What To Do With Halloween Leftovers

Happy Halloween to everyone celebrating! Today's blog is all about what to do with those left overs when all the trick-or-treat-ers are home in bed.

1) The Great Pumpkin

While it's easy to use pumpkins to cook, often times you've already cut up your jack-o-lanterns, so they don't make a great meal. One great way to deal with those left over pumpkins- compost them! Then nature does most of the work and you'll have a great fertilizer to boot!

2)Tasty Treats

The first thing to remember is that candy is freezer friendly! If you want to stretch those treats out so everyone doesn't go crazy right away hide them away in your freezer after rationing out the candy. You can either eat the candy later or use it in your upcoming holiday baking.
Also keep in mind that food pantries and dentists offices may have a program specifically for Halloween candy, so giving it to the dentist for a few bucks or to a food pantry so someone less fortunate gets some candy can be great. There may be other great give away programs in your community, like sending candy to the troops. Look for these, they can be great.

3) The Costume

If you went with a straight up, bought from the store costume, there may not be much to do other than pray that your child will wear it again or give it away either to a Goodwill or to a family friend who might use the costume next year. For the future: A great green way to do Halloween is to use clothing that your child will be able to wear after Halloween, if possible. A good Ninja costume can easily be made from a mask and some black clothing that can be separated and worn after the spooky holiday is over.

Featured Article: Compostable Bedsheets for College Kids.

This week and last week are two of the big move weeks for college students in Iowa. Student from around and outside of the state are flocking to their new dorm rooms and apartments to start their new school year. This featured article is about two mom who knew college students and knew about an unanswered need, and so they created compostable bed sheets with college students in mind. Anyone who remember being a college student or having a college student knows that sometimes cleanliness comes last, especially with that big final coming up. Often times bedsheets get forgotten until it's time to visit home and laundry is free.

Now, in the long run we're not positive that these sheets will be the best economical choice, but it's encouraging to see people attempting to answer a need of an extremely large segment of the population. We're excited to see how this technology advances.

Read the full article here.

Photo Friday

Happy friday everyone! Our photo this friday comes from a composting workshop that some of our employees attended this week. Here is one employee working on his compost pile!

This week was also Ragbrai and we're well into fair season, did you snap any great pictures while out and about this week? Post a link in the comments!

Steps to a Greener 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! We're blogging a little early today, so we can get to you before your cook-out! According to an estimate by the U.S, Department of Energy, around 60 million Americans have BBQs today! With all the celebrations going on it is hard to remember to keep your grilling 'green'. However, we have a few simple steps to make your holiday cooking a little more eco-friendly.

Compostable over biodegradable- We hate to say it, but the word biodegradable has been tainted. Companies use the term all the time, even if their product is only biodegradable over 50 years. Compostable products, however, can go straight in with your compost and have to be certified in order to be labeled compostable.

Clean your grill- leftover food and grease in your grill leads to excess smoke, and just isn't healthy for your grill or the environment. Make sure to thoroughly clean your grill and you'll be good to go! Baking Soda is a great, natural grill killer too, just use a wire brush and an equal parts mixture of Baking Soda and water and you'll have a clean grill in no time!

Recycle your cans and bottles- Make sure you're sorting and recycling your waste. Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour on average, and the majority are thrown away. Recycling your bottles and cans is an easy way to make your cook-out a little bit greener.

Use organic charcoal in your grill- Overall, charcoal grills aren't great for the environment, however if you use an organic charcoal it will burn cleaner, as it is made from untreated wood, rather than traditional charcoal which is treated with chemicals and other additives to make it burn longer.

Buy a vinyl tablecloth, rather than a paper or plastic throw-away- This will save you the money of buying a flimsy tablecloth each year, and you're keeping that paper/plastic one out of landfills.

Use recycled aluminum foil for your grilling- Some brands now offer 100% recycled aluminum foil, most in cases made from 100% recycled paperboard.

Buy your food locally- buying from local farmers means you can find pesticide-free produce and you'll boost your local economy! It also doesn't hurt that those farmers just have to drive it into town, rather than across the country.

Use natural pest remedies- Nobody likes having bugs at the party! We have a full post about natural bug repellants, but another trick is to throw sage and rosemary on hot coals, if you're using a charcoal grill. They will make your yard smell great, and it will keep Mosquitos away. Citronella candles also make great bug repellants.

Keeping an open mind about new alternative products

This morning we found this article: WATCH: London Designer Grows Vegetable Leather | Ecorazzi

The article is all about a designer in the UK who is designing a leather out of plant materials. This material can be molded into any shape and will last about 5 years. After 5 years you can add it to your other compostable goods. The leather itself is made of green tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast.

While the idea of putting green tea on your body as clothing seems a little bizarre now, these products could make real change. 12 million tons of trash is a huge amount. That's how much clothing, shoes and textiles end up in landfills annually. A few weeks ago the compostable flip flop and the compostable tooth brush were both featured news stories, and all of those products offer new ways to lower your impact, even if they may seem a little strange at first.

You can keep the product for 5 years, so the leather will still last about as long as a person wears the same clothes, and then you have a convenient excuse to go shopping again. That could be a definite plus! Feel free to share your own experience with off-beat compostables in our comments.

10 simple ways to live more sustainably

We all want to help our environment, however, it can be a pretty daunting task with work, school, and everything else going on in our lives. Luckily there are small changes that we can all make that make a huge difference. Here are 10 simple ways you can change your life to be more sustainable.

1) Take shorter showers. Shorter showers help conserve water and they help out your water and electric bill at the end of the month! Rather than falling asleep in the shower each morning, stay alert and get in and out quicker. It may even mean a couple extra minutes of sleep for you if you are a long shower person. 

2) Switch to filtered water rather than bottled. Bottled water will cost you more and the containers create a huge amount of waste. You can even purchase reusable water bottles that have filters in them now, so it's easier than ever to get the fresh filtered taste without all the biowaste.

3) Unplug your appliances when they're not in use. Many appliances still draw energy, even when turned off. You can also get a 'smart' power strip (one that recognizes when appliances are turned off and cuts off energy use) if unplugging all of your appliances seems like a hassle. 

4) Biking is another obvious answer, but if you live in a rural setting it may not be an option to ride your bike to work. If biking and walking aren't options, keeping your car in great condition will still help. Change your oil and air filters regularly and make sure your tires are inflated so that you can get the best out of whatever car you drive. 

5) Plant a garden. Planting a garden can help you supply some of your own food, whether it's herbs, tomatoes or an apple tree. That way it literally goes from you garden to your kitchen, no gas powered transportation required. For the things you can't grow yourself, buying local should be your first choice. Then it's something made in your area rather than something that has to be flown across the world, cutting down on oil and supporting local business. 

6) Bring reusable bags when shopping. This really does make a difference. If you often forget to grab them on your way to the store, keeping them in the car will make sure you're ready to shop whenever you're out. 

7) Go to restaurants/coffee shops that provide 'green' dining options, or bring your own. This one sounds a little strange, but if your local coffee shop isn't providing compostable cups yet, bring your own travel mug. Restaurants are slowly making the shift to compostable to-go containers, but if they don't some people even advise you bring tupperware with you. However, with local restaurants it's always important to support sustainability. If you know one burger joint in town makes huge efforts to be sustainable and offers compostable containers, go there over the fast food chain up the street. 

8) Only do full loads in your appliances. If your dishwasher is half full, give it another couple days before you run it, same for your washer and dryer. These appliances use a lot of energy every time you use them, so if you use them only when they're full then you'll save money on your bill and you'll be more sustainable. 

9) Rather than buying a product, try to make it yourself. With the Internet literally at the tips of our fingers, DIY projects are easier than ever. If you can make your own Ranch dressing, rather than buying it bottled at the store, you're saving a little bit of cash and the plastic from container that you would probably just toss afterwards. 

10) Along the lines of DIY, learn how to upcycle. Upcycling is essentially recycling products by making them into something useful. There are tons of upcycling projects on the web and it can be a great way to reuse single use products and make something great out of them. I've seen upcycling projects for everything, from purses to picture frames. 

With these easy steps you can make yourself more green without having to change your daily habits too much. 

Using Compostable products to put a dent in landfills

Everyone hears the statistics about landfills, but sometimes they seem like an unsurmountable problem. We blogged about compost on friday, however the use of compostable products is another great solution. Landfills worldwide are expected to reach capacity by 2030. Compostable products will help relieve landfills of tons of waste a year(literally).  Sometimes it's hard to know the benefits of compostable products, so here are 8 things to know about compostable products.

1) It requires less energy to produce compostable products that it does non-compostable products. They actually require under half of the amount of energy that plastic does, which means you can create twice as many materials for the same amount of energy.

2) Compostable products saves on oil for production. This means that compostable products can be created domestically and require about 65% less dependency on oil.

3) Compostable products are surprisingly resilient. Generally they can stand temperatures between 120-200 degrees, meaning you don't have to worry about your hot coffee melting your cup. You can microwave them or you can freeze them, just like any non-compostable product.

4) Compostable products can be composted. We already talked about the many advantages of using compost in your garden last week. Compostable products can be reused in compost and help you fertilize your plants once you're done using them (after going through a composting process).

5) The toxins found in plastic aren't present in compostable products. This leads to a harmless breakdown and absorption, which means safe soil and water. Where it can take plastics hundreds of years to decompose, a compostable product can easily decompose in weeks or months.

6) The materials to make compostable materials are renewable. Rather than using non-renewable resources like fossil fuels, compostable products are made of natural substances that can be replanted and grown again for use. 

7) These products show your organizations/event's commitment to the environment. Let's face it, being green is pretty important in today's economy. It's not just a small faction of people, but a majority who are aiming to live more sustainable lives. This means that businesses and groups using compostable products show their customers their dedication to the environment. 

8) Availability is also key. When reading all these points it's easy to think, "Wow, well if there are really that great, they must be hard to get or else everyone would be using them." However, they're available worldwide in any quantity you could want. 

If you want to start using compostables in your home or business, be sure to check out GreenRU for compostable products.

Biodegradable business

Composting company develops Corridor presence

By Pat Shaver
Corridor Business Journal

If it can be composted, it should be.

That’s one of the goals of GreenRU, a composting company that started in Des Moines about a year ago.

The business has been gaining a presence in the Corridor over that last several months, said Demetrios Hadjis, marketing and sales representative from GreenRU. They provide full composting services; including education, training, collection containers and services.

GreenRU offers businesses a workplace composting program that collects and diverts food scraps, paper products and other organic materials from being taken to a landfill.

“The opportunity for the company was to say, ‘Is anybody in a position right now to collect and provide education, training and the platform necessary for small-business restraints, colleges, schools, institutions to have organic waste collected and most importantly establish a method to have that done,” Mr. Hadjis said.

GreenRU has programs with about 30 businesses statewide, he added.

“If you consider that almost 60 plus percent of current waste flow going to the landfill can be composted,” he said, “this is just another way of taking care of the ecological footprint.”

Along with kitchen and cafeteria composting of food scraps, Mr. Hadjis said they also work with industries where during their process, part of the product is used and the other part is wasted.

For example, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in Cedar Rapids produces large quantities of corn stalks that come off corn dryers. They use the kernels to make ethanol blends, but are not using the cobs and stalks. Those can be composted.

“This is a rich cultural area from a agricultural production perspective, there are a lot of organic waste streams being manufactured. Industry alone is one thing,” he said.

Another example, he said, Hubbard Feeds in Iowa City can compost grain dust produced during its process.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels recently started a GreenRU program where the club can compost pre-consumer concession waste.

There is a lot of opportunity to have similar programs in restaurants and kitchens.

“Casinos, look at the opportunity there with buffets. By the time you’re done, you have half-full tray of food waste. It’s really sad because that could easily be diverted from the landfill,” Mr. Hadjis said. “Colleges, schools, institutions, casinos, the list keeps going on and on. That’s a tremendous amount of waste that could be diverted.”

“Most people are used to throwing things in the trash. Learning the separation process takes a little time and it takes a shift in the cultural paradigm,” Mr. Hadjis said. “We’re hoping through education, posters and information that shift occurs.”

“In most cases people are aware of it, and in some cases they are already doing it,” he added.

Mr. Hadjis said they recently did an audit at a hotel. They took a random sample of a few trash bags and found that almost 80 percent of the trash could have been separated and composted.

“In most employee environments, there’s a blue container for recycling paper, another for cans and plastic, this is another bin for them to direct compostable waste as opposed to landfill waste,” Mr. Hadjis said.

The company has also started programs for Red Star Yeast and Nordstrom Direct in Cedar Rapids.

Landfills worldwide are expected to reach capacity by 2030.

More than 34 million tons of food waste is thrown away by U.S. homes and businesses and food waste is now the fastest-growing food waste stream sent to landfills, according to a GreenRU press release.

GreenRU will do a waste audit and measure the amount of organic waste that the business is generating. With the audit information, they will determine a frequency that works best for the volume.

GreenRU representatives will be on site when the program starts and will provide signage, training and information to get the company going.

To be designated as compostable, a material has to biodegrade and disintegrate in a composting system under standard test methods. Criteria has been established by the Institute for Standards Research under ASTM D 6400 Specifications for Compostable Plastics.

Organic materials, when re-purposed into compost, make a nutrient rich soil amendment and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. GreenRU’s composted material will be put back onto Iowa land.

For more information, visit www.greenru.org.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Cedar Rapids Kernels have stepped up to the plate to make their clean-up at Perfect Game Field a little "greener" this season. In an effort to divert organic waste from area landfills, the Cedar Rapids Baseball Club, Inc. will work with GreenRU to compost their "pre-consumer" concession waste.  
Organic materials, such as food scraps, continue to be the largest component of municipal solid waste. More than 34 million tons of food waste is thrown away by U.S. homes and business, and food waste is now the fastest growing waste stream sent to Iowa landfills. Organic materials, when re-purposed into compost, make a nutrient rich soil amendment, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
 
Several Major League ballparks, including San Diego Padres' Petco Park and Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field, have implemented organic waste diversion as part of their commitment to sustainability and "Zero Waste" goals. The Cedar Rapids Kernels Perfect Game Field is likely one of the first ballparks in the Minor Leagues to implement a composting program.
 
Kernels general manager, Doug Nelson, says, "We feel this is a great initiative. Once we realized how simple it was to put into practice, it made perfect sense." Kernels food and beverage director, Debra Meier, also agreed that composting is the way to go, stating that, "The environmental benefits are well worth it."
 
GreenRU, a Chamness Company, is the first company in Iowa to provide full composting services, including education, training, collection containers and services. The program is designed to work with industry, schools, colleges, grocery stores, hospitals and institutions that are looking to better their environmental footprint and improve their sustainability efforts. For additional information, please call 855 RU-VERDE (855-788-3733), or visit www.greenRU.org online.