Sierra Club Green Home

Recology’s Artist in Residence program had an exhibition of art made from materials scavenged from the San Francisco dump on January 20th and 21st. The featured artists were Ethan Estess, Terry Berlier, and Donna Anderson Kam. These original and resourceful pieces included cement sculptures, drawings with discarded material, and marine life representation.

Electronics go out of style faster than clothes these days. Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers every day, according to Time Magazine. E-waste piles up and often gets shipped to poor countries where it causes serious environmental and health problems. Fortunately, there are companies like 2nd Solutions which use smelting to extract recyclable elements from electronics. In this video, Michael Pittman from 2nd Solutions shows Sierra Club Green Home how it works. (Photo by JohnMuk, Flickr)

Never assume that it is safe or legal to dispose of household chemicals down the drain, in a storm sewer, or with general household trash. The local waste systems may drain in waterways or treatment facilities, which cannot process chemical waste. Your household chemical waste can create much bigger environmental problems for your community and local ecosystems and wildlife habitats. (Photo by Mzacha, Stock Xchng)

It takes 17 million barrels of oil to produce the amount of bottled water Americans buy each year. Coca-Cola’s brands Dasani and Odwalla, claim to have a solution: plastic made from plants. Sierra Club Green Home decided to find out how these PlantBottles compare to conventional plastics. (Photo by Leonardo Bonanni, Flickr)

More than a quarter of landfill area is attributed to paper. While large printing and publishing companies are slowly makeing changes to reduce this number, Sierra Club Green Home readers can do their part by printing sustainably. Here are the basics: buy consciously, recycle properly, and reduce paper use. (Photo sourced from FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Plastic is a large expense in the beverage industry. The global price of oil directly affects the type of plastic being produced. In 2008, when the price of oil soared to more than $100 per barrel, companies began scrambling to find alternatives to plastics. Several companies have created bottles made from plant-based materials. (Photo courtesy of BioCor)

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — It may feel small, but I learned from reading the Laguna Beach Independent newspaper that “all of Laguna Beach’s hotel and lodging properties have agreed to recycle hygiene products to benefit children and families in need through the nonprofit Clean the World Global. When one looks at what the numbers could add up to and the impact, this recycling effort is not insignificant in the least, even for a little seaside town. (Photo by Casa Laguna Inn, courtesy of Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau)

Every year, 25 to 30 million live Christmas trees are sold in the United States. Their ornaments and decorations help brighten our holiday. But after the holiday, they end up curbside as trash or, in towns offering such services, as recycling. A sad fate for such a wonderful part of Christmas.

Around the country, a new tradition is growing: renting a living tree for the holidays. (Photo by Monica Hudson, RentALivingChristmasTree.com)

For more than a year, filmmakers have been laying the groundwork for Racing to Zero, a documentary on how Americans can reduce their waste to almost nothing. With initial fund-raising going well, production is set to start in January. The film will focus on solutions and involve supporters of the film throughout production. (Photo courtesy of Diana Fuller)

You’ve seen the aftermath of a great Christmas morning. The entire living room is complete mayhem: piles of wrapping paper, crumpled tissue paper, and bows littered in every corner. You can probably fill an entire trash bag with Christmas debris, which can make even the not-so-green cringe just a little. SCGH.com has found a few alternatives to the traditional wrapping paper. (Photo courtesy of Envirosax)