As we all try to stay safe, employed, and alive during the COVID-19 pandemic, the plastics industry has seen the pandemic as a sweet opportunity to negate important policies that limit the spread of single use plastics into our communities and waterways. On the federal level, The Plastics Industry Association has pressured the Department of …

Farmers Markets Are Essential! Please support Virginia’s farmers by sending this letter to the governor asking them to reclassify farmers markets. During a pandemic, or other disaster, state and local governments often make determinations for classifications of various services and can create specific rules that apply to industries like food service. For the purposes of …

As the weather begins to cool and you’re looking for some late season paddling, camping, or hiking to see the leaves changing colors, a little upfront planning can make your trip both zero waste and lots of fun. I spend a lot of time looking for adventure while paddling on the Potomac or walking Shenandoah …

The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore strives to create a cleaner and greener future. One of the ways they are accomplishing this is through their trusted friend Mr. Trash Wheel. The Inner Harbor Water Wheel, or “Mr. Trash Wheel,” utilizes old and new technologies to harness the power of water and sunlight to collect litter and …

  In 2005, Richard Louv coined the phrase “Nature Deficit Disorder” in his book, Last Child in the Woods, to describe the host of behavioral problems he attributes to humans, especially children, spending less time in the outdoors. Highlighting this trend away from connecting with the natural world, a recent National Aquarium commercial shows a …

Every day is Earth Day at Clean Fairfax.   Clean Fairfax is out in the community at Clean Ups, and Stream Monitorings, and looking for innovative ways to remind people to use their own grocery bags every single day of the year.   And we are planning to celebrate Earth and Arbor Day a week …

Virginia is definitely not keeping up with Mumbai, Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, China, South Africa, Tanzania, Australia, Ireland, and Italy. Nor with Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, MD, California, and other localities across the United States. When it comes to cleaning up our plastic bag problem, we are behind. A proposed bill to add a …

America Recycles Day, November 15, 2016 has arrived—and I want to talk about a pet peeve: Large events that provide NO recycling options! I have recently attended indoor and outdoor sporting events, a large training event with teenagers, and a wedding. In every instance, huge quantities of bottles and cans were thrown into the garbage, …

America Recycles Day, Keep America Beautiful’s nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling, is November 15 this year. Living in Fairfax County, where we have curbside recycling, it is easy to assume that the U.S. is a leader in recycling. In fact, the U.S. falls behind many other nations, with Americans recycling only 34 percent …

Spurred on by pictures of marine animals tragically trapped in the holes of plastic six-pack rings, many of us have dutifully cut up these plastic rings around our soda and beer six-packs confident that no bird, fish, or sea turtle will ever get ensnared in our plastic. The problem, however, goes deeper. Since 1994 the …