Sustainable Living

A Mediaplanet Guide to Managing Waste at Home

Sustainable Living

Nicole Curtis The HGTV star discusses the sustainability of flipping houses

The easiest ways to make your home more energy efficient Kathryn Kellogg shares five simple tips for living sustainably

SEPTEMBER 2021 | IMPACTINGOURFUTURE.COM

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How You Can Care for Your Oral Health and the Environment

Dr. Nigel Carter OBE Chief Executive, Oral Health Foundation

When we think about how we care for our mouth, it might be easy to think that there is little in common between our oral health and the environment — but that’s not quite true. In addition to turning o�f the tap when brushing (which saves a staggering 12 liters of water each time), there’s an important connection that applies to all of us — and it revolves around our toothbrush.

Toothbrushes form a part of our daily routine. Twice a day, morning and night, for two minutes, they help clean our teeth and keep our mouth healthy. Despite this, the shelf-life of a toothbrush is a relatively short one. In theory, we should only use each one 180 times, for a total of six hours over a period of three months.

This means that in the United States, around 1.5 billion toothbrushes are bought and discarded every year, with the vast majority of them ending up in a landfill and sometimes our oceans. That’s a very big pile of plastic.

So, what can we do about it? Well, the answer is more than you think.

Sourcing the right materials When it comes to sustainable source materials for oral health products, using recycled plastics for toothbrushes may come to mind. However,

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it’s not always a good solution. This is because some recycled plastics may contain hazardous materials that cannot come into contact with the mouth.

Instead, we’re seeing manufacturers embrace an exciting shift in the use of renewable plastics like bio-based plastic. These are made from plants such as sugar cane and the castor oil plant. These bioplastics are helping manufacturers move away from fossil-based plastics and create a smaller carbon footprint.

Oral health companies are also looking at new materials for their bristles. Currently, most nylon used is non-biodegradable and a stumbling block when it comes to a toothbrush’s recyclability. Nylon 4 is biodegradable and shows some promise, so I suspect it won’t be long until we see viable alternatives.

Reusing our plastics While companies are looking for ways to make oral health products more sustainable and environmentally friendly, there’s also things we can do to help as consumers. Reusing oral health products, such as toothbrushes, is a great way to extend their life and ensure you get the most out of them.

Our findings show that 80 percent of people use their old toothbrush for an alternative purpose, which is great for the environment. Not surprisingly, cleaning is the most common theme.

Scrubbing bathroom tiles is the most popular use at 40 percent. 28 percent of us use our past toothbrushes to assist in cleaning various kitchen appliances, more than a quarter use them to give an extra glimmer to our jewelry, and 18 percent use the oral hygiene product to shine shoes.

Other popular uses include cleaning

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bike and car wheels, computer keyboards, toilets and toilets seats, fish tanks, and fingernails. A clean sweep all around!

A promising future While there is still a lot of work to be done, I hope this article has given you some reasons to smile and have hope for the future. We’re seeing some fantastic innovation in the oral health industry, including commitments from a number of manufacturers to reach for carbon neutrality in products and packaging over the next few years. As consumers, we can help by letting companies know that the sustainability and environmental impact of their products matters.

Ultimately, we want to live in a world where everyone has access to tools that can help them maintain good oral health. It is important this does not come at the expense of the environment. n

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Publisher David Wagner & Danielle Elbert Business Developer Gretchen Pancak Managing Director Luciana Olson Lead Designer Ti�fany Pryor Designer Kayla Mendez Lead Editor Mina Fanous Copy Editor Taylor Rice Director of Content and Production Jordan Hernandez Cover Photo Laurel Ariel All photos are credited to Getty Images unless otherwise specified. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve LA Times.

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The Oral Care Tools Fighting Climate Change With the effects of climate change making headlines and causing devastation, the issue has taken on a heightened sense of urgency.

Now more than ever, people are seeking ways to take action — and they’re looking to companies and brands for help. a real impact and making recycling easier than ever,” says Medema.

Ignacio Gavilan, director of sustainability at The Consumer Goods Forum, which works with retailers and manufacturers in the consumer goods industry to drive progress towards realizing a low-waste circular economy, agrees that working together is the only way forward.

“No matter how big of a company you are, unless you do it collectively, the issue will never go away,” he says.

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olgate-Palmolive is leading the way by developing innovative solutions that reimagine a more sustainable future for all people, their pets, and our planet. As the company with a brand found in more homes than any other, Colgate is taking action and aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040, operate zero waste facilities, conserve water, and source sustainably with its 2025 Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy.

Reducing plastic waste is a critical part of Colgate’s strategy, and an important way to fight climate change.

Nearly all plastic is made from fossil fuels, and researchers estimate that the production and incineration of plastic annually accounts for more than 850 million tons of greenhouse gases.

Colgate has pledged to eliminate one-third of its new plastics by 2025 and use at least 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic in packaging, and it’s making it easier for people to reduce their plastic waste too. The

company recently designed a first-ofits-kind recyclable plastic tube — a groundbreaking innovation considering 1.5 billion toothpaste tubes are thrown in the trash every year.

“Colgate developed the first toothpaste tube recognized as recyclable, and we actually shared the technology to empower the entire industry to transform,” says Dana Medema, vice president and general manager of oral care for Colgate-North America.

“We are now seeing other manufacturers pivot to recyclable tubes, making

Recycling made easy Now that Colgate-Palmolive has introduced a tube that’s recyclable, the next step is educating people about how to adopt this behavior. The company launched the recyclable toothpaste tube with its Tom’s of Maine brand and is rolling it out across Colgate’s full oral care portfolio. A limited edition “Recycle Me” tube design this fall will build awareness that the Colgate toothpaste tube is now recyclable.

The company is developing other eco-friendly oral health products to help consumers make small changes to live sustainably. Earlier this year, Colgate launched a new line of Keep toothbrushes featuring aluminum handles and replaceable heads. The new design uses 80 percent less plastic than similarly sized Colgate toothbrushes, and allows consumers to recycle the used toothbrush heads through TerraCycle’s national recycling program.

“This is a big difference,” says Medema. “Once again, small steps, big impact. That’s one less toothbrush that ends up in a landfill.”

The Colgate brand also makes bamboo charcoal toothbrushes, which are made with 100 percent natural, biodegradable bamboo, and don’t have plastic packaging. To conserve water, Colgate-Palmolive’s hello brand offers water-free chewable toothpaste tablets, sold in a refillable and recyclable container.

Power of partnership Colgate-Palmolive has been recognized four years in a row by Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for “building environmental and social consciousness into every decision” and the company is doubling down on creating more sustainable solutions going forward.

Gavilan says these sustainable efforts are poised to make change, but everyone needs to do their part.

“We know what the industry needs to do: we need to make better plastic packaging and reduce the packaging we make. Colgate’s toothpaste tube is a brilliant example of the industry doing it right,” he says. “Now it’s up to consumers to make sure that these tubes make it into the right bin.” n Kristen Castillo

Learn more about Colgate-Palmolive’s environmentally friendly offerings and commitment to reimagining a more sustainable future for all colgatepalmolive.com/ en-us/sustainability.

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5 Steps to a Fair Water Footprint The global water crisis is one of the toughest challenges facing humanity and our planet. We must all take action to forge a fairer water footprint.

Lack of access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene denies health and opportunity to almost half of the world’s population.

Rocketing demand for water around the world is triggering conflict and devasting our ecosystems. Human-induced climate chaos is causing devastating cycles of flooding and drought.

But there’s good news: if we manage our water resources wisely, there is enough water for everyone, forever. To achieve this, we need a worldwide revolution for fairer water footprints. Join the struggle for global water justice and take these five steps:

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Demand good water stewardship.

Ask companies that benefit from your patronage to show their stewardship credentials through certification against the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard, which guarantees good practice.

Ensure your investments don’t abuse water. Financial markets, banks, insurers, and pension funds channel your money into companies to turn profit. Make sure they divest from water abusers and invest in water stewards who can be differentiated via CDP’s Water Disclosure Programme.

Put pressure on government. Let your representatives know that you care about the issue, and demand their support for stronger legislation, oversight, and investment to safeguard water.

Help WWI to investigate water footprints, take action on water misuse, and activate water rights for communities. Visit waterwitness.org/programmes/ fairwaterfootprints to learn more.

Dr. Nick Hepworth, Executive Director, Water Witness International

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Currently, 2.7 billion people experience water scarcity at least one month per year.

By 2025, water shortages might affect two thirds of the world’s population.

Conserve water at home. Find out where your water comes from and where your wastewater goes. Make sure local water use is fair, and demand change where there is injustice or ecological damage.

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Water Scarcity: Are We Buying Into It?

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hen one thinks of household water consumption, what most probably comes to mind is the water flowing from the kitchen tap, taking a shower, or flushing the toilet. While installing water efficient fixtures or turning off the tap while you brush your teeth reflects common sense when dealing with a finite resource, the reduction in your personal water use is minimal.

Direct water use only accounts for 3 percent of an average individual’s water consumption. The largest share, 97 percent, is water “hidden” in the products we consume every day — the indirect water footprint.

This is where the largest savings can be achieved.

What is an indirect water footprint?

Every product or service we consume — our food, our clothes, the gas in our cars, and even our internet connection — needs water to be produced. Often, the location of production is far removed from the end consumer, or production is spread over extremely complex supply chains that effectively create an awareness void between consumption and impact.

Take the popular avocado for example. A single fruit requires approximately 60 gallons of water to grow, and our recent avocado on toast obsession has resulted in increased water stress in already water scarce regions, particularly in exporting regions such as Chile or California. While it takes roughly 12

times less water to grow a tomato, avocados only consume a small fraction of water compared to beef, which requires 2,000 gallons for one pound.

In our global economy, the water footprint of a consumer is highly dependent on the production, trade, and consumption patterns of their country. At the high end of the personal water footprint range, we find, perhaps unsurprisingly, the American consumer, using up 2,060 gallons of water per day. At the other end of the spectrum, we find Japan, consuming on average 1,000 gallons per person per day.

Thoughtful consumption Switching to a plant-based diet can contribute to a significant reduction in both your personal water

footprint and that of our society if a large enough part of the population makes the switch. It doesn’t mean one must go completely vegetarian. Even committing to meatless Mondays can save an average of 22,000 gallons of water per year, the equivalent of 276 bathtubs. Eating local products as well as choosing organic or pasture-fed livestock can all contribute to lowering an individual’s water footprint, but similarly high savings can be achieved just by reducing food waste. In the United States alone, food loss and waste accounts for a staggering 34 percent of freshwater use.

The same principle applies to everything we buy, so think twice before acquiring your tenth pair of jeans or that five dollar t-shirt you will only wear once.

Where do you start?

Measuring your own water footprint can re-establish the link between consumption and impact. Knowing which areas of your personal consumption you can focus on to achieve the highest savings is key.

Take a test with the Personal Water Footprint Calculator, and begin lowering your water footprint one action at a time.

A water secure future doesn’t entirely depend on the individual consumer. Governments and businesses have their role, of course, but don’t underestimate your consumer power. Use it to do good. n Ioana Dobrescu, Managing Director, Water Footprint Implementation

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How to Reduce Your Water Footprint Without Sacrificing Quality More is not necessarily better when it comes to water usage. Through decades of expert craftsmanship and engineering, Kohler offers plumbing products that can significantly reduce water consumption while performing better than older models.

he planet is changing, and one of the challenges presented by these changes is water scarcity in many parts of our country, especially the western United States.

Whether or not you live in a state where drought has become commonplace, conserving water makes sense from both an economical and environmental perspective. One of the easiest ways to save water is to make some simple repairs around your home.

“There might be leaks from your faucet or toilet valves, maybe they’re not shutting off properly, maybe your toilet is continuously refilling, even though no one’s used it,” said Dan Halloran, senior principal engineer at Kohler. “Those simple maintenance things actually go a long way.”

Another important step is to invest in water-savings products.

A better flush Some consumers are hesitant to make the switch to products that use less water,

but Halloran says breakthroughs in engineering make today’s toilets more effective than older models while naturally using less water.

“If you live in a home that was built before, say, 1997, and it still has its original toilets, you should be looking to replace them with new ones,” Halloran said.

“They’ll be more efficient, and they’ll work better.”

Newer toilets can effectively remove waste using 1.28 gallons of water per flush, compared to 3.5 gallons for older models. That efficiency can greatly reduce your home’s water footprint.

“And in every way that we measure performance, new toilets are better than those old three-and-a-half-gallon toilets,” Halloran said.

The right fit Toilets aren’t the only plumbing fixtures that have greatly increased in efficiency without sacrificing performance.

Replacing your showerheads, faucets, and more can help you reduce your home’s water usage while improving

the experience of these products we depend on daily.

When shopping around for the right water-conscious home improvements, Halloran says you can’t go wrong with a newer product from a reliable brand, like Kohler.

“You’re going to get guaranteed quality, and that’s because we spend a tremendous amount of time and effort designing our products, and not just for function, but also for all the other attributes you might want, like increased cleanability” he said. “They can really allow you to have a more gracious and comfortable life.”

For those looking for a third-party assurance about a product’s water-saving prowess, WaterSense (developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) is the gold standard for accreditation. To earn WaterSense approval, products must be at or below certain water-usage standards (i.e., 2.5 gallons per minute for shower faucets) while also meeting key performance metrics.

“Meeting those performance aspects helps make sure that you aren’t receiving a subpar product, and that this product still performs its function while helping you conserve water,” said Ryan Leichty, director of engineering at Kohler.

Kohler, which won its sixth WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award in 2020, designs products to meet or even exceed WaterSense standards, meaning you can be confident your new Kohler toilet, showerhead, or faucet is certifiably conserving water, which is becoming more critical with each passing year.

“There is a fixed quantity of water in the world, and the conservation of it, in whatever form it’s in today, is one of the best things we can do for the environment,” Halloran said. “The right small actions do make a real impact.” n Dustin Brennan

Shop a range of products that can help you reduce your water footprint while living more comfortably at us.kohler.com

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Nicole Curtis on the Sustainability of Flipping Homes

How do you incorporate sustainability into your life and work?

We go by the motto, “the greenest house is the one left standing.” We live between several very old homes. We focus on repairs versus replacement.

Our family is hyper-sensitive to recycling. We live in walkable neighborhoods and bike, walk, or run anywhere that doesn’t require a plane.

Why is flipping old homes important to you?

We don’t flip old homes — we preserve old homes. It’s so important

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for people to realize that you don’t have to destroy the original features of a house to make them appealing to buyers. We have focused the past two decades on educating buyers and highlighting the really cool, unique features of century homes. Once people understand the story behind their houses, they get why it’s so special to have dining room walls with oak from trees that are over 300 years old versus an open floor plan. They fall in love with the tile that was handmade in Europe over 100 years ago and put on a ship to America rather than tearing it out to replace it with someone thing that is mass-produced and new. We will never have the ability to

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PHOTO: LAUREL ARIEL

Interior designer and star of HGTV’s “The Rehab Addict” shares why she loves preserving a home’s history and how it benefits our environment.

recreate these unique homes. We don’t have the tradespeople and we don’t have the old trees. We aren’t just saving houses, we are saving history.

What would you recommend a new homeowner do to make their home more energy and water e�ficient?

This sounds silly, but most things are common sense. First, your old windows are the best product you could ever get. However, you need to maintain them. Simply spending a few hundred dollars doing repairs instead of spending tens of thousands in replacement windows will make all the difference in energy efficiency. Simple dol-

lar pieces such as new washers in old faucets can stop drips quickly. Homeowners are so quick to replace when all that’s required is simply repairing and maintaining. We also love digital, adjustable thermostats. We monitor all our homes to get the best bang for our buck with energy costs. Also, door monitors are a must. One door left open in summer will ruin our budget.

The dinging keeps us all on our toes.

Why is buying an old home a great idea for families?

It’s only great if you go into it eyes wide open. Research the history, track down the old owners, and

involve your children in the process.

It’s a magical experience, and it truly teaches your children to appreciate history. How fun is it to remind them that when it was built, there may not have been electricity? There were no phones, no TVs. Also, old houses are safer than new builds. Why? They were built with very dense, old growth lumber which doesn’t burn as fast. They are also stronger. If they are standing in 2021, then depending on the region, they have proven to be stronger than tornadoes, earthquakes, or floods. These houses were built rock solid, and with the right love and care, they’ll be around long after we are all gone. n

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Keeping a Sustainable Garden With Smart Water Controls By making waterings more efficient — and automatically shutting off sprinklers when it rains — smart water timers like Orbit’s B-hyve are making it easier for homeowners to realize the joy of having beautiful lawns and gardens, while reducing their water footprint.

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The B-hyve Smart Sprinkler Timer helps homeowners enjoy the health and wellness benefits of gardening and the pleasure of having a beautiful lawn and garden, all while conserving an invaluable natural resource: water.

Learn more about B-hyve and find a retailer near you by visiting orbitonline.com/about-bhyve.

cross the United States, and especially in the West, droughts have become the norm. This year has been particularly dry in states like California, Utah, and Oregon.

“Populations are growing, but the water supply is not,” said Brad Wardle, vice president of Orbit’s smart home control division called B-hyve. He noted that Utah, for example, has one of the fastest-growing populations in the country; nearly 2 percent year over year.

To meet drought restrictions, many homeowners are replacing their lawns with dirt and gravel, as a grass lawn requires about 1 to 2 inches of water per week to stay healthy. However, by maximizing the gifts Mother Nature has to give, a smart water timer like B-hyve can help you greatly cut back on your water usage while maintaining a beautiful lawn.

Power of the hyve The B-hyve Sprinkler Timer develops a watering schedule for your yard based on several factors, including soil type, shading, types of plants, sloping, and more. It’s also Wi-Fi enabled and adjusts the watering schedule based on local weather reports; meaning it will automatically shut off when it knows it’s about to rain. One household at a time, B-hyve is changing the way the world waters. “‘Set it and forget it’ used to be a bad thing in our industry, because it meant people were setting up their timers and

leaving them alone — so if it was raining, they were still watering,” Wardle said. “But that set-it-and-forget-it mentality is a good thing with a smart timer.

If you set it up the right way, you can leave it alone and let the weather guide it for you, and it will adjust all year long.”

B-hyve users in Utah recently benefited from this feature. The state got record rainfall in early August, with some areas getting up to 7 inches of rain in a two-day stretch. Orbit estimated the water savings from B-hyve

devices in the state during the weeklong rainy stretch to be upwards of 315 million gallons, because of the number of sprinkler systems automatically shut off during that time.

The joy of gardening While stuck at home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of millions of people decided to try their hands at gardening and maintaining plant life in their yards and realized some stellar benefits of this healthy hobby.

“It’s been proven that if your team is trying to solve a really difficult problem, they’re actually more creative if you take them on a walk outside, rather than keeping them in a conference room,” said Michael Callahan, Orbit’s vice president of ecommerce and customer experience. “It’s also been proven that if you spend 45 minutes outdoors, or even indoors with plants, it will reduce the amount of cortisol in your system, which is what causes stress.”

Giving back Orbit is doing more than just helping homeowners reduce their water consumption. Through its charity program Orbit Cares, the company donates sprinklers to community garden programs across the country, extending their ability to serve healthy, whole foods to marginalized and under-served populations in their communities.

Orbit Cares also educates the millions of homeowners in the B-hyve Community about lack of access to fresh water in cities and towns in America. In 2022, Orbit Cares will kick off a series of campaigns dedicated to driving dollars to programs that are committed to ensuring every American has access to safe, fresh drinking water. n Dustin Brennan

To learn more about smart water controls, visit orbitonline.com

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Make Smart Energy Choices at Home That Count If you are looking to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, one of the most meaningful ways to get started is also one of the easiest: select products that have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR label.

From kitchen appliances to innovative heat pump technology, products that earn the label are independently certified to help your family save energy and money, all while helping to combat climate change. With ENERGY STAR, you can reduce your carbon footprint and get on the road to a clean energy future.

Did you know that the typical household spends nearly $1,900 each year on energy bills? With ENERGY STAR

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you can save 24 percent, or about $450, on your household energy bills and avoid more than 4,100 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

There are many ways to achieve your energy-saving goals. Here are just a few: Change out your lightbulbs Do you still have any incandescent bulbs around the house? ENERGY STAR certified LED bulbs use up to 90 percent less energy than standard bulbs and last 15 times longer.

Choose ENERGY STAR certified computer equipment With most families using desktop computers, laptops, or tablets over the past year for work or school, the

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importance of saving energy with your home office equipment is more significant than ever. ENERGY STAR certified computers use about 25 percent less energy than standard notebook computers and about 40 percent less energy than standard desktop computers.

Get an ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat One of the easiest ways to save energy is with a smart thermostat. They take the guesswork out of your heating and cooling needs and automatically adjust temperatures based on your family’s preferences. The more you spend on heating and cooling, the more you could save — homes with high heating and cooling bills can save up to $100 a year.

Invest in heat pump technology From water heaters to heating and cooling equipment, innovative heat pump technology is key to achieving the ultimate in energy savings. A certified heat pump water heater uses less than half the energy of a standard electric water heater.

It can save a family of four about $320 in annual energy bills and more than $3,400 over its lifetime.

ENERGY STAR certified air source heat pumps are super-efficient and can be used for cooling and heating for yearround HVAC savings. Depending on your system, you can save about $600 on annual energy bills, and even more if you are replacing an electric system.

There are also generous tax credits and rebates available.

Consider an ENERGY STAR certified EV charger How you charge your electric vehicle can have a big impact on your daily energy usage. ENERGY STAR certified chargers require 40 percent less energy than standard models when in standby mode and are currently eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $300.

Leading a more sustainable lifestyle is easier than ever with ENERGY STAR. Learn how you can make your energy choices count at energystar.gov. n

Brittney Gordon, ENERGY STAR Media Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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What to Know About Charging Your Electric Vehicle at Home

f you get an electric vehicle (EV), you’ll want to charge it at home. It’s the easiest way: with the right charger, you can just plug in when you get home and let it juice up overnight.

But how does that work, and what’s the best charger? Here are five of the most important things to know about charging your EV at home.

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You can save money on energy costs by using a smart EV charging station Did you know the time of day you charge your EV makes a big difference in how much it costs? It’s true — electricity rates are often cheaper during “off-peak” times, like 2 a.m., when demand is low. But you don’t need to wake up at 2 a.m. to plug in your EV. With smart chargers like the JuiceBox home EV charger, you’ll be able to schedule EV charging to take place automatically during less expensive, off-peak times. Smart EV charging stations are a must-have for the modern EV driver.

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Smart chargers are more sustainable The same smart charging time-of-use feature that offers cost savings also enables more sustainable charging. By charging during off-peak times, you’ll use cleaner energy and be able to avoid electricity sourced from “peaker” power plants, a source of energy that’s typically dirtier and less efficient than other sources, and only gets used during periods of high energy demand.

Some JuiceBox customers take sustainable charging one step further

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ENEL X

by using JuiceNet Green, an optional add-on that helps you charge at times when solar and wind power are at maximum production and fossil-fuel power sources are at a minimum. You can also power up with JuiceEco Renewable Energy Certificates, which let you match the energy consumption of your electric vehicle with renewable energy.

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You need the right charger to get a full charge overnight Most electric cars today come standard with a portable Level 1, 120volt charger, which can be plugged straight into a standard 120-volt

outlet in your home or garage. While Level 1 systems can get the job done, they’re slow. A Level 1 EV charger will charge at 4-5 miles per hour, a rate aptly called “trickle charging,” and can take as long as 3 days to fully charge a Tesla. However, Level 2 chargers like JuiceBox offer significantly more power and can charge your electric vehicle up to nine times faster.

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Installing an EV charger is simple and low-cost Home EV charging stations are not hard to install, and you can do it yourself or hire an electrician. Recently, we were

curious about our customers’ installation experience, so we conducted a survey of more than 600 JuiceBox home EV charger users and found that 64 percent said it was very easy to find an electrician to install JuiceBox. Take it from our customers from around the country: installation is easy and hassle-free.

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You likely qualify for rebates on your EV charging station You probably know of rebates for electric vehicles, such as the $7,500 federal tax rebate. But did you know that the federal government and many states offer rebates for electric vehicle

chargers too? Over 30 different U.S. and Canadian utilities offer rebates for residential EV charging equipment, with amounts ranging from $150 to $750 per charger. n Enel X e-Mobility Team

Learn more about smart EV charging and shop for best-selling JuiceBox smart EV charging stations at evcharging.enelx.com

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If we look at the plastics industry, we see a linear economy. We extract raw materials, turn them into products or packaging, and they eventually get thrown away.

This “take, make, waste” linear economy is not only found in the plastics sector, but across the economy. It relies on creating value by depleting finite resources, and it therefore cannot work in the long term. It is fueling the greatest global challenges facing us today.

The circular economy, by contrast, eliminates the idea of waste. Driven by design, it eliminates pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems.

The trouble is, collecting, sorting, and recycling packaging costs more than the amount recyclers get paid for recycled materials. In order to attract investment and meaningfully scale recycling as a viable solution, that cost needs to be covered so the process becomes profitable.

The only proven way to generate ongoing and sufficient funding to cover this cost is through programs where the companies putting packaged products on the market remain responsible for packaging after its use and are required to pay for its collection, sorting, and recycling.

Such programs are called extended producer responsibility (EPR).

The need for EPR in the United States is increasingly widely recognized. There are upwards of 10 EPR bills in play across the country. Meanwhile, the U.S. Plastics Pact, which brings together more than 95 organizations, highlighted EPR in their roadmap as being instrumental to realizing their targets.

The need for EPR programs for packaging is also being recognized globally. In June, mobilized by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, more than 150 leading businesses, NGOs, and other stakeholders from across the value chain signed a statement calling for EPR for packaging, including more than 100 businesses.

Ashima Sukhdev, Programs Lead - North Name Surname, Title/Position, America, Ellen MacArthur Foundation Company

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that sell produce that doesn’t conform to those beauty standards.

Another major source of food waste is improper storage. To get the longest shelf life out of your produce, Kellogg recommends the following:

Simple Tips for Living More Sustainably

• S tore tomatoes on the counter in the darkest corner of your kitchen.

• P ut broccoli, asparagus, and carrots in a bowl or jar of water.

PHOTO: ALLISON ANDRES

EPR is Key to Reducing Packaging Waste and Pollution

Kathryn Kellogg is the author of “101 Ways to Go Zero Waste” and creator of GoingZeroWaste. com, a website aimed at helping people live more sustainably.

Here, she shares some steps people can take to reduce their carbon footprint while still living happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

Choose sustainable products Single-use products leave an enormous carbon footprint and consume valuable resources. For example, it takes 37 gallons of water to produce just one roll of toilet paper.

Instead of using single-use paper and plastic products, opt for reusable alternatives instead.

Some examples include reusable dishware instead of paper plates, rags instead of paper towels, and a bidet attachment instead of toilet paper.

Kellogg points out that beauty and cosmetic products account for a huge portion of the single-use plastics we consume — the industry created nearly 8 billion units of rigid plastic in 2019 alone.

To reduce the amount of wasted products in your makeup

kit, she recommends creating capsule beauty collections that allow you to only purchase the colors and types of products you’ll actually use. She also recommends instituting the one-in, one-out rule.

“If I run out of mascara, I can go out and buy one new mascara,” Kellogg said. “What I found was that when I would go to buy a new one, I kept wanting to find two that I liked, and I would keep accumulating more and more.”

Eat a plant-forward diet “If you want to save water, one of the best things you can do is start eating more plants,” Kellogg said.

On average, it takes 1,800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, whereas it takes just over 200 gallons to produce a pound of soybeans. Other plantbased sources of protein like lentils, legumes, and tofu cut consumption in equal measure, which means plant-forward eating is a great way to reduce your footprint.

You can also reduce your carbon impact by eating locally sourced foods and supporting vendors that carry them.

Start composting “Landfills are designed for storage, not decomposition,” Kellogg said.

“A lot of people think that if they put their food scraps in the landfill, it’ll break down, but it won’t.”

Rather, those food scraps will release methane, which stays in the air much longer and has a far greater warming effect than the average greenhouse gas. Currently, landfills account for more than 16 percent of all methane emissions in the United States.

By starting a compost pile, you’ll greatly reduce your carbon footprint and save on your garbage bill.

Reduce food waste It’s estimated that we throw away 30-40 percent of the nation’s food supply, and an increase of just 8 percent in available food could feed every food-insecure American.

One reason for the high rate of food waste in our country is what Kellogg refers to as “beauty standards” for food — either vendors refusing to sell or shoppers refusing to buy perfectly good produce that is bruised and/or misshapen.

Thoughtful consumers can combat this problem by seeking out stores

• S tore greens in an air-tight container with a small cloth napkin to absorb moisture.

• S tore berries in an airtight container.

• D on’t wash your berries and greens until you’re ready to eat them.

Lastly, Kellogg says to double check what you already have on hand before heading to the store.

“Think about meals you can create to use up what’s currently in your fridge,” she said.

Practice patience The final tip Kellogg shares is what she calls the 30-day rule: “The next time you see something at a store that you really want, tell yourself you can get it — you just have to wait 30 days,” Kellogg said.

She says the practice of waiting to buy goods will ensure you spend your hard-earned money on things you actually want and are actually going to use. That adds value to the items you do purchase and saves you from impulse-buying things that will just go to waste.

Waiting 30 days also means you might happen across a sale or find those overalls at a second-hand store.

“You’ll feel confident about bringing those overalls home because you’ve been thinking about them,” Kellogg said. “It’s something you’ve planned outfits for — you know you really want them.” n Dustin Brennan

MEDIAPLANET

Read more about sustainable living at impactingourfuture.com