Leslie's blog

Cleanup Recap: September Edition

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Submitted by Leslie on September 30, 2011 - 12:58

Even though summer has come and gone, United By Blue has stood strong on the cleanup front. We kicked off September with a cleanup at Bartram's Garden on the 10th with visiting Industrial Asset Management Council group members. They flew in a day early for a company conference to spend the day doing community service projects around Philadelphia.

Cleanup Recap: August Edition

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Submitted by Leslie on September 1, 2011 - 15:42

Rainy weekends, tropical storms and dog days of summer slowed down our cleanup total for August. Even though we weren’t diving into waterways to remove trash, the majority of August was devoted to planning a few large scale cleanups for the fall months.

How Green Is Your Back to School Bag?

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Submitted by Leslie on August 19, 2011 - 11:39

Fall and cooler weather (finally!) are not the only things around the corner, the spiraling down of August means one thing…back to school (if you listen carefully you can hear the school bells already chiming in the distance). One supply that students of every age are required is paper and a ton of it! According to the EPA, the average American uses about the equivalent of one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products each year.


Aside from destruction of our world’s forests, it takes a lot of water and energy to produce a piece of paper. Many paper-producing companies are switching to greener energy practices, but according to US Energy Information Adminstrationfigures, the pulp and paper industry is the fourth largest industrial emitter of greenhouse gases.  Not to mention, their industry has the third largest user of industrial water.  Many toxic chemicals including chlorine are used to bleach and delignify wood pulp and often end up contaminating rivers and sediment.

Cleanup Recap: July Edition

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Submitted by Leslie on August 2, 2011 - 10:27

When it comes to removing trash, UBB never rests, even on vacation!  UBB kicked off July and celebrated the nation’s independence with a cleanup in Hilton Head Island, SC. UBB staff and community volunteers picked up 28 pounds from the beaches in Mitchellville Beach Park on July 3rd.

 

On July 16th, UBB travelled down to Rockville, MD and hosted a cleanup of Lake Needwood in Rock Creek Regional Park with Hudson Trail Outfitters. Even though this beautiful 75-acre park was just dredged this summer, we still managed to remove 380 pounds of trash. Our weird assortment of collectibles included a meat drawer (we don't know where the rest of the fridge is), four small metal trash cans, a rubber cement container, a dog tag for a dog named Swisher, a steering wheel cover, sneakers, an animal skull, underwear and much more.

What I Love About Freecycle: Part Two

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Submitted by Leslie on July 26, 2011 - 15:17

So last week I wrote about FreeCycle, a give and take community, which gives new life to unused products. This website extends the life of a product, which prevents unnecessary waste.


I think getting the fullest life of an object is a great thing, but some products' lives get extended too long-- in particular, plastics.


Rewashing and reusing plastic water bottles and utensils, may seem like a sustainable solution in theory, but in the long run it is just the opposite. Plastic cutlery is made from a plastic called polystyrene, which contains a number 6 recycling code. Just because plastic products take as a long as a century to break down in landfills, doesn’t mean its meant to be used forever.  

Why I Love Freecycle: Part One

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Submitted by Leslie on July 19, 2011 - 16:48

Clutter is not something I enjoy and I would hardly consider myself a packrat, but when it comes to getting rid of something that could get a lot more use out of it, I feel guilty just tossing it.

 

Anything that I can’t donate, I make sure to post on Freecycle. Freecycle is a grassroots movement dedicated to giving old items a new life and purpose. Freecycle is made up of almost 5,000 groups and has more than 8.5 million members in 85 countries, so there most likely is one in your community (you can search groups by town). Items range from extra craft supplies, books, pet supplies to furniture. Freecycle is not just limited to household items; they even have a section for your unwanted office supplies.

Cleanup Recap: June Edition

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Submitted by Leslie on July 5, 2011 - 12:06

Leslie is the Cleanups Associate. She believes that everyone can love and save the ocean, regardless of their geography. Feel free to shoot her an email with your comments at leslie@unitedbyblue.com.

We covered distances far and wide and removed a record-breaking amount of trash in June! Take a stroll down memory lane with us..

 

Our first cleanup was in Baltimore, MD on June 11th with Blue Water Baltimore. We picked up 6,691 pounds over the course of a mile at the convergence of Armistead and Herring Runs. Notable pieces of trash included a fridge, a turtle sandbox (the bottom, not the top), multiple shopping carts, gas tanks, two mattresses (one air and one regular) and a black Acura MDX (this stolen SUV weighed 4,471 pounds)!

Volunteering Benefits Your Health As Well as the Community

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Submitted by Leslie on June 28, 2011 - 15:54

Leslie is the Cleanups Associate. She believes that everyone can love and save the ocean, regardless of their geography. Feel free to shoot her an email with your comments at leslie@unitedbyblue.com.

 

Ever return from serving at a soup kitchen or cleaning up a waterway with a refreshed feeling?

 

Volunteering benefits everyone and does more for your health than give you the warm fuzzies.  VolunteerMatch and United Healthcare surveyed more than 4,500 American adults and found that 68% of those who volunteered in the past year reported that volunteering has made them physically healthier.

 

UBB Offers Fashion to Feel Good About

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Submitted by Leslie on June 21, 2011 - 17:28

Leslie is the Cleanups Associate. She believes that everyone can love and save the ocean, regardless of their geography. Feel free to shoot her an email with your comments at leslie@unitedbyblue.com.


United By Blue is a company that is not afraid to swim against the current. You can see our true blue colors in everything we do; from the sustainable t-shirt packaging  to our ocean-loving mission of removing a pound of trash for every product sold.


Our shirts are not just cool-looking random designs; each one has holds a special meaning and the concepts are created by UBB employees. Our t-shirts are catalysts for eco-awareness and are great conversation starters.

What's In Your Water?

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Submitted by Leslie on June 15, 2011 - 11:22

 

Leslie is the Cleanups Associate. She believes that everyone can love and save the ocean, regardless of their geography. Feel free to shoot her an email with your comments at leslie@unitedbyblue.com.

 

United By Blue celebrated its first birthday in May. When it comes to planning cleanups, we are hardly infants. In a little over a year, we have removed 17,933 pounds of trash during 40 cleanups. We have done cleanups as far south as South Carolina, as north as Massachusetts and we even had our first West Coast cleanup in California last year! 

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