The Shadow
Dear Recycle Lady,
What is greenwashing and who does it?
Newspaper Reader
Dear Newspaper Reader,
Greenwashing, also called green marketing, is a form of marketing used by companies to make their company or their products appear to be more environmentally friendly than they are, or that a sustainable change has been made in their products. Since consumers are beginning to be more eco-friendly and are willing to pay a little more for eco-friendly products and packaging, some companies are using greenwashing to increase their profits. Words such as natural, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, green, sustainable, naturally derived, low carbon, and net-zero are used in advertising and packaging to convince the buyer that their product is eco-friendly.
Earth.com says that “greenwashing is a harmful and deceitful way of advertising that a company is more sustainable than it actually is,” and they list 10 companies that have been caught greenwashing in various ways. The 10 companies on their list are Volkswagen (cheated on results of carbon emissions tests), BP (advertised low-carbon energy products when 96% of its annual spending is on oil and gas), ExxonMobil (advertising suggested that its experimental algae biofuels could one day reduce transport emissions when 2025 emission reduction targets do not include the vast majority of these emissions), Nestle (stated that it would have packaging that was 100% recyclable or reuseable, but no progress made in doing so), Coca-Cola (falsely advertised that it is eco-friendly and sustainable. Named the largest plastic polluter in the world, along with Nestle and PepsiCo.), Starbucks ( released a straw-less lid that contained more plastic than the old lid and straw combination), IKEA (linked with illegal logging in Ukraine – greenwashes the timber industry), Plastic Bottle Water Companies (bottles labeled “natural”), Major Banks, including JP Morgan, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank (Issued new “green Investment opportunities” yet lending huge sums to industries that contribute the most to global warming, and boasting they are leaders in being green), Fast Fashion Brands and clothing industry (80% of discarded textiles go to the landfill). Numerous other companies have been found guilty of greenwashing but are not on this particular list.
Dear Recycle Lady,
I have a tape measure that used to automatically return the tape into the housing. However, the retraction feature no longer works so I am left with a 6-foot-long piece of metal. Can this metal tape measure be recycled?
Measurement too Long
Dear Measurement too Long,
If your metal measuring tape is disconnected from its housing, the metal tape will recycle. However, if the metal tape is still connected to the plastic housing, it is not recyclable as the plastic housing is not recyclable. The Recycling Center accepts most kinds of metal. However, small pieces of metal such as small metal caps, screws, and nails are not accepted as they cause problems with the baling equipment. Boggs Recycling in Caldwell does accept these small pieces of metal. Metal clothes hangers are not accepted for the same reason. Take them to the Greenbrier Valley Cleaners across the street from the Greenbrier Motors in Fairlea. They accept all hangers and reuse them.
Dear Recycle Lady,
When is World Ocean Day?
Celebrate the Ocean
Dear Celebrate the Ocean,
World Ocean Day is an international day that is celebrated on June 8 each year! It was first proposed in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. It was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. Each year a new theme is proposed. This year’s theme was Sustaining the Wonder That Sustains Us. According to igas.int, “World Ocean Day is a platform to raise awareness of the destructive impacts of human activities—from pollution to overfishing—and to galvanize a global movement for ocean stewardship. It’s a day to inform, mobilize, and unite people around the sustainable management of marine ecosystem.”
Kudos to all our recyclers – The Greenbrier Recycling Center shipped out 77 tons of Recyclable materials this month!
Have questions about recycling or interesting information about recycling? Send questions or requests to Recyclelady7@gmail.com. Dear Recycle Lady is sponsored jointly by the Greenbrier Recycling Center and Greenworks Recycling.
