Making Christmas easier on the environment shouldn’t mean missing out. Follow our simple guide to your greenest Christmas yet. In the rush to stock up on last-minute Christmas essentials, spare a thought for the eco-friendliness of the contents of your trolley. With a few simple swaps, a little forward planning and some essential recycling know-how […]

‘Tis the season for holiday parties, mountains of wrapping paper and lots and lots of trash. Luckily, there are many items used around the holidays that can be recycled. There are also, however, just as many items that can’t be recycled at your local processing plant because they damage machines. Items like Christmas lights, ribbons […]

Turn patterned card stock into three-dimensional ornaments in just 7 steps. Match the papers’ colors and patterns to your home’s decor or choose holiday-specific patterns and use the paper ornaments, instead of a traditional bow, to top wrapped gifts. Materials Needed: assorted patterned card stock large, scallop-edge circle punch repositionable adhesive dots or double-sided tape […]

Almost two dozen neighborhoods in the South Hills will see a change in their recycling process in the new year. Because of a contract with Waste Management, people in neighborhoods including Bethel Park, Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon, among others, will no longer be permitted to put glass in their recycling bins. Some plastics also won’t be accepted, […]

We’re deep in the holiday season now, but once Christmas has passed, it’ll be time to lug that real tree out of the house and figure out what to do with it now after it’s been sitting in your house for weeks. Instead of sending it to the landfill, try a more eco-friendly option.   […]

Turn an assortment of past-their-prime men’s shirts with pockets into a colorful holiday countdown the kids will love. Materials Needed: pocketed men’s dress shirts buttons needle and thread sewing machine fabric scissors linen or cotton duck fabric by the yard felt numerical stencils black marker spool of 3/4-inch canvas banding iron iron-on adhesive tape Cut […]

Legislation that is being introduced to the City Department of Public Works on Tuesday would allow city residents to responsibly recycle electronic and hazardous waste. The legislation would contract with Environmental Coordination Services & Recycling Inc. to provide curbside and drop-off options for residents who want to recycle items like televisions, computers, paint and chemicals. […]

London-based designers Rowan Minkley and Robert Nicoll use waste potato peelings to create an eco-friendly alternative to single-use materials like MDF and chipboard, called Chip[s] Board. Shocked by the environmental impact and short lifespan of many readily disposable materials, Minkley and Nicoll set out to develop a material that, if thrown out in the same […]

Christmas chocolate packaging can make up almost half the product’s total weight, and cause “confusion” when recycling, according to new research by Which? The Ferrero Rocher Collection tray was the worst offender, with 42 per cent of its total weight taken up by packaging, while just 11 per cent was recyclable. At the other end […]

The Swim may be over, but the cause for which Ben Lecomte tried to swim across the Pacific Ocean remains as important as ever. Lecomte logged about 1,700 miles in the water, using the effort to bring attention to the growing problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. He and the crew had persevered […]