EPA points out that “combusting municipal solid waste has a negative public perception in some communities,” and while many are quick to point out the draw-backs of waste-to-energy disposal, there are plenty of voices speaking out on both sides of the issue.

“We all picture a burning 55 gallon barrel in somebody’s back yard, but that’s not what we’re talking about,” says Norton. “We’re talking about very clean combustion under very controlled conditions.”

But emissions are not the only concern for environmental activists like Monica Wilson. Financial burdens and the possible impediment to recycling expansion are also big problems.

“There are so many economic reasons for local governments to look into expanding their recycling programs,” says Wilson. “Recycling programs create local jobs and feed materials back into local, regional and national industry [...] That’s a really important thing to be thinking about instead of spending millions and potentially up to a billion dollars on a new facility.”

“It is important to talk about zero-waste in local government and to adopt zero-waste as a goal,” Wilson says. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to be at zero-waste tomorrow, but the only way to reach that goal is to set it.”

“There is a lot that communities can do in the short-term that will have a huge impact,” she adds. “I think we can achieve a lot and a lot faster than the waste industry would say, because their profits come from wasting as much as possible.”

Others argue that with waste constantly streaming in, WTE facilities should be explored as a cleaner alternative to landfills.

“If I had a primary goal, I would not call it zero-waste,” says Norton. “I’d call it zero-landfill.”

The environmental bottom-line

The strict standards of the Clean Air Act significantly reduce the environmental impact of waste-to-energy facilities by controlling the emissions of hazardous organics including dioxins and furans, hazardous metals and acid gases.

A variety of processes are put in place to ensure the clean operation of a WTE plant, including “dry scrubbers,” which use the old gardener’s trick of spraying lime to neutralize acids and electrostatic precipitators, a fancy term for electrically charged plates that capture small particles and fly ash in the same way your TV screen attracts dust.

Federal standards are also imposed on landfills, which must be designed “to protect the environment from contaminants which may be present in the solid waste stream,” says a spokesperson for the EPA.

To comply with these standards, landfills must be methodically constructed to avoid groundwater and environmental contamination. Although both WTE plants and landfills are subject to stringent EPA standards, neither are free of potential environmental and public health problems.

“Emissions of hazardous air pollutants from waste-to-energy combustors and fossil fuel boilers can be controlled to trace levels,” explains the EPA. “However, environmentalists express concerns about these residual emissions.”

Activists such as Monica Wilson point out that residual emission from both landfills and WTE facilities pose a potential threat to public health and may still contain gases harmful to the environment.

“Landfills generate methane, which is a very potent greenhouse gas,” says Wilson. “When you throw waste into an incinerator, no matter how clean it claims to be, greenhouse gases are still produced and so are other potentially harmful emissions.”

The concerns of environmental activists like Wilson are warranted. Both landfills and WTE facilities do emit greenhouse gases.

However, when you compare the two, there is a difference.

According to a report by P. Ozge Kaplan, Joseph DeCarolis and Susan Thornloe, “Burning one ton of waste in a waste-to-energy unit saves between 0.5 and one ton of greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfilling the same amount of waste.”

How recycling fits into the equation

When a WTE facility is constructed contracts are formed between the company operating the facility and the municipality, which mandate the flow of trash into the facility.

From a business standpoint, this means that the operating company and the municipality are shelling out millions to construct the plant. So, they want to make sure enough electricity will be produced to make it worth their while.

The average American tosses 1,600 pounds of trash per year, which is enough to take up two cubic yards of landfill space. Photo: Flickr/Alarzy

The EPA admits that “WTE facilities may be an impediment to further waste reduction, reuse and recycling given that the economic viability of the WTE facility is based on a given supply of wastes.”

For this reason many environmental activists like Wilson express concern that WTE plants may prove to be a disincentive to recycling, composting and reuse.

“If a community has a facility that must receive a certain amount of tons per day, they can’t build a recycling program that’s bigger than that,” says Wilson. “Often times the amount of waste that is required to go into the incinerator cancels out a community’s recycling goals. It’s simply not possible to recycle what the community wants to recycle and still feed the incinerator enough waste per day.”

But according to Norton, most waste-to-energy plants don’t need your recyclables to meet their bottom-line.

“When you take all bottles, cans and paper out of a load of waste and study what’s left, the combustion characteristics haven’t changed at all,” Norton says. “Recycling programs are no threat to a waste-to-energy plant. When one of these plants is proposed you often find that the plant itself becomes the agency that encourages recycling.”

A 2009 study conducted by Eileen Brettler Berenyi examined the recycling rates of more than 500 communities with waste-to-energy facilities and seems to prove Norton’s theory. The findings of this study were that communities with waste-to-energy facilities had a higher recycling rate than the national average.

Recycling also takes place within the plants themselves. After residual ash cools, magnets and other devices remove metal scrap. These scraps of metal, usually iron and steel, can be as small as paper clips and staples, but add up to thousands of tons over time.

Why burn trash in the first place?

The average American tosses 1,600 pounds of trash per year, which is enough to take up two cubic yards of landfill space.

At that rate, our purple mountain majesties could turn into an Appalachian Trail of trash. So, it’s no wonder that facilities that can decrease the volume of waste and provide renewable energy are so attractive to the U.S. government.

After being burned in an incinerator, residual ash is only about 15 percent of the original load of waste. Translation: after incineration your 1,600 pounds of trash becomes 240 pounds of ash, which is much more manageable for waste management workers.

Some incineration facilities, called solid waste incinerators, only exist to serve this purpose. They don’t produce electricity. They only burn your trash to make it smaller, easier to dispose of and less space-consuming in landfills.

On the other hand, waste-to-energy facilities shrink trash and use the heat to produce steam and electricity. These facilities have the added benefit of producing energy from material that would otherwise be landfilled.

U.S. WTE plants dispose of the waste of 40 million people and generate enough electricity for nearly 3 million households.

What about that ash?

The amount of residual ash varies depending on the waste being used. It usually represents between 15 and 20 percent of the original load of waste, which sounds great. Less landfills the size of Mount Everest, right?

Right, but there’s a catch. Disposing of ash can be problematic, and the issue of residual fly ash is huge with environmental activists.

Ash can contain high concentrations of various metals once present in the original waste. For example, printer inks and textile dyes can release iron and cadmium into the residual ash.

Sorting trash before incineration significantly reduces this problem. The major culprits of metal residue are batteries and paints. Removing these materials before loading the boilers reduces metal concentration in the ash.

Don’t worry, the EPA isn’t simply taking a plant-owner’s word for it. They test the ash from WTE plants to make sure it is safe. Tests are generally looking for chemicals and metals that may contaminate groundwater if placed in a landfill, and once ash is pronounced safe, it is landfilled or used for a number of applications.

About one-third of all the ash produced by WTE facilities is reused in landfills as a daily or final cover-layer or to build roads and make cement.

The final verdict

According to the EPA, “The decision to build a waste-to-energy facility depends on many factors, including geography and population density, the willingness of citizens to accept the technology, the willingness of investors to support it, and on state and local officials who determine how solid waste is handled in a particular area of the country.”

While environmental activists and the waste management industry disagree about whether the U.S. should burn or bury its trash, all agree that recycling is still the No. 1 disposal option.

The EPA promotes a waste reduction hierarchy that encourages reducing waste at its source, then recycling. Recycling is preferable to waste-to-energy and landfilling for materials.

The waste-to-energy debate will likely rage on, America, but at least we’re all on the same page in our knowledge that the chasing arrows are still our best disposal bet.