This year could be a tipping point for normalizing a switch across the country from single-use coffee cups to refillable ones.  Why? What has changed in 2024?

Every year around this time, my brother-in-law emails the entire family with a request: send me your New Year’s resolutions! So, in anticipation of my brother-in-law’s email and to increase my accountability beyond my family, I share my resolutions for 2024.

For the parents of school-age kids, the lazy days of summer are now in the rear-view mirror. With the flurry of activity on school nights (and often school mornings) it can be a challenge to pack lunches and snacks that tick all the boxes.

So what is a well-intentioned parent supposed to pack for school snacks? I share some of my top tips.

I think of summer as a time to relax and gather outdoors with friends and family, making new memories. With just a bit of extra prep time, summer gatherings can leave a tiny footprint instead of generating a whole lot of plastic and other waste.

April is Earth Month and you could join the many others around the globe in planting a tree, which is a wonderful Earth Month activity. But if you are looking for a kind of reset, an action that pays dividends again and again, you may want to consider Earth Month an opportunity to adopt some new sustainable habits. I share some ideas that you could commit to in April that provide sustained positive impact.

After more than two decades of using my visa card and enjoying the benefits of racking up 100s of 1000s of miles, I decided to cut it up! Read more to learn the Three reasons why I sliced up my Chase Visa card.

Did you know that the average wedding in the U.S. produces 400 pounds of trash and 63 tons of carbon emissions? (Source)

When I got engaged, I knew my fiancé and I would figure out how to make our wedding day a beautiful, intimate gathering. We were also set on holding a low-waste event. I share insight into my (almost) zero waste wedding.

One of the major sources of global methane emissions is food waste from households that ends up in landfills. While food waste occurs along the entire supply chain — including at farms, restaurants and grocery stores — the biggest portion is generated in our homes. I share three steps we can all take, starting with holiday leftovers.

A recent Washington Post article on sustainable gift-giving noted that “bows, bags and other holiday material add 1 million tons of trash to landfills each week.” To avoid landfill waste, it pays to use reusable, compostable or recyclable materials as much as possible. I share what I’m doing this year to avoid contributing to the waste problem.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American household waste increases by more than 25% between the Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays. Food waste and packaging waste are two of the biggest problems during the holiday period. But is this waste inevitable? Or can at least some of it be prevented? I share my five favorite tips for a more sustainable holiday season.

In one recent survey, 65% said they want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, yet only 26% actually do so.” So, what can a well-intentioned consumer do to stay true to her intentions? And beyond using the eco-product or service, are there other ways to show support? I asked four businesses in my region—all recent start-up companies—what kind of support they could most use from their customers.

A 2019 study in Scientific Reports concluded that if everyone in the U.S. substituted plant proteins for meat proteins 25 percent of the time, we could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 82 million tons.

So, where do we begin, especially if you’re like me…a non-vegetarian who grew up believing a meal is not complete without meat as a centerpiece?

We’ve all done it. Wish cycling. That act of placing something in the recycle bin that you really, really hope is acceptable but you’re just not sure.

Your thinking might be something along these lines: “This (fill-in-the-blank item) is plastic and I know that a lot of plastic is recyclable. I would hate to miss the chance to have this recycled in case they’ll accept it. I want to do the right thing by giving this item a chance.”

The problems with “wish cycling” are, unfortunately, many.

Globally, wasted food accounts for about 8 percent of global emissions, according to Project Drawdown, and most food waste occurs at the household level. The carbon footprint of food wasted in the U.S. is greater than that of the steel or airline industry.

Even if you eat all the food you buy, there is always inevitable food waste. Think: apple cores, carrot peels, and coffee grinds.

It was truly exciting to learn I could tackle this problem pretty easily. I give you five options for your consideration.

ONE YEAR after the onset of the pandemic, it’s clear we have one thing in common: we are using food delivery more than ever. And this means we have cumulatively contributed mounds and mounds to the plastic pollution problem. But can we actually do something about the problem? The answer is a resounding yes. And it’s actually easier than you think.

The coronavirus pandemic provides a unique opportunity to address the challenge of food waste. Check out these three things you can do right now that will set you on a course to drastically reduce your household food waste and will be helpful even beyond the pandemic

You may have been trying to reduce your plastic waste before coronavirus and now feel like throwing in the towel because of all the plastic streaming into your household. But here’s the good news…there is no better time to get it right!

So you’re trying hard to reduce single-use plastic, but some things are really hard to avoid. I admit, Saran Wrap is SO convenient. Let’s be perfectly clear though (no pun intended!), plastic wraps are not accepted in your recycling bin. The good news…there are great alternatives that don’t involve any single-use plastic!