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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Skip the Slip

Digital Receipts Gain Momentum

Compared to newspapers, magazines and junk mail, retail sales receipts may seem inconsequential in their use of trees and their footprint on the environment. Yet, getting and handling that tabulation of a sale is a health hazard that contributes to landfills. Certainly, some receipts are required for tax records and product returns, but the vast majority serve no future purpose; there’s also a better and safer option than paper.

Treehugger.com reports the annual waste from receipts in the U.S. totals 686 million pounds, and that skipping receipts would save 12 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 1 million cars on the road. The problem is getting worse as many retail outlets include special offers and other promotional information on receipts, making them longer and the corresponding amount of paper used greater.

The Ecology Center, an educational nonprofit located in San Juan Capistrano, California, estimates that 93 percent of paper receipts are coated with Bisphenol-A (BPA) or Bisphenol- S (BPS), endocrine disrupters that are used as color developers to help make the receipts more legible. However, the presence of either makes them ineligible for recycling.

According to Green America (GreenAmerica.org), BPA that can be “absorbed into our bodies through our hands in mere seconds,” can impact fetal development and “is linked to reproductive impairment, Type 2 diabetes, thyroid conditions and other health concerns.” Employees that regularly handle receipts have 30 percent more BPA or BPS in their bodies.

In January, California Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation (AB 161) nicknamed “skip the slip”, which would require retailers to offer digital receipts to customers. If it passes, it will be the first such law in the country.

 

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Global Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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