Inspirational Messages Series

Making an Eco-Move

Each year, 13% of Americans move. The average move uses more than 55 cardboard boxes! That's a lot of trash. The next time you move, cut your waste with these tips:

1. Use eco-friendly boxes. Companies such as EarthFriendlyMoving.com and Rentacrate.com rent reusable plastic boxes. They're easier to stack than cardboard boxes, less wasteful and have a longer life span. If there are no such options near you, at least reuse your cardboard boxes. U-Haul locations have box drop-off sites, where you can discard or pick up old boxes, or go to the U-Haul Box Exchange (uhaul.com/boxexchange), a message board for trading, buying or selling moving supplies.

2. Hire a local mover. "Local movers keep their money in the community." If a moving company is driving 80 miles to do your job and charges you a commuting fee, it's not local.     Back to Top^

Recycling Tips

Yogurt cups aren't accepted for recycling in every town, so Stonyfield Farm Yogurt teamed up with TerraCycle to collect its used containers and reuse them as planting pots. Schools or charities get 2 cents to 5 cents per container, depending on its size. Sign up at terracycle.net/brigades.

In 12 U.S. states, kids can collect plastic shopping bags, recycle them and earn money for their school through Wal-Mart's Kids Recycling Challenge (kidsrecyclingchallenge.com). Enroll by Aug. 1 for the 2008-09 school year.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was started by a teenage brother-and-sister team from Massachusetts in 2004 to give soldiers prepaid phone cards so that they could call home more frequently. The charity (CellPhonesforSoldiers.com) accepts your old cellphones, sells them to a recycler and uses the money to buy cards for the troops.  Back to Top^

ParentSmart:  BPA Concern

With a recent National Toxicology Program brief showing that BPA (bisphenol A) may disrupt neural and behavioral development in fetuses, infants and children, parents want stable advice about what to do with their feeding utensils. Sophie Uliano, eco-consultant and author of Gorgeously Green, gives us her bottom line:

1. Always avoid plastics with No. 7 printed in the triangle on the bottom of containers. Safer numbers: 1, 2, and 5.

2. Never microwave baby food in any type of plastic container.

3. Avoid using plastic feeding utensils.

4. Use ceramic, enamel, or glass plates.

5. Choose sippy cups, bottles, and pacifiers free of BPAs (read information on packaging when shopping).

6. Take a second look at canned food because of inner plastic linings; studies show the chemicals in plastic can leech into formula, soup, and pasta.   Back to Top^