Tracy Farnsworth went straight from a business track in high school to a full-time job in mortgage banking in Burlington, Vermont. After having children, she built a freelance career in content writing and took online classes as time allowed. She completed Social Media Marketing and Digital Marketing certificate programs with Ireland's online Shaw Academy and completed several courses in SEO and analytics. In her free time, she's the “mom” to a very clingy rat terrier, and the pair walk at least a mile every day. She's also a novice baker who is trying to master the art of sourdough bread.
September 21, 2020
What do you do when your batteries are dead? How do you get rid of rechargeable electronics when they no longer hold a charge? Battery recycling is mandated in many areas, but consumers don’t always understand the process. If your hauler tells you not to put batteries in your recycling bin, you probably think they […]
September 16, 2020
Do you wear clothing until it’s threadbare and falling apart? Or, are you the type of person who wears an outfit until it is out of style? There’s nothing wrong with being fashionable, but it can lead to a lot of trash if you don’t recycle clothing properly. That’s where the problem lies. Few districts […]
September 10, 2020
What are the differences between circular and linear economies? With linear economics, items are used once. Everything in a linear economy is single-use. Circular economics improves upon that by taking items and using them as many times as possible. Closed-loop recycling goes hand in hand with a circular economy by reusing items instead of using […]
August 31, 2020
How far back does plastics recycling go? The first recycling center to accept household plastics goes back to the early 1970s. Pennsylvania started plastics recycling, and there have been advancements over the years. Curbside pick-up started in the 1980s. Rhode Island made plastics recycling mandatory in 1986. By 1990, Coca-Cola was using some recycled plastic […]
August 25, 2020
Recycling is a process where you take items made of a specific material, break it down, and reuse it in some way. The metal can that you rinsed you gets sorted and crushed with thousands of other cans to be processed, melted, and reused. Together, they get melted down and turned into new cans. Paper […]
August 19, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has changed a lot. We’re working from home when possible. We’re social distancing. Some are wearing masks whether it’s a state mandate or not. We’re getting curbside meals rather than eating out. We’re staying home more, ordering online more, and creating more trash and recycling than before. These new habits have impacted […]
August 5, 2020
There’s a problem out there that you may not stop to consider. The packaging materials you get are often trashed unnecessarily. You might know to recycle cardboard, but have you ever stopped to think about how you’re supposed to recycle it? You probably are not aware that plastic envelopes, bubble wrap, and bags are all […]
July 28, 2020
Starting July 1st, Vermont has two new laws designed to reduce waste. One will be easy for residents, as it’s been in the works for a while. Shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or boxes to all retailers or start paying a fee for paper bags. Plastic bags are banned from stores and will […]
July 22, 2020
Did you know that per EPA reports, Americans throw away 267.8 million tons of waste each day? It breaks down to just over 4.5 pounds per person each day. Of that waste, about 10% is composted, some is burned for energy, and the rest sits in the landfill where it slowly breaks down. Reusing trash […]
July 15, 2020
When the World Health Organization first announced COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, no one knew what to expect. Most people had no ideas they’d be working from home offices for months, social distancing, and wearing masks. As some states had to shut down recycling centers and solid waste districts, concerns over reuse and […]