Reused is better than Recycled which is better than Trashed. The team has been collecting items at Viv headquarters (HQ) for a donation run and to get some “reuse” from things collecting dust: old clothes, printers, cables, and a ton more.

The team hurried through lunch and bounced over to the local Salvation Army for a drop.  A big bonus: the California sun was out with blue skies!  What a day to stretch the legs.  With arms full of boxes and bags, we even reused some “old-fashioned” food packaging to bundle up the loose clothes.

Jenny with her hands on a giant Quaker Oats box... oats, yum-yum!

Having an (eco) excuse to get out of the office never hurts.  I admit… I had to make a “green” reference somewhere.  Anyways, did you ever think you’d see such a big smile on someone carrying a giant box of oatmeal?

I was wondering about this recently and found a fantastic Treehugger write-up on the issue.

I highly recommend reading the article (including comments) if you want the full scope. (Also, they’re a bit biased, but the Insinkerator folks have a fairly solid video detailing what happens to food waste when it goes down a garbage disposal).

Anyway, here are the key take-aways:

1. Composting is always the preferred method to dispose of food waste. If you don’t have access to curbside composting or do not want to start & tend a compost pile in your backyard, I’d recommend trying a Naturemill.
   

   Naturemill Indoor Composter: Arul’s brother recently purchased one (good work Bhu!) and I have to say it was pretty awesome. It’s small, fits in your kitchen, and churns / oxidizes food scraps so that they heat up and break down quickly… replicating the conditions of an industrial composting facility (full post on this product coming soon).

2. If you’re unable to compost (and really most folks who can afford a Naturemill should be able to), then typically, putting food waste down a garbage disposal is your next best option. There are two main benefits from using a garbage disposal as opposed to just placing food waste in the trash, including: 1) energy savings (less trucks hauling trash to landfills) and 2) reduced food waste in landfills (some of the bio-solids that end up in Waste Water Treatment Plants, WWPTs, are turned into fertilizer).
3. Room for debate: It is important to note however that when food waste breaks down in an anaerobic environment (landfills & WWPTs are typically anaerobic environments), the food waste produces methane gas. There’s a stronger movement amongst landfills (relative to WWPTS) to re-capture that gas and prevent it from entering our atmosphere (where is it 21 times as potent as CO2). If you live in California, where methane re-capture is required for all new landfills, it may be better to have your food waste hauled to a landfill (though again – compost first).

I was googling expanded polystyrene (typically known as “styrofoam”) food packaging bans the other day searching for a list of all the cities in the US that had banned polystyrene (aka PS). I was having quite a tough time finding the answer (though I eventually did… as any persistent googler does).

As a result, I wanted to draw up a quick post with the findings. Enjoy!

There are 100+ total polystyrene bans across cities in the US. I’ve listed most of the major cities & counties with polystyrene bans below along with reference links to either the ordinances themselves or articles on the bans. The “effective date” for the ban is also provided.
Most of the full bans are for polystyrene food ware (e.g., to go containers) and force restaurants and businesses to use recycled plastic or compostable alternatives (awesome!) to cut down on trash and landfilling. The partial bans typically ban the use of styrofoam at any city owned building or event. If we’re missing any cities or counties, let us know!

Alameda, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2008
Albany City – Styrofoam Banned – 9/1/2008
Aliso Viejo, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/2/2004
Berkeley, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/1990
Calabasas, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/1/2008
Capitola, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2009
Carmel, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1989
Emeryville, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 3/1/2007
Fairfax, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1993
Freeport, ME – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1990
Glen Cove, NY – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/1989
Hecules, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 5/1/2008
Huntington Beach, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 4/19/2004
Laguna Beach, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2008
Los Angeles, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban –
Malibu, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2005
Milbrae, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2008
Monterey, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 8/17/2009
Newport Beach, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2009
Oakland, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2007
Pacific Grove, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2008
Pacifica, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2010
Palo Alto, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/22/2010
Pittsburg, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 1/1/1993
Portland, OR – Styrofoam Banned – 6/12/1990
Rahway, NJ – Styrofoam Banned – 12/1/1996
Richmond, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2010
San Bruno, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/1/2010
San Clemente, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 3/1/2004
San Francisco, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2007
San Jose, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 11/10/2009
San Juan County, WA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/22/2010
San Mateo County – Styrofoam Banned – 4/1/2008
Santa Cruz, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 10/18/2008
Santa Monica, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 2/9/2008
Scotts Valley, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/17/2009
Seattle, WA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2010
Sonoma, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 1/1/1989
Suffolk County, NY – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1998
Ventura County, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 10/1/2004
West Hollywood, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/1990

Other cities currently considering bans:
Chicago, IL – Proposed Styrofoam Ban
New York, NY – Partial Styrofoam Ban Proposed
Boston, MA – Proposed Styrofoam Ban
Philadelphia, PA – Proposed Styrofoam Ban