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 yours 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 curbside recycling:

Clam shell/plastic containers: No. These cannot be recycled curbside. Here at Chinook Book we collect them in a bin and deliver bunches to Far West Fibers. More...

We called the Metro Recycling Hotline and found out the Tetra Pak, or aseptic packages, were a controversial item in the past, but are now recyclable curbside in your blue bin. The containers should not be flattened, though, because sorters remove them from the conveyor belt and ship them to another recycling center that is hot enough. There were some surprises, too. Butter boxes and frozen food boxes cannot be recycled, because of a plastic lining. These go in the trash.

Examples of aseptic containers that are OK curbside:

• Orange juice containers
• Soy and rice milk boxes and containers
• Milk containers
• Juice containers
• Soup and stock boxes such as Imagine brand

Containers that are not accepted curbside:

• Frozen food boxes
• Cubed butter boxes

Call Metro Recycling Hotline: 503-234-3000 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. More...

Next week (June 5-7, 2008) is the Association of Oregon Recyclers’ (AOR) 30th Annual Conference and Trade Show, in Seaside, OR.  I have been to the AOR Conference the past two years and always enjoy meeting other folks in the recycling/waste minimization industry.   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...

Got plans for Friday? If not - or if you can break ‘em - consider heading to Manzanita for the 10th anniversary of the Trash Bash Art Show, Friday May 16th from 6-9 p.m. More...

Have you recently gotten a gold star on your recycling bin?  Perhaps a message about keeping plastic bags out?  Or keeping glass on the side?  In an effort to address recycling practices with "point of activity" messaging, Metro launched a "Leave Behind" messaging program with colorful tags.  It's working. More...