Blog Archives

Empty label-backing sheets can only be recycled using EcoEnclose

5/29/2026

Shiny backing sheets from postage stamps, address labels, and stickers can’t be recycled curbside. But for home and small business use, EcoEnclose offers a release liner that can.

It’s the only recyclable release liner currently available at a consumer scale. Otherwise, the bottom line for consumers is that shiny liners must be thrown out.

Read more at Earth911

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Buy fewer clothes

5/22/2026

The resale clothing market is experiencing explosive growth, especially among younger shoppers, but environmental gains are negated by overconsumption.
Buying used clothes may psychologically and economically justify buying more than we otherwise would. Let’s be aware of our purchasing behavior.

Read more in YaleNews.

Shoe and Brita recycling at the Co-op

5/15/2026

No matter the condition, you can recycle shoes at the Swarthmore Co-op, as well as Brita filters and pitchers.
The Co-op recycles shoe donations through the Native Shoes Remix Project, which reprocesses and repurposes them for community projects. Brita filter, pitcher, and packages are recycled through TerraCycle. Take advantage!

More information on the Swarthmore Co-op web page.

Take shorter showers

5/8/2026

According to PECO, “Water heating accounts for about 18% of home energy consumption.” Challenge yourself to take a 4-5 minute shower. Wash efficiently, shave with the water off, and avoid idle time soaking in the heat. You can also install a showerhead labeled with the EPA’s Watersense designation. Watersense labeled showerheads reduce water use when you shower, saving you money by reducing both your water consumption and energy use.

Photo by Jaysin Trevino, Flickr Commons

Berry-producing native shrubs feed birds

5/1/2026

Feed the birds! Plant native shrubs and trees such as viburnums, spicebush, and dogwoods whose berries provide high quality nutrition for birds.

The diet of many North American birds includes fruits. Growing native shrubs in your yard will help sustain these species as they feed their young and help fuel migration by non-resident birds.
Here are some examples of PA natives to include in your landscaping and the birds that they support:

Elderberries (Sambucus sp.), and serviceberries (Amelanchier sp. - see photo) are eaten by cardinals, rose-breasted grosbeaks, scarlet tanagers, robins, and waxwings.
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) – our native dogwood – grows its fruits in the fall and supports robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, and cardinals.
Viburnum species, such as Nannyberry and arrowwood, are shrubs that are easy to grow in your yard. They flower in the spring and produce berries that are eaten by robins, bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, finches, and waxwings.
Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) is a hardy shrub whose attractive red berries are an important food source for birds that overwinter here. This plant has separate sexes, so it is best to plant both male and female shrubs.
Spicebush berries are consumed by both resident and migrant birds and the shrub is deer resistant. It can grow in the shade but will produce more berries in a sunnier location. This shrub also hosts caterpillars which are another important food source for birds.

Find out more from Audubon.org.and Cornell Bird Lab.

Photo of Serviceberry by Susan O'Donnell

Empty label-backing sheets can only be recycled using EcoEnclose

Buy fewer clothes

Shoe and Brita recycling at the Co-op

Take shorter showers

Berry-producing native shrubs feed birds

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