Drop-off sites - Check Earth911.com to find where you can find polystyrene recycling in your area. Make sure to call local sites beforehand to make sure EPS is accepted and in what form. If they do take EPS, most accept packing materials but not food or medical containers. Bring empty containers free of tape, labels, plastic film, etc. As you know, contaminants can ruin the recycling process.
Here's some things you may want to try before reaching for that can of insecticide, depending on the application:
- Pouring lemon juice around areas ants frequent.
- Sprinkle cinnamon or place in cheesecloth bags in affected areas.
- Baking soda can deter ants - pour a solid line in areas of activity and they won't cross it.
- A ring of coffee grounds around sensitive plants can discourage ants.
- A puree blend of orange peel and water can be applied to an area to discourage ants from crossing.
- Ants hate vinegar; so spray it around doorways and other areas they frequent to repel them. A small container of vinegar mixed with honey placed in affected areas appears to do the trick too.
- Baby powder stops them dead in their tracks.
- Pouring boiling water over their tracks (destroys the scent trail)
- Sprinkle a circle of ground cloves around the pet food bowls
- Remove rocks and wood from around the garden
- Plant mint around vegetable patches, flower beds and around the house
- Citrus oil is a good deterrent; it can be soaked into a piece of string and placed around scent trails.
- Use a piece of chalk to draw a line over trails - again, the ants won't cross it. Chalk also has the advantage of being able to be used on vertical surfaces
- Make a sugar trail away from the house to your compost pile, they will find a greater feast there. It works!
Ants invade for a reason - usually for food or water, so be sure to keep food items well secured and clean up after you prepare food. Also check plumbing for leaks, particularly under sinks. Dead insects can attract large numbers of ants, so check window sills and other areas where they may accumulate.
CALPHALON: It's easy to start your Calphalon collection right now! Simply register for $500 dollars or more in qualifying** Calphalon cookware, bakeware, cutlery or kitchen accessories. Complete and submit the form below to receive your free gift - a Santoku Cutlery Gift. [US]
CLUB WEDD WELCOME KIT: Get a FREE Welcome Kit when you Create a Target Club Wedd Registry!
It was cool in the '90s and it's cool again. Buying used is the ultimate way to keep your closet’s carbon footprint small. But stepping out of a Goodwill or a used-jeans store doesn’t mean that you’ll have to dress in some grungy plaid or frumpy floral. If you’re intent on maintaining your fashionista rep or hipster clout, scour flea markets and vintage boutiques for designer labels and edgy pieces that fit in with your personal style. For those who’d rather not drive to the store, there are plenty of online shops where you find your dream green outfit.
The U.S. Postal Service is launching a free, recycle-by-mail program. In 10 regions, you can use free envelopes to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players - without having to pay for postage.
Let worms eat your organic waste! They will happily turn it into some of the best fertilizer on earth - worm compost, otherwise known as “worm castings” or “vermicompost.” A fascinating, fun and easy way to recycle your organic kitchen wastes, vermiculture:
Only a few things are needed to make good worm compost: a bin, bedding, worms and worm food. By following these steps, you will learn to make, maintain and use your own worm compost.
Signing up for online bill paying is easy and doesn’t take much time. You can either choose to have certain bills paid automatically each month or elect to review and pay each bill yourself. Either way, you will receive outstanding returns on your small investment of time.
Here is a great chart seen in The Washington Monthly* that shows just how absurd Republican complaints about Obama's budget are. Check it out and pass it on:
1. The British Navy is said to have built a ship named Friday the 13th, or the HMS Friday, which on its maiden voyage left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again. As LiveScience readers pointed out, however, this story seems to be a legend. The Royal Navy Museum states on its web site that this story, which has been told before, is a hoax. "There has never been a Royal Navy ship named HMS Friday - or after any other day of the week for that matter," the museum states.
2. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13). And the explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13 (not a Friday). The crew did make it back to Earth safely, however.
3. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.
4. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback (some call him one of the best ever), he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and was trounced 38-16 by the San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana (who wore No. 16 and won all four Super Bowls he played in).
6. Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.
7. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.
8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
9. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
10. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."
11. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number, though his experience didn't support such faith. He arrived in Normandy, France on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918, for peace talks, only to return with a treaty he couldn't get Congress to sign. (The ship's crew wanted to dock the next day due to superstitions, Fernsler said.) He toured the United States to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near-fatal stroke.
12. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
13. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation.
I want this SoilSaver Classic Composter from Sam's Club, it costs around $40.
Many people assume that pizza boxes are recyclable. In fact, most boxes have recycling symbols on them and are traditionally made from corrugated cardboard. They are, in and of themselves, recyclable.
However, what makes parts of them non-recyclable is the hot, tasty treat that comes inside them, specifically, the grease and cheese from pizza that soil the cardboard.
So there you have it, pizza boxes that are tarnished with food, or any paper product that is stained with grease or food, are not recyclable - unless you remove the tainted portions.
But why is this? And what are the implications for the general, pizza-loving public? Mmm, pizza.
How it Gets Recycled
Food is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process. Grease and oil are not as big of a problem for plastic, metal and glass, as those materials are recycled using a heat process. But when paper products, like cardboard, are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a slurry. Since we all know water and oil don’t mix, the issue is clear.
Grease from pizza boxes causes oil to form at the top of the slurry, and paper fibers cannot separate from oils during the pulping process. Essentially, this contaminant causes the entire batch to be ruined. This is the reason that other food related items are non-recyclable (used paper plates, used napkins, used paper towels, etc).
“The oil gets in when you’re doing your process of making paper,” said Terry Gellenbeck, a solid waste administrative analyst for the City of Phoenix, Ariz. “The oil causes great problems for the quality of the paper, especially the binding of the fibers. It puts in contaminants, so when they do squeeze the water out, it has spots and holes.” But what about other things regularly found on paper products, like ink? “Most inks are not petroleum-based so they break down fast. Food is a big problem,” he said.
Also, be mindful of adhesives that may be on the pizza box (coupons, stickers, etc.) as those are contaminants. Known as “pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs)” these can ruin the recycling process just as much as oil or food remains.
Sneaks
Many people admit trying to “sneak” their pizza boxes in with cardboard boxes and such. In reality, this does more harm than good as the contaminated cardboard could ruin the whole recycling batch.
In fact, contamination in the recycling business is a big problem. Some estimates put the costs of irresponsible contamination in the neighborhood of $700 million per year industry-wide. Gellenbeck estimates that for the City of Phoenix, contamination costs them around $1 million annually, because of damage to machinery, disposal costs for the non-recyclable material and wasted time, materials and efficiency. With the City processing 129,000 tons of materials in 2008 (around 7 percent of this is cardboard), money is an important factor as to why residents should know what their municipalities do and do not accept.
So, What Do I Do?
The easiest remedy for this problem is to cut or tear out the soiled portions of your pizza boxes and trash them. For example, you can tear the top of the box off, recycle that and throw away the bottom part containing the grease. If the entire box is grease-free, the whole box can be recycled with a guilt-free conscience.
Another option to recycling cardboard is to compost it, although the grease rule still applies here as well. “Even with oils, you shouldn’t compost [greased cardboard]. It causes rotting, you get more bugs and smell and it’s just not good for the plants,” said Gellenbeck.
Most importantly, being well-versed on what your local recyclers accept, can make the biggest difference. “It all depends on where your processor sends your paper, too,” said Gellenbeck, whos authority applies only to the City of Phoenix. “If you can keep a particular thing like the food out, the plastics out, all those things that really shouldn’t be there, it would help.”
Lori Brown is a staff member of Earth 911.
The idea is to get together with people in your local community and make reusable cloth bags (from old duvet covers, curtains from charity shops etc) and hand them out to the unsuspecting public for free on specified dates outside different supermarkets.
Go to www.morsbags.com to be a part of a wonderful thing!
 Why Recycle?We know recycling is beneficial, but here are some facts (some may be startling) that may make you think seriously about the importance of recycling. 1. About 40% of the waste in the U.S. is paper, but nationwide we only recycle about 25-30% of our paper waste.2. Americans throw away close to the equivalent of 30 million trees a year, just from newsprint alone. 3. In America we discard enough motor oil per year to fill 120 supertankers.4. In the United States right now, landfills are filling up and closing at the rate of approximately 2 a day. 5. By recycling an aluminum can per day we can save enough energy to operate a television set for 3 hours.6. A glass bottle thrown away today will still be there in the year 3000. 7. In the United States, one in every six trucks is a garbage truck.8. You would be able to circle the earth 436 times per year with the Styrofoam cups that are used in the United States. These statistics are accurate and valid; they help to illustrate the importance of recycling in the United States. Start taking an active role in helping your community recycle and better your environment and prevent global warming. |
The AMERICAN IDOL Top 13 finalists are:
Kris Allen (23) – Currently lives in Conway, AR, but grew up in Jacksonville, AR. Allen is a student at the University of Central Arkansas. He has been singing and playing the guitar since he was 13 years old.Megan Joy Corkrey (23) – Corkrey lives in Sandy, UT, with her 2-year-old son, Ryder. She has been singing since age 3, and is a self-professed “foodie.”
Anoop Desai (22) – Born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC. Desai is working on his master’s degree at the University of North Carolina. During his undergraduate years, he was a member of the UNC Clef Hangers, an a cappella group.Matt Giraud (23) – Currently lives in Kalamazoo, MI, but grew up in Ypsilanti, MI. Giraud is a life-long resident of Michigan who graduated from Western Michigan University in 2007. He sings and plays piano in local clubs and hotels.
Danny Gokey (28) – Raised and currently lives in Milwaukee, WI. Gokey is the president and founder of a non-profit organization. In addition to singing, he plays the piano and loves salsa dancing.Alexis Grace (21) – Born and raised in Memphis, TN. Grace has been singing since she was 7 years old. She was a member of the Concert Choir at the University of Memphis, and enjoys dancing, playing the guitar and taking care of her daughter.
Allison Iraheta (16) – Currently lives in Downey, CA, but originally from Los Angeles, CA. Iraheta is a junior in high school who began singing at age 5. She also enjoys playing the guitar.Adam Lambert (27) – Lambert grew up in San Diego but currently lives in Hollywood. He began singing at age 10, and has been involved with musical theater for the past eight years.
Scott MacIntyre (23) – Born and raised in Scottsdale, AZ. MacIntyre earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University at age 19, and attended graduate school in London, England. He also plays piano, guitar and drums.Jasmine Murray (17) – Murray lives in Starkville, MS, and attends The Mississippi School of the Arts. She loves being on stage and has been singing since she was 3 years old.
Jorge Nuñez (21) – Currently resides in Carolina, Puerto Rico, but originally from Cidra, Puerto Rico. Nuñez is in his fourth year at the University of Puerto Rico, RÃo Piedras. In addition to English and Spanish, Nuñez is also fluent in French.Lil Rounds (24) – Rounds was raised and currently lives in Memphis, TN, with her husband and three children. Music has always been a part of her life, and she began singing when she was 3 years old.
Michael Sarver (27) – Raised and currently lives in Jasper, TX. Sarver is married with two children and works on an oil rig. He has always dreamed of being a singer/songwriter. Sarver also plays the piano, drums and guitar.
If you don't (and a lot of us don't) already recycle your toilet paper tubes, try making it a habit. A family of four uses about 240 rolls per year - add up all those tubes, and it's a lot of landfill space. It's tempting to just throw them out, but there are tricks that make recycling a little more convenient.
Keep a separate basket just for recyclable paper next to the trash can in your bathroom.
If you've got a plunger next to the toilet, you can put the rolls onto the handle and stack them until they reach the top of the handle, then transfer them to your recycle bin.
When you reach for a new roll, put the old tube into the bag or box the toilet paper came in, and keep it up until all the new rolls are gone.
Hold up on requesting a receipt at the ATM, gas pump, checkout stand, and anywhere else where you have the choice.
If you have or know a child who wants to help stop Alaska’s aerial wolf killing programs, please encourage him or her (and their parents or legal guardians) to visit the Kids Care page on our Eye on Palin campaign website to send their own illustrated message to Governor Palin.
The plan:
P.S. Turns out there are way more than 10 amazing things in Obama's budget.
