Yes, you read that correctly: Charleston County Recycling is now accepting all plastics for curbside pickup! This means you can start throwing plastics labeled #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7 into your blue bin along with the #1 and #2 plastics. They will accept all plastics except plastic wrap, plastic bags, and Styrofoam (all things [...]

What: Natural Rubber Teether Where: DwellSmart When: Today! Why: 100% natural How Much: $18.95 This baby toy from Vulli would be a great gift for that green rug rat in your life, especially if they are teething. Sophie the Giraffe, as she has been known since 1961, is produced manually in France with 100% natural [...]

A big part of charting our family’s progress is keeping track of the “since we’ve used” items (3 years since we’ve used paper napkins, 2.5 years since we’ve used plastic bags, 2 years since we’ve used bottled water, etc). There seem to be many things that end of up in the landfill after once use, [...]

Check out this inspiring video featuring Chris Fisher of Fisher Recycling. He is a great example of someone turning their love for sustainable living into a thriving business that is helping us all.

I’ve been getting conflicting emails and information about Waste Industries accepting plastics #1 though #7 for recycling in the Summerville area. Being able to recycle plastics #3, 4, 5, and 6 is the Holy Grail of reclamation, and would be HUGE for our area. Plastic #7 cannot be recycled anywhere, which makes me question the [...]

This post originally ran last holiday season, but I think it’s an important reminder to everyone… Driving all around town shopping for holiday gifts is a resource hog – too much time, too much gas, too much hassle. That’s why I’ve turned to Amazon.com year after year to help reduce my trips into the seasonal [...]

Foam packing peanuts have protected our shipped items since the seventies, but scientists are only now realizing their impact on the environment. That’s because these protectors of all things fragile are often made from polystyrene (plastic #6), a resin that does not biodegrade, is resistant to photolysis, and has become a chief component in the [...]

While we’re trying to use fewer nasty chemicals around the house, we still end up with leftover paint, gas, cleaners, antifreeze, and other sludge that needs to be disposed of properly…which can sometimes be challenging. 92% of all poison exposure cases occur in our homes, 87% of which are accidental (makes you wonder about that [...]

Well, Summer is over, and I’ve made it through without drinking bottled water yet again. Fifteen months ago, I began reading articles about the environmental impact of bottled water, so I decided to give it up. Similar to my decision to stop using disposable bags when shopping, giving up bottled water had been incredibly easy [...]

As you might imagine, we get asked a lot of questions about how to go green here in Charleston. Out of all of those questions, there is one that gets asked more often than all the others: How do I get a blue recycling bin? It’s extremely easy to get a free blue recycling bin [...]

We’ve started planting some new flowers in our gardens, so I’ve noticed a buildup of empty plastic plant containers in the garage. Because these containers are typically make from non-recyclable plastics (#4, #5, or #6), most folks just toss them into the trash. But this year we can help you make a change! Last June, [...]

Most recycling programs only accept plastics #1 and #2, so being able to quickly identify them can be a time saver when sorting your recycling. In the future, we should be able to recycle plastics #3 through #7 — but for now these outcasts must be banished to the landfill (that’s too bad, because a [...]

Like most areas in the country, our local recyclers only accept plastics #1 and #2. My family collects a lot of these plastics as bottles, milk jugs, Starbucks cups, and so on. But what about all those other plastic items in our lives? If something is labeled as a plastic #1 or #2, it can [...]

You have to look hard to actually find something labeled as a plastic #7. When it comes to resin identification codes, #7 is reserved for materials made from mixed plastics – or “other.” That’s why it is so rare to see a #7 in the wild – plastics of these types cannot be recycled, so [...]

Polystyrene (PS), otherwise known as plastic #6, was accidentally discovered by a Berlin pharmacist in 1839. While polystyrene is widely used today, it is rarely found in plastic bottles – it contains benzene which is generally considered a carcinogenic substance. What is it made of? Polystyrene is a thermoplastic polymer, and its molecular formula is [...]

The more I read about plastic grocery bags, the more I believe that plastic grocery bags should be banned. Their impact on this planet is destructive and everlasting. Plastic grocery bags are littered everywhere on Earth, from the side of Long Point Road to Antarctica. Maybe you’ve heard about the folks in China who have [...]

As a byproduct of my greenification, I’ve become a bit of a recycling fanatic. I bet some of you are as well. So I thought it might be interesting to hear from a professional recycling fanatic, Elizabeth Fisher from Fisher Recycling. Chris and Elizabeth Fisher have been at the helm of Fisher Recycling since it [...]

I thought I would end the Surprising Recyclables era (for now) by returning to where it all began – Little Tikes. We have a couple of their toys, and the first one I checked yielded paydirt. Right there on the gray backboard I saw the resin identification code for plastic #2, which means the toy [...]

Polypropylene (PP), otherwise known as plastic #5, was created in 1957 as a cheap alternative to polyethylene. In 1999, polypropylene accounted for only 2% of all plastic bottles in the United States. Bottles aside, a lot of our food containers are made from plastic #5, including those at Whole Foods. In fact, this is the [...]

When I was breaking down an empty detergent box the other day, I stopped to look at the scoop before throwing it out. It was labeled as a #1 plastic, which means it’s recyclable here in the Lowcountry. In fact, it’s RPET, which is already recycled polyethylene terephthalate. Using RPET products supports the market FOR [...]