Candy Eaters Rejoice! Thank You TerraCycle!

Ok.  So I don't normally eat candy... but I found myself sudden;t craving a chocolate bar the other day.  Just as I now do w/every purchase... I checked the packaging to verify it could be recycled.  To my surprise... absolutely no candy bar in the store used packaging that qualified.  So... as sad as I was to deprive myself of this much needed treat. I left the store and began my stump-the-recycler quest.  After searching online- I discovered upcycling.  Upcycling company TerraCycle is working to reduce the amount of candy wrappers headed for the landfills by teaming up with one of the world’s largest candy makers, Mars, Incorporated.  The idea is to turn packaging, including candy wrappers, into consumer goods. TerraCycle will upcycle wrappers from M&M’S, , Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Starburst, Skittles and 3 Musketeers. The material will be reused for backpacks, tote bags, messenger bags and even cell phone holders and laptop sleeves.  As if reusing candy wrappers isn't good enough-they will also PAY YOU for $0.02 per wrapper.  Quite the earth-friendly Deal!

Putting our food waste to good use.

With spring in full swing... and summer around the corner-I decided its time to get serious about gardening.  We spent this last weekend designing, planning, and buying materials for two raised beds in the back yard (quite the undertaking).  Now that we are in the habit of separating our food waste for composting-it only makes since that we start an onsite compost that we can use to nurture our garden.  Now that "green" is the new black-there are hundreds of types of residential compost bins to choose from.  So-I will begin my search today-and hope to make a decision by next weekend.  On another note... I'm happy to report that since my last post-I have only donated $2 to Sustainable Ballard.  While there have been times when I've been on my way to the store-only to realize that my cloth bag was still on the counter-I am doing much... much better at remembering.

Good-Bye Glad.... Hello BioBag

When I started this project... I found out that the garbage bags that I use to line the garbage cans in the bathroom aren't recyclable because they are made with polyethylene.  While- I am dedicated to living waste-free... I also like clean garbage cans.  For the last several weeks I've searched high and low for a solution-well I've finally found it.  There is now a company out of Florida that is producing Biodegradable Bags.  They're called BioBags, and they are selling bags made from 100% biodegradable and compostable material (which they call Mater-Bi).The best part is... you can buy them at many local stores, including Whole Foods and PCC Natural Market.  I honestly never imagined I'd be so excited about garbage bags!  Check them out the next time you go shopping-so far they've been great.

    

Memory Assessment

Ok... so during my last post I vowed to bring my cloth bag with me whenever I leave the house.  This would "ideally" dramatically reduce or eliminate the number of times I find myself standing at the check-out counter being asked the "Paper or Plastic" question.  Well... unfortunately over the last few days-I have forgotten not once.... but 4 times!  As a result, I will be donating $4 to Sustainable Ballard.  Hmm... this unfortunate memory lapse... will potentially be quite expensive.   Hopefully I will begin to think of my cloth bag as an extension of myself... and sooner than later. Wish me luck.

The inevitable happened-paper or plastic!

So this week alone... I found myself facing this question-twice!  What is it with me?  Why can't I just remember to bring my own bag?  Here's a product idea... tattoo's that read BYOB.  That could be huge!  

Well... until they start charging for bags (sometimes it takes a disincentive)... I'm going to have to create my own strategy to rid me of this ridiculous habit.  From this day forward I will be measuring the amount of times per week that I forget my bag-and for every plastic bag I collect-I will have to donate $1 to Sustainable Ballard.  Wish me luck! 

What to do with that food covered aluminum foil...

Well... it turns out that aluminum foil can be recycled an infinite amount of times.  The key is to wash the food off of the aluminum foil before putting it in your recycling can.  I also learned that the energy used when recycling aluminum foil is 5 times less energy than used to produce new aluminum.  Thats certainly something to feel good about.

I've decided that in addition to just recycling the foil-I will start buying foil that is 100% recycled.  That way I'm fully supporting the companies that are in line with my behavior change objectives.

Will I ever win "Stump the Recycler"?

So in my quest to find the non-recyclable, I stumbled on the problem of chewing gum.  What can possibly be done to the tasteless piece of chewing gum-once its breath freshening mission has been fulfilled?  Well-here we have it.  Apparently it can be "recycled".

"The world's first process that transforms chewing gum into a plastic that can be used for injection and blow moulding"

Wow.. just wow!

Trash-Can Innovation

I woke up this morning... and decided that our "efficiency system" is lacking in efficiency.  So I started resourcing alternative solutions.  Its pretty incredible to see the latest and greatest in trash-can innovation.  It seems that the "green revolution" has inspired a league of environmental design-that could one day merge fashion and eco-friendly lifestyles.  The days of "granola tree hugging environmentalism" seems to be on its way out.  Generation Y and the newly coined Generation Millenia won't settle for that classic definition.  They demand cool, technology driven, masterfully designed ways of saving the planet.  

I simply can't wait to see where this is going. :)

Day 11... and its time to get serious!

Ok... so here it is-the 11th day of our waste-free life.  Now that we've eliminated the "garbage can" completely-we barely had enough room in our recycling can to hold what we used or received (via junk mail) in a week.  Rather than get another can... I've been looking to try to reduce the amount of items needing to be recycled.  I've decided to take a few in initial steps to reduce the amount of junk mail that we receive. The first thing I plan to do is call my bank and change my account-so that we start receiving e-statements.  I'm already utilizing their online banking system to check my account balance-so there is really no need to continue to have paper statements sent to me.  Next-I plan to call some of the companies (ie. Home Depot) that continue to send us catalogs that we simply toss in our rather bloated recycling can.  When you think about it-they're wasting valuable marketing dollars on sending us information that we simply toss out without even looking at it.  In a way... we're helping them reduce unnecessary spending.  So thats on the to-do list for today.  We'll see if this can help to free up some space for important things like card board and milk cartons.

Happy Earth Day!  This day resonates much more to me-for some reason.  Today was compost/recycle day... and it seemed rather appropriate that I was commemorating the second week of my waste-free experiment.  Truth is-I have adjusted rather remarkably.  We have a system now-and I plan to contact the Waste Management program to remove the "garbage bin" entirely-that is as long as they re-use it.  I want to dive deeper.  It occurred to me-that I don't have much of an understanding as to where things end up.  Someone told me the other day-that some "recycling" companies actually take the items and sell them to 3rd world countries.  I intend to con duct a full investigation (time permitting).  So stay tuned.  Regardless-I wish a happy Earthday to all!

Recycling Dryer Lint?

So now I've heard it all!  For the last two weeks or so-I've been saving all of our dryer lint in a can above the washing machine.  I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it.  It turns out that you can put in in the Yard Waste Bin (with the banana peels) to be recycled into compost.  Hmmm... something about that doesn't really register.. but according to several green blogs in Seattle, thats the case.  I have decided to investigate further... and have sent an email to Waste Management regarding the dryer lint issue.  Stay tuned for a follow up post.

The Take-Out Dilema.

So as it turns out... not all take-out is created equal.  In fact... it appears that card-board pizza boxes can't be put in the recycling container because the grease from the pizza "contaminates" the recycling process according to King County's Solid Waste Department.  However-further research revealed that you can put those grease filled pizza containers in the yard waste bin for composting.  Hmmm... who would have thought!

For all those local divey favorites... that continue to flood the landfills with those styrofoam containers- you may want to bring good old fashion tupperware.

Its finally here!  Our first "non-garbage" day!  This is a picture of our "green-cycle" container that stores all the non compostables.  I have to admit-so far this hasn't as big of an adjustment as I first imagined it might be.  Although-I still catch myself (pre-coffee) attempting to throw things away under the sink, which was home to our former garbage can. :)  

Mike has really adjusted too.  He has even started talking about conserving electricity by buying solar shades for the windows.

Now... if I could just remeber to bring my cloth bag when I go grocery shopping!

Its official.... let the challenge begin! Day 1.

So it begins.  After a fun-filled weekend of planning-we installed our "efficiency system" last night.  Here's our smell-friendly solution.... called the "composty bucket".  I spent Sunday morning learning everything I could about the do's and don'ts of recycling and composting.  Waste Management has actually implemented changes to their policies, and it seems almost anything can be recycled these days.  Thats great news for someone embarking on a complete waste-free lifestyle challenge!

We've also added the "G-Cycle" bin of the "efficiency system", we couldn't be more proud!