Showing posts with label reducing waste. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reducing waste. Show all posts
Mar 13, 2010
Family cloth- this is where I draw the line
Have you heard of this new trend? It's been floating around the interwebs for a while now. The idea is to replace good ol' toilet paper with with cloth wipes and wash and reuse them. I do appreciate this effort, if anything because of the sacrifice some people are willing to make for the sake of the earth and some reviews boast that 'family cloth' is actually more pleasing to use than TP. However, I'm trying to picture how this could be done in a sanitary manner. Washing and reusing cloth diapers for baby poo is one thing, but when the whole family has chili for dinner...I just can't wrap my head around the aftermath that lies ahead. So please don't think me shallow when I say this, but no frickin' way will I give up my toilet paper.
Mar 6, 2010
THE ARGUMENT AGAINST RECYCLING
Now don't get your panties in a bunch. This is not a commentary on the benefits of the landfill. This is a plea to the masses to stop using recycling as a get-out-of-jail-free-card to soften the blow of material waste. Over consumption is no stranger to Western culture. In order to go about our daily lives, Americans usurp roughly 70% of the earth's natural resources and we ease our conscience when we find the triangle of arrows on the bottom of our yogurt container. We rinse it out and toss it in the appropriate bin. Problem solved, right? Not exactly.
The three R's; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are essential to maintain sustainability for our planet. However, reducing and reusing are far more effective than recycling. In fact, by reducing your consumption of unnecessary materials and reusing the essentials whenever possible can by effect, reduce the amount of pollution incurred from production and recycling.
Two conflicting articles on glass vs. plastic:
Feb 27, 2010
There is something seriously wrong with me
I have a disease. OK, maybe not a disease, but at the very least I'm quite certain that if I were to seek professional help, a Dr. would have a name for this affliction. Recently my friend compared me to an old woman she saw on TV who hoarded everything from cereal boxes to used cat litter, convinced she could make good use of it. Well, I am one if those people. I simply cannot throw anything in the trash without feeling a pang of horrible guilt. I have to take a closer look at the alleged 'garbage' and ask myself, "Why must I purge this? Couldn't I find something to do with it before tossing it?" While I recognize this is a redeeming quality, I have gone somewhat overboard. This is a problem because 1) I irrationally convince myself that I have abilities beyond the super-human mind to turn anything one would deem 'refuse' into something practical and 2) I am a HUGE flake. A great idea soon becomes an onus that I can't seem to achieve because in reality I am a mother of three who suffers from ADD, I'm lucky if I can stay on top of feeding my own children on a daily basis (or I should say they are lucky).
I recently took stock of my hoarding and decided to document my steps in ridding my house of these barriers between myself and my sanity. I am starting with the kitchen for reasons mentioned on my last post. Behold the fruits of my recent labors.
Paper bags and mandarin crates:
Expired food:
Bottle caps
um...I've decided to keep these.
More mandarin crates (this one actually serves a purpose)
Baby food jars (this represents only a fraction):
I was saving them for bead storage and then I realized, I gave away my beads.
And the root of all evil...plastic grocery bags!
I'm so embarrassed...
Jan 5, 2010
Paper vs. Plastic
It is safe to say that most Americans who do not live in Amish country are aware that we waste entirely too many disposable grocery bags. We've heard the countless Public Service Announcements, we can no longer play ignorant. I try to make an effort to bring my own bag. Emphasis on try. The fact is, my day goes like this:
Put kids in the car.
Drop off older kids
Go to store/playgroup/gym (yeah right)/grocery store
Pick up kids
Unload car
Put away groceries
By the end of the rigmarole, it does not cross my mind to put the grocery bags back in the car. I am safe in my home. Don't make me go out there again! So in an effort to make sure I no longer shop empty handed, I have outsourced the job of returning the bags to the car to my two older children. Problem solved. Except, there will be times when I have to answer that dreaded question..."Paper or plastic?"
What is a pseudo-environmentalist to do? Some argue that paper is better than plastic...well, in some ways it is. But don't think you're doing the earth any favors by requesting paper. Apparently there is no way to please everyone on the matter. Environmentalists go back and forth on the issue arguing that one is still the lesser of two evils. Paper and Plastic are tied for last place.
"It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag...Paper sacks generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
Source: "Comparison of the Effects on the Environment of Polyethylene and Paper Carrier Bags," Federal Office of the Environment, August 1988...It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low, with only 10 to 15% of paper bags and 1 to 3% of plastic bags being recycled, according to the Wall Street Journal...A paper bags takes up more space than a plastic bag in a landfill, but because paper is recycled at a higher rate, saving space in landfills is less of an issue." Source"Both paper bags and plastic bags destroy natural resources and ecosystem. Both contribute to green house gasses. However, plastic bags are more hazardous. When recycling or incinerating plastic, dioxins are produced and sent off to air. These dioxins are the ones responsible for ruining the ecosystem and the environment in general. Only one to three percent of all plastic bags are recycled. The rest are found in the streams, floating on the sea and flying around the streets." Source
The bottom line is, neither are the right choice to make. But in the event I find myself unarmed, I will choose the one I feel I am most likely to reuse responsibly. But in the meantime, I have few excuses, for my Chico bag is dangling from my key chain and it will hold far more than a plastic grocery bag can. I went to the Chico site to grab a link and I was excited to see their bags on sale! Get five Chico bags for $10!!! And if you're looking for something a bit more sporty, like a backpack or messenger bag that folds up into your glove compartment, go to http://www.chicobag.com/ and check out their new collection! No, I don't get paid to promote these products.
Creative ways to reuse paper bags:
What to do with your plastic bags:
Knit a tote bag (no, seriously)
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