Raina Genaw Valentine’s Day is a great time to celebrate your loved ones, and the Earth, too! Did you know that each Valentine’s Day, about 36 million heart-shaped boxes 1 , 250 million roses 2 , and 145 million cards 3  are sold in the US alone? Many of these items are not recyclable due to glitter, foil, plastic, glue, and fabric adornments, and of those that are recyclable, less than 60% are sent to recycling facilities by consumers. 4  Our waste problem in America is steadily growing, and...

Nick Blocha “Y’know, when you said you were gonna do this, I thought you were stupid. But this actually looks really good.” - Matt Fairchild “Yeah, the coffee and grounds guys all said they really liked it,” I retorted with a smile. I’d just received what I would call a beaming compliment from our facilities manager on this little endeavor that has come to mean quite a lot to me. It was true too! I received compliments and intrigue from those faithful volunteers we see so frequently in the...

Raina Genaw It’s at the center of every holiday celebration you’ll attend this year: food. In America, we waste approximately 382 billion dollars each year of food. 1  In 2024 alone, 23.5 million tons of food were wasted in homes across the US. Of that wasted food, nearly half went to a landfill. 2  At the root of this issue is overproduction and overpurchasing of food. Avoiding food waste not only keeps good food out of the landfill, but also saves the average American family of four about...