Resources on Recycling & Composting at the Thomas Memorial Library
Compiled by Rachel Davis rdavis@thomas.lib.me.us
For Children and Young Adults …
Stuff! : reduce, reuse, recycle / by Steven Kroll ; illustrated by Steve Cox. Tarrytown, N.Y. : Marshall Cavendish Children, c2009.
Pinch is a pack rat who does not want to give up the possessions that are cluttering his house, but when he finally is persuaded to sell them at a neighborhood tag sale, he discovers the beauty of recycling. Includes tips on "reducing, reusing, and recycling."
We are extremely very good recyclers / characters created by Lauren Child ; [text based on the script written by Bridget Hurst ; illustrations from the TV animation produced by Tiger Aspect]. New York, NY : Dial Books for Young Readers, c2009.
Lola learns about recycling and enters a recycling competition. Includes recycling tips as well as a tree poster for kids to keep track of their own recycling projects.
Green crafts for children : 35 step-by-step projects using natural, recycled, and found materials / Emma Hardy. London ; New York : CICO Books, 2008.
Kids love to make their own toys and games, gifts and ornaments. It encourages them to give full rein to their creative flair - and if they can use component parts that are adapted or recycled, so much the better for them and the planet! None of the projects in this book use any special materials. Instead, they all rely on ingredients that you are likely to have in the cupboard or items that can be found around the house or garden, or out on walks in the park or at the beach. Recipes for salt dough are included, as well as methods for easy felting, together with step-by-step instructions on what to make, such as pretend sweets, boxes and masks. Old gift wrapping paper, old clothes and odd buttons and beads can all be used in an imaginative way, as can pine cones, tree bark, shells and other fascinating natural bits and bobs. Gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends are here, together with games and toys that can be made and then played with again and again. From painted stones and a friendship bracelet to a simple dolls' house and a driftwood boat, children will love the projects in this engaging book. In fact, kids need never be bored again.
Dream bedroom: Use recycled materials to make cool crafts / [author, Rebecca Craig]. Boston : Kingfisher, 2007.
Become a makeover master with these stylish and environmentally friendly ideas for bedroom decorations, storage solutions, and even furniture. Dream Bedrooms contains twelve projects to transform every child's bedroom using recycled materials. From a shoebox treasure chest and candy-wrapper stained glass to a plastic-bag pennant and papier-mâché cacti, simple steps transform practical items into pretty bedroom accessories. Once the do-it-yourself bug has bitten, children will see the design potential in all sorts of objects that they once just threw away.
Compost stew : an A to Z recipe for the earth / by Mary McKenna Siddals ; illustrated by Ashley Wolff. Berkeley : Tricycle Press, 2010.
A rhyming recipe explains how to make the dark, crumbly, rich, earth-friendly food called compost.
Compost, by gosh! : an adventure with vermicomposting / written and illustrated by Michelle Eva Portman.Kalamazoo, Mich. : Flower Press, c2003.
Rhyming text and illustrations augment this introduction to the stages and benefits of earthworm composting.
For Adults …
Eco-craft : recycle, recraft, restyle / Susan Wasinger.New York : Lark Books, 2009.
These days we're all seeking creative ways to protect our planet. Eco Craft delivers the goods in style with 30 truly beautiful home décor projects that elevate environmental consciousness to inspiring new heights. Every idea is amazingly clever: who would ever have imagined that plastic six-pack can holders could become a chic Moorish-inspired filigree tri-fold screen? Or that glass baby-food jars would make a charming candle chandelier? Every project features at least one beauty shot in a modern home setting, and handy icons spotlight key techniques, materials and the estimated time to complete each one.
The complete compost gardening guide : banner batches, grow heaps, comforter compost, and other amazing techniques for saving time and money, and producing the most flavorful, nutritious vegetables ever / Barbara Pleasant & Deborah L. Martin. North Adams, Mass, : Storey Pub., c2008.
Develop mature compost right in your garden. Barbara Pleasant and Deborah Martin explain their six-way compost gardening system in this informative guide that will have you rethinking how you create and use your compost. With your plants and compost living together from the beginning, your garden will become a nourishing and organic environment that encourages growth and sustainability. You'll also find that the enriched soil requires less tending, weeding, and mulching, so you can do less back-breaking work for the same lush, beautiful results.
Composting for a new generation : latest techniques for the bin and beyond / Michelle Balz ; photography by Anna Stockton.Minneapolis, MN : Cool Springs Press, 2018.
Composting is no longer only in the realm of environmentalists! It's not just about reducing food waste; most composters get their hands dirty because of the benefits it brings to the soil
in their garden. All the extra nutrients makes for well-fed gardens with plenty of nutrients and rich moisture. Composting has been under the radar screen until now, and seen as a boutique, West Coast thing, says Jared Blumenfeld, who overseesCalifornia as well as two other Western states and the Pacific for the Environmental Protection Agency. But now everyone fromMassachusetts to Minnesota has programs starting up, and prettysoon there will be a critical mass. [This book] includes tried-and-true composting methods and new, innovative techniques. You'll learn the science of composting, traditional bin composting (including how-to sections on building your own bin), vermicomposting (with worms), composting with nature, keyhole gardens, organic composting, and using your finished compost. [This] is the most complete book to date for your organic soil needs.
High tech trash : digital devices, hidden toxics, and human health / Elizabeth Grossman. Washington : Island Press/Shearwater Books, c2006.
High Tech Trash is a wake-up call to the importance of the e-waste issue and the health hazards involved. Americans alone own more than two billion pieces of high tech electronics and discard five to seven million tons each year. As a result, electronic waste already makes up more than two-thirds of the heavy metals and 40 percent of the lead found in our landfills.But the problem goes far beyond American shores, most tragically to the cities in China and India where shiploads of discarded electronics arrive daily. There, they are "recycled"-picked apart by hand, exposing thousands of workers and community residents to toxics.
Drawdown : the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to roll back global warming / edited by Paul Hawken. New York : Penguin Books, [2017]
In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions toclimate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described heresome are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earths warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-beinggiving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.
Garbage land : on the secret trail of trash / Elizabeth Royte. New York : Little, Brown, 2005.
Out of sight, out of mind ... Into our trash cans go dead batteries, dirty diapers, bygone burritos, broken toys, tattered socks, eight-track cassettes, scratched CDs, banana peels.... But where do these things go next? In a country that consumes and then casts off more and more, what actually happens to the things we throw away? In Garbage Land, acclaimed science writer Elizabeth Royte leads us on the wild adventure that begins once our trash hits the bottom of the can.
Jewelry upcycled! : techniques and projects for reusing metal, glass, plastic, fiber, and found objects / Sherri Haab and Michelle Haab. New York : Potter Craft, c2011.
Before you recycle that soda bottle, scrap that old T-shirt, or toss that broken china plate, ask yourself: "Could I use this to make something fabulous?" Impossible? Think again! In Jewelry Upcycled!, jewelry expert and bestselling author Sherri Haab has teamed up with daughter Michelle Haab to show you how to transform metal, glass, plastic, fabric, and found objects—items you might otherwise recycle or throw away—into fun and exciting jewelry designs.
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