From AdlerGreenTeam

Contents 1 KNOW 1.1 WASTE 1.2 POLLUTION 1.3 PAPER 1.4 METAL 1.5 GLASS 1.6 PLASTICS 1.7 YARD WASTE 1.8 COMPOST 1.9 HAZARDOUS WASTE AND ELECTRONICS 1.10 TOXICS 2 DO

KNOW

WASTE

• Are you aware that disposables pose an environmental problem in many ways?
• Did you know that the average american dumps 4.5 pounds of waste every day, not including sewage and industrial waste?
• Did you know that the US accounts for 5% of the world population, but dumps 30% of the world's waste?
• Are you aware that disposables use many times more energy than reusables (material, manufacture and disposal including haulers)?

POLLUTION

• Did you know that the biggest oil disaster to date was done by Texaco in the Amazon, and the area currently polluted with oil is the size of Rhode Island?
• Did you know that all the plastic ever manufactured is still polluting the environment today?
• Did you know that it may take hundreds if not thousands of years for plastic to break down, and even then it is toxic?
• Are you aware that cigarette butts are made of a kind of plastic that takes 2 to 5 years to break down into toxic bits?
• Have you heard of the clump of plastic debris that is the size of Texas, which floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?
• Did you know that many species of wildlife mistake plastic for food and die because of it?
• Are you aware that many countries an some US cities are banning plastic bags because of the pollution problems they pose?
• Did you know that the main plastic bag manufacturer in China was recently shut down because free thin bags are now banned there?
• Did you know that plastics in landfills leach toxins onto the water table if the leachate is not collected?
• Did you know that after 30 years of its closure, landfill owners are not liable for any environmental damage produced by the landfill?
• Are you aware that antibacterial soaps actually increase the resistance of harmful bacteria in the environment?
• Did you know that a plastic lawn is less harmful to the environment than a lawn grown with synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and mowed with a gas mower?

PAPER

• Are you aware that waxed paper cannot be recycled?
• Did you know that paper towels and paper stained with food cannot be recycled?
• Are you aware that everything else, including all kinds of cardboard boxes and magazines and printing paper should be recycled?
• Did you know that every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees?
• Did you know that the printing paper at Adler is 100% post-consumer recycled?
• Did you know that 40% of solid waste in landfills is paper and cardboard?
• Do you know how to print double sided pages?
• Did you know that only 22% of junk mail gets recycled?
• Did you know that 44% of junk mail is never opened?
• Are you aware that americans use 580 pounds of paper per live person per year?

METAL

• Did you know that all metal cans and aluminum containers are recyclable?
• Did you know that aluminum foil is recyclable (but needs to be rinsed from food before doing so)?
• Did you know that metal is the recyclable that makes the most profit?
• Did you know that recycling metal uses many times less energy (5%) than extracting it?

GLASS

• Did you know that glass is the one recyclable that does not interact with food or pollute if dumped?
• Did you know that it takes ten times less energy to produce a glass bottle than it takes to produce that same bottle in plastic?
• Did you know that it takes 30% less energy to recycle glass than to manufacture it from virgin materials?

PLASTICS

• Are you aware that the recycling symbol in plastics does not mean that the plastic is recyclable, nor that is made with recycled content?
• Did you know that the numbers used to designate plastic are needed to sort it so some or all of it can be reprocessed?
• Did you know that usable plastics are downcycled most of the time, that is, reprocessed into something that will end up in landfills anyways?
• Have you noticed that even though plastic bottles can be reprocessed, bottle caps are not?
• Do you know how much percentage weight of the bottle is in the cap?
• Did you know that Allied Waste takes all number-coded plastics from Adler?
• Did you know that PVC (#3) contains heavy metals and is extremely toxic, even more so when burned?
• Did you know that some cling wrap is actually PVC?
• Did you know that PVC (#3) is not usually downcycled into anything because it is too hard to do? (note: we are still required to put it in the recycling bin by Allied Waste)
• Did you know that only plastics #1, #2, #4 and #5 are considered relatively safe for food and skin products?
• Are you aware that most places take only plastics #1 and #2 for reprocessing?
• Did you know that styrofoam and polystyrene (#6 containers, plastic silverware and disposable cup lids among others) are specially carcinogenic and hormone disruptors, particularly if greasy or hot?
• Are you aware that styrofoam packaging peanuts are being replaced by biodegradable corn peanuts?
• Have you noticed that styrofoam blocks are being replaced by recycled cardboard in many products?
• Did you know that plastic #7 may contain heavy metals and cancerigenous chemicals such as bisphenol-A?
• Did you know that Canada and the European Union are phasing out plastics containing Bisphenol-A?
• Are you aware that most plastic baby bottles contain Bisphenol-A?
• Haver you realized that if plastic could be sterilized, that is, cleaned from previous interactions, it would be reusable, for example in restaurants and hospitals?
• Did you know that chemicals in most plastics eventually leak to food?
• Have you noticed that foods in plastic containers have a shorter shelf life?
• Did you know that the amount of migrated chemicals is what shortens the expiration date of many food items packaged in plastic?
• Did you know that acidic and sugary foods, like tomato sauce and syrups, eat away plastic?
• Have you noticed that tomato sauce and fruit preserves most times do not come packaged in plastic?
• Did you know that recyclables must be rinsed from food in order to be reprocessed?

YARD WASTE

• Did you know that yard waste has been banned from landfills in Illinois since 1990, and sending it to the dumpster is illegal?
• Are you aware that 75% of the original topsoil in the US is gone because of human activity?

COMPOST

• Did you know that the average home produces around 30% of waste (like kitchen vegetable scraps and garden trimmings) that is actually compostable, and does not need to go to landfill?

HAZARDOUS WASTE AND ELECTRONICS

• Did you know that hazardous waste should not go to landfills?
• Did you know that batteries, paints and many electronics are hazardous waste?
• Did you know that Adler disposes of hazardous waste, electronics and technotrash responsibly?
• Did you know that electronics recycled at Adler do not go to foreign countries but are disassembled locally?

TOXICS

• Are you aware that the safety assumptions on toxic products do not necessarily mean that products are non-toxic (even if they say non-toxic), but that the level of toxic exposure is low?
• Are you aware that many toxics are accumulative?

DO

• Do you regularly avoid disposables for meals and beverages?
• Do you prefer foods that come in reusable containers or no container at all?
• Do you avoid "carryout" containers from the cafeteria if you are not going to get out of the building?
• Do you return cafeteria reusable baskets and trays by the staff lounge if the meal is taken downstairs?
• Do you bring your own reusable plate or container with or without lid to purchase food at the cafeteria?
• Do you avoid heating up food in plastic containers?
• Do you recycle all the recyclables that you use?
• Do you rinse and recycle metal, glass and plastic before placing them in the recycling container, if stained by food?
• Do you use the large desk side bin for recyclables and the small one hanging from it for waste?
• Do you dispose of hazardous waste, technotrash and electronics as instructed at Adler near the staff lounge?
• Do you avoid antibacterial soaps, even if they are on sale?
• Do you regularly use the air hand dryer in the bathrooms instead of paper towels?
• Do you use tap water or the water filters available in the staff area of the museum to refill your reusable cups or bottles?
• Do you compost at home?
• Do you take your leftovers home for composting?
• Do you flatten and recycle all boxes you need to get rid of?
• Do you place packaging peanuts in the container by the staff lounge for reuse?
• Do you avoid buying styrofoam peanuts?
• Do you bring reusable bags when shopping, not just groceries?
• Do you take any plastic bags from food packaging back to the supermarket?
• Do you regularly remember to ask to not be placed in any junk mail lists when making a purchase?
• When you shop, do you purposefully avoid unnecessary packaged items if similar less wasteful ones are available?
• Do you bring recyclables to be reused for our summer camps, like egg cartons, paper bags and cardboard toilet rolls?