Latest Articles
FOUNT and DLDT Teaming Up to Bring Clean Water to 3,000 More Children
Since 2018, Drink Local Drink Tap and FOUNT have partnered to bring clean water to 2,272 people in Uganda. This impact of new, clean and safe water sources changes everything in a community- EVERYTHING. This year, FOUNT and DLDT are teaming up again to bring clean water to 3,000 more children. As you donate to … Continued
Read moreProviding Girls with Healthy Supplies to Make Sanitary Pads
At DLDT we have trained thousands of girls in making reusable pads that can last for years. Periods are normal, but many girls don’t have access to information or supplies to manage themselves in a healthy way. That’s why we build bathing facilities at schools for girls, provide training and supplies to make pads, and … Continued
Read moreWeek 18: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge: Upcycle!
Why Take This Challenge? Upcycling, or creative reuse, is a creative way to reuse and repurpose something to extend its value and life cycle. Taking an older item that may show some wear and tear and redesigning it to serve a better and more beautiful purpose is the best part of upcycling. Upcycling is not … Continued
Read moreWeek 17: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge: Sign Up for 4 Miles 4 Water!
Why Take This Challenge? Drink Local. Drink Tap. celebrates it’s annual run/walk event, 4 Miles 4 Water, each spring. The 4 mile distance commemorates the average distance many people around the world have to work to collect water daily. We’re only asking you to do this once. This year is DLDT’s 10th anniversary, so you … Continued
Read moreWeek 16: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Use Real Stuff!
Why Take This Challenge? Single-use silverware, plates & cups typically dominate summer cookouts. As we know from other single-use plastics – these will more than likely end up in landfills or oceans. In fact, single-use silverware and plates are such an issue in marine pollution that the European Union confirmed a provisional agreement to restrict … Continued
Read moreWeek 15: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Skip the straw, bring your own reusable!
Why Take This Challenge? Single use plastics continue to pose a threat to our environment, especially our wildlife, beaches, oceans and lakes. Plastic’s inability to biodegrade causes piles of trash to accumulate in our bodies of water, which eventually wash up on our shores. We can start small against the battle versus plastic – that’s … Continued
Week 14: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Eat Plant Based!
Why Take This Challenge? You might be asking: what is eating plant based and how does it impact the environment? Eating a plant-based diet can have a direct, positive impact on water conservation and pollution. One of the biggest impacts of eating plant based is reducing our carbon footprint. An estimation from the United Nations … Continued
Week 13: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Slowing the Environmental Impact of Clothing
Why Take This Challenge? It takes on average 1,800 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans. More than 60 percent of fabric fibers are now synthetics, derived from fossil fuels, so when these clothes end up in a landfill they will not decay. Fast fashion, the pieces you can find at bargain … Continued
Week 12: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Reduce Paper Towel Usage
Why Take This Challenge? More than 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used each year in the USA, and we by far consume the most paper towels worldwide. To make one ton of paper towels 17 trees and 20,000 gallons of water are polluted. Plus, paper towels aren’t recyclable. The Top Five Countries … Continued
Read moreWeek 11: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Remembering Your Reusable Bags: Set a Smartphone Location Reminder!
Why Take This Challenge? The average US annual plastic bag usage per resident: 3651. Plastic bags are made to be single use – so where do they all go when you’re done? When they’re not piling up in landfills, you’ve seen them blocking storm drains, littering streets, stuck in trees, and filling the oceans where … Continued
Read moreWeek 10: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Participate on Social Media
March 31, 2020 | Pembroke Strickland, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Here we are in the middle of a global pandemic with most people still shuttered in place at home in an effort to save lives. There is no denying that we are all in this together and now, more than ever, … Continued
Read moreWeek 9: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Learn About Recycling and Waste Reduction at Work
Guest Post By Pembroke Strickland, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Whether you work at a small mom & pop shop or a big corporate organization, there are steps you can take to learn more about recycling in the workplace and how to improve. A good first step is to reach out to … Continued
Read moreWeek 8: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Homemade Cleaner
Guest Post by Pembroke Strickland, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Chemicals used in household cleaners can help to keep your living space clean but can also have harmful effects on your health and the environment if used or disposed of improperly – hence the warning label on most cleaning products. Fortunately, there … Continued
Read morePlastic Bag Ban in Cuyahoga County
Guest Post by: Julia Karlovec, DLDT Intern On May 28, 2019 a county wide ban was passed by the Cuyahoga County Council that prohibits retailers from using both disposable plastic bags and paper bags that are not 100% recyclable. Members of Cuyahoga County Council have been trying to pass this ban for many years with … Continued
Read moreCarbon Impact of one Single-use Plastic Bottle
Sometimes we don’t think about how what we put into our bodies and how it affects the world around us and our near and far future. An average household drinking bottled water (800 bottles per year) creates 350lbs. of CO2 or drives 368 miles with a car. And that’s JUST for bottled water. (Source) ‘The … Continued
Week 7: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – No Waste Grocery Store Trip
March 6, 2020 | Pembroke Strickland, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Have you ever looked in your refrigerator or pantry and realized that half of the contents are expired? We tend to buy way more than we need when it comes to grocery shopping. According to the EPA, there was 38.1 million … Continued
Read moreWeek 6: #Waves4Change 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Go Paperless!
February 28, 2020 | Kristen Vidmar, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Ever look around you and wonder how piles of paper have stacked up on your kitchen counter or on your desk at work? Paper is something we deal with every day, we get it in the mail, we print documents or … Continued
Read moreWeek 5: 2020 #Waves4Change Sustainability Challenge- Avoiding Food Waste
Guest Post by Kristen Vidmar, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Americans have fast-paced lifestyles, we are always “on-the-go” which means we cannot always plan our meals ahead of time. It is no secret that food waste is a large issue, one that is found throughout the entire value chain of a food … Continued
Read moreWeek 4: 2020 Sustainability Challenge – Recycling Textiles
Guest Post: Kristen Vidmar, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Sticking to the theme of recycling, did you know there is about 25 BILLION pounds of textile waste per year in just the United States?! Of that, 85% ends up in landfills, which means it is important that we do our part to … Continued
Read moreWeek 3: 2020 Sustainability Challenge- Understanding What You Can Recycle
Guest Post By Kristen Vidmar, DLDT Associate Board Member Why Take This Challenge? Do you often find recycling confusing? You are not the only one! It is difficult to know what is accepted or not because the accepted materials (plastics, glass, cardboard, metals, etc.) that can be recycled are based on a couple of different … Continued
Week 2: 2020 Sustainability Challenge- Reduce ‘Convenience’ Single-Use Plastics
Why Take This Challenge? Do you really want to use ‘one and done’ stuff? Even the Keriug guy knows he created a monster with single-use coffee pods. So-called convenience items clog our waterways and well, there are just there forever now. Do you buy single bags of chips, cookies, candy, soda, drinks, or coffees? What … Continued
Read moreWeek 1: 2020 Sustainability Challenge- Go Bottled Water-Free
Why take this challenge? Plastic is oil and other chemicals. Single-use plastics are cheap and leach into the water or the beverage it holds, especially when exposed to extreme cold or heat or sunshine. Some studies over the last few decades have linked these chemicals to cancers and bottled water has plastic IN IT. We … Continued
Read moreNovember Foodprint – Pumpkin Pie v. Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Thanksgiving is perfect for spending quality time with friends and family. It is also the perfect time to practice using less water with the food we prepare! For a minor change this holiday, Drink Local. Drink Tap. is inviting you to step out of your comfort zone and try a vegan dessert! Making a vegan … Continued
Read moreOctober Foodprint – Halloween Vegan Candy List
Have you ever tried vegan candy? We are pretty sure you have! With Halloween around the corner, handing out vegan candy to trick-or-treaters is never a wrong way to go, and you’re continuing to do your part in reducing your water #FOODPRINT. We’ve compiled a list of vegan candy to help guide you, but remember … Continued
Read moreSeptember Foodprint – Chicken Nuggets v. Quinoa Crusted Tofu Nuggets
School has begun and it’s time to pack lunches! Try not to forget about the earth as you send the kids off to school. This year, instead of sending the kids to school with money to spend in the cafeteria, you can spend just a small amount of time the night before cooking up something … Continued
Read moreBack to School
Every year kids use billions of plastic baggies, bottles, single wrapped processed food items and it all goes to a landfill. If you’ve been watching recent movements, most countries, including Canada no longer take our waste or recycling. We have to BUY LESS to leave a planet worth living in for our children. Here is … Continued
August Foodprint – Dairy Ice cream v. Vegan Ice Cream
Vegan. Maybe this word scares you a little bit, but even if you’re not following a vegan diet, this ice cream will surely get you interested! This August, when the days seem too hot to even take the dog for a walk, nothing tastes better than a cold, sweet treat. Even though ice … Continued
Read moreA Ban on Bans? – The Uncertain Fate of Cuyahoga County’s Plastic Bag Ban
Written by: Ben Wilson May 28th, 2019: Cuyahoga County representatives voted 8-3 in favor of legislation banning the use of plastic bags The passed legislation prohibits the use of bags that are not “100 percent recyclable or made from at least 40 percent of recycled material” (source). Democrat Sunny Simon, a Cuyahoga County Council representative, … Continued
Read moreThe Lakes May Not be “Great” if Asian Carp Thrive
The Great Lakes are a fresh water source, a flourishing ecosystem, and are associated with a 7 billion dollar / year fishing industry. This could cease to be reality all because of one type fish; an invasive species known as Asian carp. More specifically the bighead, black, grass, and silver carp, who are commonly lumped … Continued
Read moreMay Foodprint- Broccoli Salad
Created by: Clare Matthews, Rachel Onusko and Claire Mohney Everyone says, “April showers bring May flowers!” But what people often forget to mention is that April showers bring a time to plant fresh veggies in the garden and throughout our communities. This spring, Drink Local. Drink Tap. encourages you to try something new in your fresh … Continued
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