Sierra Club Green Home

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)

In California alone, consumers use upwards of 19 million plastic bags per year, which require approximately 8 million barrels of oil to produce. What’s more, about 90 percent of the bags used in the United States never get recycled. Globally, of the 500 billion of the single-use, flimsy bags we go through, many end up either in landfills or as wind-blown or ocean gyre litter that are consumed by wildlife and marine life, resulting in many painful deaths. For many environmentalists and concerned consumers, plastic bags represent public enemy number one. (Photo by Vaidyarupal, Flickr)

Ever wondered where your used electronic appliances go? Or maybe you just think, “I paid my recycling fee, so they must have been recycled in a proper way.” As a matter of fact, most e-waste from all over the world is shipped to third-world countries such as China. Here’s how to reduce e-waste’s harm. (Photo by Blogpaedia, Flickr)

When we purchase food, toys, household-use items, and other products for our infants and children, we rely on the manufacturers to create safe merchandise. Some toys are not what they seem, however. In fact, many contain substances that harm infants and children. California recently joined 10 other states in banning the chemical BPA from infant and children’s products. Here is some background on BPA and its brushes with the law. (Photo by)

LOS ANGELES — Participants in Piece by Piece workshops recycle broken bits of glass, china, and more to create mosaic artwork. The art is sold to provide an income for the underserved and homeless participants. The organization also creates public mosaic art murals through commission jobs. (Photo courtesy of Piece by Piece)