Sierra Club Green Home

SAN FRANCISCO — Waste management company Recology has hit a milestone: 1 million tons of composted materials in San Francisco. What’s more, Thanksgiving is the biggest food week of the year, and Recology is calling for all scraps to be composted. Read more about the company’s many programs, including art, education, and falcons. UPDATED: Take a video tour of its facilities.

Panasonic Eco Technology Center (PETEC) is an unusual recycling facility in many ways. Since it started operations in 2001, PETEC has recycled more than 8 million units of appliances. Take a look at how it does so and why Japan’s unique recycling law has helped PETEC earn its sucess.

Planned obsolescence, meet your match! Dozuki is taking us back to a time when things were built to last, and people were more likely to fix what they had than buy a whole new product. Their applications and webpages make it easy for people to learn how to fix their electronics and other goods. Learn about [...]

Steve Jobs left a legacy that began with the launch of the Apple Lisa in 1983 and the Apple Macintosh a year later. In light of the enormity of these changes and their impact on our lives, it might be a good idea to check Apple’s green legacy. (Photo courtesy of Apple, Inc.)

SAN FRANCISCO — As You Sow, a nonprofit, focuses on corporate accountability and environmental health to implement eco-conscious programs and socially responsible practices. It’s what the organization’s CEO calls a “win-win-win” for companies, consumers, and the planet. (Photo: Matthewdikmans)

In today’s economy many businesses are looking for ways to save money. Whether companies are drawn by economic or environmental concerns, many simply do not have the time or desire to investigate solutions. Hence you, the eco-hero, can use these five tips to guide your company towards effective environmental solutions. (Photo © Iqoncept | Dreamstime.com)

SAN FRANCISCO — Local Mission Eatery is a very appropriately named restaurant. Situated in San Francisco’s Mission District, the eatery serves up food purchased solely from local farmers’ markets. What’s more, when the dining area and kitchen were being reconstructed before opening, the restaurant used only locally sourced materials.

If half of kids swapped costumes instead of purchasing new ones every year, it would reduce landfill waste by 6,250 tons, according to GreenHalloween.org. Saturday, October 8, is National Costume Swap Day. Find the nearest swap party. (Photo courtesy of Green Halloween)

Earth: The Operators’ Manual, hosted by Dr. Richard Alley, is a practical and promising one-hour PBS program about how we can use energy innovations to address climate change. Part travel guide, part science fair, the program crisscrosses the globe to look at how we know the earth’s atmosphere is warming and what we can do to transition to sustainable energy resources. (Photo by Art Howard, courtesy of Geoff Haines-Stiles)

If you religiously recycle your old newspapers and junk mail, you’re not alone. In 2007, 56 percent of the paper used in the U.S. was recovered—an average of 360 pounds of paper per person. But have you been recycling your dead light bulbs, flat tires, and leftover paint? You may not be able to put such items on the curb, but many companies and communities are providing ways to recycle them. In fact the EPA says that about 75% of what Americans throw away these days could be recycled.