Electronics Recycling Collections
Responsibly recycle unwanted or broken electronics at one of these upcoming events (no appliances such as microwaves or refrigerators). Find a list of acceptable materials here. Sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
MANHATTAN
Tekserve: Saturday, January 15, 10am-4pm
119 West 23rd St. b/t 6th & 7th Aves
BROOKLYN
Prospect Park: Sunday, January 16, 10am-4pm
Prospect Park West and 3rd Street
Ft. Greene: Saturday, January 22, 10am-4pm
Fulton Street b/t S. Portland Ave & S. Oxford St
Monday, January 10, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The Vote is In on Your Xmas Tree
Real Trees are better for the environment (even when you cut them down and prop them up in your living room) than the fake stuff. We figured, but hear it from the Times.
Read all about it.
Read all about it.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Think Outside of the Gift Box this Holiday Season
This particular poster is for Mercy Corps (and came from GOOD), but you get the idea. Support a cause of your loved one. Do so much with your holiday generosity.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Belize Bans Trawling
It's not Brooklyn-centric, but the state of our oceans is one of particular concern to us Green Team members and we all play a part. Every time we order shrimp at a restaurant or at the counter at our overpriced market, we are supporting (usually) the destruction of our oceans. It sounds dramatic, but it's true. Here's some good news though from our friends at Oceana:
All forms of trawling in Belize have been banned in the country’s waters including its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when Fisheries Minister Rene Montero signed the Statutory Instrument effecting this legislative change today.
The ban, effective December 31, 2010, is a historic decision by Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s administration, which has been making these environmentally friendly decisions on the heel of the threat from UNESCO that it would strip the Belize Barrier Reef System of its World Heritage Site status.
Trawling can be compared to deforestation. It’s a destructive fishing practice where weighted nets are drug across the seafloor, destroying everything in their path - turning vibrant seafloor ecosystems to rubble in an instant and leaving baby fish with nowhere to call home. The reef system which lies in Belizian waters is the largest in the Western Hemisphere (second largest in the world) and is one of the U.N.’s World Heritage Sites.
Here's what you can do: not eat seafood, only eat seafood you get at the farmers market, ask how it was caught, and stop eating things that are trawled (that's the worst).
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Whole Foods
Well, Whole Foods is set to open in Gowanus at the end of 2012. Based on urging from passionate Brooklynites, they've made several changes to make the store more friendly and green.
Read all about it.
Read all about it.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Local Shopping Ideas from Brad Lander
Here are a few ideas for shopping local this holiday season: Start locally: Before you head online or to a mall, think about how much you can get from neighborhood stores. Think especially about the people in your life who love Brooklyn, and how much they'll appreciate a gift that helps make it stronger.
From Brooklyn Green Team: plus, when you support small family owned businesses, it's easier to make suggestions to them on how to green thier operations rather than submit to a "contact form" on a corporation's website -- right...AND by keeping those businesses thriving you prevent 50 nail salons from descending in your hood.
IShopBrooklyn.com: Check out Borough President Marty Markowitz' "I Shop Brooklyn" website for neighborhood shopping ideas.
Small Business Saturday, tomorrow, November 27th: Tomorrow is the first national "small business Saturday." http://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday.
Join the 3/50 project: Pick three local businesses you'd most like to support, and commit to spend $50 per month at them. http://www.the350project.net/.
Share your favorite local shopping stories and ideas with us: Email me at lander@council.nyc.gov with your favorite stores and stories -- especially of those local businesses who are great employers & neighbors -- and we'll share some of them with others on our blog. You can also check out the web sites of our local BIDs and merchants associations:
-- Park Slope 5th Avenue BID, http://www.parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/
-- Kensington Area Merchant & Residents Association, http://karmabrooklyn.blogspot.com/
-- Kensington Area Merchant & Residents Association, http://karmabrooklyn.blogspot.com/
-- Court Street Merchants Association, http://www.courtstreetmerchants.org/
-- Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, http://www.atlanticavenuebkny.com/
-- Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, www.shopseventh.com
-- Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, http://www.ibrooklyn.com/
Thanks Brad!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Film Biz Recycling comes to Gowanus!
Film Biz Recycling (FBR), a non-profit that seeks to re-use, recycle, redistribute and re-purpose items from NYC’s film, television and commercial productions, is moving its warehouse from its present location in Long Island City to Gowanus, Brooklyn.
To welcome them to the neighborhood, GreenEdge NYC is inviting you to a Sneak Preview Holiday Sale at their new home. Film Biz Recycling has offered to unpack their treasures from those great holiday commercials and TV Specials so you can grab those cool, colorful, Christmas decorations directly from the sets – you’ll find mini-trees, lights, ornaments, candles, wrapping paper and more! In addition, there will be an assortment of one-of-a kind gift items perfect for the people on your gift list – jewelry, frames, art, mirrors, junktiques, decor, vintage and modern. So if you’ve begun shopping—or are at least shopping for ideas—this is the place for everyone on your list - even the hard to shop for types.
What’s more, you can pick up what you like at half the price of retail stores and you’re helping Film Biz Recycling keep these “as-seen-on-TV” props out of the local landfill.
WHEN: Thursday, December 9th 4:00-8:00pm
WHERE: 540 President Street -- between Third and Fourth Avenues. (Home of the Brooklyn Creative League where we host our Supper Clubs.).
WHAT TO BRING: Your holiday shopping lists, your family and friends. Children welcome - stroller parking available.
To welcome them to the neighborhood, GreenEdge NYC is inviting you to a Sneak Preview Holiday Sale at their new home. Film Biz Recycling has offered to unpack their treasures from those great holiday commercials and TV Specials so you can grab those cool, colorful, Christmas decorations directly from the sets – you’ll find mini-trees, lights, ornaments, candles, wrapping paper and more! In addition, there will be an assortment of one-of-a kind gift items perfect for the people on your gift list – jewelry, frames, art, mirrors, junktiques, decor, vintage and modern. So if you’ve begun shopping—or are at least shopping for ideas—this is the place for everyone on your list - even the hard to shop for types.
What’s more, you can pick up what you like at half the price of retail stores and you’re helping Film Biz Recycling keep these “as-seen-on-TV” props out of the local landfill.
WHEN: Thursday, December 9th 4:00-8:00pm
WHERE: 540 President Street -- between Third and Fourth Avenues. (Home of the Brooklyn Creative League where we host our Supper Clubs.).
WHAT TO BRING: Your holiday shopping lists, your family and friends. Children welcome - stroller parking available.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
BK Vintage
Brooklyn Based, a great blog and sender of emails, sent one last week about vintage shops in Brooklyn. Many were ones we didn't include in our eblast so check them out.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
New Challenge Launches!
We're going old-school (is 3 years old school?) and digging in our closets to bring back our
No New Clothing Challenge!*
Join us in going vintage, thrift, recycled, hand-me-down or eco-friendly. Every single action has an impact in some way somewhere on this planet. Because of globalization, we are often disconnected from the impact of our everyday choices. For example, our new fall shirt might be made with cotton that requires 1/3 lb of chemicals to produce and manufactured in a pollution-emitting factory far away. Let's make a positive impact and equal the balance. Support local shops owned by locals that dig out wearable treasures from the past and present. This will make you more stylish because five other people aren't wearing it to work. Unleash your inner fashionista, while helping the planet.
Worried about bedbugs? Us too. Throw your clothes in a dryer right away to kill them off OR you could put them in the freezer for 2 weeks (really)!
More compelling reasons to do it:
The average American throws away about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per year.
10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides in the U.S. are used to grow cotton.
The 12 to 15 percent of people who shopped at consignment and thrift stores in 2006 saved 2.5 billion pounds of clothes from re-entering the waste stream.
The manufacturing of nylon emits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with a carbon footprint 310 times that of carbon dioxide.
According to the USDA, in one year alone over 50 million pounds of pesticides were used on U.S. cotton fields. Pesticide and fertilizer use on cotton has been linked to ground and surface water contamination, and the pollution of drinking water.
In California, cotton ranks third in the state for total number of pesticide-related illness. Fish and wildlife and also impacted, with pesticides causing migration die-offs and diminished reproductive capacity.
For those of you living in the New York City area, we've attached a list of vintage and second-hand clothing stores in our area.
Resources:
Brooklyn is Vintage Store Mecca. Here are a few we know and like:
Beacons Closet (Park Slope + Williamsburg)
Buffalo Exchange (Williamsburg)
Black Bear (Park Slope South/Windsor Terrace):
BK Flea (Fort Greene)
Mesihmar (Park Slope)
1 of a find NYC (Prospect Heights)
Almost New (Park Slope)
There are also clothing swaps:
Brooklyn Clothing Exchange
S.W.A.P.P.
Five Boroughs Clothing Swap
Want to host a Clothing Swap? Rachel Avalon lays out the fundamentals in this video.
If you would like to join the Challenge, email brooklyngreen@gmail.com and say, "Yes! I'm ready to join the No New Clothing Challenge !"
*Challenge does not apply to underwear or environmentally friendly clothing. We think it's only fair.
No New Clothing Challenge!*
Join us in going vintage, thrift, recycled, hand-me-down or eco-friendly. Every single action has an impact in some way somewhere on this planet. Because of globalization, we are often disconnected from the impact of our everyday choices. For example, our new fall shirt might be made with cotton that requires 1/3 lb of chemicals to produce and manufactured in a pollution-emitting factory far away. Let's make a positive impact and equal the balance. Support local shops owned by locals that dig out wearable treasures from the past and present. This will make you more stylish because five other people aren't wearing it to work. Unleash your inner fashionista, while helping the planet.
Worried about bedbugs? Us too. Throw your clothes in a dryer right away to kill them off OR you could put them in the freezer for 2 weeks (really)!
More compelling reasons to do it:
The average American throws away about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per year.
10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides in the U.S. are used to grow cotton.
The 12 to 15 percent of people who shopped at consignment and thrift stores in 2006 saved 2.5 billion pounds of clothes from re-entering the waste stream.
The manufacturing of nylon emits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with a carbon footprint 310 times that of carbon dioxide.
According to the USDA, in one year alone over 50 million pounds of pesticides were used on U.S. cotton fields. Pesticide and fertilizer use on cotton has been linked to ground and surface water contamination, and the pollution of drinking water.
In California, cotton ranks third in the state for total number of pesticide-related illness. Fish and wildlife and also impacted, with pesticides causing migration die-offs and diminished reproductive capacity.
For those of you living in the New York City area, we've attached a list of vintage and second-hand clothing stores in our area.
Resources:
Brooklyn is Vintage Store Mecca. Here are a few we know and like:
Beacons Closet (Park Slope + Williamsburg)
Buffalo Exchange (Williamsburg)
Black Bear (Park Slope South/Windsor Terrace):
BK Flea (Fort Greene)
Mesihmar (Park Slope)
1 of a find NYC (Prospect Heights)
Almost New (Park Slope)
There are also clothing swaps:
Brooklyn Clothing Exchange
S.W.A.P.P.
Five Boroughs Clothing Swap
Want to host a Clothing Swap? Rachel Avalon lays out the fundamentals in this video.
If you would like to join the Challenge, email brooklyngreen@gmail.com and say, "Yes! I'm ready to join the No New Clothing Challenge !"
*Challenge does not apply to underwear or environmentally friendly clothing. We think it's only fair.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Mayor Breaks Ground on Recycling Facility
FACILITY IN SUNSET PARK THAT WILL PROCESS ALL OF CITY'S METAL, GLASS AND PLASTIC RECYCLABLES
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today broke ground on a new Sims Municipal Recycling Facility that will serve as the principal processing facility for all of the City's metal, glass, and plastic recyclables. The recycling facility is part of the City's landmark Solid Waste Management Plan, which establishes a cost-effective, equitable, and environmentally sound system for managing the City's waste for the next 20 years, and it is a key part of the City's effort to achieve PlaNYC's goals of improving air quality, cutting traffic and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new, state-of-the-art facility located at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park will minimize the distance that collection trucks travel between pick-up sites and receiving centers, allow Sims to expand its barge and rail-based transport systems, eliminate over 260,000 vehicle miles traveled annually from City roadways, and create 100 new jobs when the facility is opened, which is expected in December 2011.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today broke ground on a new Sims Municipal Recycling Facility that will serve as the principal processing facility for all of the City's metal, glass, and plastic recyclables. The recycling facility is part of the City's landmark Solid Waste Management Plan, which establishes a cost-effective, equitable, and environmentally sound system for managing the City's waste for the next 20 years, and it is a key part of the City's effort to achieve PlaNYC's goals of improving air quality, cutting traffic and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new, state-of-the-art facility located at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park will minimize the distance that collection trucks travel between pick-up sites and receiving centers, allow Sims to expand its barge and rail-based transport systems, eliminate over 260,000 vehicle miles traveled annually from City roadways, and create 100 new jobs when the facility is opened, which is expected in December 2011.
Learn More.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Unclogging Your Drain
A couple of green team members were in standing water for weeks. A drain that's not draining isn't pleasant. It's tempting to go for drano when a snake just isn't cutting it, but it's SOOO bad for water.
After bubbly cleaning liquids disappear down our drains, they are treated along with sewage and other waste water at municipal treatment plants, then discharged into nearby waterways. Most ingredients in chemical cleaners break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon afterward. Others, however, do not, threatening water quality or fish and other wildlife. In a May 2002 study of contaminants in stream water samples across the country, the U.S. Geological Survey found persistent detergent metabolites in 69% of streams tested.
PLUS... (according to Organic Consumers Association) The most acutely dangerous cleaning products are corrosive drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners, according to Philip Dickey of the Washington Toxics Coalition. Corrosive chemicals can cause severe burns on eyes, skin and, if ingested, on the throat and esophagus. Ingredients with high acute toxicity include chlorine bleach and ammonia, which produce fumes that are highly irritating to eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and should not be used by people with asthma or lung or heart problems. These two chemicals pose an added threat in that they can react with each other or other chemicals to form lung-damaging gases.
WHAT TO DO...
Instead, try using a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar down the drain. Let it sit for a half hour and then follow down with 2 quarts of boiling water. You may have to do it more than once. You can also go at it with a hanger (as we wound up doing) b/c the all-natural product we were using truthfully didn't cut it. Or call the plumber!
After bubbly cleaning liquids disappear down our drains, they are treated along with sewage and other waste water at municipal treatment plants, then discharged into nearby waterways. Most ingredients in chemical cleaners break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon afterward. Others, however, do not, threatening water quality or fish and other wildlife. In a May 2002 study of contaminants in stream water samples across the country, the U.S. Geological Survey found persistent detergent metabolites in 69% of streams tested.
PLUS... (according to Organic Consumers Association) The most acutely dangerous cleaning products are corrosive drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners, according to Philip Dickey of the Washington Toxics Coalition. Corrosive chemicals can cause severe burns on eyes, skin and, if ingested, on the throat and esophagus. Ingredients with high acute toxicity include chlorine bleach and ammonia, which produce fumes that are highly irritating to eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and should not be used by people with asthma or lung or heart problems. These two chemicals pose an added threat in that they can react with each other or other chemicals to form lung-damaging gases.
WHAT TO DO...
Instead, try using a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar down the drain. Let it sit for a half hour and then follow down with 2 quarts of boiling water. You may have to do it more than once. You can also go at it with a hanger (as we wound up doing) b/c the all-natural product we were using truthfully didn't cut it. Or call the plumber!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Gowanus Garbage
Watch this disturbing video depicting trash and sewage flowing freely in our beloved Gowanus Canal.
What can you do about it? Volunteer with Gowanus Canal Conservancy! Email volunteer@gowanuscanalconservancy.org to volunteer and be a steward of this waterway.
What can you do about it? Volunteer with Gowanus Canal Conservancy! Email volunteer@gowanuscanalconservancy.org to volunteer and be a steward of this waterway.
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