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The TerraCycle Collection is expanding and needs YOUR help! We currently have two work shifts, which fall on the second Wednesday of the month from 3:30 to 6:30p.m., and the fourth Saturday of the month 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. If these shift times do not work for you to become a squad member, we still want to hear from you as we are very interested in adding new collection times . Dedicated FTOP workers are also welcome. If you can be on a shift more times than not, we would definitely welcome you on shifts as much as you can schedule with us. Info about the shift: *Shifts are very stable, 12 shifts per year, no moving around the calendar based on work week A, B, C. or D. Shifts are set for a particular day/time of the month and do not change. *Enjoy working your shift with like-minded environmentally conscious Coop members, members you work with and members who drop off their recyclables. *This shift is a very feel good shift knowing you are making a difference and helping members to make a...

Where: Outside of the Coop except during inclement weather when collection will be held inside the Coop Times: 2nd Wednesday of the month 3:45-6pm 4th Saturday of the month 1:45-4pm (Please try to come at least 15 minutes before the end of the shift.) New expanded plastic collection for Coop members only!  Please be ready to show your membership card.  New items collected: Plastic bags/wrapping/packaging from most Coop items (both food and non food items.) Plastic roll bags distributed by the Coop. Thin plastic film wrapping from items such as cheese, meat, toilet paper, tea boxes etc.  NO foil backed packaging is accepted at the moment. The regular TerraCycle collection is still available to Coop and non-Coop members! Ongoing community collection items: Toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, any brand and size. Baby food pouches and caps, any brand Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy bars) Brita and other similar water filters Plastic food storage zip loc bags, cl...

Photo credit: Jenna Spevack With the recent roll bag vote and the expanded TerraCycle collections happening at the Coop, plastic has had increased visibility among Coop members.  However, there’s one area where plastic chemicals are ubiquitously present yet mostly unseen within the walls of 782 Union. Where? Actually inside our food and then ultimately in our bodies.  To understand how plastic chemicals end up food and then in people, a basic lesson in polymer chemistry is needed.  Simplified, plastics are made up of long chains of plasticizer chemicals (a monomer is a plastic compound, which when strung together make up polymers that form the building blocks of plastic.)  Plastics of course have a wide variety of uses.  From hard, colored plastic to flexible, transparent cling film and other types of food packaging, plastics have brought a certain ease to many us living a modern life. Unfortunately popular plastic chemicals share two characteristics that’s a pr...

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It’s very difficult to eat or drink these days without ingesting plastic, which comes into contact with nearly all commercially sold foods. Cardboard milk containers and cans of peas are coated with plastic; it is sprayed on produce to preserve freshness and used to irrigate, mulch, wrap and transport fruits and vegetables. Since the 1950s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has known that plastic “migrates” into the food and drinks it comes in contact with. In fact, until 2002 “food grade” plastic was classified by the FDA as an “indirect food additive.” And since the 1990s, when scientists worldwide began monitoring urinary concentrations of environmental chemicals, it’s been known that virtually all of us have chemicals in our blood and tissue that migrated from plastic food wrap, bags, packaging and bottles.  As was covered in a Gazette Coop Environmental Committee Report last year, these chemicals are known endocrine disrupters that are linked to health risks ranging from ...

Upcoming Vote for Zero Waste Fee-Based Plastic Packaging Collection When:  April 26th, Tuesday night, 7pm General Meeting Where:  St. Francis Xavier School, 763 President Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues What:  Phase II of the TerraCycle collection will allow for collection of a very broad array of plastic packaging waste from products sold at the coop.  This waste will be upcycled and repurposed to create long lasting useful items (e.g., decking and fencing, planting barrels, garbage cans, etc.) This vote is for a year long trial which will allow for a full assessment of use and participation.  It should be noted, the Coop is under no contractual obligation with this program. We can discontinue the trial at anytime, if needed. How : In addition to our current participation in 6 free brigades (small bulk bags, food storage bags, cling wrap; Brita filters; baby food pouches; toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes; cereal bag liners; and energy bar wrappers), if ap...

The Environmental Committee is promoting a new partnership between the PSFC and TerraCycle , an innovative recycling company that transforms hard to recycle waste into new products- keeping more waste out of landfills. WHEN: Wednesday April 13th from 4-6pm. Saturday April 23rd from 2-4pm. WHERE: In front of the Coop or inside if the weather is frigid. WHAT *Please presort and separate items by category *No need to clean or remove labels *Please do not bring any other items than those listed: Toothpaste tubes, any brand and size (toothbrushes okay too) Baby food pouches and caps (any brand) Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy bars—no other wrappers please) Brita filters (other filter brands okay) plus other Brita filter related items Plastic food storage zip lock bags (any size), plastic cling wrap, and small bulk bags (Please no plastic roll bags or shopping bags) Cereal bag and cracker bag liners or bulk cereal bags (any brand) UPCOMING VOTE: Tuesday, April 26, 7:00 p.m. M...