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Thursday, February 14, 2008

Week 6 Pictures (a bit late posting but accurate)

The basement in all it's glory. I had to use a different camera but i think I got it all. Still no smell and although things are getting cramped, I'm surviving.









A few more bottles this week but with the milk and juice jugs gone, this will not grow nearly as faast as it did the first few weeks.










The bag o boxes and the bag o paper. As you can see I started another paper bag, not because the other was full but because i didn't want to split it.










The misc recycle box. Truly my least favorite. I'm still trying to figure out a better way to keep this stuff but since it's all odd shaped I don't know how to do it better. I fear it's taking more space than it needs and space is at a premium right now.








The worms got a new floor this week as the other was getting full. I probably could have gotten more in there but I figured i had it so why not. In a week or two I'll be harvesting the castings from the bottom bin.













The bag o bags. Not much to say on this one. Plastic Plastic Plastic.
















And finally, the "garbage". I'm going to weight this this coming week but taking into account the fact that the average american generates 4.5 lbs of trash a day, I'm pretty sure I'm well under that.

Day 45 - Thursday 2/14/08

Today's Haul:

  • 1 plastic laundry detergent bottle HDPE 2 - recycle
  • 1 cardboard pasta box - recycle
  • 1 plastic tofu container HDPE 2 - recycle
  • 1 local neighborhood paper - worms/recycle
  • 1 cardboard couscous box - recycle
  • 2 receipts - worms
  • 1 piece used dental floss (I know I haven't been flossing) - garbage
  • 1 piece chewed gum in wrapper - garbage

A Single Can

This is something i cam across in a class on sustainable living a while back that i don't think I've posted. It's a description of the amount of waste and resources the goes into the making of a can of cola. I like it because it takes an everyday (for many people) item and breaks it down to show you how much of an impact your purchase of that item can make. Interesting reading. I haven't been able to drink out of an aluminum can since.

Read More...

VD (no not that one)

I was just listening to the radio in the shower and heard a statistic that today, Valentines Day, $17 billion will be spent on flowers, cards, chocolates and little tiny stuffed bears. The piece went on to talk about the chocolate market, which gets cocoa beans from places in Africa like the Ivory Coast, where the majority of the workers are underaged minors. Kind of amazing to think that a greeting card company has somehow convinced us that on a certain day of the year, it is imperative that we buy gifts made by children in order to convince our significant others that we care about them. Does anyone else think this is nuts? $17 Billion? Imagine if that money went into schools, or solar research, or feeding the poor (preferably not minor produced chocolate though). I know that's naive because it doesn't really work that way, but talk about waste.


Now to the cards and gifts and flowers.  Here in the US, most of the country is not in flower growing season, so most of the flowers purchased have probably come from fairly far away requiring a tremendous amount of energy to transport them to us. They probably come in a plastic and paper wrapper which in most cases will be thrown away. Most of the cards that are bought are going to be looked at once and thrown away, if not recycled, but most won't be. The store that sold the card most likely gave it to the buyer in a small plastic bag that most people will probably throw out when they get home. And I'm not even going to get started on the waste from those chocolate boxes.

I don't mean to be all bah humbug on romance by the way, I'm all for it (as much as someone who keeps his trash in the basement can be anyway). I'm just bummed out that the concept has been hijacked and turned into something involving consumption. 

So what''s my suggestion? If you want to celebrate today, why not do something that doesn't involve simple consumption - make dinner, draw a picture, sing a song, show up at work and serenade someone, call out of the blue and simply tell them that you were thinking of them and couldn't wait until the end of the day to let them know, the list is endless. Just use your imagination and don't let the corporations tell you how you have to show your emotions. And better than all of these, do nothing today, but do something else 4 other times of the year and let your partner know that these "surprises" are in place of Vday because you don't need someone else to remind you when to act romantic.

Off to make a lovely bouquet of garbage for the missus.

Dave

P.S.  And don't shoot the messenger, I was just passing along what I heard

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

8.5 lbs of paper?

Yeah, that one kind of shocked me too. I've been dealing with my ear so much (which is finally on the mend and thank you for all your kind words) that I put a box near my desk and have been adding to it. I figured I'd itemize down the line, but have realized that I just don't have the time. 8.5 lbs was a pretty hefty shock, but then again, that includes 2.5 weeks of paper including 4 local neighborhood papers and all my non-essential mail. Also, it includes primary time which was a huge amount. Check out the picture above. We vote on propositions here in Ca (a concept i still don't agree with) and these are the 27 pieces of literature, although I think there were more, that i received trying to convince me which way to vote. Easily over a pound there and that's what i got, my wife got just as many. It's truly amazing and had little effect on how I voted as I generally do my own research and vote accordingly. A huge waste of resources, energy, and time. But I guess that can be said for politics on some level as well, so if the shoe fits....

Dave

Smelly Tuna Cans

Anyone have any thoughts on how to make these things NOT smell anymore? I soaked them in vinegar and water last night and it helped, but not enough. Thoughts?

dave

Day 44 - Wednesday 2/13/08

Today's Haul:

  • 1 batch of human hair (haircut) - out back for the birdies
  • 1 R30 flood lamp - e waste pile
  • 1 plastic cover from new Compact Flo bulb - recycle (I keep the insert for my records in case the bulb burns out early)
  • 1 plastic pasta bag - recycle
  • 1 plastic medicine bottle HDPE 2 - recycle
  • 1 little desicant bag from inside bottle - ewaste/hazardous
  • 8.5 lbs of paper including newspaper, receipts, scrap, and mail - recycle/worms

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The Compact

I had heard of this before, but didn't know much about it until last week. The Compact is a group of citizens that originated in San Fran about a year and a half ago, who pledged to buy nothing new for a year except food and items related to personal hygiene and safety - brake fluid, underwear (is that safety or hygiene?), toilet paper, etc.

Read More...

The Newspaper

I've read before that it takes 500,000 trees to make the Sunday editions of the nations newspapers every week. It's a pretty shocking number but I've seen it in more than one place. When you take that into your mind, and add to it the fact that only 1/10th of all recyclables are recycled and that the number one thing that ends up in the average landfill is paper, you can see where we've got a big problem.

Read More...

Traveling, Ear Problems, and Pics

I'm finally almost caught up. this ear thing has been driving me nuts and while it's still pretty bad I realized i just had to power through to get some things done. I didn't post pics because I am experiencing some computer gremlins and couldn't right now. I've got them and hopefully they'll be up by tomorrow.

Read More...

Day 43 - Tuesday 2/12/08

Today's Haul:

  • 1 cardboard blintz box - recycle
  • 3 pieces of gum w/wrappers - garbage
  • 2 used q tips - worms
  • 1 plastic tab from milk bottle - recycle
  • 1 plastic cookie bag - recycle
  • 2 tuna cans - recycling

Day 42 - Monday 2/11/08

Today's Haul:

  • 1 plastic bag frozen corn - recycle
  • 1 paper bag and paper wrapper from takeout - worms
  • 1 plastic tofu tub - recycle
  • 1 cardboard laundry detergent box - recycle
  • 6 mini dv tape plastic wraps - recycle (it's in japanese but amazingly has the recycling symbol)
  • 2 dead 9 volt batteries - e waste pile
  • 1 cardboard battery holder with plastic cover - recycle (I found out these are ok)
  • 1 piece tape - garbage

Day 41 - Sunday 2-10-07

Today's Haul:

  • 2 tinfoil candy wrappers - garbage
  • 1 plastic bag from toilet paper pack - recycle
  • 1 cool plastic take out container with top - repurposed for basement screws etc.
  • 1 plastic drinking straw - recycle
  • 1 reeses peanut butter cup wrapper - garbage
  • 4 pieces of gum and 4 wrappers - garbage
  • 2 used q tips - worms
  • 6 tissues - worms

Day 40 - Saturday 2-9-08

Today's Haul:

  • 2 lollipop sticks with plastic wrappers - garbage
  • 1 glass wine bottle - recycle
  • 1 cork from wine bottle - saved for re-use
  • 1 glass Patron bottle - recycle
  • 1 bag awesome vegan Trader Joes cookies - garbage
  • 1 bag potato chips - garbage


Day 39 - Friday 2/8/08

Today's Haul:

  • 1 cardboard box crackers plus plastic bag - recycle
  • 1 cliff bar wrapper - garbage
  • 1 paper tablecloth cover - worms
  • 4 napkins - worms
  • 1 plastic plate (#6) - recycle
  • 2 "food bar" wrappers - garbage
  • 1 hotel room key holder - worms
  • 1 piece tinfoil - garbage
  • 1 plastic muffin wrapper - garbage
  • 1 piece scrap paper - worms
  • 4 sugar packets - worms

Day 38 - Thursday 2/7/08

Today's Haul:

  • 1 cereal box - recycle
  • 1 cereal box plastic bag - recycle
  • 1 plastic soda bottle PETE 1 - recycle
  • 1 plastic bag chips - garbage
  • 1 plastic bagel spread holder PP 5 - recycle
  • 1 cardboard toilet paper roll - worms
  • 2 wooden shishkabob skewers - worms (soaked and cut up)
  • 1 plastic drinking straw - recycle
  • 4 misc pieces scrap paper - worms
  • 2 used q-tips - worms
  • 4 pieces chewed gum in wrappers - garbage