This is the TED talk we want you to see this month – Jeanne Rizzo, the CEO of Breast Cancer Fund, speaks about the connection between plastic pollution and breast cancer. Take the time to click, watch and share. Jeanne’s talk is simply too important for every one of us.
Another reason we must stop the use of single-use plastic anything – our health matters more than convenience.
…”time past and we still didn’t know or maybe we didn’t want to know that we were creating a building blocks of cancer”…
In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we have a great offer:
Order 2 or more of either size PINK bottle and you’ll receive FREE SHIPPING.
That’s a $10- 14.00 savings!
Join us in our continued support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose mission it is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer.
As a member of their Survivors Circle Partner Program, we always contribute 5% from all of our PINK bottles to BCRF.
Check their site: www.bcrfcure.org.
While a glass bottle can be a glass bottle again or can be used again, a plastic bottle can never be a plastic bottle again.” (Dianna Cohen)
Artist Dianna Cohen shares some tough truths about plastic pollution in the ocean and in our lives — and some thoughts on how to free ourselves from the plastic gyre.
Dianna Cohen co-founded the Plastic Pollution Coalition, which is working to help end our cycle of plastics use.
Glass never fails to suprise us. It’s a material that you can hold in your hand and can hold up a building, it can be a piece of personal art, or a massive installation of grand proportions. As part of our efforts to share beauty of glass, especially in a month dedicated to glass, take a look at some of the large-scale glass installments that evoke a deep sense of wonderment.
From left to right, top to bottom:
Central St. Giles in London, England: these entirely glass facades that drape the buildings are a departure from the city’s more reserved building features.
Cascade at Adelaide Botanical Gardens, Australia: More than 500 glass pieces glued together to create this tidal wave of beauty set in the gardens.
The Louvre, Paris, France: The iconic glass pyramids are some of the most well-known art installations in the city. The Louvre has four of these pyramids, 1 large and 3 smaller ones.
Bellagio, Las Vegas, United States: The world’s largest glass sculpture in the world was created by Dave Chihuly which is on display on the ceiling of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Smaller individual scupltures are displayed together to create this sculpture that seems to extend effortlessly across the ceiling.
Preston Brandley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, United States: located in the Chicago Cultural Center is the Tiffany’s Largest Glass Dome and Skylight. It is the largest stained-glass domed ceiling in the world.
Glass Apple Store, Sydney, Australia: We all know Apple has a knack for the retail and their stores are no exception. While their store on 5th Avenue is the most photograhed location on Flickr, this store in Sydney is a feat unto itself – it features the largest seamless glass panes in the world.
Leipzieg Fair, Germany: This incredible structure, is the largest levitated glass hall, 240 meters long and 80 meters wide, with 1140 tons of glass floating above your head.
Have you seen something in glass that amazed you? Share your photo with us!
For Recycle Glass Month, I decided to find what we Americans could learn from the best practices in glass recycling from our friendly neighbors overseas. While we’re making strides, we can learn a lesson or two through these 5 examples:
In Denmark 98% of glass bottles are refillable and 98% of those are returned by consumers. Set a community, city, state or national goal and then boast the good numbers.
Glass collection points, known as Bottle Banks are very common near shopping centres, at civic amenity sites and in local neighborhoods in the United Kingdom. They opened the first one 34 years ago in 1977 and now more than 50,000 Bottle Banks are around the country. Make glass recycling convenient by putting in collection points in more places instead of only relying on curbside programs alone.
Recycling Bins in the United Kingdom
In Switzerland, bottle banks at every supermarket, with separate slots for clear, green and brown glass. But the Swiss take it further, there is a strong financial incentive. Recycling is free, but in most parts of Switzerland throwing away trash costs money – each trash bag has to have a sticker on it, and each sticker costs at
least 1 euro (60 pence). So the less you throw out, the less you pay and hence the incentive to recycle. You’ll like this: No sticker? Then the trash will be left outside your house to rot. And how well does it work? Take a look at plastic PET bottles which are the most common drinks containers in Switzerland, and 80% of them are recycled – far higher than the European average of 20 to 40%. Include financial incentives that reward people for recycling and reducing waste going into our landfills. Or financial disincentives for those that trash materials that could be easily recycled.
Germans, already known for their organization and dedication to the environment, boast that around 90% of Germans are willing to sort out their rubbish and do so. Germany offers color-coded recycle bins for paper, glass, plastic, metals, bio (food waste), packaging and then a black box for materials that cannot be recycled. Good design matters. Use colors and/or shapes to help consumers more easily sort their recycled materials. If people are willing to sort their trash, make it easy for them to do so.
Spain targets companies that use glass in their products. Spanish law demands that food and drink companies must pay for the cost of recycling the glass that their products are sold in. This gives a thriving market for private companies to specialize in glass collection, sorting and re-processing. While there are lots of ways to boost consumers to be more environmentally-responsible. Consider financial incentives for companies to source, reclaim and recycle the content they use in packaging their products.
What else you think we could do to boost glass recycling in the U.S.?
