Quick, off the top of your head what percentage of plastic bottles do you think the U.S. collects for recycling? 50%? Nah, Europe doesn’t even reach that, coming in at 48.3%. For the U.S., try more like 30% (29.1% to be exact), according to a report released by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling. Japan, on [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Plastic’
Japan Has World’s Highest Plastic Bottle Recycling Rate; Puts the U.S. to Shame
February 15th, 2012 
Justin Manger 
Posted in Behavior, Green Economy, Japan, Justin Manger, News, Policy, Recylcing, Sustainability 
Tags: Environment, Plastic 
No Comments »Book Review: Elizabeth Royte’s Bottlemania
January 16th, 2012 Eric Wilson Bottlemania marks the second book that I’ve read (and now reviewed) written by Elizabeth Royte. Much like Garbage Land, Royte’s first book I read, Bottlemania has a fluid narrative. Royte does a wonderful job of weaving the story of one town’s relationship with bottled water into a larger discussion of the resource turned commodity. In [...]
Seattle Joins Washington DC in Banning Plastic Bags
January 4th, 2012 Eric Wilson Effective in July 2012, plastic bags will be banned in Seattle. This marks the latest in a series of plastic bag bans. Last year California attempted to pass a statewide ban, but to no avail. However, Washington DC has had a ban in place for a few years now. For a list of the pros [...]
Posted in Conservation, Eric Wilson, News Tags: California, Landfill, Plastic, Washington DC No Comments »Pepsi and Coke Aim for Viable 100% Plant-Based Bottles
December 21st, 2011 Eric Wilson Following up on yesterday’s mention of the advances by Coca-Cola in Japan, a recent New York Times article describes the latest efforts by both Coke and Pepsi to use 100% plant based bottles. In reading Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte (the book review is coming soon, I am almost finished), the battle over which beverage company [...]
Five Friday Facts: The Rise of Bottled Water
November 25th, 2011 Eric Wilson The following set of facts come from Elizabeth Royte’s Bottlemania. This is the third set of facts that have been used for the Five Friday Facts. Click here for the first one. For the second set, click here. According to restaurant consultant Clark Wolf, the restaurant industry revenue from bottled water sales is between $200 [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts, Recylcing Tags: Beer, Elizabeth Royte, Plastic, Water No Comments »Five Friday Facts: The Bottled Water Industry
November 11th, 2011 Eric Wilson The following set of facts come from Elizabeth Royte’s Bottlemania. This is the second set of facts that have been used for the Five Friday Facts. Click here for the previous one. Between 1990 and 1997, U.S. sales of bottled water shot from $115 million to $4 billion. They grew another 170% between 1997 and [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts, Recylcing Tags: Elizabeth Royte, EPA, Plastic, Water No Comments »Four Friday Facts: Drinking Water
May 13th, 2011 Eric Wilson In yesterday’s post about the EZH2O water dispenser from Elkay comes the following facts about drinking water. According to Food & Water Watch, more than 17 million barrels of oil — enough to fuel one million cars for a year– are needed to produce the plastic water bottles sold in the United States annually. – [...]
Elkay Companies’ EZH2O Water Dispenser
May 12th, 2011 Eric Wilson Arguably the most visible sign of waste are the plastic bottles that can be seen strewn about beaches, classrooms, and airports alike. Water dispensers (picture the old fashion water coolers without the large, five gallon jugs on top) have started replacing water fountains and water coolers in offices and other spaces. Elkay Companies which makes [...]
Paper or Plastic?
January 20th, 2011 Chris DeArmond As more people have become frustrated by the sight of plastic bags in streets and along the coasts, legislators have proposed bans and taxes to mollify angry voters. Most recently, Italy made headlines when it decided to ban shopkeepers from handing out plastic bags to customers. You can also read a 2nd Green Revolution article [...]
Posted in Behavior, Business, Conservation, Policy Tags: Chris DeArmond, Energy Conservation, Environment, Plastic 1 Comment »Electrolux Announces Their “Vac from the Sea” Project
June 27th, 2010 Eric Wilson On occasion we get emails from various people, groups, companies, or organizations informing us of news, products, or innovations in the second green revolution. Some of these emails come across as less than legitimate, some are difficult to determine, and others appear to be extremely unique, valuable messages about worthwhile topics. Today’s post falls somewhere [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Green Products, Recylcing Tags: Biomimicry, Cradle to Cradle, Plastic, Waste No Comments »
