Breaking up with Single-Use Plastics We wouldn’t normally recommend breaking up on Valentine’s Day – but when we reflect on our love/hate relationship with single-use plastics – sometimes enough is enough. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) produced a Public Service Announcement in 2018 as part of their #CleanSeas campaign to reflect on this “challenging” relationship. In…
Mercury Madness March is here again, and you know what that means: March Madness! While we’re waiting to see who makes it to the Final Four, let’s talk about something that can drive a conscientious consumer mad: improper disposal of mercury-containing light bulbs. Wondering watt the big deal is? Let’s break it down. ❌ Never…
Recycling’s “Magic” Numbers Quick poll: You know the little numbers on the bottom of plastic containers? Which ones are okay to put in the recycling bin? If you said “1s and 2s,” we hate to break it to you. That was a trick question! Rest assured, there’s good reason for our collective confusion about those…
Summer Reading: Recycle Smart Style Oh, how the summer is flying by! The Recycle Smart Team is taking a “newsletter break” this summer to focus on other projects. In the meantime, we wanted to share some of our favorite reads from the last two months. We’ll be back with our regular deep dive newsletter before…
You Asked, We Answered: Top Recycling Questions of 2021! In November, Recycle Smart MA hosted two live webinars called Ask Me Anything about Recycling in MA. More than a hundred people tuned in to ask (and sometimes stump) our expert panel. We’re bringing you the highlights in this month’s newsletter so we can all get a smart start to recycling in 2022! Top Recycling Questions 1.…
Summer: The Season of Sharing Happy Summer, Friends! If you’ve spent all spring brushing up on your smart recycling skills and are ready for the next challenge – the Recycle Smart Team has you covered. While the primary mission of Recycle Smart MA is to promote good recycling habits here in the Commonwealth, we know…
As we celebrate women in waste (and recycling!), The Recycle Smart MA team is thrilled to share this inspiring article written by Sofie Green, Maureen Hennessy, and Bethiah Peirce. These three young women are all 8th graders in Medford and part of the Medford Girl Scout Troop 68137. Girl Scouts Pledge to Recycle Smart By…
The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Holiday E-Commerce Recycling 101 Massachusetts residents can expect a blizzard of boxes this holiday season with the U.S. Postal Service estimating it will deliver a mind-boggling 910 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. There can be plenty of things to stress about during the holiday season, but considering what…
Let’s talk about plastic (part 2)… Dear Wicked Smart Recycler, I get that you can only recycle plastic bottles, jugs, jars and tubs here in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, my favorite coffee comes in a non-recyclable plastic pouch. It’s #PlasticFreeJuly and I don’t know what to do – help! Sincerely, Struggling Coffee Addict Dear Struggling Coffee Addict, First off, kudos…
It’s Not Waste Until It’s Wasted Happy Spring, Smart Recyclers! ☔🌱🌷 If you’re anything like us, you’ve been doing some spring decluttering this month. For our team, it’s clothes we have (finally) accepted will never fit, toys our children have outgrown, kitchen gadgets collecting dust in our cupboards, and books…so many books! We don’t know about…
