365 Days Of Trash: 11/23/08

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Day 333 - Saturday 11/29/08

Today's Haul:

3 plasticaoted plates - garbage
2 styrofoam plates - recycle
1 bag chips - garbage

Friday, November 28, 2008

Day 332 - Friday 11/28/08

Today's Haul:

1 plasticaoted coffee cup - garbage
1 bottle toasted sesame oil - recycle
1 container of rolled oats - gabrage

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Day 331 -Thursday 11/27/08

Today's Haul:

1 cardboard cracker box - recycle
1 plastic craker bag - recycle
1 beer bottle - recycle
1 paper bag - worms
1 piece tino foil - recycle
1 glass vodka bottle - recycle
1 glass cosmopilitan mix bottle - recycle
1 glass pelegrino bottle - recycle
1 plastic bag from mixed salad - recycle
1 plastic pasta bag - recycle
1 glass wine bottle - recycle
1 wine cork - recycle
1 glass sparkling cider bottle - recycle
1 cork from beer bottle - recycle
1 champagne type cork holder from beer bottle - garbage
1 tinfoil cover/cap from sparkling cider bottle - garbage
1 plastic rasberry tray PETE 1 - recycle
1 plastic cranberry tray PETE 1 - recycle
2 small plastic pasta bags - recycle
1 can pumpkin filling - recycle
1 bag potatoes - garbage

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

My friend Yusef has a video for kids that he created called Charlie Trash Truck that's pretty cool. He just embedded this little piece for me that explains the 4 R's (I love that let it rot is one of them). I'm always of the mind that there is a fifth, REFUSE, but technically that's part of reduce I guess. Good little piece though and if you want to check Charlie out, his site is here.

Dave

Little Victories

I was working on a TV show yesterday and during rehearsal one of the actors pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and proceeded to hold it during the scene. We started to set up the shot and I went over to the director, a like minded enviro-head who is concerned about the future of the planet. I mentioned to him that since he was in the directors seat, he had the chance to make a difference. He asked what I was talking about and I pointed out that the actress in question could hold a water bottle and perpetuate the myth that this is a viable way to go in upper class america (the societal section this scene was set in) or he could have her have a glass of water instead. I pointed out that by having the water bottle he was being part of something and by not having it he was stepping out of the problem.

In the end, he had them holding coffee cups for other reasons entirely, but the comment got him thinking in that direction and my hope is that he'll take water bottles out of all future scenes before they get to the rehearsal stage.

Of course, an absence of a water bottle won't change the world, but it's one less opportunity to make them "normal" and I applaud him for his decision!

Score one for the good guys.

Dave

Day 330 -Wednesday 11/26/08

Today's Haul:

1 paper towel from doctors office - worms
1 plastic thermometer cover from doctors office - garbage
1 sticker backing from doctors office - gabrage
1 plastic packaging from computer charger - recycle

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Day 329 -Tuesday 11/25/08

Today's Haul:

1 set of sides from filming - recycle
1 staple from sdes from filming - garbage
1 container rolled oats w/top - repurpose
1 ice cream wrapper - garbage

Monday, November 24, 2008

Some Waste Lite Holiday Tips For Ya

As Thanksgiving here in the good ole US of A is right around the corner, I thought I'd throw out a few simple ideas on how to waste less during the holidays.

Cheers

Dave

Consider your food miles - I know I just posted about this, but try to get your food locally if you can. Check out farmers markets and CSA's and you'll save some money, save on fuel spent getting those eats to your plate, and help support your local community rather than some big corporation 1000 miles away.
Bring and Use Live Flowers - A lot of people like to bring flowers as a present, and/or use them as a decoration for their holiday table. While this definitely spruces things up, wouldn't a live plant from a local nursery be better? You can find really nice seasonal plants and rather than ending up in the trash, a year from now your friends can still be enjoying them. If you're sending rather than bringing, at least check out some organic possibilities which are a little lighter on the environment.
Skip the wrap - If you're planning on bringing a gift with you, skip the wrapping paper and deliver your gift inside another gift. A re-usable bag with a gift inside of it only makes you cooler (woooeeeee, two gifts in one) and you can always go with a nice bottle of wine wrapped up Furoshiki style! And if you can't decide on what to bring them, what's Thanksgiving without a worm bin?
Don't Forget the Three R's - Refuse, Re-Use, Recycle - I know it's the holidays, and everyone from Bob the guy down the street to your Aunt Fanny and her weird dog are coming over, but just because you've got a houseful of guests, it doesn't mean you need to take a day off from the 3 Rs. In fact, by asking your friends to help you clear the table accordingly, you can teach them a thing or two and pass some things on ("Yes Aunt Fanny, Fifi can have the turkey scraps but the squash you didn't eat should go into the worm bin...what's that? Oh, its that square thingy on the center of the table.")
Can the cans (and bottles) - A lot of people like to put out bottled water and cans of soda or beer when company comes. Bottled water is horrible for a number of reasons and cans are not much better. If you are going with soft drinks, at least buy larger bottles and have people pour their own, or if you are really industrious, how about making juice or (gulp) serving water out of the tap?
Skip the paper - You've got company coming over for crying out loud, what are you breaking out the paper plates and paper napkins for? Go for the fine china and if you don't, at least use your regular dishes. It makes no sense to buy a plate, use it once and throw it out. As far as napkins, try and find some cloth napkins. They may cost you a bit more, but think how much you'll save over the long term, both in resources and in cash, not to mention that your sister in law Agnus will think you're the bomb!
Give your leftovers to someone who really needs it - Most people make a ton of food when company comes and often there are more than enough leftovers to go around. Freeze what you'll eat and save it up for the weeks to come (tupperware rather than plastic or foil please) and if you have more than enough, why not make up a plate or two, put it in an extra re-usable container you may have lying around with some silverware, and give it to someone on the street who may be down on their luck. Sadly, I fear many of us live near those that need some help and if Thanksgiving is really about giving thanks, shouldn't we extend that to helping others?
Craigslist your oil - Thinking of deep frying that tofu turducken and don't know what to do with the ten gallons of barely used peanut oil? Don't throw it out for heavens sake, pop it onto craigsilist and some oddball greaser like myself will gladly come and take it off your hands.
Plan Ahead - As you are making your dinner pans and deciding what to cook, think about where your ingredients came from, how they will be used and what will happen to the scraps and leftovers when you are done. If you take a few minutes and consider it, I can promise you you'll keep your holiday waste down to a minimum and feel better when you are done.