In 1976, Alan Davis wanted to print an annual report on recycled paper, but had a difficult time finding a supply of it. So he switched careers and started a recycled paper company.
Today, the Conservatree Paper Co. is the country’s only paper wholesaler to distribute strictly recycled paper. Over the years, the San Francisco-based firm [...]

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Cargill Inc. has created a new biodegradable packaging material from farm crops. The material could help limit the amount of disposable packaging that continues to pile up in the nation’s landfills.
The company, a farm commodities processor, will open a pilot factory in early 1992 to begin producing lactic-acid polymers from corn and other crops. Because [...]

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In an attempt to keep more paper in the recycling process, Adhesives Research Co., of Glenrock, Penn., has developed a new recyclable label.
“A lot of paper products are labeled — envelopes, newspapers, reports, you name it,” said Rick Alexander, market manager for Adhesives Research. “That material can’t be recycled into more paper without removing the [...]

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Turning the fruits of a recycling program into tangible results has proven hugely successful for the Chicago Park District and the city’s residents.
Chicago’s 563 parks are now being covered in garbage. But it is in the form benches, playground barriers and other items composed completely of plastic donated by residents in the city’s Plastic On [...]

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Incorporating such diverse items as coffee filters, old tires and plastic left over from the production of disposable diapers, an Oregon company has created a walking shoe made entirely of recycled materials.
Julie Lewis, founder of DejaShoes, says the shoe meets all the technical qualifications of a good walking shoe, including a beveled heel, arch support [...]

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If you keep the environment in mind while shopping, your efforts are making a difference.
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) recently tracked several environmental issues on behalf of the supermarket industry and found that consumers are changing their purchasing habits to help the environment. These findings should help change the way the industry does business.
The institute, [...]

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It’s no secret — America’s disposable society has created a landfill crisis. Landfills around the country are approaching capacity, and new sites are difficult to approve.
Portland, Ore., however, is on the right track with an innovative solution. The city has created the nation’s largest composting facility for municipal solid waste.
In April 1991, a unique public/private [...]

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Transforming useless, black rooftops into prosperous, green gardens — that is the goal of Dr. Paul Mankiewicz.
As director of the Gaia Institute, an environmental research group in New York City, he has designed a unique greenhouse which solves the complexities of gardening on rooftops and will provide fresh produce for thousands of residents below.
By [...]

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While recycling itself is a worthwhile endeavor, when intertwined with charitable organizations, its power for good is taken to far greater heights.
A perfect example has been under way in St. Petersburg, Fla., for several years now. By picking up used paper donated by various companies and eventually hauling it to a local paper company, a [...]

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A potato that produces natural plastic may soon be a reality. But unlike the original plastic potato, Mr. Potato Head, this new plant will have profound impacts on the nature of plastic and its ability to exist in harmony with the environment.
Scientists now are perfecting a system of growing organic plastics rather than manufacturing them. [...]

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