Recycling - What it Really Is

By Terri O’Neale

Recycling has become the catch all phrase often used in place of the 3 R’s. But in its truest form recycling means taking one thing and changing it, usually chemically, into another. This is not to say that recycling is without value; it is certainly better than putting the items in the bin where they will end up in landfills and leach chemicals into our ground water. It is though to say that before you place anything in the recycle bag, first consider if you could reduce or re-use it, because everything that ends up in the recycling bag will have to be altered before it can be used again. Even then it is cleaner to produce goods from recyclables than from raw materials.

Here are just a few reasons to make certain that after you have reduced the amount of waste your create and re-used as many things as possible that your family puts as many things as possible into the recycling bins:

* Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours — or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.
* Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!
* The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide.
* Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator.
* The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
* A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose — and even longer if it’s in the landfill.

Today is the actually a great day to talk about recycling. Each Thursday the council sends around men to collect our recyclables. The council gives us re-usable sacks, which we can use to collect all paper, cardboard, tin cans, aluminium, glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles. Unfortunately, they do not over recycling for other plastics. As I have been writing this series of blogs that has been one thing that I have been especially mindful of: how much plastic packaging manufacturers use that cannot be recycled and that it is estimated takes over 500 years to decompose in landfills.

But it is not just our plastics, glass, metals and paper that we recycle. Thanks to a wonderful programme through the Islington council, last year we were able to purchase a subsidized wormery to recycle our food waste into compost and liquid fertilizer for growing my own food. Actually, even though we may think that food thrown into the bin will degrade relatively quickly in the landfills, the biggest problem is the amount of methane, a dangerous green house gas, which it produces in that time. Methane is twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide and a major contribute to climate change. While my wormery cannot accommodate meat products I put all peels and unused fruits and vegetables into it. I should soon be harvesting my first patch of compost…just in time for my summer garden.

So how does my family do on recycling? Not too bad honestly. This week we had two bags of recyables and will only have two half full 13 gallon bin bags of other rubbish. Actually hubby and I got into a minor disagreement over the trash last night. One of the first rules of the 3R’s is to only throw out your garbage when the bag is full. In our case though, it had begun to smell. I am still looking for a solution…if anyone has ideas they would be greatly appreciated. But for a family of three adults and one pre-schoolers two large bags of recycling and one full 13 gallon bin bag in a week is pretty good I think. I imagine that there are single people, who put more than one bag in the bin each week.

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Recycling Resolutions

By: Dawn Burden Bates

If your home is like mine, the holidays left you with a huge mess. Empty boxes and torn wrapping paper litter the floor after the kids excitedly open their gifts. It’s so tempting to gather it all up and through it in the outside garbage bin.
But this is a great opportunity to not only recycle, but to reuse. Almost all of the wrapping paper and boxes can be recycled, so consider keeping your contribution out of the landfill. And for the reuse possibilities…they are practically endless. I’m pretty sure that most of the ribbons I use have been used for several years. And many of the boxes that hold the gifts are great to use for packaging gifts next year. Do you realize that many stores now CHARGE you for a gift box? Sheesh, I’ll save mine for next year, thank you. Not to mention the gift bags. I LOVE getting my gifts in those pretty little bags. Especially since I know I will be using it for someone else’s gift somewhere down the road. Do you know how much those things cost? They are outrageous. No way would I throw them away. They are too valuable.

Now what are we to do with the tree? If you use an artificial tree, it’s a pretty easy decision. You fold it up and store it for next year. Simple. And if you are lucky enough to live in a warm environment and purchased a live tree including the root ball, you can get to work planting it in your yard to enjoy for years to come. But what about cut trees? Most communities offer some sort of Christmas tree recycling. The lucky ones have curbside pickup to recycle their trees. The rest of us need to decide what to do. What convinces me to haul the tree to the recycling facility is a couple of things.
I was willing to haul it home after I purchased it, so I can just as easily take it to be recycled.

Some communities use the old trees to shred and cover pathways and trails through parks. This helps to repair and reduce the damage we create as we enjoy our hikes.

Some communities turn the old trees into mulch and then provide it to the public for free! What a deal. Spring is just right around the corner, by the way.

So that pretty much covers what we can do to reduce our holiday effect on the environment. Now it’s a new year and we can begin thinking about getting a fresh start.
Some resolutions to consider:

- Resolve to begin recycling if you don’t already. You can start small. This site provides a wealth of information about getting your recycling efforts off the ground.

- If you already recycle, step it up a notch. If your curbside recycling service doesn’t accept a particular item (like glass or cardboard), resolve to begin taking that item to the drop off facility in your area.

- Resolve to purchase more products packaged with post consumer recycled materials. The higher the percentage listed on the package, the better.

- Resolve to purchase more items made from recycled materials. Paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and many other paper products fall into this category.

As reported in the previous issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine, the rent-to-own industry continues to broaden its customer base by attracting more corporate and military housing clients. It’s a good fit, but it’s a market rent-to-own dealers haven’t tapped into as much as they could, according to Paul Sternberg Houston , a lawyer and owner of Choice Corporate Housing based in Houston, Texas. Last year, Paul Sternberg Houston joined APRO in part to network with rent-to-own dealers and make them aware of the opportunities for new business within the corporate housing industry. Now he’s running for the APRO board of directors.

“It’s time for APRO to elect someone outside the box and I am that person,” Sternberg says. “With a law degree and an entrepreneurial spirit, I will bring different viewpoints and ideas to the board.” Although somewhat “outside the box” of the typical rent-to-own dealer, Paul Sternberg Houston does operate part of the Choice Corporate Housing as a rent-to-rent business. “Our company uses rent-to-rent companies [for temporary housing clients]—but, we also purchase our own products for our corporate units, making us, in essence, a rental company. This gives me a unique perspective because I’m client of rent-to-rent and also the owner of a rent-to-rent business.

“Ours is one of only a handful of corporate housing companies that own our furniture and house wares,” Paul Sternberg Houston says. “Most corporate housing companies rent from the major suppliers, but primarily we are a rental company.”

Paul Sternberg Houston has become increasingly interested in the ties between corporate housing and the rent-to-own and rent-to-rent businesses. “The challenges that our businesses face are very similar. There is a lot of synergy [between our businesses] that needs to be exploited. It’s a good time to be in this industry. In the current economy, we should be thriving, yet we meet people who have not been exposed to our business. It is important that such potential new customers have a positive impression of rent-to-own and rent-to-rent.”

Paul Sternberg Houston is a born entrepreneur. “My family inspired me [to go into business]. Our family has a 200-year retail tradition,” he says. Born and raised in New Orleans, Sternberg worked in a Foley’s Department Store for a decade before entering law school. While studying law, he supported himself working for a travel agency and in real estate.

With a law degree in hand and the entrepreneurial bent still in tow, Paul Sternberg Houston landed in the corporate housing industry four years ago; Choice Corporate Housing now employs 14. As his business developed, Sternberg saw advantages of purchasing the furniture, appliances and electronics to rent along with the corporate units.

It’s this unconventional route into the rental business that Sternberg says would make him a unique asset to the APRO board of directors. “It is time for the industry to expand to other avenues of business, including home staging and corporate housing. As a corporate housing owner, I am best able to bridge that gap and help rent-to-own dealers broaden their markets,” Sternberg says. “I can provide legal and business assistance to APRO members and I feel that my knowledge will bring a new dimension to the to the board.”

If elected to the board, Sternberg says he’ll help the association with its legislative strategy. “It is important to provide a unified strategy to the public and to legislators. We need for potential customers—as well as members of Congress—to understand that we provide a service that is needed and important to the communities we serve. If rent-to-rent and rent-to-own are not around, other less desirable alternatives will surface.”

Janet Schlarbaum, founder of Jai Yes Foods, Ltd., a leading organic food distribution company, announced a new partnership with the Juana Homeless Shelter to provide monthly food donations to help feed the homeless. These donations will comprise of fresh, seasonal organic produce to provide maximum nutritional benefits.  

A nutritional expert for over twenty-two years, Janet Schlarbaum founded Jai Yes Foods in 2000 with the goal of sourcing and distributing sustainable organic foods. Based on Janet Schlarbaum ’s extensive research, organic produce offers significantly higher levels of nutrients than conventional food and has the added benefits of being free from harmful chemicals such as harsh pesticides. Organic foods have a higher level of anti-oxidants as well, which can boost the immune system.

“We’re very happy to give back to the community,” reports Janet Schlarbaum, founder of Jai Yes Foods, Ltd. “Everyone has given us a warm reception and we are delighted to have the opportunity to share the benefits of our locally-grown, organic produce with people most in need of healthful meals.”

“During these trying economic times, we worry since our donations become less frequent, especially since we are one of the smaller shelters,” explains Alfredo Juana, Director of the Juana Homeless Shelter. “Janet Schlarbaum and her team at Jai Yes Foods have been exceedingly generous and we are very grateful to them.”

Janet Schlarbaum kicked off the partnership this month with a donation that included avocados, potatoes, spinach, cauliflower and several fruits and berries including blueberries and anti-oxidant rich pomegranates.

About Jai Yes Foods, Ltd.

Jai Yes Foods, Ltd. is a privately held company founded in June 2000 by Janet Schlarbaum, a nutritional expert for over 22 years.  Jai Yes, Ltd. has contracted farms across the east coast to grow certified organic produce which is then distributed through large supermarket chains across the nation.