The holidays are nearly upon us! That means time for shopping, wrapping, decorating, and of course wading through stacks of Amazon boxes and packing materials trying to figure out where you left the scissors and tape. Happy holidays! While Keith and Mollie can’t help you with your annual holiday tradition of hunting for the scissors, they’re super excited about their own newest holiday tradition. Welcome to the first annual Green Gift Guide! Settle in with that mug of hot chocolate while Mollie helps you find ways to be good to the environment. We hope this episode inspires you to make this a reusable holiday. Hey, if it’s reusable enough, we might even have a second annual Green Gift Guide next year! And if you have your own suggestions for environmentally friendly giving, why not share them on our contact form? After all, it’s the season of sharing, right?

Decomposing food is kind of gross, right? If that thought brings on the “ick factor” then this episode might just be for you. Throwing away food scraps is the easy route, but what happens to that banana peel when you throw it in the garbage? How about that chicken bone or that container of Chinese food that sadly went bad before you could eat it? In the landfill, not a whole lot! So, what’s the environmentally friendly way to deal with those things? On this episode, Keith and Mollie dig into food scraps. No, not literally! They’re joined by Scott Smithline from Mill to learn about the amazing world of food scrap recycling. How does it work? What can go in, and what comes out? And how can you give that banana peel a better existence than decades in the landfill? Give this episode a listen to find out. And if you’d like to learn more afterwards, check out the US Composting Council page on Food Scrap Dehydrators, Scott’s post to the Mill blog on what food recyclers do, and facts about food waste from ReFED. Hungry for seconds? Learn what Mill says about the many uses for food grounds and their plans to expand beyond home kitchens. And if you have your own stories about food scrap recycling or overcoming the “ick factor”, we’d love to hear from you.

If it’s on the grocery store package, it must be true, right? Well, maybe! On this episode, Keith and Mollie dive into the murky waters of greenwashing! Yeah, that’s a scary word! Environmentally friendly, recyclable, low carbon impact… Sounds great! But are those things really as they seem, or are they just marketing propaganda? Our friend Meredith joins the show once again to help us make sense of all of this. Tune into learn how to do what’s best for the environment instead of letting that grocery store package decide for you. And if you have suggestions to add, don’t forget to send us a comment.