Recycling- an easy way to do a lot!

I thought in this day and age that recycling was a given. People did it because it's the right thing to do. Obviously this isn't the case. While it is, in most places, a readily available way to help reduce landfill waste and use of natural resources, not many people do it. Case in point: at work only recently did someone take the initiative to put a recycle box up. It's self-managed, basically meaning the company does nothing (and why doesn't it?) and people STILL throw away bottles and cans when the recycling box is not more than 4 feet away from the trash can. WHAT??

Recycling isn't a difficult thing to do. Many places provide recycle bins for bottles, plastic, and cans now. Airports even have them nicely divided for your convenience. Do you still bypass the recycle bin just to throw something in the waste bin? Do you even pay attention to what you do with your bottles? If they weren't readily available, would it truly be that difficult to bring a bottle or can home to place it in your own recycle bin?

In many states they even provide a cash incentive for people to recycle. A cash redemption value. This works by having people pay a small per can/bottle fee when they buy the items so that other people can redeem some cash by turning the can or bottle in for recycling. It's actually a nice system. And since not everyone recycles what they buy, it does end up having some left over money to go to other recycling endeavors. Recycling DOES cost money. Either you the consumer must pay it in your trash service pick up fees, or you pay it by CRVs or even local taxes.

Is it worth it? There are probably a few that say no, but in reality it does greatly reduce the amount of stuff that needs to collect in a landfill. You may not think that you alone contribute any noticeable amount to how much accumulates in waste but you'd be surprised. Even so, if you had 1 12-pack a week that's over 600 cans in a year. That does add up. Plus bottles for juices, teas, water, milk jugs, wine bottles, beer cans/bottles, plastic containers from yogurt, margarine, peanut butter, etc. It starts to add up to an impressive amount for just ONE person.

Have you heard about certain places banning plastic bottles or even plastic bags? Sounds absurd, right? It's true. San Francisco passed a law several years ago banning plastic bottles. People simply don't recycle enough and MILLIONS get thrown into waste every year. Cans and glass bottles are also more easily recycled. Plastic has a more finite ability to be recycled as the grade/quality is reduced every time it is reused.

Also, not everything is recyclable. And what IS recyclable may not be the same everywhere- depending on what they're set up to accept and use. Some places have presorting of trash so that you don't have to recycle. This is nice, but it does cost time and money. Most places you have to sort it yourself. There are usually guidelines about what you can add and how.

Did you know?

• Plastic containers MUST be cleaned/rinsed out
• Lids must be removed. Often times the lids are not recycled
• Labels should be removed if possible.
  
• Some places want cans crushed. Others do not.
• Plastic bags may need to be taken to a recycle bin at a grocery store- your home pick up may not be able to use them.
• Glass bottles must be clean/rinsed out with lids removed as well.
• Many trash services will pick up cardboard boxes but does NOT mean they are recycled. In Reno, NV they are NOT.
• Pizza boxes, or other items contaminated with food that cannot be cleaned, are not recyclable.
  
• Check with your local trash service to see what their requirements are, and what types of materials they take.
  

Interesting links to recycling information:

• Container Recycling Institute - great statistics on recycling
  
• Recycling in Reno, NV
• Wait! Are you Sure That's Recyclable?- interesting article on what can and can't be recycled in most cases.
  
• San Francisco Bans Plastic Shopping Bags- sure, they're a little radical, but way off base? Maybe not.

It angers me to see how many people overlook recycling or even bad mouth it as some sort of conspiracy or left-winged hoax to get everyone all bent out of shape about using up natural resources. I'm anything BUT left-winged but I do know that we, Americans in particular, are an exceptionally wasteful society and anything we can do to reduce the strain we place on natural resources (including space to store the crap we don't want) is always a good thing. Recycling is easy. It doesn't take a lot of extra time to do. It saves a lot in the long run, and there aren't really that many good reasons (if any) to NOT do it.

What are you waiting for?

More about Green Laundry

When I recently went shopping and hunted for the "greener" laundry products, I began asking myself "What makes a laundry detergent environmentally friendly?" One of the most common things we see is "Phosphate-Free". Is it really that important?

The short answer is yes. Phosphates are important to avoid since they have a tendency to cause algae blooms in the waters where they end up. The problem is this can disrupt the balance of flora and fauna and too much of the wrong critters can grow, choking out others. In short, it disrupts the ecosystem. Not a good thing- especially if you're fond of fishing. So, we do care about phosphates and should attempt to buy products that avoid them. Most of the time these are labelled "Phosphate Free" in plain and clear letters that you can easily find.

Seventh Generation is one brand that boasts a Phosphate Free label. Method is another, and Melaleuca is another. Two are available in stores, Melaleuca is a direct-sales business and has to be purchased from a rep or you have to join up yourself.

One article I found cautioned against NPEs or nonylphenol ethoxylate (yeah, say that three times fast). This ingredient is used as a nonionic surfactant (reduces water surface tension) and is difficult to find on labels. According to this article Proctor and Gamble have quit using this in their products, but others may be difficult to determine it. Try contacting the company and asking directly, perhaps? I intend to send emails off to Seventh Generation and Method to ask about NPEs in their products and see if they are as "green" as they claim to be. I'm hoping so, since I've been trying hard to buy only Method or Seventh Gen products when and where I can.

Read this article to find out more.

Another article I came across describes a recipe to make "environmentally friendly" laundry detergent yourself that costs pennies on the dollar compared to store-bought detergent. I haven't tried this myself, not entirely certain I feel that ambitious at this time, but I welcome comments from anyone out there who has.

Read how to make your own detergent.

Lastly, I found an article that details a few other chemicals that are used in detergents and what to look for and what to avoid. This is provided by a company that makes the Wonder Wash which is said to be a highly efficient, quick, and environmentally friendly alternative to washing machines. I'd be curious to try this one if I had the time and money- at the moment I don't- but again I welcome comments from anyone who has. This article, however, offers some good info on what ingredients in detergents are UNfriendly to the environment and why.

Read this article.

I'm always open to more ideas on how to "Greenerize" the laundry, or any aspect of life, really. Something that keeps the working person with little extra time and little extra money in mind. Email them to mommyauri@gmail.com

Greenerize Your Laundry!

"Clean your dryer lint screen, and don’t overload the dryer. You’ll save up to 5% on your electricity bill. If everyone did it, we’d save the equivalent of 350 million gallons of gasoline each year. Better yet: use a clothesline when possible."

- Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen in The Green Book.

Laundry is very environmentally unfriendly by the sheer nature of how we do it nowadays. Sure, it’s more effective cleaning and much more time conserving, but the environment is not doing better because of it. I’m still very much in love with my washer and dryer for the simple reason I have no time to hand wash or line dry, but there are some things that us “technology-loving” folk can do to lessen the environmental impact and still have our clothes clean in a timely fashion.

One recommendation I’ll mention here, but it applies to many aspects of daily life is to buy as large of a container as you can reasonably use and store. Rather than buying a box of 170 dryer sheets, how about a box of 300? This requires less packaging in the long run and therefore less landfill. Same for detergents and other laundry products. And always
remember to RECYCLE whatever you can.

$ Inexpensive Fixes (may even save money!)

· Cold-water wash more often. Any medium to dark clothing is better off being cold-water-washed but many of the lighter clothing will do just fine in cold water as well. Cold water also has a tendency to keep clothes in good condition longer,
particularly cotton since it won’t shrink as much, and is less fading on the dyes in the fabric. Cold water wash saves in electricity and/or gas by using less energy, therefore less resources necessary to produce that energy.

· Half-it! Use only half a dryer sheet instead of a whole sheet in every load. I find this to be more than adequate, and the box lasts much longer- saving money in the long run. Fewer dryer sheets means fewer resources to make them as well as
less land-fill used.

· Fill ‘er Up!- Make sure that washer is full when you run the load. The amount of power used in a half load verses a full load is comparable, but the savings are not. Running only full loads when possible will greatly reduce your energy expenditures and your power bill as well by requiring fewer loads. (Same goes for the dryer!). Careful not to overload either machine as they become much less efficient!

· Dryer Balls- use in lieu of dryer sheets for money savings and to save resources
that would be used on dryer sheets. Also reduce water pollution caused by liquid fabric softeners. Many people find these more than adequate- and for difficult static clean, try the Static balls as well! $9.99 for Dryer balls and $2.99
for Static Balls at Bed Bath and Beyond!

· Clean the dryer lint trap- not only will this save you up to 5% of energy cost, but it is also a necessary step in protecting your homes from fires. According to TheGreen Book if everyone did this, we would save the energy equivalent of 350 million gallons of gasoline a year.

· Let the dryer to the work- Remove clothing from the dryer promptly and they usually won’t need ironing. If they do, often times hanging them up on a hanger in a bathroom while someone uses the shower will help bring those wrinkles out. Uses less energy than drying AND ironing combined. If clothing frequently needs ironing even if removed promptly from the dryer, you may be overloading the dryer. Some materials cannot be helped- and will almost always require some ironing.

· Line dry- I have to throw it in there because it’s free and the most GREEN
way to dry your clothes, however not everyone can do this because of time,
space, or weather limitations. It saves an enormous amount of energy and will
reflect positively on your power bill, too!

$$ Moderate Expense Fixes- will cost a little more, but still achievable for most people.

· Use environmentally friendly laundry products. They’re out there, I haven’t really tried them myself because they tend to be hard to find and expensive when you do. Melaleuca boasts an environmentally friendly laundry detergent called MelaPower. It’s liquid, only use 1 oz at a time and runs about $12.99 for 64 loads up to $29.99 for 192. They also have MelaBrite color rightener, and MelaSoft fabric softener. Also available is a Prespot Stain remover and a wrinkle relaxer. My best friend uses these products and believes they are very good. (Prices are Preferred Customer prices).

• Method home products also makes Eco-friendly laundry products. I'm an avid fan of Method cleaning products but have yet to find their laundry products for sale locally. If anyone has tried Method laundry products- please let me know what you thought of them!

· Open to more suggestions of environmentally friendly laundry products. What have you found? What worked well and what didn’t? Respond in email or post a comment.

$$$ Expensive Fixes- for the truly ambitious

· Replace your old washer and dryer wit h Energy Star rated, more efficient appliances. Some power companies will pick up the old appliances for you, saving you the dump fee, and give you a small amount of money as a rebate. Remember, just because it has an Energy Star symbol on it doesn’t make it the most efficient product out there. Read the labels and familiarize yourself what each of these ratings mean. The more efficient machines tend to cost more in the short term, but will make up for it on your power bill and their tax on the environment in the long run!

· Not only new, but bigger- upsizing your machines can also reduce energy usage by requiring you to do fewer loads at a time. This is a great idea for someone transitioning from single life to family life- you’ll be thankful for the space and the environment will be thankful for less energy used! (Upsizing is most helpful when the new units are larger AND Energy Star rated). Caution: larger machines may end up using more energy if running only partial loads.

Have a suggestion for other people looking to greenerize their laundry? Post a comment and let me know. If it’s a good one- I’ll add you to my list- with the appropriate quotation, of course!

The Green Book

I'm not a "Greenie" as many people are afraid to be labelled. No tree-hugging, dirt-worshiper here. However, you don't need to be a Democrat, a "Green Party" or member of "Green Peace" to care about the environment. I'm also not going to rant and rave about the radical changes we should be making to prevent global warming (of which I'm a skeptic). You'll find that all I try to suggest are small changes that can make a big difference.

The Green Book, by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen, is a book detailing easy and subtle ways to lessen your own impact on the environment. I purchased this recently because it caught my attention by taking a more sensible approach to converting to "greener" living. Too often I see advice such as "Line dry your clothes," and "ride a bike." Good advice, but not always practical. May as well tell me to live in a teepee and hunt for my dinner... it simply isn't practical given my life, and how much time I have (or better, how much I don't). Rather than suggesting we all line dry our clothing- simply not practical for everyone by time and space limitations, they suggest things like keeping dryer lint traps clean to decrease energy usage by as much as 5%. Subtle, but easy. I can do this.

As I work to slowly convert my family to greener living, I hope to report to you as well on the things I find are easy, quick, and inexpensive ways to becoming more environmentally friendly. Caring about the environment is in no way an indicator of your religion, race, political affiliations, etc. It's just good sense, and the best time to start is NOW!