I've been focused lately on decreasing the amount of plastic we use. It's a hard road - lots of people recycle, but few remember the "reduce, reuse" part of the three r's. I opted for tap water the other day rather than bottled, and when I offered my reason (that I didn't want anymore plastic to end up in the trash) my host told me they recycle. Well, great. But I suspect that you buy cases of bottled water every few weeks, which means that the demand is still there, so plastics are still made. And do you buy anything that is made from recycled plastic? If not, you are missing an opportunity to make a bigger dent. I'd love to make my small contribution by being a consumer who does not increase the demand for plastic production as well as not adding to the plastic in landfills, oceans, or recycling. It's been hard to figure out how to tackle this.
I've been on this plastic reduction path for some time now, but I got all crazy about plastic and the bottle tops when I saw these photos by Chris Jordan. All these albatross chick die because they eat plastic, and it is just horrifying. We live in our perfect little worlds where the trash and recycling trucks come and take it all "away" and we don't think enough about where "away" might be. Trash never just disappears, but to some of us that is how it seems.
At our house, we've gotten paper down to a science - no more paper napkins, towels, and we reuse almost all the paper that comes into the house. All of our egg cartons go back to our farmer. I write lists on envelopes and such, the kids use junk mail to draw, and I use scraps for book marks. Of course, decreasing the amount of paper that is incoming is the key; no newspapers, few magazines, online billing, less credit card offers and other junk mail.
For whatever reason, plastic is way harder. We switched to glass for food storage (both Pyrex and other food jars - there is no reason food has to be in a bowl - might as well reuse a jar!) a while ago, but the yogurt cups, plastic clamshells from fruit, and bottle tops have got me spinning. Our trash company only takes #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jugs, but I am overrun with #1 clamshells and #5 food containers. So the clamshells have now become storage for craft supplies - crayons, markers, stickers, paints, etc. I've been striving to grow more veggies, or buy more at the farmers market, and now Trader Joe's has a larger selection of loose produce so the influx of clamshells is decreasing. I discovered recently that Whole Foods accepts #5 plastics for their Preserve Gimme 5 program, so now I lug those over there. Aveda has a bottle cap recycling program, so I've started a little collection of those now too.
I've bought a set of Preserve wear for parties so we don't need disposable plates and utensils, and I do use other recycled plastic products. So now I have started considering how to further reduce the plastic that comes in to our house. My quick survey says yogurt, salsa, and nut butters, are the big ones. So the easy fix is buying a larger container - a quart rather than a cup of yogurt for example. The more ambitious fix is making our own. I've heard yogurt is easy, so I may give it a try. Salsa is not too hard, but the preserving is what I don't really look forward to. It's HOT in the kitchen when you're canning! Nut butters just give me another reason to buy a Vitamix :) but I guess I can use a blender or some other kind of grinder if I don't mind it too chunky. The other option is talking with the farmers, businesses, and stores that I buy from about their packaging. I do get my salsa at the farmers market - wonder if he'd let me bring my own container?
Showing posts with label recycled. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycled. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
What's in your wallet?
When did I move to Vermont? Oh, I guess I didn't - we wouldn't be cooped up in our houses in Vermont - they know what to do with all this snow. It's another story here - no one knows what to do with it all. We got 30+ inches in the last storm over the weekend, and another storm hit us last night - it is still snowing. I finally got out yesterday and took Peanut to the farmers market to run around with her friends and get some vittles.
The streets feel like rural gravel and dirt roads - even some of the main streets are still snow packed and rutted. People are either driving like they are petrified, or absolutely insane. I had to swerve to miss a guy driving in the center of our bumpy, icy neighborhood road, cigarette in one hand, cell phone in the other, going a good 20 miles over the speed limit. On the flip side, getting onto the highway after a woman going 3 miles an hour flashing her brakes the whole way was no picnic either.
Today it seems that everyone has given up. We are all still in our pjs. Peanut is sitting in front of the TV. Most days, that magic box isn't turned on until 4pm if at all. Our neighbor who was out there shoveling every few hours the last storm is no where to be seen today. The plows have driven by, but the plows are raised. It's hump day, and we have all decided to wait it out this week and start fresh Monday.
What else is there to do except clean and organize? Pumpkin is growing so fast I can barely keep up with him. I take stuff out of his closet and unload a new box of the next size in. Thank goodness for friends and family with clothes to pass on! I try to pass on as much as we can too, so now I have baby clothes all over our bed - nice little piles "consignment", "freecycle", "donate", "for baby ___", which is great except that the piles will stay until any of the takers can come and get them. So my attempts to be more organized are thwarted - I have just created more junk that is out in the open instead of neatly hidden in a closet.
We did finish our taxes, and cleaned out a bunch of old files. I closed out a whole slew of store credit cards yesterday. I am going to be excited on the day (in the very far future) when i can pull a credit report that won't be 50 pages of stuff. Once these accounts get purged we should have a nice short clean document. (WARNING - do not try this if you are in any way looking to take out a loan in the near future - they HATE it when you have multiple closed accounts) This credit purge is just the next step in greening our lives - we've been going to paperless billing on anything we can, and really don't shop in the stores we had cards for that often, if at all. Many of the accounts I closed hadn't been used in a few years. As I piled up these old cards to be shredded, it occurred to me that we are wasting an awful lot of plastic with everyone getting new cards issued every year or two for almost everything. We have gift cards, insurance cards, credit cards, membership cards.... Where do they go and what can we do with them besides chuck 'em?
Most gift cards and credit cards are made from PVC, much of it virgin. Of course, PVC is not the most environmentally friendly material to start with, so either having card made from something else or cards made from old used cards are the best options. Some companies are using corn based plastics, biodegradable cards, and electronic gift cards. Most of us will chop up our credit cards so we can protect our information - these can still be recycled. Once they are used and there is no $ value remaining, gift cards are not a threat to your security or identity. Instead of leaving them in a drawer or your wallet or tossing them in the trash, consider reusing or recycling them. Earthworks is a company that will accept and recycle your plastic cards. They also provide companies with recycled material for gift cards, so green businesses can take advantage of this and avoid contributing further to the PVC pile up. Some stores are now accepting their old cards back for recycling as well, but be sure you ask as many will just toss them in the trash.
So what can you do? Use cash. Avoid those cards if you can, but if you must, there are some ways you can make an impact. Reload the cards you do use - no one needs a new Starbucks or Barnes and Noble card every holiday season. Next time you buy or use a gift card, ask the store about the material it is made from and whether they accept them back for recycling. Who has time (or the chutzpah) to do this? Well, how else can you make a change except by making the time to do it? I called three companies today to ask about the gift cards in my wallet. JC Penny had no idea whether their cards were PVC or recycled or another more earth friendly material. The customer service representative did say the cards can be reloaded, but he also said that they do not recycle their cards, they just toss 'em. The person I spoke with at Gap, said there is something special about their cards but she did not know what it was. Their online site reports that Gap has developed gift cards made with 88% recycled content. Gap gift cards can be reloaded and recycled, and the Gap stores will also accept your other cards for recycling. I spoke with a sweet Starbucks representative who said they are working on this issue, but have yet to find either an alternative to PVC for their cards nor enough locations for recycling. Of course, you can reload your Starbucks card. In my very brief search online, I found that you really have to dig to find out information about this. Companies who do use alternative materials and recycle their cards should be shouting it from the rooftops. Instead it is hidden beneath a bunch of other random corporate policies.
The idea of sending your credit card off to be recycled is a little scarier, although really, how is it better to throw it in the trash? Ask your bank for your debit and credit cards; do they use alternative materials, can you continue to use the same card forever, do they accept them back for recycling? When you look in your wallet, you will realize there are plastic cards galore - membership cards, licenses, grocery club cards, library cards... Talk to your gym manager about their membership cards, your county about the library card, your grocery store, the DMV. If you work in a store or company that uses or provides cards of any kind, bring it up to the management. Discuss it with your friends and family and resolve to coordinate gifting so as not to add cards. Use the service the Gap offers and drop off all your used gift cards there for recycling! In my wallet alone there are over 4 ounces of PVC cards. It may not seem like much, but it adds up fast. The number I've seen thrown around is 75 million pounds of PVC from cards goes into the waste stream every year. Let's try to make that way less!
The streets feel like rural gravel and dirt roads - even some of the main streets are still snow packed and rutted. People are either driving like they are petrified, or absolutely insane. I had to swerve to miss a guy driving in the center of our bumpy, icy neighborhood road, cigarette in one hand, cell phone in the other, going a good 20 miles over the speed limit. On the flip side, getting onto the highway after a woman going 3 miles an hour flashing her brakes the whole way was no picnic either.
Today it seems that everyone has given up. We are all still in our pjs. Peanut is sitting in front of the TV. Most days, that magic box isn't turned on until 4pm if at all. Our neighbor who was out there shoveling every few hours the last storm is no where to be seen today. The plows have driven by, but the plows are raised. It's hump day, and we have all decided to wait it out this week and start fresh Monday.
What else is there to do except clean and organize? Pumpkin is growing so fast I can barely keep up with him. I take stuff out of his closet and unload a new box of the next size in. Thank goodness for friends and family with clothes to pass on! I try to pass on as much as we can too, so now I have baby clothes all over our bed - nice little piles "consignment", "freecycle", "donate", "for baby ___", which is great except that the piles will stay until any of the takers can come and get them. So my attempts to be more organized are thwarted - I have just created more junk that is out in the open instead of neatly hidden in a closet.
We did finish our taxes, and cleaned out a bunch of old files. I closed out a whole slew of store credit cards yesterday. I am going to be excited on the day (in the very far future) when i can pull a credit report that won't be 50 pages of stuff. Once these accounts get purged we should have a nice short clean document. (WARNING - do not try this if you are in any way looking to take out a loan in the near future - they HATE it when you have multiple closed accounts) This credit purge is just the next step in greening our lives - we've been going to paperless billing on anything we can, and really don't shop in the stores we had cards for that often, if at all. Many of the accounts I closed hadn't been used in a few years. As I piled up these old cards to be shredded, it occurred to me that we are wasting an awful lot of plastic with everyone getting new cards issued every year or two for almost everything. We have gift cards, insurance cards, credit cards, membership cards.... Where do they go and what can we do with them besides chuck 'em?
Most gift cards and credit cards are made from PVC, much of it virgin. Of course, PVC is not the most environmentally friendly material to start with, so either having card made from something else or cards made from old used cards are the best options. Some companies are using corn based plastics, biodegradable cards, and electronic gift cards. Most of us will chop up our credit cards so we can protect our information - these can still be recycled. Once they are used and there is no $ value remaining, gift cards are not a threat to your security or identity. Instead of leaving them in a drawer or your wallet or tossing them in the trash, consider reusing or recycling them. Earthworks is a company that will accept and recycle your plastic cards. They also provide companies with recycled material for gift cards, so green businesses can take advantage of this and avoid contributing further to the PVC pile up. Some stores are now accepting their old cards back for recycling as well, but be sure you ask as many will just toss them in the trash.
So what can you do? Use cash. Avoid those cards if you can, but if you must, there are some ways you can make an impact. Reload the cards you do use - no one needs a new Starbucks or Barnes and Noble card every holiday season. Next time you buy or use a gift card, ask the store about the material it is made from and whether they accept them back for recycling. Who has time (or the chutzpah) to do this? Well, how else can you make a change except by making the time to do it? I called three companies today to ask about the gift cards in my wallet. JC Penny had no idea whether their cards were PVC or recycled or another more earth friendly material. The customer service representative did say the cards can be reloaded, but he also said that they do not recycle their cards, they just toss 'em. The person I spoke with at Gap, said there is something special about their cards but she did not know what it was. Their online site reports that Gap has developed gift cards made with 88% recycled content. Gap gift cards can be reloaded and recycled, and the Gap stores will also accept your other cards for recycling. I spoke with a sweet Starbucks representative who said they are working on this issue, but have yet to find either an alternative to PVC for their cards nor enough locations for recycling. Of course, you can reload your Starbucks card. In my very brief search online, I found that you really have to dig to find out information about this. Companies who do use alternative materials and recycle their cards should be shouting it from the rooftops. Instead it is hidden beneath a bunch of other random corporate policies.
The idea of sending your credit card off to be recycled is a little scarier, although really, how is it better to throw it in the trash? Ask your bank for your debit and credit cards; do they use alternative materials, can you continue to use the same card forever, do they accept them back for recycling? When you look in your wallet, you will realize there are plastic cards galore - membership cards, licenses, grocery club cards, library cards... Talk to your gym manager about their membership cards, your county about the library card, your grocery store, the DMV. If you work in a store or company that uses or provides cards of any kind, bring it up to the management. Discuss it with your friends and family and resolve to coordinate gifting so as not to add cards. Use the service the Gap offers and drop off all your used gift cards there for recycling! In my wallet alone there are over 4 ounces of PVC cards. It may not seem like much, but it adds up fast. The number I've seen thrown around is 75 million pounds of PVC from cards goes into the waste stream every year. Let's try to make that way less!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Green Bathroom is DONE!
Our bathroom is done! Finally! And we are actually using it!
- it looks like a sleek hotel bathroom
Here are the things I love about it:
- it all works
- it all works
- it is all clean
- none of the materials had any smell going in - no airing out the room for days
- all the tile is recycled (aside from the river rock floor in the shower)
- I LOVE the glass tile border in the shower - it is iridescent and so pretty
- the lights can stay off and the solatube lights up the shower in the morning
- the river rock floor in the shower feels so nice on my tootsies
- it looks like a sleek hotel bathroom- the toilet flushes nicely, looks great, and it's a dual flush so we save water
- there is a ridiculous amount of storage
- the medicine cabinet has a mirror on the outside, the inside of the door and the back interior of the cabinet
- it's ours and it's in our bedroom
I know there is more (I love it all!), but suffice it to say that we are pleased.
I was interviewed about the project and process by a reporter for earth911.com. You can read the whole article here. There are some good pictures there, but they are from before the shower door was installed. I'll have to take a few of the truly finished product. Here is a quick look at the before and after - what a huge difference! And the last major interior remodeling project is complete! (Knock wood)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
So close, yet so far
I should have new bathroom pictures to share. We were so close to having a tiled shower this week. So close I could feel the hot water of my very own shower just steps from my bed...but alas, it was not yet to be. Something always goes wrong in remodeling. Clearly, we know that by now. The key is to have people you are working with who will see it, own it, and solve it fast. Thank goodness, we have those people!
I had peeked in at the tile as it was going up, but hadn't gone into the shower until just after the glass border went in. So the whole shower was tiled from the floor to about 4 feet high. At first I just looked at the tile and thought - "yep - these are beautiful!". Then I noticed the grout lines. Or maybe I should say the lack of grout lines. There were spots where I couldn't fit my fingernail between tiles. Now, the manufacturer of the glass tile, Oceanside, recommends sanded grout. Clearly, sanded grout was not ever going to fit in these spaces.
So, I called our folks and since our contractor was out of town at a meeting, his wife Beth came by to check it out. She and the tile guy and I all agree that the glass needs to be moved up. Sounds like a done deal. Except that when I went in to look at that after he had moved it, he had left the trowel lines in the thinset under the tiles. That's fine with regular tile, but with glass the lines need to be flattened or the tiles need to be back buttered so the lines don't show through. So I call Beth again, and she says she is coming over to help me pull tiles off the wall and try to save the glass before it is stuck. This is great news, as I have two little ones begging for attention and dinner needs to be cooked and I just can't imagine washing tiles while I am roasting squash.
So, I go into the shower to get started with the work, and as I am standing there, the recycled subway tiles catch my eye. I look up, and a whole section of tile is obviously crooked. OY! Then I start to inspect further, and lots of individual tiles are akimbo. Now these tiles are not totally uniform, which is fine, but they are seriously not level or plumb. When Beth got there, I showed her what I had saved so far and pointed out the new issue - she saw it too and we agreed that it all needed to come down.
OK. So I buy all recycled tile and now there is a risk that we won't be able to get it off the wall in good enough shape to reuse it?! Why not just go to Lowe's and get some random tile made in China and shipped around the world three times before it gets to me? So now I am hoping we can save at least some of the tile. The glass liners were fine (Thank goodness - they were also the most expensive of the lot!), the mosaics washed off fine, but came off the paper backing when we washed them of course, so now they are a pile of little puzzle pieces. Beth likes them, so she took them for a project at her house, and they will buy some more sheets of them for our bath. SO the glass is not a total loss - as long as it will be used for something I am happy.
The next day, the subway tiles come down. Unbelievably, only four tiles were broken. The rest came off and washed well enough to reuse! Thank goodness the guy who is doing our tiling has a sense of humor since he has spent like a week in a 4x3 space. On Monday, the subway tile will go back up with several sized spacers to keep the tiles level and the grout lines large enough for the appropriate grout. WHEW.
So the thing about all of this, is that this is the first project that we have completely handed over to someone else in this house. Last time we had tiling done at our old house, we had an issue with the border as well, and I didn't say anything until it was done - I kept thinking they knew what they were doing and "never show a fool half finished work". This time, I have tried hard not to meddle and to remain out of the details, and to not be controlling. Of course, this is the time that I should have meddled - I had emailed the installation and specs information before we started, and had the manual from the tile company there for them to see, but did not point out the things that I thought may be issues as I didn't want to seem condescending. If I had pointed out the grout specifications and the flattening of the thinset lines, we would have never had these issues. So you live and learn. Thank goodness I said something right away instead of waiting. Sometimes being a bossy chick may be a good thing!
I had peeked in at the tile as it was going up, but hadn't gone into the shower until just after the glass border went in. So the whole shower was tiled from the floor to about 4 feet high. At first I just looked at the tile and thought - "yep - these are beautiful!". Then I noticed the grout lines. Or maybe I should say the lack of grout lines. There were spots where I couldn't fit my fingernail between tiles. Now, the manufacturer of the glass tile, Oceanside, recommends sanded grout. Clearly, sanded grout was not ever going to fit in these spaces.
So, I called our folks and since our contractor was out of town at a meeting, his wife Beth came by to check it out. She and the tile guy and I all agree that the glass needs to be moved up. Sounds like a done deal. Except that when I went in to look at that after he had moved it, he had left the trowel lines in the thinset under the tiles. That's fine with regular tile, but with glass the lines need to be flattened or the tiles need to be back buttered so the lines don't show through. So I call Beth again, and she says she is coming over to help me pull tiles off the wall and try to save the glass before it is stuck. This is great news, as I have two little ones begging for attention and dinner needs to be cooked and I just can't imagine washing tiles while I am roasting squash.
So, I go into the shower to get started with the work, and as I am standing there, the recycled subway tiles catch my eye. I look up, and a whole section of tile is obviously crooked. OY! Then I start to inspect further, and lots of individual tiles are akimbo. Now these tiles are not totally uniform, which is fine, but they are seriously not level or plumb. When Beth got there, I showed her what I had saved so far and pointed out the new issue - she saw it too and we agreed that it all needed to come down.
OK. So I buy all recycled tile and now there is a risk that we won't be able to get it off the wall in good enough shape to reuse it?! Why not just go to Lowe's and get some random tile made in China and shipped around the world three times before it gets to me? So now I am hoping we can save at least some of the tile. The glass liners were fine (Thank goodness - they were also the most expensive of the lot!), the mosaics washed off fine, but came off the paper backing when we washed them of course, so now they are a pile of little puzzle pieces. Beth likes them, so she took them for a project at her house, and they will buy some more sheets of them for our bath. SO the glass is not a total loss - as long as it will be used for something I am happy.
The next day, the subway tiles come down. Unbelievably, only four tiles were broken. The rest came off and washed well enough to reuse! Thank goodness the guy who is doing our tiling has a sense of humor since he has spent like a week in a 4x3 space. On Monday, the subway tile will go back up with several sized spacers to keep the tiles level and the grout lines large enough for the appropriate grout. WHEW.
So the thing about all of this, is that this is the first project that we have completely handed over to someone else in this house. Last time we had tiling done at our old house, we had an issue with the border as well, and I didn't say anything until it was done - I kept thinking they knew what they were doing and "never show a fool half finished work". This time, I have tried hard not to meddle and to remain out of the details, and to not be controlling. Of course, this is the time that I should have meddled - I had emailed the installation and specs information before we started, and had the manual from the tile company there for them to see, but did not point out the things that I thought may be issues as I didn't want to seem condescending. If I had pointed out the grout specifications and the flattening of the thinset lines, we would have never had these issues. So you live and learn. Thank goodness I said something right away instead of waiting. Sometimes being a bossy chick may be a good thing!
Friday, October 23, 2009
A floor with no leaks
Well our bathroom is coming along. All the drywall is in and mudded, the shower floor is in (this picture is from before the walls were mudded), our closet has new doors, and I went to pick up most of our tile and the toilet yesterday. It looks like a bathroom now and I am starting to get psyched to have one just for me and Honey.It looks like tiling should begin next week! We just need to pick up the accent tiles when they arrive. All the tile is at least partially recycled, which is great, and it is really nice looking. We went with a basic off white floor and wall tile and put a little pizazz in with recycled glass accents and a river rock shower floor. Hopefully our vision will come through and it will all meld beautifully.
The only downside to this remodel is that all of the tile, toilet, medicine cabinet, and fixtures are in boxes in our bedroom, and the dust from the drywall and the boxes is making us all ill. Tonight we did a full cleaning of the room and covered the boxes with sheets - hopefully this will help with our noses and throats tonight.
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