Have you heard about the Pacific garbage patch or seen those pictures of birds on Midway Island that die with stomachs full of bottlecaps? This problem of plastic in our oceans is pretty serious. Here’s one way to help, and it’s pretty straightforward: Use less plastic.
Watch Laurel Herter, creator of bottlesUp Glass Water Bottles in “Girl Talk”.
Laurel Herter with BottlesUp on WHHI-TV’s “Girl Talk” Read More »
Do you know that millions of families still live in the dark? MyShelter Foundation aims to brighten up one million homes in the Philippines by 2012.
According to statistics from the National Electrification Commission in 2009, 3 million households still remain powerless outside Metro Manila. And even in the metro, families still continue to live in darkness. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has reported that a large number of fire- related incidents involve faulty electrical connections. Informal settlements are high-risk areas, since the BFP does not conduct fire hazard inspections in these communities. MyShelter envisions sharing to unprivileged communities an economically- and ecologically-sustainable source of light that will provide an immediate solution to our fellowmen’s problems.
Please check out this video and their website.
Lights Up with Solar Plastic Bottle Bulbs. Read More »
We’re always on the lookout for creative ways to reduce kill the use of plastic in innovative ways. We’ve found 3 examples we just have to share – an event, a city and a school:
At the Montréal Jazz Fesitival, the organization invited Fontaine Naya a water-bottle refilling service from Quebec-based Naya Waters designed to minimize plastic waste. For an affordable price (CAN$1.50) event patrons could simply refill their water bottles and stay hydrated while doing good for the planet. Public, outdoor events are huge consumers of plastic water bottles, this jazz festival has been carbon-neutral 2008 but this past summer they focused on water and reducing plastic consumption and trash. Their success, we hope, will inspire other event organizers to consider a water refilling stations to keep their crowds healthy and hydrated.
TapIt is a community program that enables people to refill their water bottles at participating cafés, completely free of charge in, and around, New York City (and now San Francisco and Washington, DC!). For the water-totting crowds in this city, the goal of this program is to help people stay healthy and hydrated without relying on single-use plastic bottles. And it’s so easy – restaurant or café with a soda dispenser or tap that gives clean drinking water can sign up as a partner. Thirsty consumers can find taps online or via TapIt’s iPhone app, and are provided with information on the type of water that’s available, telling discerning customers whether the water’s filtered or non-filtered, room temperature or chilled. How great is that?
In Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, the Kingswood Regional High School and Middle School a recently rebuilt middle and high school go beyond LEED certification, and for the coveted CHPS certification. Aside from new synthetic and natural turf athletic fields as well as a Geothermal Ground Heat Exchanger piping system to serve the entire campus, the new school takes advantage of natural light, LED lighting when needed, energy sensors and other energy-saving efforts. But what really stood out to us? They have been smart enough to include reusable water bottle refilling stations right by the traditional water fountains on campus. Through their efforts, they are teaching the next generation the importance, the beauty, and the need to be green in our personal and public environments.
We’re so impressed that people, communities, events and even whole cities are finding ways to encourage people to stop using single-use plastic
bottles and reuse environmentally-friendly water bottles. Now you’ve got access to water, and we’ve built the only reusable glass water bottle made from a minimum of 75% post-consumer recycled glass and ZERO plastic.
Share with us, what do you do to minimize your use of single-use plastics?
3 Creative Ways to Kill the Need for Single-Use Plastic Bottles Read More »
Sometimes the only way we get to the truth, the way we get behind the marketing, ad campaigns and propaganda is through truth-tellers. We share with you some of the best reasons to evolve beyond plastic – your health, the environment, cost savings and more. But sometimes the visual story tells us more and moves us to more urgent action. The documentary Trapped is one of those visual stories sharing the truth of your plastic bottled water. Not only are plastic bottles leaching chemicals, clogging our landfills, floating in our oceans, but the about40% of bottled water is nothing more than tap water. That’s right, the same stuff that comes out of your faucet. So check out the trailer, then check out the film and tell us what you think.
Tapped – The Real Story of Your Bottled Water Read More »
