Archive for BPA-free
Eco-School Cuts Trash By 46 Percent with Waste-Free Lunch Challenge
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Anne Hathaway Public School green students recently participated in the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge and the results were impressive. Anne Hathaway Public School is located in Stratford, Ontario (that’s right, Justin Bieber’s hometown), with students from kindergarten to grade 6. “The Waste-Free Lunch Challenge is an elementary school program developed by the Recycling Council of Ontario in partnership with Metro Ontario Inc. and Tetra Pak Canada. The goal of the program is to help schools decrease the amount of garbage they produce and to educate students, staff and parents about waste reduction.” Twenty participating schools will win $1,000 and Anne Hathaway is in contention (good luck!).
According to the Recycling Council of Ontario, “School lunches are a major source of waste in Ontario with the average student’s lunch generating a total of 30 kilograms of waste per school year, or an average of 8500 kilograms (18,700 lbs) of waste per school per year.”
During the week prior to the challenge, Anne Hathaway Public School conducted a pre-audit of their waste which equated to 15.42 kilograms of garbage. Then during Waste Reduction Week from October 17 to October 22, 2011, Anne Hathaway’s green students brought waste-free lunches to school which resulted in a waste reduction to 8.27 kilograms. That’s a 46 percent decrease in waste and 7.15 kilograms of garbage that didn’t end up in a landfill.
The Stratford Gazette spoke to Tarra Green, the teacher that spearheaded and organized this green initiative at the school who said: “It’s important for the kids to take care of the Earth; they are in charge of their future.” It’s commendable that teachers like Tarra Green are inspiring and encouraging students to make greener choices for a sustainable future.
Packing a waste-free lunch is simple and can be accomplished through these 5 easy steps:
1. Pack food in reusable lunch containers
2. Wash and reuse real silverware and cloth napkins. Say no to plastic cutlery and disposable napkins!
3. Store juice, milk, water or other beverages in a reusable and sustainable BPA-free bottle
4. Control food portions to ensure that there are no ‘leftovers’ to dispose of; compost any scraps
5. Pack it all in a reusable lunch bag or tote
Waste Reduction Week is already set for next year – October 15 to 21, 2012. Let’s hope all elementary schools follow the lead of Anne Hathaway Public School and participate in the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge in 2012. If one school in one week can almost cut their waste in half, imagine what communities of schools across Ontario can accomplish.
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Tags: Anne Hathaway Public School, BPA-free, BPA-free bottle, composting, eco-school, Green Initiatives, green students, Justin Bieber, landfill, landfill waste, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, Metro Ontario Inc, organic fashions, recycling council of ontario, reduce waste, reusable bags, reusable bottle, reusable bottles, reusable lunch bags, reusable lunch tote, reusable shopping bags, reusable stainless stee, reusable stainless steel bottles, reusable stainless steel water bottle, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, Stratford, sustainable, sustainable bottle, sustainable bottles, Tetra Pak Canada, Waste Free Lunch Challenge, waste reduction, waste reduction week, waste-free lunch, waste-free lunch bags, waste-free lunchesGreen Your Sunscreen With KINeSYS
Posted by: | CommentsAre you and your family enjoying the warm summer months? If you are then you know the importance of sunscreen for both adults and children. It’s really hard to find a sunscreen that matches your eco-friendly lifestyle, but there is a great option available. Canadian company KINeSYS has an extensive line of sunscreens that are “EcoLogo certified, clean, renewable electricity generated by Wind Power.”
In 2008 KINeSYS “made the commitment to purchase clean, carbon-free electricity generated by Alberta Wind Power to offset energy used in their manufacturing process, warehouse and office. This sustainable power is certified by EcoLogo, North America’s oldest environmental standard.” They feel that by offsetting their usage they are helping combat climate change. Everyone remembers the three R’s from elementary school reduce, reuse, and recycle. These principles are the backbone of trying to be environmentally friendly, and the foundation for KINeSYS’ business model. Their “bottles are 100% recyclable High Density Polyethylene (Bisphenol-A-free). They use cardboard that is a minimum of 40% post-consumer recycled board. The company does not use ingredients that accumulate in the body or the environment and print using vegetable-based inks when available. Beyond that they source and manufacture locally as much as possible to reduce fuel use. Conventional self-powered spray cans may not be easily recyclable due to internal bladders and the pressured container can also present special challenges when traveling by air. KINeSYS products have always used manual, finger-powered pumps. These pharmaceutical-grade sprayers disperse an ultrafine mist without the waste of powered sprays and the negatives associated with continuous style sprayers.”
It is not just the environment this company keeps in mind when manufacturing their products, but also animal welfare. They don’t test on animals and don’t use any ingredients derived from animals. “KINeSYS is a member of the Caring Consumer Program created by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to help eliminate animal abuse and cruelty. KINeSYS has joined over 600 other certified companies who have pledged to end unnecessary animal testing.”
Tags: Alberta Wind Power, animal rights, Bisphenol A, BPA, BPA-free, carbon, carbon free, eco-friendly lifestyle, eco-friendly sunscreen, EcoLogo, EcoLogo certified, environmentally friendly, greener lifestyle, KINeSYS, KINeSYS sunscreen, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, post consumer recycled, recyclable, recyclable bottles, Recycling, reduce, Reduce Reuse Recycle, renewable electricity, renewable energy, reuse, sunscreen, sustainable, sustainable bottles, sustainable power, UV protection, wind powerGreen Tip Of The Week – Pack Waste-Free Lunches
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This green tip of the week simply involves packing a waste-free lunch for your kids or for your day at work. Did you know that the average American school-age child throws away 67 pounds of packaging a year? This includes plastic water bottles, sandwich baggies, and juice boxes. With the population of kids in the US alone accounting for over 70 million, that’s over 4.6 TRILLION pounds of packaging.
Here’s some other lunch waste facts courtesy of globalstewards.org:
Plastic Bottles: U.S. citizens discard 2.5 million plastic bottles EVERY HOUR
Aluminum Foil: More than 20 million Hershey’s kisses are wrapped with 133 square miles of foil every day
Aluminum and Tin Cans: In the time it takes you to read this sentence, more than 50,000 12-oz. aluminum cans were made
Juice Boxes: Most inorganic trash retains its weight, volume, and form for at least four decades
Paper Bags and Napkins: It is estimated that 17 trees are cut down for every ton of non-recycled paper
Styrofoam: U.S. citizens throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups EVERY YEAR
It’s time to cut down on lunchtime environmental impact and pack waste-free lunches. Here’s the uncomplicated part, it’s as easy as these 5 steps:
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