single-use plastic bag recycling

Ditching single-use plastic bags completely will be a challenge.

(But if you read my last post you may understand more and more why it’s so bothersome. How can I ignore those stats???)  

When nearly everything in a store is sold wrapped in thin-film plastic, it makes avoiding the nasty stuff really difficult. I mean, look at how many plastic bags our household of three accumulated over the last month or so?!?

What’s even more disturbing, however, is that these can’t be recycled (in Ventura at least) through curbside pickup.

EJ Harrison and Gold Coast Recycling used to accept them; but no longer.

So, if you don’t want to toss them in the trash, you must take them yourself to a local grocer; one that offers a plastic bag drop-off service.

What you may not know, and what’s important to note, is that many types of plastic bags can be held on to and recycled in this way; not just the typical plastic bags you carry your goods out in!

Plasticbagrecycling.org has created a nice list of items acceptable for recycling by most grocery stores. They include:

• Bread bags
• Cereal box liners
• Ziploc® Bags
• Case wrap (snacks, water bottles)
• Newspaper bags
• Dry cleaning bags
• Produce bags
• Toilet paper, napkin and paper towel wraps
• Furniture and electronic wrap
• Plastic retail bags
• And any clean, dry plastic bags labeled #2 or #4

So, how ‘bout a little sharing time. What’s the afterlife like for plastic bags in your household?

Were you aware they aren’t recycled curbside? Do you save and drop them off at your neighborhood grocery store? Toss them in the garbage? Reuse them as trashcan liners? Avoid them altogether? Never thought about it much before?

Give it a try. Hold on to your plastic bags for a month. The rate at which they accumulate may surprise you!

composting; more an experiment, less a science



Photo Credit: Sharon Smith



Woooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooooooo!



Finally.

Bought a compost bin. Only minor assembly required.

And attended a workshop for a little push / support.

The number ONE thing I learned and wish to share with you if you’re even slightly considering trying to compost:

It’s not a science. It’s an experiment.

Tend to it every day or leave it alone for a six month period and you’ll likely come out with about the same results.

Awesome.

Keeping a compost alive will be far easier with my green thumb than keeping a garden alive. My mom’s the expert at that one. 

So here’s the quick rundown; starter facts I walked away with:

1.     Get (or make) a bin. Purchase one through your city or just search for one online. They’ve got basic containers where you use your human strength to turn the soil with a good ‘ole fashioned pitchfork, drum-like bins that turn with a handle and some that aerate themselves, doing all the work for you.

2.    Set up your bin in a spot with half shade and half sunlight.

3.     Fill it up in layers. One third of the contents should be carbon material (brown leaves or newspaper) and two thirds should be nitrogen-rich (green grass clippings, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds AND filters, manure from non meat-eating animals). There are items you absolutely should NOT put in compost such as human/cat/dog feces, wet grass, meat, fats, bones, fish, dairy, cooking oil, anything with salad dressing…  

4.     Moisture and air are important! Keep your compost moist by watering it one to two times a week (not too much though as over watering kills the compost so you’ll have to start over)  as well as aerated by turning it frequently. Didn’t I tell ya? Not a science…

5.     If it's steaming, it's working! Just a good sign that bacteria and organisms are doing their job and breaking stuff down.

6.     That’s it! Can take as little as two months to see some finished product!

7.     Move your compost bin after each cycle. The bottom is open to the earth, constantly feeding it nutrients. So share the goods with as much of your garden as possible by moving it around.

8.     The part I’m not looking forward to most: bugs. I was assured that they will come. And potentially some other critters. Ants MUST be kept away; too many and you’ve got to throw it out. Worms that wiggle their way in are fine, as are those annoying gnats that are bound to frequent your compost spot. To lesson all these guys’ presence, however, chop up food scraps and cover with compost as opposed to just dropping them in. Then put a lid on it.      

There are millions of sites on the ‘how-to’ of composting but here are two that I like:

Composting For Dummies

Recycle now – Making Compost (I’m sure I’ll be visiting this one frequently)


And there you have it.

Now it’s off to compost. I’ll post progress every now and then, in between highlights of the other sustainable habits we’ve been creating around here. If you already compost or are looking to start, would love to hear about your tips and tricks or progress…

Alright. Time to get dirty.

composting – on our way to zero waste

Photo Credit: Cleanairgardening

Composting:

The recycling of organic material (food scraps, leaves, and grass) to be turned into a valuable soil amendment, used to enhance gardens, potted plants, and lawns.

Stats show that around 25% of U.S. municipal solid waste can be composted and used beneficially, rather than rotting in a landfill.


Putting it in perspective:

A typical household throws away an estimated 474 pounds of food waste each year.

That’s about 1.5 pounds per person, per day in the States.

These food scraps could theoretically be piled on a football field more than five miles high.

Five MILES high.

In a household of three women, we generate one 13 gallon bag of trash per week, down from nearly twice, sometimes three times that just a few months ago. I'd guess that about 10 gallons are food scraps.

Zero waste.

That’s the goal.

The next sustainable habit to start come Saturday:

Composting.

If you’re in the Ventura area and you too want to enter into the complex world of composting or just learn a bit more about it, hit up the

FREE Composting Workshop
Saturday, April 2, 2011
At Green Thumb Nursery in Ventura
1899 South Victoria Avenue
From 10 to 11am

Refreshments and prizes will be provided.

But everyone will have an opportunity to leave a winner because Green Thumb will be selling compost bins for over 50 percent off.

50 PERCENT OFF!

And those things full price can cost a pretty penny.

Here’s your coupon. Print it out and bring it in. It's pretty much good for forever.

What a steal.

Hope to see you there.

waste diversion in public spaces

I frequent Downtown Ventura a few times a week.

And each trip home, I stop at the same light, stare at the same advertisement for Hollywood Fitness, think about how I should really get my derriere to the gym and ponder the need for such a boxy structure to display this mini-billboard.

This was my thought process; for weeks.

Until one day...

While conducting research for a super secret project, I came in contact with a woman from Keep California Beautiful. In short, I learned her organization had partnered with Creative Outdoor Advertising, which in turn began contracting with communities in California to include recycling bins as part of their streetscaping infrastructure.

Ventura was one of those communities.

I pulled over to take a look at the Hollywood Fitness billboard thing. And sure enough, on the other side, were two openings;

One for trash.

And one for recycling.

Wonder how long it would’ve taken, had I not connected with the KCB lady, for me to realize we had all of these new waste separation containers lining Main Street, encouraging passersby to become more mindful, consciously considering where they dispose of what. 

Apparently over 1000 recycling units have been installed across 200 communities.

We’ve got 20.

Have to say I’m a little disappointed it took this series of events to become aware of the little changes happening in my city; the ones that can potentially have a huge impact if enough are more attentive than I.

Curious. Is it just me? Have you noticed them? Used them? Like them? Feel indifferent about them? Want to see more of them?

Must say, it’s nice to know I’ll never need to shove bottles in my purse for recycling at home… When I’m wandering around downtown anyway.  

reusable cup both recycled and recyclable? sold!

Found it.

The sixteen ounce Transform Recycled & Recyclable Mug in Fern (read ‘funky lime green’) from Aladdin’s Sustain line.

Spent $9.99 at Target® last week for this snazzy mug. Truth be told, I haven’t put it down since.

Here’s why I like it… and no, I won’t be bashful about the fact that I’m a buyer attracted to color and cause-related marketing…

It’s bold.

I chose a vibrant green, but Target® had a few in ‘bubble-gumball blue’ (please don’t try asking anyone in a red shirt and khaki pants for a reusable coffee mug in this color - that’s just what it looked like to me) and one in brown, perfect for hiding proof you used your mug a few days prior and failed to wash it out.  

It’s recycled and recyclable.

            Yup, this is what did it.

‘Use it. Love it. Recycle it. Begin again.’ The mug is made with eCycle®, Aladdin’s proprietary mix of recycled plastics. Ninety-seven percent recycled food grade polypropylene containing twenty-five percent post consumer content makes this mug (sans lid) recyclable where number five plastic is collected.

Car-cup friendly.

            Tried it. It’s true.

Dishwasher safe.

            Sounds awesome.

Microwave safe.

Neat idea. Not sure how it holds up though; the insulation has kept my drinks hot for well over an hour or until they’re gone.

Leak-proof.

So far anyway. Have yet to turn the thing full of liquid on its head. If you want me to though, I will.

Because the above factors were all I needed to positively influence my purchasing decision (and I would allow them to again and again) I could care a little bit less about the one and only teeny-tiny little nuance in functionality that I realized recently was noticed by another user / reviewer. Thought it was just me. It doesn't deter me from my mug. Not a stitch. But I got a good laugh. You might too.

In the end, for ten bucks and not a whole lot of research on a quick buy, I’d say I made out pretty well…

first few uses of the reusable cup

On Saturday, I hit up Palermo’s on my way to Farmers’ Market downtown (getting a head-start on a future sustainable habit!) and stood behind a woman with my same tumbler in the ‘gumball blue.’ So interesting how we start ‘seeing’ the things we were never ‘seeing’ before they gained importance in our lives, for one reason or another.

Forgot to remove my lid but the woman behind the counter surprisingly did it for me. No big deal.

Palermo doesn’t offer a discount when you bring in your own cup, but that wouldn’t keep me from returning with it. I felt so proud taking this one small step; walking out with my Americano, knowing I’d be leaving nothing physical of it behind.

Walked around Farmers’ for a good forty-five. Drove home. Watered mom’s plants. Coffee was still surprisingly hot.

Sunday I stopped at Barnes and Noble to work on a massive homework assignment. Took my tumbler up to the Starbucks counter; remembered this time to remove my own lid. The cup was clean from the day before, but what do you know! The barista offered to rinse it out. Like magic.

And ten cents off my tea made it taste that much sweeter. 

Alright. I think I’ve dug the introduction of this reusable coffee cup habit deep into the ground, so it’s time to move on. I’ll return to the topic every now and then… When I slip up, am having some difficulty maintaining the habit or when something incredibly hilarious happens.

Habit number two to come very soon. And this one may be a little something for just the ladies...   

it’s national recycling week!

Photo Credit: CNBC

In Australia.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t get in on the celebration here in the States!

Did you know:

Americans buy nearly a BILLION bottles of water EVERY SINGLE WEEK!

That’s an average of more than three bottles per week for every man, woman and child in the country.

And when the water’s gone?

Only a small portion (something like 20 percent) of these 51 BILLION empty plastic bottles are recycled.

That’s two bottles out of ten!

The rest end up in landfills.

Or oceans.

Or in the tummy’s of unknowing sea creatures.

Some of which we eat.

Here’s a good look at what happens to your bottles if you’ve got the energy to toss them into the recycler (as well as what happens to them if you don't).

Reusable materials are turned into ‘flakes’ which can be used to produce anything from reusable shopping bags, tarps, car parts, furniture, household products, more water bottles (enough with the water bottles already!), T-shirts, blankets, carpets and rugs...

If that isn’t encouragement enough to recycle,

I highly recommend checking out this nice piece of video:

Trash INC: The Secret Life of Garbage

Garbage. It's everywhere — even in the middle of the oceans — and it's pure gold for companies like Waste Management and Republic Services who dominate this $52 billion-a-year industry. From curbside collection by trucks costing $250,000 each, to per-ton tipping fees at landfills, there's money to be made at every point as more than half of the 250 million tons of trash created in the United States each year reaches its final resting place.

At a cost of $1 million per acre to construct, operate and ultimately close in an environmentally feasible method, modern landfills are technological marvels — a far cry from the town dump that still resonates in most people's perceptions. Not only do they make money for their owners, they add millions to the economic wellbeing of the towns that house them. Technologies, such as Landfill Natural Gas and Waste To Energy, are giving garbage a second life, turning trash into power sources and helping to solve mounting problems. It's particularly important in places like Hawaii, where disposal space is an issue, and in China, where land and energy are needed and trash is plentiful.

One sure thing about the garbage business: it's always picking up.

What will you throw away today?