The Nearest Landfill

I was reading a feature titled “15 must-see sights” in a men’s health magazine yesterday (actually it was “Men’s Health”). I meandered through the list, going from #1 (The Grand Canyon from a 767), through #3 (the inside of an industrial slaughter-house…which the point was if you did get a peak inside, you would either become a vegetarian immediately, or at the very least, switch to eating only grass-fed beef), through #10 (watching a professional chef work up close) and on to #13.

Lucky #13 really caught my attention, as the must-see was “The nearest landfill”.

Here is the excerpt:
All that stuff you toss out doesn’t just disappear after it is slung on to the truck on Tuesdays. Your dirty secrets become mountains and seas of garbage hidden under mounds of clay. See one stinking mound of civilization and you’ll want to change from using disposable, toxic dry erase markers to using non-toxic eco-friendly markers, like AusPen” (okay so I edited it a little at the end there, adding our own flair).

But the point is, it’s easy to be detached from your waste when it goes in a bag or box to be picked up each week and vanishes from your life. But a visit to the local landfill provides some real perspective.

PLENTY Likes AusPen

We’ve been big fans of the eco-focused publication “Plenty” for a while so it was nice to see in their latest issue that they are also fans of ours.

Plenty, which is the leading eco-living magazine on newsstands (their tag line is “The World In Green”) featured the AusPen markers on page 63, with the heading “High Marks”.

You can check out Plenty online at www.plentymag.com, or pick up the August/September issue at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Whole Foods and many other leading retailers. It’s a great read (and hey, we were saying that long before they gave us a tip of their hat).

Pasadena Gets A Little Greener

Thanks to the City of Pasadena (California), this jewel in the San Gabriel Mountains (made famous by Jan and Dean in their 60’s hit “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena) is a little greener today than it was before.

The City office has re-ordered more AusPen markers, which means not only are they saving money, but they have taken literally thousands of the old PVC-made disposable markers out of their local landfills (and they have reduced toxicity in their workplace by using our non-toxic markers).

Pasadena is just one of many City offices in North America that are making “greener” changes throughout their buildings, looking for eco-friendly alternatives to every day supplies. It produces a tangible result immediately, but also conveys to the community that they are committed to sustainability and creates positive actions all over the city.

AusPen is happy to be a part of these changes cities are making. Again, we say this all the time, but small changes can have a huge impact.

The Beauty of Brown

A buddy stopped by my place last week and made a comment on the appearance of my front lawn….which was sporting a burnt orangy/brown color. When I told him I hadn’t watered my lawn in three years and explained why, he was impressed and immediately declared, in solidarity with me, he would stop watering his lawn every night (breaking all water restrictions in his municipality by the way) and reduce that to only every second night - hey you can’t win them all.

But I do believe, and I realize this is only anecdotal, but I’m seeing a lot more brown lawns dotting the suburban landscape, way more than I used to. And I have to think that a portion of this neighborhood “browning” trend is all about conservation and sustainability. There has to be an increasing number of people these days who just don’t feel good about dumping hundreds of gallons of water a few times a week on grass patches in the front and back of their house.

So here’s to letting your lawn take on a beautiful brown hue every summer.

It’s Back To School (For Some)

For some regions, it’s back to school, or at least teachers are getting ready for the kids to start arriving soon (we spoke with several teachers this week who are back in class or starting next week).

Other areas still have a few weeks before the doors fly open to another school year.

When you’re getting ready to outfit the classroom with supplies, please try and think green with what you purchase, but also with how you go about your day-to-day activities once school has started. Recycle, reuse, reduce are the keys.

Whiteboard markers are one part of the equation when it comes to making positive changes, but refillable, recyclable, non-toxic products in any area are great to be looking out for.

For those who are back at school, have a great year, for those with a few weeks of vacation left, enjoy it.