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Week 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
Read moreApril Foodprint- Plant Based Pizza
Created by: Clare Matthews, Rachel Onusko and Claire Mohney This April, when the rain falls and the flowers bloom, nothing is better than a night inside eating pizza and watching movies. However, there is a way to do this without having to worry about your water #FOODPRINT! Between the flour, cheese, and sauce, pizza can use … Continued
Read moreMarch Foodprint- Cauliflower Wings
Created by: Clare Matthews, Rachel Onusko and Claire Mohney This March, as we all gear up to plan our brackets, break out the college basketball gear, and get with friends and family to watch March Madness, it is important that we do not lose sight of what is really important; our earth! When cooking up the … Continued
Read moreFoodprint Blog Series- Intro
Created by: Clare Matthews, Rachel Onusko and Claire Mahoney Moving towards a plant-based diet can not only be beneficial for your health, but also for the planet. Why does raising animals for meat require so much water? Almost half of the water used in the United States is used to raise animals as food. For example, … Continued
Read moreEat at MELT on Wednesdays in March!
Eat and drink at MELT this month on any Wednesday and 20% goes to Drink Local Drink Tap! You can show your server this PDF attachment on your phone or print it. Thank you for your support! Fun fact about Melt– They #SKIPTHESTRAW ! MELT 20% CHARITY FLYER
Read moreHow to Approach Your Local Retailer about Plastic Bags
For those of you who were able to come to the December 4th, 2018 Ideastream/ League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland’s panel discussion on Plastics and Lake Erie, thank you. As promised we want to help you approach your local retailers with the idea of supporting the use of reusable bags. Each year, 22 … Continued
Are We on the Verge of a Plastic Revolution?
Written by: Rachel Onusko Did you know? Only about 9% percent of plastic is actually recycled, with the overwhelming majority being wasted (Source). Since the mass production of plastic began around 1950, more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been created. Most of this plastic is used to produce disposable products which ultimately become … Continued
Read moreP What? What are PFAS and Why Should I Care?
Have you heard about the State of Emergency in Parchment, Michigan announced late July 2018? They are not the only ones in the U.S. fighting PFAS contamination, though. Dangerous levels of PFAS have been found in water for 16 million Americans, food and our soils. What are PFAS? Certain chemical compounds that allow items we … Continued
Cleveland: Skip the Straw
Written by: Rachel Onusko A movement to ban single-use straws from restaurants has been growing across the nation. Harmful effects of straws Straws are routinely placed in beverages in restaurants. For the majority of people, these straws are a completely unnecessary. On average, Americans use 500 million straws daily (Source). That is enough straws to … Continued
Read moreCape Town Drought: How We Can Help
Written by: Clara Rose, Intern Today, Cape Town, South Africa is in the midst of its worst drought in 30 years (Source). As climate change worsens, so do natural disasters. Unfortunately, droughts as significant as Cape Town’s are expected to occur more frequently in the future. In addition, the people most vulnerable to climate change … Continued
Read moreNo One Should be Scared to Poop
All over the world, 2.5 billion people have no safe, dignified place to ‘go’. In addition, our little ones, young children under the age of 5, truly fear using a pit latrine (the common, inexpensive hand-dug pit). These pit latrines, cement or not, can be very scary for anyone. Children think they will fall in, … Continued
Read moreSustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Written by: Hallie Fried, Intern The Problem: Here in Northeast Ohio, we’re lucky enough to be so close to our water supply: Lake Erie. However, there are many people around the world who are born into areas or live in regions that lack clean water. Today, according to the United Nations, more than 40% of people … Continued
Read moreLake Erie Leaders Bring Insight on the Environment and Economy of Lake Erie
On Monday July 9th, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur hosted “Lake Erie Leaders” a roundtable event at Memorial Hall in Rocky River. She invited panelists from four different agencies to bring insight on various issues impacting the environment and economy of Lake Erie. The first to speak was Dr. Jeff Reuter, special advisor and former director of … Continued
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