Go Plastic Free with these Green Business Tips

 As a partner of the Kanu Hawaii No Waste Challenge, we have compiled a number of ideas, both basic and ambitious, concerning how to green your retail or food service business, specifically when it comes to waste. Based on our research, including conversations with both local business leaders and customers, we are providing you this list of tips to consider as well as vendors that can assist in implementing these changes.

Becoming a “greener” business speaks to the core philosophies of your establishment. According to studies by the U.S. Government Small Business Administration, adding green-minded policies and products to a marketing strategy can boost your reputation with the growing number of environmentally concerned customers.

Friend or Foam Series on Civil Beat

Are you a reader of the local web news organization Civil Beat?


In recent months, their investigative team has worked on an awareness raising and discussion worthy series called Friend or Foam: Why do we use so much plastic foam in Hawaii? Civil Beat examines who makes plastic foam, how it impacts the environment, and how people are trying to do away with it. They also cover the policy issues behind bringing your own container.

We've asked our members to comment on different parts of the series. Today we are proud to share a short editorial as a Community Voice contribution. Please log on to share your reactions and solutions.

Friend or Foam: The Perils of Single-Use Plastics
   
~Plastic is an amazing material, but impossible to dispose of in a sustainable way...

Dec. 3rd Clean Up Results

Saturday was another great turn out for our quarterly clean up at Kailua Beach Park!

The Kailua team of 60+ volunteers collected 180 pounds of marine debris and litter from the Beach Park and surrounding shoreline in under 2 hours! This includes 40 pounds of recyclables and 13 pounds of beach plastic going to method for upcycling into about 1000 bottles. (That's 100% post consumer waste, no new plastic!) 

Meanwhile, on the North Shore our Plastic Free Haleiwa team in Kahuku collected 1208 pounds of marine debris including 200 pounds for method! 

We can't thank our awesome volunteers enough. We offer a special appreciation to all the young folks who make our beach clean ups so special. Saturday we had teams from the Girls Scouts, Lanikai Elementary, Keolu Elementary, St. Anthony's School, and Le Jardin Academy.

We are also proud to have such great partners for support and as contributors to the prize raffle. Please thank Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks, Muumuu Heaven, Global Village, TikiMaster.com, Unlucky HI and Ocean Devotion Hawaii.

More photos on our Facebook page! 

The next clean up will be April 14th with Surfrider. Stay tuned for details.

Dec. 3rd Beach Clean-Up and No Waste Challenge

Join us Saturday, December 3rd

10am-12pm

Kailua Beach Park

Meet near the Canoe House, Main Parking Lot, East of Buzz’s Restaurant. Join us for the clean up at 10am and stay for the trash weigh-in and a low-waste potluck lunch at 12pm. RSVP on Facebook.

We'll have a raffle with prizes from local sponsors such as Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks, Muumuu Heaven, Global Village, TikiMaster.com, and more...We'll be working with a new partner too: Ocean Devotion Hawaii.  Download the flier here. 

What to bring: sunscreen, hat, work gloves, old colanders, water bottles, friends, and a great attitude! Bring any plastic grocery bags you have to give them a second life as trash bags. If your interested, also bring a low-impact lunch box or food to share. That means reusable plates and utensils too. We'll have coolers and other supplies.

We'll also be collecting plastic for Method Soap's new post-consumer recycled bottles made from gyre plastic pollution!


Ocean Plastic 2011 from People Against Dirty on Vimeo.

This effort is part of the 2011 No Waste Challenge.

November 27-December 26 is Kanu Hawaii's No Waste Challenge: a time to learn about the waste stream in Hawaii and renew personal, household, and business commitments to reducing our waste footprint through out the year. We'll be sharing educational items, events, and projects to take part in. The last week is the One Week -One Bag challenge. Learn more at the link, commit to change, and share a journal.

Another Plastic Free Hawaii clean up will be taking place that day in Kahuku! We'll be cleaning Punamano Unit James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, Marconi Road -Kam Hwy. Meet at Kahuku High School at 9am for instructions.