It’s the little things in life…that add up. When ordering food to go, how many times were you given a pile of extra plasticware and napkins? This is not to mention those pesky clamshell food containers themselves. In the ongoing shift away from petroleum-based plastic products, you may have noticed some plastic items now have “Compostable” printed on them. Learn about how to differentiate between biodegradable and compostable, and consider choosing bioplastics and other earth-friendly tableware and food packaging.  More...

Chow, the food site, has a great new article called How Green Is Your Takeaway Container. You can take reusable containers, such as Tupperware or popular metal tiffins, to restaurants and carts and ask them to use it instead of plastic take-out. Additionally,  ask them not to include a plastic bag or plastic silverware, and bring your own reusable utensil.

Here's the scoop on our local recycling:

Clam shell/plastic containers: No. Very few cities anywhere recycle these, yet they're prevalent as take-out containers. Avoid them. More...

I moved to Portland for two reasons: 1) so I could commute by bike, and 2) so I could work with trash and recycling.  Imagine my joy last weekend when I met Graham Bergh, the founder and president of Resource Revival, Inc. -- a company that makes bottle openers, pictures frames, clocks, wine racks and signs out of old bike parts (mostly chains and cogs).  They give new meaning to re-cycling, and local bike shops are getting in on the action with your donated parts. More...

Your iPod has been a faithful travel companion, guardian of your most sacred digital music and status symbol among today’s technorati. So what will you do when it reaches its golden years and the screen begins to flicker or the battery begins to fail? Repair or Upgrade? You have more options than Apple might like you to know. More...

If you’ve every bought Hewlett Packard ink jet cartridges you probably noticed that they each come with a postage paid envelop in which to ship your empty cartridge back to HP for recycling.

In the 5 years that I’ve owned my HP ink jet printer I’ve probably gone through 4 or 5 black cartridges and I have to say this program left me feeling pretty good about HP. More...

Teach kids what local, nutritional food looks like by taking them to the farmers market! Then send them to school with an organic lunch packed in reusable containers, as well as a cloth napkin. A typical disposable lunch, with items like single-serve yogurt, Ziploc bags, and juice boxes, can create 1-2 lbs of garbage each week. See wastefreelunches.org for tips and lunchbox options. More...

An estimated 23% of landfill debris comes from construction sites, so remember to not only reduce your waste, but also post your own leftover materials on the swap forums for someone else to utilize or donate to one of the following stores. More...

What’s lurking in your closet, garage, basement? Take stock of both bulky items (mattresses, appliances) and hazardous materials (old paint, insecticides, batteries). List them on the recycling page of our book or on a piece of scrap paper, then go to StopWaste.org to find out how to dispose of both types. More...