Despite the tweaks, the Virginia-based American Chemistry Council spent millions in lobbying fees, radio ads and a prime-time TV ad attacking the measure, reports the Associated Press. The group, which represents plastic bag makers including Dow Chemical Co. and ExxonMobil Corp, helped sink Seattle’s effort last year to charge 20-cents for each plastic or paper grocery bag .

The Chemistry Council claimed that the ban would put 1000 people out of work, I guess because there’s no way to make reusable plastic bags in the factories which currently churn out plastic bags…

Non profits worked hard to get the bill as far as it went, even producing this mockumentary on the Life of the Plastic Bag, narrated by Sir Jeremy Irons

Plastic, one-use bags are a relative new-comer to our retail environment. They’ve only been around for about 25 years or so, so how did we ever get along without them before? And how is it that entire countries (Ireland, Taiwan) are able to pass legislation to ban plastic bag use and overuse, but we still have to do it piecemeal, one community at a time?

I was at Tysons today. It was crowded and I didn’t see one person save myself with a reusable bag (although to be fair, some people could have had small rolled up bags in their shoulder bags, which was where mine was until I needed to use it.)

We should be ashamed.

15 Houseplants That Can Clean Your Air!!

Do you use houseplants to keep your interior clean and green? Clean Fairfax is interested in what plants you have (and how you keep your pets from eating them!)

How does this fit in with Clean Fairfax’s mission? Well, if there are fewer cars on the road, the air is probably cleaner and there are fewer people throwing junk out their car windows on the 40+ miles each way commute into work, for starters. Less litter on the highways means cleaner roads and waterways.

The APTA report notes, transportation activity also plays a role in lessening an individual’s risk in five of the 10 leading causes of reduced lifespan, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A recent CDC study evaluated causes of potential years of life lost, including cancer, heart disease, motor vehicle crashes, and other causes. For example, “Pollution contributes to cancer and congenital anomalies [birth defects], and sedentary living … contributes to heart disease and strokes,” Litman wrote.

So rather than begging the state for bigger and wider roads, how about some light rail instead?

Clean Fairfax can help you build your own rain barrel for the cost of supplies (we use old pickle and olive barrels)!

If you’re interested in a workshop, let us know!

An estimated 25 billion (BILLION!) “disposable” chopsticks are thrown out every year, which means that approximately 25 million trees and bamboo are harvested to make this little disposable items! So let’s make something out of them! I have used chopsticks as small plant stakes, but clearly there are higher and better uses for the 25 billion little pieces of wood and bamboo– Like baskets that fold flat for easy and cheap transport. I would buy many of these.

What could you do with a box full of sanitized chopsticks?

Remember, if you drop it, pick it up. That goes for what your dog drops too.

You can make a difference by pledging to not use plastic bags, and use reusable grocery bags instead. If you HAVE to use plastic bags, make sure they don’t escape. You can recycle your plastic bags at most grocery stores and your hauler may also take them.

“It’s safe to say that Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrum and Tiffany & Co. have an unexpected neighbor. The newcomer has been named Oliver’s Woods Nature Reserve, in dedication to the man who made its existence possible, Oliver Blair Daugherty. A Teddy Roosevelt for our century, Daugherty defended the land from potential corporate buyers, turning down offers as high as $14 million. The land was originally granted to the Daugherty family in the mid-1800s, and upon his passing in 2009, Oliver Blair bequeathed the 53 acres to the Central Indiana Land Trust” The full text of the article is here.

Some would say that perhaps gobbling up land for passive recreation and wildlife preservation in the middle of the city when people need things like JOBS and RETAIL and FAST FOOD JOINTS is not the highest and best use of the land, but I would often (but not always) disagree. Most people want to live (and work) where they can get to some kind of wild and peaceful area, even when they chose to live in the city. Keeping people in the city enriches tax bases, and is its own economic development engine.

Some of the wealthiest cities in the world have world class parks.  They can’t all be wrong!

The Dream Machine is a new, interactive, device that offers incentives for on-site recycling, by offering point rewards for each can, or bottle recycled.

It works by pressing a touch screen to begin recycling and scanning the bar code on the bottle or can. The machine then recognizes the bottle as a PepsiCo. product and one slides the bottle into a slot on the top right of the machine. Once you place all the cans and bottles you have in the machine, the touch screen will let you know how many points you accumulated during that recycling trip. The Dream Machine will allow you to accumulate points, or receive a coupon or something similar on the spot.

Another great added benefit to the Dream Machine is that it will provide benefits to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). EBV offers free job and entrepreneurial training for post 9/11 veterans. So the more people use the Dream Machines, the more help PepsiCo can offer to EBV.

PepsiCo. plans to roll the Dream Machines, provided by GreenOps LLC, in over 50 locations in Southern California, and 150 locations in North Carolina Rite Aids. PespiCo. also has entered into a partnership with Keep America Beautiful for community development. The hope is that Dream Machines will become a mainstay in stores, parks, and sports venues. The Dream Machine is part of PepsiCo’s goal of increasing the beverages recycling rate 34-50% by 2018.

It is certainly refreshing (no pun intended) to see a company that uses literally tons of plastic and aluminum cans get active on the importance and value of recycling. The Dream Machine, combined with something like the BigBelly Solar Compacting and Recycling cans would be a terrific asset for large venues and communities struggling with litter and recycling issues–like the Fairfax County Park System!

Below is a short video on how the Dream Machine works:

How the DreamMachine Works

AccuStrata has been working on an optical system that analyzes the thin-film solar paneling while they are being manufactured, which enables manufacturers to make adjustments on the fly, creating better efficiency in solar panel production.

George Atanasoff, President of AccuStrata, states that their new optical adjustment systems will help solar panel effectiveness by 15-20%. The U.S. Department of Energy noted on their Energy Empowers blog that “if only 25 percent of the thin-film solar manufacturing market adopts the technology, it could save key industry players $1 billion by 2013.”

Congratulations to AccuStrata! This is their fourth award they have received regarding their optical technology and another example of companies in the greater Washington D.C. area  doing more to promote energy efficiency and sustainability for all of us.

How can you get started with solar energy?

• Residential solar panel starter kits range from $900 to $10,000 depending on the size and wattage.

• Wattage and size depend on each resident’s energy usage.

• Solar can be used to power lights, pools, and household appliances.

• Solar panels are a great way to reduce your energy bills while also engaging in sustainable practices.

• Fairfax County offers a property tax exemption for solar related products

• The federal government also has incentive programs to help defray the start up cost of solar.