Upcycling: A True Environmental Investment

If you’ve spent much time on our website (or hanging around our blog), you probably know that we’re huge fans of sustainable living. As a waste management company, we have a big responsibility—to reduce the waste stream and help companies build green by recycling and upcycling as much as we can.

Not familiar with the term upcycle? Think of it as “repurposing” your junk. So…instead of your glass water bottle being melted down and formed into a new water bottle—you paint your glass bottle and call it a bud vase.

At Cardella, we’ve taken upcycling to a new level. Partnering with Scrapile, a NYC company, we pass along wood leftovers from construction sites. Then Carlos and Bart, Scrapile’s resident artists, upcycle the discarded wood scraps to create innovative bench, table and accessory designs. Browse their website and you’ll find that their pieces are better than any furniture available at the retail store!

We’re proud of our collaborative upcycling efforts. If you’re interested in becoming part of the green revolution, tune in to next week’s blog for tips about how to salvage your household junk through creative upcycling.

More Green Giving with Recycled and Sustainable Gifts

If you read our last blog, you found some great tips about reducing your holiday gift waste. By opting for waste-free wrapping, embracing the e-card and buying rechargeable batteries, you’re taking some small steps toward reducing your carbon footprint and making the world a cleaner place.

As you put the finishing touches on your gift list this year, visit the following websites to find innovative, recycled presents to impress your recipients—and save a tree or two.

Shop thrift and consignment stores for cool, vintage items you won’t ever see at the mall. You’ll find chrome appliances, antique dolls, glassware, jewelry and more when you visit The Thrift Shopper online for thrift store listings by zip code.
Browse MakeStuff.com for a variety of homemade holiday gift ideas. The site also includes a list of crafty items you can make from recycled materials.
Buy beautiful, sustainable fabric by-the-yard for quilts, clothing and other gifts. Near Sea Naturals carries knit, woven and pre-cut fabrics made from natural fiber choices.
Check out Scrapile—one of our favorite manufacturing partners—for furniture created from recycled bits of lumber. Their stools, benches, tables and wood accessories make creative gifts for that hard-to-buy-for someone.
Don’t forget your pets when you’re buying recycled. Visit Planet Dog for Orbee-Tuff RecycleBALLS and RecycleBONES—made from Orbee-Tuff fiber waste that would otherwise go into the waste stream. Many of Planet Dog’s products are also guaranteed to stand up to aggressive chewers.

For those trying to live sustainably, there are hundreds more eco-friendly gift ideas online. Take the time to be ecologically responsible this holiday season—and join Cardella in our quest for a greener tomorrow.

Visiting Garbage Truck Helps Drive Home the Importance of Recycling To Adlai E. Stevenson First-Graders

As part of their Earth Day observance on April 23, 2009, more than 100 first-graders at Adlai E. Stevenson Elementary School in Fairfield, N.J., listened politely as I talked to them about the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling. But they really got excited about seeing one of our shiny red and green garbage trucks up close!

I took one of Cardella Waste Services’ trucks to my seven-year-old son David’s school as the highlight of my Earth Day presentation about where garbage goes and how long it stays there.
Using slides illustrated with cartoons designed to appeal to my young audience, I explained that a banana peel’s landfill life might be only three to four weeks, an aluminum soda can might last a year, while a plastic jug could still be there a million years from now.

I told them that’s why it’s so important to reduce the amount of garbage we send to landfills by re-using containers, and recycling what we can’t reuse.
To reinforce my points, I gave the kids Earth Day tee shirts, stickers, coloring books and press-on tattoos—but the real hit was the garbage truck. Each first grade class had its picture taken beside the truck, and the driver and I demonstrated how it works. The truck clearly was the best part for the kids. They especially loved the horn!