Avoid plastic, fill your glass or metal bottles with water or other liquid
Talking Trash Tuesday
Please take a reusable bottle with you today, and say “No” to plastic!
Today I start my new series on trash that should be recycled! In 2015 there is no excuse that recyclables fill our landfill trash cans. I am guilting everyone into recycling more. Because this is World Water Week, I am worried about the plastic that fills our water bodies. Plastic makes up 80% of the trash found in the ocean. This plastic could be part of the ocean forever breaking into little tiny fragments ingested by fish and other sea life and eaten by us??
Living in the land of Ten Thousand Lakes and having a love affair with Lake Superior, I know first hand that clean water is important! I think of the West Coast of the United States and their severe drought every time I turn on the faucet. Below are water saving ideas from me and The World Wildlife Federation. This is serious. Water will be the next “most valuable resource,” and our survival as a people depends on adequate sources of clean water.
Ideas to help you protect the earth’s fresh water:
My List (doing one thing can make a difference!)
1. Reduce or eliminate all your use of chemicals in cleaning agents, and lawn and garden products. Tough I know, Read on…
3. Use plants in your yard that do not require chemicals(native plants) and reduce the size of your lawn. Most native plants don’t need to be watered! http://findnativeplants.com/
4. Install rain barrels under your drain spouts or put rain gardens in areas where your water drains. Use this water to water your plants. AND redirect your drain spouts so they water your lawn.
5. Install a septic holding tank if your sewage does not drain into a public sewage system.
6. Purchase as many products you can afford that are organic or GMO free to reduce the amount of nitrates running into our lakes and streams.
7. Adopt a storm drain, keeping leaves, trash and yard waste from washing into our streams and lakes.
9. Purchase products made from recycled materials. Recycled paper uses 60-70% less energy than virgin pulp and 55% less water.
10. Pick up after your dog, and never use salt on your sidewalk.
And from The World Wildlife Federation:
We all can do something to help fresh water. This World Water Day, March 22, you too can take action. Here’s how:
Raise a Glass…and Awareness
Express appreciation of fresh water by making a toast, taking a picture, and sharing it across social networks with #ToastToWater.
Crowdsource Scientific Data
Next time you’re near a river, stream or lake, take and pictures of the freshwater fish you encounter and upload them for conservation scientists around the world.
Adopt a Freshwater Species
Make a donation to symbolically adopt a freshwater species, such as a pink river dolphin or hellbender salamander.
Build a Rain Barrel
The average roof collects 600 gallons of water for every inch of rain. Capture some of that stormwater and help protect freshwater resources by building a rain barrel.
Learn about Unseen Water
Water is in almost everything. Take your average cotton t-shirt as an example: it can take 2,700 liters to produce the cotton needed to make a single t-shirt. While it’s important to fix leaky taps and buy efficient washing machines, we need to also be conscious of the unseen or “virtual water” we consume every day.
Styrofoam I pulled out of lakes breaking into small pieces
This past January when I was visiting one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Caribbean, I observed litter that upset me. Yes, I am obsessed with litter and clean water. Litter along waterways is unacceptable. The shock was that some local restaurants only served their food in Styrofoam boxes. The Styrofoam boxes were littering the street gutters and shoreline. I wanted no part of this Styrofoam disaster, and searched for food on real plates. Often they had to wash plates just for us.
Trash in the Caribbean
Why does this upset me? Styrofoam breaks into tiny pieces and no one knows how long it will last in our oceans, maybe forever. Not good for sea life or ocean health. Styrofoam can be recycled, but it is very hard to find. Manufacturers of Styrofoam as well as Coca-Cola and plastic bottle industry should recycle the harmful products they produce, and we should all avoid Styrofoam and plastic bottles as much as possible.
Bulk purchasing exactly the amount needed for zero waste
I have just spent the morning in a seminar learning about the new organic compost program in Minneapolis. With an obsession for reducing trash I work on this daily, but just can’t see how to get to zero waste. We purchase in bulk using compostable paper bags, and refill every bottle with items that are available.
One woman, Bea Johnson, has been able to accomplish zero waste. What is the most amazing of all, she and her husband have two sons!
Here are Bea Johnson’s 10 easy steps to zero waste living:
Some co-ops have fabulous selections of soaps and lotions for bottle refills.
Turn down freebies from conferences, fairs and parties. Every time you take one, you create a demand to make more. Do you really need another “free” pen?
Reduce
Declutter your home, and donate to your local thrift shop. You’ll lighten your load and make precious resources available to those looking to buy secondhand.
Reduce your shopping trips and keep a shopping list. The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.
Reuse
Swap disposables for reusables (start using handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, shopping totes, cloth napkins, rags, etc.). You might find that you don’t miss your paper towels, but rather enjoy the savings
Avoid grocery shopping waste: Bring reusable totes, cloth bags (for bulk aisles), and jars (for wet items like cheese and deli foods) to the store and farmers market.
Recycle
Know your city’s recycling policies and locations—but think of recycling as a last resort. Have you refused, reduced or reused first? Question the need and life-cycle of your purchases. Shopping is voting.
Buy primarily in bulk or secondhand, but if you must buy new, choose glass, metal or cardboard.Avoid plastic: Much of it gets shipped across the world for recycling and often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).
Rot
Find a compost system that works for your home and get to know what it will digest (dryer lint, hair, and nails are all compostable).
Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle. The bigger the compost receptacle, the more likely you’ll be to use it freely.
Show compassion and become passionate about our earth. Valentines Day 2015 lets show just a little more love for the earth that nourishes and supports us and everything living thing.
My suggestions for Loving the Earth today and tomorrow and forever.
Reduce your plastic use and always bring reusable shopping bags
Recycle, Recycle and Recycle some more
Turn off lights and electronics
Buy Less and reuse what you have
Pick Up trash and litter. Any loose litter can end up in streams, lakes and oceans
Walk and use public transit. How many days can you go without a car?
Appreciate the beauty of the earth
Plant seeds of milkweed, cone flowers, bee balm, asters, and Liatris to bring butterflies birds and bees to your yard. And never use chemicals.
I like these resolutions from the Sierra Club Sierraclub.org to start the new year and thought they had a unique twist. We can all do better and there are some good ideas here to get you started.
1. Keep the TV off.
2. Make dinner tonight. Why waste the gas and money to go out for dinner, when you can make a nice, hot meal right at home? Go with local, organic ingredients to step it up a notch. Not only will you be saving money, and help out the local economy, you’ll have leftovers for later.
3. Take a shorter shower.
4. Clean out your closet. It’s time to clean out all those clothes you never wear and put them to good use. Donate them to your local Salvation Army or upcycle them into something new. You’ll feel better for having cleared out some of the clutter, believe us.
5. Drop that paper towel. Sure it’s easy to just grab that roll of paper towels when there’s a spill or you need a napkin, but a regular kitchen towel does the same trick and reduces waste. It’s a hard habit to break. Just reducing use makes a difference and always use recycled paper towels.
6. Cut back on driving.
7. Sponsor a wild animal. Check out World Wildlife Fund WWF.org I just wish they would reduce all their mailings.
8. Recycle, recycle, recycle. Everyone can do better on this one!
9. Turn down your thermostats. This will help lower your energy usage, and your bills. And yes, that was plural. We’re not just talking about your heater and AC units, think about your refrigerator settings as well.
10. Protect clean air. A fresh, new year requires fresh air. You can help ensure by educating yourself and pledging to take a stand against toxins caused by coal mining. Visit the Beyond Coal website and sign the petition, donate funds, or volunteer time to fight for clean air throughout the year.
11. Make a compost bin. In general, it’s best to cut down on food waste when you can. If you have a yard, look into setting up your own composting. If you’re living in a smaller space, there are a couple different options to keeping your waste to a minimum. Try out some of these simple compost ideas.
12. Invest in rechargeable batteries. It may sound like an odd resolution, but think about the number of times you replaced batteries last year. We go through them quicker than we’d like to think, and much of the time they don’t get disposed of properly.
13. Switch to reusable bags. New year, new mottos! And we say that plastic is out and reusable is in. One of the easiest ways to help reduce plastic waste is to ditch plastic bags when shopping. You can purchase reusable bags or make your own. Either way, make a mental note to always keep one handy, either in your purse, briefcase, or glove compartment.
14. Donate blood.
15. Clean up your neighborhood. For today, start by taking a walk around the neighborhood and seeing how much trash you wind up with after a couple blocks. You’ll be surprised by what you find. It might inspire you to do more, whether you form your own clean up crew or join an outing near you.
On America Recycles Day, what new commitment can you make to recycle?
Find a place to recycle your trash!
The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world’s people generate 40% of the world’s waste.** Yes, we can do better!
So…..What are we waiting for? Let’s get busy and recycle MORE!
Today focus on packaging. Read all packaging and recycle what ever has a recycle triangle.
Recycling saves lots of energy: Products made from recycled material use less energy! Sadly, valuable materials are ending up in our landfills every day.
Tips for increasing your recycling and working for zero waste in your home and business!
– Recycle all plastic bottles, plastic tubs, metal and aluminum cans, glass and newspapers and most paper products. Every community has different rules for this, but please don’t put these in the trash! Find a recycling location near you at http://earth911.com/
– Pre-cycle: Become aware of the packaging of the products you purchase. Buy the products with the least packaging, and with packaging that is recyclable. This has really improved the past few years.
– Awareness – The more you recycle the more you become aware of new things that you can recycle!
– Plastic Bags: All clean and dry plastic bags should be recycled. If it stretches and is clean, recycle it. Many grocery stores will take bags for recycling. Ask stores to start collecting plastic bags for recycling if you don’t have someone local. Some cities have banned the use of plastic bags!! We all can recycle them. Studies indicate that 100,000 marine animals and 2 million birds die every year from ingesting or being caught up in plastic debris*
–Through recycling and composting you should get your garbage down to one small bag a week!
Recycling is a process to change waste materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfills) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to plastic production. From Wikipedia
This is FABULOUS news:
Today as I shopped at a Jewel Osco grocery store in Chicago, I was sick to see every item loaded into a plastic bag. I found the same situation as I traveled through New York and Michigan last week. In Minnesota I see more reusable bags and brown paper bags. This was not the case in either the state of New York or City of Chicago, plastic bags dominate!
The chemicals from these bags leach out into our waterways from the land fills where they will sit for hundreds of years. Also they litter our landscape and are harmful to wildlife. What can you do?
1. Bring reusable bags shopping. I would use washable bags that will last. Contact me and I can tell you where to purchase them. I can sell you my health4earth bags, but they are expensive
2. Wash, dry and recycle any plastic bags at most grocery stores.
3. Refuse, refuse, refuse plastic!
4. Never litter!
Deadline June 15, and October 15
Apply Now!
A newly elected Minneapolis City Council is finally committed to enforcing city recycling rules. On Earth Day, April 2015, Minneapolis restaurants will be required to use recyclable/compostable take-out containers, and offer on site recycling.
Hennepin County has grants to help businesses with these changes:
I am encouraging Minneapolis and other city governments to ban Styrofoam. The past 42 days I have done daily litter pick-ups on my walks in Minneapolis. I was picking up Styrofoam along with wrappers, cans and plastic. Some of what was picked-up could be recycled, but Styrofoam, which is recyclable, is hard to find a place to recycle. I think the Twin Cities area has one place to recycle Styrofoam which is miles from my home.
At an Earth Day pick up along the Minnehaha Creek . I was surprised to notice how much the Styrofoam along the creek was breaking down into little pieces. Pieces so small it was impossible to pick up. Water and sun cause it to break up faster. The past few days I have been picking Styrofoam out of Lake Harriet. It has broken into pieces that might never dissolve and survive in the lake for generations. I wonder what harm this does to the birds and fish?
Banning restaurant containers is only a very small piece of this, but it is a start. The best part of banning Styrofoam could be that it heightens awareness for individuals who never think about the consequences of Styrofoam.
Finally, I have never figured out why businesses that sell products that are so harmful to the environment are not held responsible for what they spew. Why aren’t they at least required to offer recycling?
“People are already paying a price for allowing this packaging (styrofoam), noting the cost to remove the materials from the recycling stream, uncloging storm drains and picking up litter. You’re paying for it in so many different ways,” Minneapolis Council Member Andrew Johnson http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/258989321.html
Health4earth 