Businesses to donate unused food under Gainesville’s ‘zero waste’ rule

Good News Notes: “Restaurants and grocery stores will be required to donate food they don’t use to food pantries or turn it into compost instead of throwing it in the dumpster under one of several of Gainesville’s new sweeping zero waste ordinances. Those requirements are among one of three proposed laws approved by the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday….

Brooklyn native turns single-use plastic bags into reusable totes

Good News Notes: “Meet Alex Dabagh, the founder of aNYbag, the company turning New York City’s plastic trash into luxury totes. Plastic has been a blessing and burden for humankind. The artificial material can create inexpensive and useful goods, but most plastics outlive humans. It takes plastic bags anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years to decompose in landfills. Many…

Lasso Is a Home Recycling Machine to Fix Our Recycling Problem

Good News Notes: “Recycling is something many of us take for granted, assuming what we throw in the bin ends up getting recycled properly. But current curbside systems aren’t particularly effective, especially if the material isn’t clean or a plastic isn’t actually recyclable, so much of what goes into your blue bin can end up in landfill. Enter…

Coors Light Ditching Plastic Rings from Packaging

Good News Notes: “Coors Light is making a big change for the environment. On Tuesday, the beer brand announced it would be eliminating plastic rings from its packaging globally, transitioning to fully recyclable and sustainably sourced cardboard-wrap carriers later this year. It’s not the first time Coors has been on the cutting edge of change….

Refillery store offers zero-waste products

Good News Notes: “A new store in Iron Mountain is helping reduce the amount of waste you put into the world. Verde Refillery offers zero waste, zero plastic products and it features a refill section for a variety of cleaning products. The store says they buy items in bulk which can help the environment by…

7 Creative DIY Wine Rack Ideas That Use Upcycled Materials

Good News Notes: “DIY-ing your home decor is not only a fun project, but it also makes for a great conversation piece. You get to show off your creativity and crafting skills while also making something you can enjoy in your home. And now, you can make a DIY wine rack using upcycled materials. Upcycling is the process of…

Recycling Soda Bottles Into Filament To Print Smaller Soda Bottles

Good News Notes: “…Soda bottles are usually made out of PET plastic, or polyethylene terephthalate, which is one of the most popular thermoplastics in modern society. A soda bottle can be cut into a continuous long, thin strip with the use of a simple hand-operated machine that slices the bottle with a blade. This strip…

Microbes Are Evolving to Eat Plastic Pollution, Study Shows

Good News Notes: “Millions of years ago, evolution turned tiny microbes into multicellular plants, animals, and humans. Now, evolution is turning them into something equally remarkable: environmentalists. So finds a new study from researchers at Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology.1 Published this month in the scientific journal mBIO, it found plastic waste is giving rise to a growing…

New refill store aims to reduce consumer reliance on disposable plastics

Good News Notes: “Plastics are everywhere, from shampoo to conditioner, to household cleaners. All of those containers result in a lot of material that eventually end up in the landfill or recycling. Now, a new store in Medicine Hat aims to reduce the amount of plastics by encouraging customers to refill instead of throw out….

St. Clair Shores women hope to impact the environment

Good News Notes: “Although Refill Emporium is less than a year old, its zero-waste focus is a throwback to the way things used to be. The company’s products take a step back to the time before seemingly every item was packaged in disposable plastic containers, before paper towels replaced cloth dish towels, and when a…