San Diego Johnny

Precycling, You Doin' It?

This tidbit from the Cape Cod Times made me think about something I've been doing but didn't have a clever name for: Precycling!

I hope you are recycling, but have you ever thought about precycling? Precycling is making buying decisions based in part on the amount of packing you will have to dispose of once you get the items home. Make sure plastic containers are recyclable and that there aren't layers and layers of plastic on items that will end up in the landfill. It's all about paying attention.

Some cool articles and tips on Precycling: 

EDF Article: Precycling: Shopping for Future Generations 

Everybody shops. But not everybody realizes how environmentally important it is to shop consciously...

Consumer Reports Blog: Buzzword: Precycle 

What it means. Precycling represents the next generation in residential-waste management...

Indiana Recycling Coalition: Precycle

Precycling -- think of it as the choices you can easily make before you recycle or discard packaging or almost any household item... [This piece has some great helpful links]

New York State Department of Conservation: Let's Precycle 

Hey, New York!...PREvent waste before you reCYCLE!

Are you precycling? What sort of things are you doing to reduce waste and Rise Above Plastics?

Graphic courtesy of Indiana Recycling Coalition

Didn't Get MLK's Birthday Off, Maybe It's the White Flat Latex Paint?

For years when I had to work while others enjoyed the Federal holiday of Martin Luther King's birthday off I'd quip that I work for a racist organization.  While racism isn't a joke, what is are organizations like some I used to work for who preach diversity but do not give their employees the day off to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, the Nobel Prize winner (not  many know that he won it at age 35) and pivotal civil rights leader of the 20th century.  Here are couple of quick and easy tips to tell if you work for a progressive or otherwise challenged organization.  First of all, is the the composition of your company's board and officers painted in white flat latex?  Would your company's board and officers not know what a color was even if they got run over by a rainbow colored steamroller?  Secondly, do you get other holidays off?   Do you enjoy long weekends on President's Day and Columbus Day?  Are you able to properly honor our veterans each November 11 or are you stuck in your cubicle each November 11?  If you get these days off but you do not get the third Monday in January off, you may indeed work for a progressively challenged organization.  If you get none of those days off, well, your employer may be both challenged and cheap.  In "today's economy" one perhaps should not be wondering why one does not have more days off as do our counterparts overseas and those who work for more enlightened companies but if not now then when?