Pets are good at collecting toys (see above picture), and there is also demand for dog beds, scratching posts, and kitty litter pans and liners. Now Walmart will sell these supplies, along with other products, starting this month through a partnership with Worldwise. The new retail line will the end result of a closed-loop system that takes waste from Walmart’s stores and “upcycles” them into new pet products that retail in Walmart stores’ pet departments.

For here, to go, or reuse? By 2011, KFC claims that the company will reduce the use of foam by over 60% and total plastic use by 17%. Part of the push will be an introduction of reusable packaging. Currently 60% of its restaurants serve some of its sides in colorful plastic containers—all restaurants will feature them by next year. The company hopes that customers will reuse, and eventually, recycle, the containers.

IKEA has received a fair share of criticism over the years, but there is evidence that the furniture giant undertaking improvements on the sustainability front. The company has tinkered with renewable energy, is phasing out flame retardants in its furniture, and in Sweden it is making a counterintuitive business move: customers in its home country can now sell the store’s used furniture on IKEA’s Swedish site.

The Women in Green Forum got it right, especially during yesterday’s panel on consumer products and packaging. The emphasis was on packaging. The panel offered a balance of industry associations, manufacturers, and advocates. Valid points were brought up on all sides, and due to time constraints, the discussion was not as vibrant as we would have liked, but thought provoking nonetheless.

Honolulu has a huge trash problem, so City Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz introduced a bill that would require building permit applicants to submit plans that would prove reuse or recycling of 60% of any demolished and dismantled materials.

Even if you dislike football, admit that the emotions and pageantry make the World Cup a riveting event every 4 years. And then there are those vuvuzelas. What will happen to them after the World Cup Final on July 11?

To those Americans who dismiss Europe as a backward, leftist, and socialist land, I say, back off—the business leaders I met and to whom I listened at the GRI Conference would run circles around my business school professors and most managers across the pond! To those Europeans who slam America as a consumer-frenzied, overindulged society, I say, not so fast: based on the crowds I saw in the shopping areas and the lines I saw in the stores, I think both sides of the Atlantic know how to spend a buck (or Euro).

Sorry, I stay away from top 10 lists–but I thought I’d share some tips for how you can be more eco-friendly while you are on the road. You probably already have them in your home or office!