Crazy Crayons

Millions of broken crayons are thrown away every day! Now that we are nearing the end of the school year (yay!), you're probably getting rid of some of your old school supplies. Crazy Crayons, a Wisconsin-based company, recycles your crayons for you. Their website states the importance of crayon recycling:

"More than 12 Million Crayons are made in the US, every day! 100 new crayons equals about one pounds, lets do some math. 12 Million Crayons equals about 120,000 pounds. That's 60 Tons of Crayons made every day with petroleum based wax that eventually ends up in our landfills when they don't have to!"

The crayon recycling program has collected over 62,000 pounds of unwanted crayons since the program started. When the shipments of crayons arrive to be recycled, the boxes of crayons are sorted at a center that employs people with developmental disabilities. Then they get melted down, strained, sterilized, and hand poured into beautiful new crayons!

Set up a recycling collection box in your school, place of worship, or community center and join in this great recycling program. Or if you have a lot of old crayons, pack them all in a box and send them in!

To learn more, visit their website: crazycrayons.com

Easy Ways to Make Less Trash

The average American creates 4.6 pounds of trash each day, and that really piles up! All our trash in the landfills emits a gas called methane, which is the second biggest cause of global warming. And some of the trash we make gets to the ocean, which has created a huge garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean.
To reduce your impact on the landfill, try some of these following tips:

• Compost kitchen and yard scraps (how to available here)
• Bring reusable bags to the grocery store
• Switch from a paper lunch bag to a reusable lunch box
• Donate stuff you don't want anymore (but is still in good condition) to a thrift store, or sell it on craigslist or ebay.
• Keep something in your car to bring extra food from restaurants home with (instead of the disposable styrofoam containers)
• Try to buy things with as little packaging as possible. 
• Bring a reusable cup to Starbucks
• Avoid bottled water. Use a reusable water bottle instead (check out these cool designs)
• Use reusable containers instead of Ziploc bags
• Recycle! 
• Use reusable plates, silverware, and cups while eating
• When buying things, think about 
• will this break soon or will it last a long time?
• does this have excessive packaging?
• can I borrow or rent this instead?
• can I recycle this when I'm done with it?

This doesn't seem like much, but if everyone did these things, think how much a difference it would make!

For more tips, visit:

No Impact Man
Green Garbage Project
Gaiam Life
A zero waste family

Comment with your own tips and ideas! :)

Creative Upcycling!

Check out these photos about people who used recycled materials to create sweet things:

A prom dress made entirely out of Skittles wrappers

Earrings from circuit boards (sorry for bad photo quality)

Products made from a European airline's discarded womens' uniforms

A bed's headboard  made from books

A wall made from recycled beer bottles

A dress made mostly from old fairy tale books

They Say it Better than I Can

So, here are some interesting quotes about environmentalism. :)

"It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill.  It was yours."  -Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990

 "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

“I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?”- Robert Redford 

“Trying to save ecosystems has more to do with changing egosystems.”  -Don Rittner

And good slogans (they really make you think!)

Trees don't grow on money either

When you refuse to reuse it’s our Earth you abuse

Modern technology owes ecology an apology.

It’s only good until the last drop, then what?

May the Forest be with you

For more environmental slogans, visit http://www.thinkslogans.com/slogans/environmental-slogans/
 

Funny Recyling Commercial