Recycling Habits

Old habits die hard.  I grew up without a recycling service and except for aluminum cans, which we could take to a recycling center for cash, we didn't do any recycling at home when I was young.  College was a different story and there were recycling bins in each room, as well as around campus.  However, college isn't quite the same as the 'real world' so I would count my first true experience with a recycling program as my years in Chicago - from summer 2006 through summer 2009.

The Chicago city recycling program when I lived there was known as the 'Blue Bag' program.  At grocery stores you could purchase a roll of blue plastic bags, and recyclable items were placed into these special bags and deposited in the same garbage cans as trash, which was put in the standard white or black plastic bags.  The blue bags were supposed to be separated from the trash and then sent to a recycling center for further sorting and processing.  Eventually the blue bags were replaced with blue plastic trash cans and the blue bag program was retired.  It was widely known as a failure and the city stopped even separating the recyclable blue bags from the regular trash sometime in 2008, a couple of years before the program was formally scrapped.

If you've lived in Chicago or are familiar with Illinois politics you probably wouldn't be surprised to find a poorly managed public service in waste management, or other areas of government.

Although the items I attempted to recycle in Chicago likely never reached a recycling center and are probably in a landfill tomb somewhere today, it was still a good learning experience in getting used to sorting the waste types and becoming more cognizant of which types of items can be recycled and which can not.  The obvious items like plastic bottles or aluminum cans were easy to remember to put in the blue bags and I was used to doing so from childhood and college.

Other items, however, were equally recyclable and I never thought to separate them.  Many items I continued to throw into the garbage because I was still in a worldview where that was the standard and I relied on the habits I had developed in earlier years.  For example, a toilet paper roll is just as recyclable as a newspaper or other cardboard product but I never thought of recycling them until I attended an Earth Day presentation at work and they noted that item specifically is often overlooked.

I continue to learn and adjust my habits to be more Earth-friendly and over the past couple of years have found many items that I wouldn't have put into recycling until I thought more about what they were made of and thought more thoroughly about what we were throwing away.

If you have a recycling program (or don't but want to get into the habit of recycling for the day that you do) here are some common items that you may not be currently recycling.

1. Toilet paper rolls
2. CD and DVD cases
3. Batteries
1. This is especially important because many types of batteries contain hazardous materials like mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel. Many post offices and other stores will recycle batteries for you.
4. Junk mail and other paper waste
1. Almost any type of paper waste can be recycled and junk mail is a commonly encountered item for nearly every American.

There are many other items that can be recycled, and as recycling programs continue to evolve and new technologies are developed the list of items that can be recycled continues to grow.  

Contact your local recycling program for details in your area, and if you don't have a program already talk to your local politicians and environmental groups to express your support for one.

The best option is to reduce consumption.  The second best option is to reuse.  The third best option is to recycle.

Donate Instead of Throwing Out

It's the end of May and the start of June.  The end of any month marks a typical time for moving into a new apartment or home, and May is especially popular since it coincides with the end of the school year and the start of summer.  Summer in general is a popular time to move; May through August are the most popular months for moving to a new residence.

If you're moving this weekend consider donating used items you no longer need or want to a local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other local thrift store.  If you prefer not to make a separate trip you can utilize Craigslist and make some money, or give the items away for free.  Whichever route you elect to take, you'll help to reduce the amount of items going to the landfill and benefit others in your area.

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Commentary:

Many times we tire of the style, color, or age of clothes, furniture, or other goods before their useful life is expended.  If you are cleaning or getting ready for a move and find items you're not using anymore take advantage of the network of thrift stores that are present in nearly every town and city in America today.  Furniture items can be very large, and donating even one dresser or bookshelf can greatly reduce the amount of trash headed for the landfill.

Many colleges and universities host events to help students dispose of items they aren't taking with them when they leave to campus.  My alma mater, Notre Dame, runs a program called 'Old 2 Gold' for this purpose.  The 2011 event raised more than $50,000 for organizations in the South Bend area.  If you just graduated, or are heading off for summer break, see if your school has a similar event you can utilize.

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Recommend action steps:

1. If you're moving this weekend (or just have some items you'd like to get rid of) find a local thrift store and donate the items
1. If you prefer not to make a trip, use Craigslist
2. If you don't know how to use a computer, have a garage / yard sale
1. My most recent method for giving away items has been to put a sign on my driveway next to the items I no longer want (photo below).  The items are usually gone within an hour so it's easy, quick, and convenient.
2. Save the receipt if you donate - you may be able to deduct on your tax return
3. Have a great weekend!

Sometimes the simplest way is the easiest way :)

Old Chairs Repurposed into Trellis

A few days ago I wrote about picking up pieces of a couple of old chairs that had been discarded along a street near my house.  I went back to the spot and picked up the remaining pieces and made the backs of the chairs into a trellis for some purple lantana I had planted to attract hummingbirds to the yard.

Inspecting the raw materials.

After seeing this awesome monkey pattern that was beneath the faded red seat covering I was tempted to try and refinish the chairs but between the missing parts and damage already done it seemed a long way above my skill level.

One of the best patterns I've seen in awhile.

Here's the finished product, just wanted to share how it turned out looking.  I'll throw up a new photo when the trellis is covered with delightful purple flowers and hopefully a charm of hummingbirds.  Check out that link for the group names of various birds - pretty good stuff.

The finished product - Eva approves.

One Piece (and Day) at a Time

Look around the table. If you don't see a sucker, get up, because you're the sucker. 

- Amarillo Slim

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I just got back from a nice run on this sunny Sunday morning.  A beautiful start to the day, and some nice views of Balboa Park, downtown San Diego, and the South Park neighborhood to enjoy.  About a half mile from home I saw a few chairs on the side of the street that have been there for at least a year.  I've passed these chairs regularly on walks or runs through the Golden Hill neighborhood and never stopped to pick them up and put them in the trash.  Although it annoyed me that someone would just throw furniture on the side of the street and let it rot I didn't do anything other than be annoyed and think how someone should clean up the mess.  Of course, that someone would be an anonymous cleaning person, or the city, or some concerned neighbor (that wasn't me).

I picked up two of the chair backs today and plan to get the rest of that pile over the next few days.  One small act, and there is a lot more litter and trash on the streets, alleys, and canyons nearby to be picked up.  I plan to continue making a small effort to address the mess in my neighborhood and city.  Hopefully if you're reading this you'll consider doing the same.  Even a small item like a gum wrapper or a cigarette butt helps, especially if we all do a little every day.

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Commentary:

My first few posts on this blog were about picking up litter on my walks with Eva when she was still a newborn (hence the name of this blog, Walking Miss Eva).  I try to pick up at least two pieces of litter, big or small, everyday.  I don't always succeed in this effort.

Although I've written about litter before I think it's well worth revisiting.  The world is increasingly complicated every day - new inventions, new problems and solutions, etc.  But many basic principles still apply and when it comes to helping improve our environment it's hard to find a more tried and true way to do your part than by not littering and helping to clean up the litter left by others.

I hope you have a great day and encourage you to take a moment to pick up some piece(s) of trash you come across on your street today.  

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Suggested action steps:

1. Don't litter
2. Try to pick up at least 2 pieces of litter each day
3. Enjoy the cleaner, more healthy street, neighborhood, and city you've helped to improve

Thank you!

(Here's a photo of the chair backs I picked up today.  I'm planning to use them for trellising in the yard/garden.  Should make for an interesting look and I'll post some photos when they're covered with bougainvillea or another climbing plant.)

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P.P.S.

Couldn't get this song out of my head on the run this morning.

Cleaning Week - Day 6 - Trash Bags

Today is day six of Cleaning Week and it's also Monday so today's post combines both cleaning and plastic bags in the topic of trash bags.

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Commentary:

Similar to plastic shopping bags, trash bags have a limited useful life (typically a few days before being moved from inside a  home to the main recycling or garbage container outside) and take a long time to decompose (estimated between 500 and 1000 years).  Growing up and during my time in Chicago I thought that trash had to be put into a trash bag or the garbage collector wouldn't take it.  However, when I discovered this wasn't the case in San Diego we stopped using trash bags although I had to do some convincing before Amelia was persuaded this was a good and/or sane idea.  (I think that I having recently had a bag of 1,000 worms delivered to my office had something to do with her hesitancy.)

I couldn't resist.

Stopping our use of plastic shopping bags was a first step, followed by using reusable produce bags instead of disposable plastic, so it seemed like a natural step to stop using trash bags as well.  This has been the case with many things that we've reduced or eliminated: once we get rid of one thing we start to see so many other things we hadn't noticed before.  Often they are things we've simply used without thinking about and don't miss them once they're gone.

Taking out the trash is a chore so often required the marital strife that can result from opposing views of who last took out the trash has become a common joke.  This joke is based in large part on the frequency with which we dispose of our garbage.  (Not to mention the prodigious amounts of garbage we create.)

Consider if a home has a trash and a recycling bin in the kitchen, plus two bathrooms with a bin each.  If each bin is emptied twice a week, 416 bags would be used in a year.  Take those 416 bags, which I think is a low estimate since it excludes yard waste and higher volume trash times like the holiday season, and multiply times the 114 million households in the United States.  That totals 47 billion trash bags used per year.  Even if it's not possible to stop using all trash bags, if just the bags in bathrooms were eliminated the number used would decrease 50%.  That size of a reduction can make a big difference.

Reducing the use of trash bags also helps to avoid infant deaths.  According to the US Product Safety Commission, an average of 25 children in America die each year by suffocation from a plastic bag.  90% of this number are infants under 1 year of age.

Suggested action steps:

1. Consider stopping or reducing your use of trash bags (trash, recycling, bathroom, garage, etc.)
1. For items like scraps of meat, grease, or other items that smell we take them to the outdoor trash immediately to avoid getting the indoor bin dirty
2. Having a composter has helped us to avoid mold or other food issues in the trash, since they go straight to the composter
2. If your garbage collector requires use of trash bags ask them why and to consider changing this policy
3. If you must use trash bags, consider using a biodegradable brand like this one
4. If your trash cans get dirty clean out with water and Dr. Bronner's soap or vinegar.  I set up a calendar reminder on my computer for every 3 months to help me remember.

Mardi Gras = Water Fountain Celebration

Happy Fat Tuesday!  Given the elevated levels of liquid consumption today I thought a beverage topic would be good.  Today's post is about bottled water.
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We are fortunate in the United States to have abundant supplies of freshwater (in most areas of the country) and a safe and widespread system of distribution that allows us to have clean water in our homes for drinking, cleaning, gardening, and many other uses.  Despite the cheap and clean water distribution system present, bottled water sales have skyrocketed in recent years and in 2007 8.82 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the United States, and 47 billion gallons worldwide.  On a per capita basis, that's about 285 12 ounce bottles per American per year.

In order to help conserve natural resources, and save money, I think it's a good idea to opt for tap water rather than bottled water.

Commentary:

Following are a few reasons I think it's usually a better idea to enjoy water from the tap.

1) Cost - Per this EPA article, drinking 8 glasses of water a day will cost you about 50 cents per year from the tap.  From bottled water the same amount of water will cost you around $1,400.  My own estimate, based on a cost of $10.73 for a 24 pack of 16.9 ounce bottles comes to a grand total of $620 for the year. Calculation noted below - if anyone knows how to easily add tables to Blogger I would definitely appreciate some advice.

(16.9 ounces per bottle x 24 bottles per case = 405.6 ounces per case.  8 glasses x 8 ounces per day x 366 days per leap year = 23,424 ounces per year.  23,424 ounces / 405.6 ounces per case = 57.75 cases needed per year.  57.75 cases x $10.73 per case = $619.67 total cost)

Either way, the cost is far higher for bottled water than tap water.  Additionally, you will have to pay to refrigerate the bottles.

2) Landfill impact - According to the International Bottled Water Association, a bottled water industry group, 30.9% of plastic water bottles are recycled each year.  Using the estimated amount of bottles from the EPA article noted above, that means the average American would send 285 bottles to the landfill each year. Additionally, this recycling rate is from a group organized to promote bottled water usage, so other estimates of the recycling rate are much lower.

3) Incidental costs - Production of water bottles for the U.S. market is estimated to use 17 million barrels of oil annually.  There are 42 gallons in a barrel of oil, so that amounts to 714 million gallons of oil.  In addition to the production of the bottle, there is also the cost to transport the bottles from factories to stores, from stores to homes, cost to refrigerate, and the cost to transport to landfills or recycling centers after use.  Since the majority of bottles are not recycled there is also the cost to cleanup those bottles not directly put into the trash stream, and the landfill maintenance costs for those that do end up there.

4) Bottled water may be tap water anyway - According to the above linked EPA article, over 25% of bottled water is from a municipal water source, the same place that tap water comes from.  Even the esteemed John Stossel has called out bottled water on this point.  It's from 2005, but still pretty entertaining and to the point.

Suggested action steps:

1) Don't purchase bottled water.  This is assuming you are not in a disaster area or developing area without safe water sources.
2) If the taste or quality of your tap water is not up to snuff, install a water filtration system or purchase a water pitcher with a filter (Brita is one brand).
3) Enjoy

Coffee Time - Reusable Mugs

I'm a big fan of coffee, as noted in a prior post, and will likely have a number of posts on the topic of coffee.   This is one of those posts.
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Coffee is enjoyed by millions daily, the majority of whom discard the cup when the drink is finished.  I was one of those people, but purchased a reusable mug for the reasons described below.

Commentary:

Recycling is good, but reuse is better.  Recycling an item takes energy to produce and deliver the original product, then additional energy to collect and re-purpose the item after use, and energy to deliver the new good for future use.  With an item like coffee cups that are used and discarded or recycled on a massive scale, the amount of energy involved in producing or re-purposing those cups adds up quickly.  Cups that go directly to a landfill consume far more energy since producing a new cup takes more energy and resources than recycling a used one.

In many cases, recycling a coffee cup is not an option.  First, many communities in the U.S. do not have a regular recycling service that allows for consumers to recycle their used cups and other refuse, if they are inclined to recycle.  Second, many coffee cups are made from 6 polystyrene plastic (symbol displayed below) that is often not recyclable even if your municipality has recycling services available.  This was a big surprise to me.  My community in San Diego has bi-weekly recycling and before I learned of this limitation on plastic of this type I assumed that if it was in the recycling it would be recycled.  Little did I know that even though it went in the blue bin it would be added to the trash heap.

In addition to being good for the planet, using your own mug will save you money.  Most coffee shops will give you a small discount on each purchase for using your own mug (typically between 10 and 25 cents per purchase).

Suggested action steps:

1) If you drink coffee, purchase a reusable coffee cup and use it on every trip for a cup of joe.  I recommend one with a screw on lid so it won't spill and a non-plastic one so the flavor of coffee won't seep in.  (If you're interested in a Walking Miss Eva branded mug let me know and I can hook you up.)
2) If you forget your reusable mug, request a mug from the coffee shop and get your beverage to enjoy in the store.  Most coffee shops, including all Starbucks I believe, will accommodate this request.

3) If you go out for coffee at home and at work, purchase a cup for both locations to ensure you have one on hand when you head out.


Have a great start to your week!

Fighting the Junk Mail Monster - Part 1 of 2

Part 1 of 2 on stopping the flow of junk mail to your residence.  Part 1 addresses reactive measures to stop the junk mail you currently receive and Part 2 will cover proactive measures to prevent future junk mail deliveries.
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Tell me if the following sounds familiar.  Arrive home in the evening, check the mailbox and walk inside.  Flip through the pieces of mail with a faint hope of receiving a letter from a friend or relative but typically have that hope dashed by a steady stream of credit card and cable offers crashing upon the breakwater of your soul like the endless waves of the ocean.

If this scenario describes the current state of your mailing affairs this post may be for you.

Commentary:

Junk mail has been around for many years and is often just another slight annoyance during the day.  The amount of junk mail Americans receive each year is pretty large.  According to the EPA and cited by a mail advertisement industry group, The Direct Marketing Association, 2.4% of all municipal solid waste is from direct mail / junk mail.  This association implies that 2.4% of solid waste is a small percentage but it seems large to me given the usefulness that I find these sort of mailings to have.

The previously noted The Zero Waste Home addressed this issue and how they had gone about stopping the seemingly endless flow of junk mail they received.  Their basic approach was to take any junk mail received and call the sender immediately to request removal from all of their mailing lists.  This is the approach we have followed and although we still receive the occasional advertisement nearly all of the mail we receive now is worth getting excited about - letters from grandma, Valentine's Day cards, photos for the refrigerator.  Checking the mail has been re-transformed from a daily disappointment to a source of anticipation and one of life's small daily pleasures.

Suggested action steps:

1) Pick up your daily mail and place any junk mail on the kitchen table or somewhere else you can't ignore it.
2) Call the company that sent each piece of junk mail the following day (since business hours are likely done for the current day).

3) Keep a list of the numbers, companies, and date contacted so you can refer to it if the mailings do not stop.  Here's an example of the list we created to do this which has been handy for the few companies that repeatedly ignored our requests.  We made it on Google Docs so we could have it handy and both access it easily.

Maybe with less junk mail we can avoid a world that only has fake plastic trees.




Question for attorneys or those with class action suit knowledge: 

Is there any basis for a class action suit against companies that repeatedly ignore requests to stop mailing materials to a residence?  I thought that perhaps from a privacy standpoint (exposing personal information including name, address, and potentially additional information depending on the contents of the mailing) or a harrassment standpoint (ignoring the explicit and repeated requests of a person to stop solicitations) might be grounds for a suit.  Given the quantity of junk mail and people affected by it I thought there might be potential here but am not familiar with the relevant laws.