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Should you skip individual plastic produce bags at the grocery store?

Should you skip individual plastic produce bags at the grocery store?

You may have noticed that many stores and restaurants are becoming more environmentally conscious by moving away from single-use plastics. Straws are no longer a guarantee with your smoothie and plastic bags might cost you a few cents each at the supermarket. So what about those plastic produce bags available above the apples? Should you pass on those, too? Well, no. Not exactly. If you want to do your part at the grocery store, make sure you bring reusable bags for your larger groceries, but also bring some smaller bags for your individual produce items, as well. You see, not putting your produce in bags and putting it directly in your cart can be a very unsanitary practice. It might seem like the more sustainable choice, but when you put your broccoli or Romaine directly in the cart or on the conveyor belt, your food isn’t just touching that surface…

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Seattle officially bans plastic straws and utensils

Seattle bans plastic straws and utensils

As of July 1, straws, plastic utensils and cocktail picks are prohibited in Seattle. This makes it the first major U.S. to successfully push such legislation. The ban is extensive and applies to all food services businesses, including restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias, for trucks, coffee shops and delis. It’s not illegal to provide these items altogether, however. Businesses may switch over to utensils that are environmentally friend and/or compostable. Reusable steel and recyclable paper are acceptable materials, but the city prefers that the customer ask for them, rather than making them standard with purchase. The ban on plastic comes as a concern about needless waste and threat to wildlife — particularly marine life. Americans use about 500 million straws per day and straws repeatedly turn up in the top 10 most common items collected during the International Coastal Cleanup, according to nonprofit organization Sailors for the Sea. A 2015 video of an…

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Seasonal

Some states are switching to beet juice and beer to ‘salt’ icy roads, sidewalks

Here's why some states are using beet juice and beer to eliminate icy roads

Most snowy places around the country throw salt on the roads to eliminate ice and improve road conditions. According to New Herald, experts fear all this road salt tossed onto sidewalks and scattered on highways, is having an alarming impact on the environment. Conscious of this fact, some cities are turning to less conventional materials to get the job done: beet juice, molasses, cheese brine, and beer. Researchers on the subject cite mounting evidence that the 20 million tons of sodium chloride crystals used each year is increasing the salinity of hundreds of lakes — particularly in the Midwest and Northeast. In the past 50 years, chloride concentrates in some of the sampled lakes have quadrupled, and in a few cases, even increased a hundredfold. If the problem is not corrected, they warn, the runoff could threaten freshwater ecosystems and put everything from frogs to microscopic zooplankton at risk. As the negative effects are…

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