Part Two in this three-part series:
Have you heard that we can no longer recycle many kinds of plastic in the US that we’ve gotten used to being able to recycle?
We were so disappointed when we heard the news that China has stopped importing post consumer plastic waste. We try hard as a Green store to find creative ways to reduce the amount of waste that we generate and to find ways to re use everything we can, but for some materials, mostly soft clear plastics like plastic bags, we relied heavily on recycling. This recent import ban crates an enormous challenge for us and for all consumers, as the amount we are forced to send to landfill will increase quite a bit.
The Chinese recycling industry is a $5 billion annual business, and scrap and waste is the sixth largest U.S. export to China. When shipping containers come into the U.S. from China they are laden with products, but those empty containers must return to China. Due to the trade deficit, this resulted in heavily discounted shipping rates that allowed huge volumes of mixed paper and plastics to be delivered inexpensively to China for recycling. Last year China imported 7.3 million tons of waste plastics, primarily from the U.S. and Japan. Non-curbside plastic has almost no other place to go if it can’t go to China (except our landfills).
Economic Impact for Recycling Industry and their U.S. workers:
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) quickly condemned the ban, stating it would have a “devastating impact” 
on recycling on a global scale and in the U.S. Robin Wiener, ISRI’s president says, “More than 155,000 direct jobs are supported by the U.S. industry’s export activities, earning an average wage of almost $76,000 and contributing more than $3 billion to federal, state, and local taxes. A ban on imports of scrap commodities into China would be catastrophic to the recycling industry.”
So Why Did China stop taking plastics for recycling?
Taurine Dr Karen Becker DVM says, “Taurine, especially essential for cats, is an important amino acid for liver and gallbladder support. It’s essential for optimal blood flow, eye health, cardiovascular health, and the production of bile in both cats and dogs. Pets with less-than-optimal levels of taurine may be at greater risk of adverse effects from toxins. Although a minimal level of taurine is included in most commercial pet foods, taurine is easily depleted in stressed pets”.
We all want to make sure we’re supporting our senior pets as they get older, but there are a few myths that persist about what is nutritionally appropriate for senior dogs.
have, so when they did study this question in dogs, it was determined that no amount of protein can hurt a healthy kidney. Mary Straus of 
summer day, as the day gets hotter pavement heats up much more than the air. Today it’s almost 100 degrees – we measured the pavement temperature and it was 141 degrees! This temperature can easily cause pain and blistering for dogs and verges on the temperature that could result in permanent damage to the pads (120 degrees can cause pain, 140 degrees can cause permanent damage after 1 minute of contact, and 150 degrees can cause instant damage). Please remember that the darker road temperature can often be hotter than the lighter sidewalk, but not by much – the sidewalk can be almost as hot, or in some places hotter. Bring dogs out in the earlier part of the day for their exercise, and keep an eye on their feet. Reach down and feel the pavement – leave your hand on it for a minute – can you leave it there? They might have slightly tougher feet than we do, but heat is heat, and tissue damage can occur. Blistered paw pads are no fun for either of you to deal with! A pair of 
and prevent dogs from drinking from puddles and slow moving water. Giardia and other diseases that can be transmitted through contact with animal feces are prevalent this time of year (snow and ice is melting, releasing accumulated deposits, and the rain rinses fecal matter down into streams and puddles). We’ve really noticed swampy spots at local dog parks like Fern Hill (lots of dog poop is being washed down the hills into the gullies!) and we see dogs playing in these little “ponds”. We also have a handful of customers who have recently reported their dogs have tested positive for Giardia.
