Green Printer Blog

If you are like most people, you probably know that you can recycle such things as milk jugs and glass jars. But you may be passing up on recycling things that you didn’t even realize could be recycled. Now is the time to take a look at what can be recycled that you may be sending to the landfill and see what you can do to help give these items a second life.
It’s estimated that every day in America the average adult generates around 4.5 pounds of waste, or garbage. Of that, they recycle just over 1 pound of it, sending the majority of it straight to the landfill, where it will be buried in the Earth for years, sometimes hundreds of them, to come. Every effort you make now to recycle is a step in the right direction.
Here are 3 things that you can recycle that you probably didn’t even realize you could:

1. Foil. Only a small percentage of aluminum foil is recycled each year, simply because many people don’t realize that it can be recycled. Whatever foil you use for cooking, such as covering items, or even foil pie tins and cooking trays, can be put right into your recycle bin after rinsing any food off of them.
2. Cartons. If you purchase juice in a carton, or even shelf-stable milk products, you may have been tossing the empty cartons into the trash. These can be added right into your recycling bin, as they are made from paperboard.
3. Unwanted mail. It’s estimated that the average person gets around 41 pounds of junk mail each year. Rather than toss all that paper into the trash, toss it right into your recycling bin. Better yet, try to get taken off some of the mailing lists you no longer want to be on.
You would be surprised at how many things actually can be put into your recycling bin. If you are unsure if something can be recycled, call your local recycling center and ask them. They will be more than happy to confirm for you one way or another!

It is always nice to see institutions moving towards greener living, especially those that influence a large number of young adults. Duke University is doing just that by providing incoming students with a Green Book to assist them in conducting their time at the school, as well as their lives in general, with environmental interests as a high priority.

The book itself is a great start—it is printed on recycled paper!

From the University’s website:

Allison Donnelly is a rising sophomore at Duke and the leader of the project to create the Green Book, which was an effort of the undergraduate environmental group, the Environmental Alliance.

“The first few weeks of college can be overwhelming, so we wanted to make it easy to live green at Duke right from the start,” said Donnelly, speaking of her inspiration for the project.

Students will find information about dining, recycling, alternative transportation, and other aspects of green living. The Green Book also provides information that is useful to students before they arrive on campus, such as a shopping list for a green dorm room and ways to get around Duke and Durham without bringing a car to campus.

According to Donnelly, “Students don’t always hear about all the ways they can live green and get involved in sustainability on campus.  The Green Book gives them all of that information in one place.”

- Casey Roe, Duke Today

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

Here and there in 2007, I saw the idea of the ‘share economy’ pop up.  In 2009, car sharing, bike sharing, vacation sharing and even, clothing sharing seem to have more clout as tidalwave trends as opposed to mere passing trends.

From conference keynote titles like “Is the Share Economy the New New Economy?” at the May 5-7 Next09 Conference to the hit $40 annual fee Smart Bike Program in Washington, D.C., sharing is on the rise amongst even ‘mainstream’ consumers.

Sure, when times were high, the idea of car-pooling with the guy next door who grows petunias seemed like a nuisance best avoided (“I have to get to my superimportantmeetingnow!”). Read the rest of this entry »

A special guest post by Aaron Schoenberger for Green Printer‘s ‘Design Goes Green’ blog.

A common misconception, one that I’ve seen a thousand times, is the idea that simply printing on recycled mediums, with soy ink, will make one’s marketing materials green. In essence, it’s not only the printing that makes a company green, but also the research and time spent identifying target markets, concocting copy that’s both precise and somewhat vague at the same time, limiting the want to send promotional material to everyone on the planet, and a host of other factors that, if not done properly, will result in a slap on the wrist from good ole’ Mother Earth. Read the rest of this entry »

A special guest by Michelle Galley of Mighty Pixel Productions.

I applaud each and every company and person that makes an effort to “Go Green“. I personally feel that if you contribute in any way, you are helping out! I also believe that there are a lot of companies who don’t realize the little things do help. I have compiled a list of ten ways that almost every company can contribute to, by making these small but significant changes.

1. BE A PART OF THE GREEN COMMUNITY
Support green communities online. It is a great way to market your company as well as getting involved. Join associations or charities. Some of my favourites…

♦ Design Can Change
♦ Green Energy Act
♦ Ontario Environmental Directory Read the rest of this entry »

Design Goes Green – The first of a series of articles by Green Printer on the cross-section between the environment, business and the creative communications industry.

1. Jill, you are an artist, designer and crafter. Tell us about what you do and what you create.

First and foremost I create detailed native nature drawings. With these, I create an eponymous line of paper goods and fabric accessories. I’ve been an “indie-craftpreneur” since 2001, selling my goods on my retail website and in boutiques worldwide. I also create murals, take on custom art commissions, and the occasional graphic design project for like-minded businesses. Read the rest of this entry »

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

We scoured the web for you, dear readers (okay, we did our due diligence and browsed numerous sites) and here are five resolutions you can take action on the first week back at the office. Or, more realistically, as soon as you recuperate from your New Year and holiday festivities.

1. Automate it… and cut out more green duty to remember in January
In “10 Resolutions to Green Your Technology“, Anna Jaeger from the TechSoup blog suggests setting up an office-wide policy on computer settings. She recommends taking a few minutes to set up a power-management feature (available on a Mac and a PC) that can help save money, reduce impact on the environment and extend the life of the office hardware for years to come. According to Climate Savers Computing Initiative, one of the leading power-management advocacy organizations in the United States, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half the power it pulls from the wall as heat. Read the rest of this entry »

A post by contributing writer Melissa Chungfat.

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

I talked to one of my friend’s yesterday and she told me that the staff Christmas party wasn’t nearly as joyful as in previous years. Half of the people who came to the party were let go. There have been record layoffs since the economy has gone south, and it’s hard to talk to someone whose family hasn’t been impacted in some way.

Social and environmental advocates around the world worry that the economic challenges will be used as an excuse for more inaction on the environment. Before the environmental issues went viral, ecopreneurs took the lead to help and protect the environment. Where there was a lack in political will, ecopreneurs filled the gap.
But so far, it looks like the Obama-Bidon administration sees the environment as an opportunity to jumpstart the new 21st century economy.

In this week’s press conference, Obama said investing in entrepreneurs is a necessary “down payment.” Read the rest of this entry »

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

A post by contributing writer Melissa Chungfat.

Every single word counts when it comes to marketing. How you package your brand with words and images has a strong influence on how people perceive your company.

But before I dive into which words can work for your product or service, always keep in mind that your company’s credibility is the first priority. Otherwise, it will affect how receptive people are to your words and any attempts to ‘pull the wool’, so to speak, over a target market’s eyes can backfire. Read the rest of this entry »