Sustainability Archives - Page 5 of 13 - Clairemont Communications

Green Thought Thursday: Green with Envy

December 8, 2011January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, SustainabilityGoodwill, Green fashion, recycling clothes, thrift store

photo(3) — This is the shirt Dana gave me -- don't you dig its pom-pom fringe?

Can you guess which pieces of my wardrobe get the most compliments and make my friends go green with envy (pun definitely intended)? All of my thrifty finds and hand-me-downs, of course!

If you read my previous Green Thought Thursday, Feeling Thrifty?, then you know that I am a big-time thrift store shopper — I just love the thrill of the hunt! You would also know that by shopping at thrift stores and recycling clothes, you’re keeping millions of pounds of textile clothing out of landfills each year. Goodwill Industries alone reported saving roughly 33,136,946 pounds of clothing from going into landfills in 2010!

Recently, I was the recipient of yet another awesome hand-me-down when Dana gave me a shirt that she found at a thrift store many years ago. What’s cool about it? It’s handmade out of an old sheet! Sound weird? I think not. It’s actually quite stylish.

We recently stumbled upon this little gem in InStyle — it’s a Tory Burch scarf with pom-pom fringe sported by none other than Blake Lively. The shirt Dana gave me also has pom-pom fringe, and when cinched in the middle with a cute belt, this piece also makes quite a statement.

Found something worth bragging about at a thrift store? I’d love to hear your stories (and be green with envy, too)! Do share!

Green Thought Thursday: Leaf Me Hangin’ On

November 17, 2011January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, SustainabilityCity of Raleigh, clean-up, disposal, Fall, Green, leaves, National Geographic, pick-up, Yard Waste Recycling Center1 Comment

13041_743059765138_2723161_43767803_5698486_n — Leaves on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I can’t think of anything that I love more than the beautiful array of colorful leaves on the trees. But once those leaves fall off, it’s a different story.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoy raking leaves (it’s great exercise)! It’s what happens to those leaves after I rake them up that really puzzles me (or should I say, it leaves me hanging on?). On the one hand, I could bag the leaves up and put them on the side of the road for pick-up – these leaves will head straight to the landfill. Or, I could opt to burn my leaves – this can also be bad for the environment, cause irritation to your respiratory system and even contains cancer-causing agents (thanks for the tip, Nat Geo)! For today’s Green Thought Thursday, I want to share a few different options with you on how to go green during your fall yard clean-up.

Skip the leaf blower and grab a rake. It’s a pollution-free alternative!
Rake leaves into a pile and leave them there. The pile will eventually decompose, and you’ll have a nice source of fertilizer.
Mow your lawn. Sure, you’ll need to use a little gasoline to get the process going, but shredded leaves will decompose quickly and do a nice job of fertilizing and insulating your lawn.
Collect leaves into compostable bags and take them to your local community yard waste collection center (if you live in Raleigh, check out the City of Raleigh’s Yard Waste Recycling Center on New Hope Road) – they’ll compost the leaves into fertilizer for you!

Does anyone else have any great (and green) ideas on how to get rid of leaves? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Green Thought Thursday: The Rules of Recycling

November 10, 2011January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, SustainabilityCan Recycle, Cannot Recycle, Green, Raleigh Recycling Division2 Comments

photo(26) — Our giant recycling bin at the Longview Center -- a thing of beauty!

Green Thought Thursday is a regular feature all about the baby steps we can take to protect our Mother Earth.

I can’t tell you how many Post-it Notes I’ve picked out of recycling bins. Hundreds, at least. And no, it’s not because I have some weird obsession with them (though, we do love them at Clairemont). It’s because in the city of Raleigh and everywhere else, you cannot recycle them.

Really.

I think you’d be surprised to learn what you can and cannot recycle here in Raleigh — I know I was. And that’s why I wanted to dedicate this Green Thought Thursday to listing those things out. According to the Raleigh Recycling Division, you can recycle the following:

Newspapers and inserts
White and colored paper (that’s not too bright)
Open junk mail
Old phone books
Magazines and catalogs
Paperboard, chipboard, SBS board and tubes (think cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, shipping tubes, etc.)
Corrugated cardboard
Glass bottles and containers
Plastic items (coded No. 1-5 and No. 7)
Plastic bottles with a neck (soda bottles, peanut butter jars, laundry detergant bottles)
Gable-top cartons (milk cartons and the like)
Juice boxes
Aluminum foil and food trays (that are clean!)
Plastic beverage rings
Cans, of course!

Things you cannot recycle:

Post-it Notes (and other paper with adhesive backing)
Bold- or neon-colored paper
Paper with staples
Checkbooks or books
Carbon paper
Napkins, tissues or paper towels
Plastic bags
Boxes with wax coatings
Aerosol cans
Auto batteries
Containers that once contained hazardous materials (like fertilizers, auto fluids, etc.)
Egg cartons
Non-food cans and non-food glass containers
Pizza boxes
Frozen food trays
Containers made of thin, brittle plastic (these can really mess up the sorting process)

For a more complete list, visit the Raleigh Recyling Division’s website by clicking here. The site also does a great job of listing out alternative drop-off locations for your unwanted items so that they won’t end up in a landfill. A final thought from our friends there: “You can help recycling markets by buying products MADE from recycled materials. We have to close the loop, BUY RECYCLED!”

What are some of your favorite post-consumer recycled products? We sure do love our Staples recycled copy paper (and we don’t even mind paying a little extra for it)!

Green Thought Thursday: It’s not easy being green, or is it?

November 3, 2011January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability2 Comments

Kermit on his visit at Briar Chapel! — Kermit during his visit to Briar Chapel!

Enough with all the hype, Miss Piggy! Who’s my favorite Muppet? Why, it’s Kermit, of course!

And who couldn’t love this green little guy? Miss Piggy certainly can’t resist him (she told us in a recent interview), and our friends over at Briar Chapel (client), can’t either! In fact, the Briar Chapel team loves Kermit so much, they’ve written a blog (or two) about him. For today’s Green Thought Thursday, I’d like to re-share some of their ideas, as well as come up with a few of my own, on how to incorporate green living into your everyday lifestyle. And don’t let Kermit fool you — sometimes, it is easy being green.

Install EPA-approved WaterSense fixtures for your faucets, shower heads and toilets. You’ll save lots of water!
Grow a rain garden to alleviate storm water run-off. You won’t be sorry — they can be beautiful little sanctuaries!
Catch, store and recirculate rain water. It can be used for irrigation.
Conduct a blower door test on your home. You’ll be able to pinpoint leaky cracks and drafty windows.
Insulate your hot water heater. This is one of the biggest energy consumers in your home! (And don’t forget the pipes!)
Weather-strip your doors and windows. It’s a cheap way to save even more on your electric bill.

Now it’s your turn. What are some ways you save green by going green in and around your home? Kermit sure could use some reassurance (he doesn’t have a lot of self confidence….Poor guy).

Green Thought Thursday: Recycle Your Halloween Costumes!

October 27, 2011January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability2 Comments

Halloween is just around the corner, and in typical fashion, I have yet to put together a costume. The good news is that because I’m running so late, I don’t really have a choice but to go green with my costume this year (and you should, too)!

Did you know that 12,500 tons of used Halloween costumes end up in the landfill each year? That’s why the folks over at Green Halloween® and Swap.com teamed up to start National Costume Swap Day. Hundreds of families across the country gathered to swap out old costumes for “new” ones. It’s never too late to call friends and have a mini-swap day of your own.

Hoping to go even greener this Halloween? Make your costume out of recyclable materials like plastic bottles and paper products. Nearby N.C. State is hosting a recycled Halloween costume contest as part of its Campus Sustainability Day. Winners will receive special goodie packages including tickets to local concerts. Sounds like fun, eh?

Now it’s your turn. Tell me your ideas. What makes for a clever Halloween costume, especially if it involves simple things you can find in your recycling bin? Share your comments below. Happy Halloween!