Posts Tagged ‘recycle’
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Bev from Brampton, ON writes:
I have often wondered when I’m shopping what containers are the best choice for me to make for recyclables: plastic, glass, or aluminum?
Lindsay replies:
Things to consider about packaging of your consumer goods:
1. Avoid excess packaging whenever possible or buy the equivalent product or brand that uses minimal packaging.
2. Check in with your local recycling depot to see what they accept. Although many items are recyclable, your municipal facility may not accept them, hence they end up in the landfill.
3. Plastic: aim for those numbered #2, 4, 5 because you can reuse these safely. Generally they are the safest forms of plastic. Again, check with your local depot to see if they recycle #1, 3, 6 and 7, as it will vary.
4. Glass: I like it because I can reuse it. It’s accepted at most recycling depots.
5. Aluminium: it’s usually recyclable in your blue box and can be broken down and used again and again.
6. Buy bulk to reduce packaging all together and reuse the plastic bags you buy your goods in. For example, I keep the twist tie and bag together, tucked beside my flour jar. When I need to refill, I grab the bag and head to the store. You don’t even need to search for a pen or that secret code because you’ve already labeled it!
Tags: aluminum, blue box, buy bulk, consumer issues, glass, packaging, plastic, recyclables, recycle, reduce, reuse
Posted in Consumer Issues, Food, Green Living, Human Health, Lindsay, Newsletter response, climate change, garbage, gardening, recycling | No Comments »
Monday, April 6th, 2009
Brigitte shares her story on doing her part for the environment:
I just wanted to share some of what I am trying to teach my 4-year-old son about the environment and our part in it. We live in a small town north of Whistler and we walk, ride our bikes or sled to his school every day, and recycle every week.
We live in a very small condo with geothermal heating. We only use heat in the winter maybe about 2-3 hours a day. I always turn lights out if we are not in that room. We have air conditioning but do not use it in the summer. The best thing is that we have an Athena/Ionways water machine that gives us Alkaline water right from our tap and we fill our glass bottles up every day, NO PLASTIC BOTTLES EVER! Only about 1/10 of plastic bottles are ever recycled, and 1.5 million barrels of oil are used annually to manufacture the bottles! This water machine has changed our lives.
I also own a house cleaning business using only acidic water produced by this machine and tea tree oil for disinfecting as well as other natural products. I am hoping to buy some land soon in BC and be totally self-sufficient, living off the land! I teach my child to love and respect everything in nature and he loves the song by Jack Johnson, the three R’s, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! He also always stops to pick up garbage on the ground and finds a garbage to put it in!
Tags: air conditioning, children, environment, geothermal, love, nature, plastic bottles, recycle, reduce, respect, reuse, tea tree oil
Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, Green Parenting, energy, garbage, off the grid, recycling | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
FixOurWorld invites you to the "Girls Day Out Swap n’ Shop Event" on Fix Our World!
Time: April 26, 2009 from 6pm to 7pm
Location: TBA, Hamilton, ON
Organized By: FixOurWorld
Participants will enjoy:
* Choosing "new to them" items from the "gently-used" clothing swap
* A light Buffet Lunch and refreshments
* Meeting other Women from the Hamilton area
* A fun time with the girls; this is a Kid & Husband free zone
* Shopping in the vendor section for products and services geared to women
* A chance to win DOOR PRIZES
Pre-Registration is required:
When you come to sign up you will bring the payment along with your clothes. This is done well in advance of the event, not the day of. Please try to have at least 10 items for the swap. If you have more, that is great too! This event is geared to cleaning out your closets and getting rid of what you no longer wear. I will be organizing the clothing so once you are registered, all you have to do is show up! The number of articles you can take home from the swap will be determined by the number of articles you have put in. Clothing left after the swap will be donated to a woman’s charity.
Early Bird Registration: Pay only $15 when you sign up before March 22nd.
Call Lisa 905-574-9922
See more details and RSVP on Fix Our World !
Tags: charity, clothing swap, gently-used clothing, recycle, reuse
Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, recycling | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
"GREEN MOMMA" Stacey Allen-Cillia writes:
I would like to suggest a green craft. I decided that there is more to a Tim Horton’s paper coffee cup than just to recycle it. I decided to use the winter themed cups for a craft with my kids. We cut out the scenery into different sized circles and creating a "snowperson" using scrap pieces of felt for a hat. My kids, ages 3 and 4, had a blast! The end result was a winter ornament that is green and kid friendly! Hope this gives someone else an idea or two.
Tags: crafts, paper cup, recycle, reuse
Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Parenting, garbage | 5 Comments »
Monday, February 9th, 2009
Twyla Schmal writes:
I am a single mom to three boys, ages 4, 8, and 11. Since they could walk, my boys have grown up knowing which compartment each recyclable goes into. There is no such thing as garbage in our house! We are all excited to feed our garden with compost and enjoy not having to clean our vegetables all summer.
The boys get terribly angry when they see food and products from other countries in our stores as well as the terrible amount of plastic wrap, cardboard, screws and wire used in packaging. Because my children have grown up in this environment, they know no other way (it is easy for children to accept; much harder for us adults to change).
My boys really understand the fact that others are not seeing what is happening and most of all, are doing so little to make a difference for their future. We use a clothesline almost year-round, power bars with light indicators to remind us to turn the energy suckers off; we practice water restriction, electronic restrictions and very rarely drive.
It is a lot of hard work and discipline dating back some 50 years. There is really no financial incentive; I still pay for garbage pick-up and am forced to drive my recycling 40Km to drop it off — too bad we can’t afford solar panels and wind power!
Other than the gratification we get from doing something right in our one little space on this earth, I wish that my children were supported more by other children. I challenge you Moms and Dads to make it easier for your kids’ futures. Tell them what is going on with the planet, offer them resources and tools to implement changes, and bring them up as Mother Earth’s Children and maybe they will be her saviour.
Tags: garden, gargabe, mother earth, parenting, recycle, reduce, reuse, saviour, solar and wind power, waste
Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, Green Parenting, garbage, recycling, sustainability | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Peggy Muir from Hazelton, BC writes:
We have been using CFL energy-saving fluorescent bulbs for all our lights. They are supposed to last five years, but we find they don’t. Because they contain small amounts of lead, we feel they should be recycled, but have not found many recyclers.
There are a few companies in the U.S., but little in Western Canada. My daughter and I have looked up some websites and this seems to be the best one for BC .
We live in northern BC and I have been trying to find a place close to home, but so far the nearest is Prince George. Some Canadian Tire stores do recycle, but the one in Smithers doesn’t yet. They said they would consider it. Do you have suggestions for encouraging businesses to recycle?
Lindsay replies:
Thanks for taking the time to find out how to properly dispose of your CFL’s. The technology is newer, so yes, I too found that they didn’t last 5 years. I just took two of mine to Home Depot for recycling – they accept them free of charge. You might also find other businesses in your area or the next major city will accept them. Stay tuned for LED’s! They’re the best option, but very expensive at the moment.
Tags: CFL, energy saving, light bulbs, recycle
Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, Lindsay, recycling | No Comments »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
Ryan Lee, a Grade 5 student at Olympic Heights Elementary school in Calgary, AB shares his inspiring essay on the state of the environment:
The Problems of Our Environment
One of the social issues concerning today’s youth is environmental problems, such as using too many unrecyclable objects, pollution, global warming, and destruction of natural habitats. Please read and react to help our environment.
To begin with, pollution is almost the root of global warming. Although global warming is normal, pollution actually speeds it up. Global warming is a process in which the Earth is heated up by the sun’s rays that are trapped inside the Earth’s atmosphere by greenhouse gasses such as, Co2 (Carbon Dioxide).
Another problem within our environment is the continuous use of unrecyclable objects. We should always recycle. Recycling is a way of reusing products. Some of the many reusable products are paper, glass, some metals and plastics. We should use these products more often than products we cannot reuse. Another reason why this is a problem is because we can’t recycle. Sometimes we use products we can only use once too much.
Also the destruction of natural habits on the Earth is a big problem. This is because of our greed and carelessness. The beautiful features of our Earth will disappear if this does not stop. Some water on Earth is already so polluted that it looks really disgusting. These habitats belong to precious animals which are dying because their loss of home and territory.
If we do not stop polluting our Earth and save our planet, our only home will be spoiled. In this essay I have explained the use of unrecyclable products, the horrid effect of pollution, the meaning of evil global warming, and the destruction of our precious animal homes. I hope you have felt the need to save our Earth, our home because it is the only one we have.
Tags: environment, global warming, Grade 5, natural habitats, pollution, recycle, reduce, reuse, Ryan Lee
Posted in Green Living, climate change, forests and wild Lands, recycling, species | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
Max Daniels from Cambridge, MA, USA writes:
My local dollar-a-pound used clothing place never seems to run out of ties, ribbons, and belts that have been separated from their original matching garments. I keep a bag of them with other recycled gift-wrapping items. My favourites are the really lurid ones from the ’70s – they look great with recycled brown paper wrapping. I like to think the recipients will put them to use again!
Tags: gift wrap, recycle, used clothing
Posted in Consumer Issues, recycling | No Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
Marta from Toronto writes:
I am the creator of a newly launched and one-of-a-kind Canadian bartering community for individuals and groups. Our community encourages a greener lifestyle as well as curbing consumerism through bartering.
SwapSity users can swap a combination of items and skills with the option to balance uneven swap transactions with cash. For example, you can offer books that you have read and in exchange receive help with computer repair. Any uneven swaps can be equalized with cash. SwapSity is also a useful parent resource for exchanging kids’ outgrown gear, toys, games and clothes with other parents and de-cluttering your living space.
Like-minded individuals can also create customized swap groups. One of our most recent groups is a residential recycling project within a downtown apartment complex in Toronto. The group was created to encourage reusing discarded items as well as skill-swapping between neighbours living in the building. The goal of the group is to reduce the impact on the environment as well as build a sense of community among the residents.
SwapSity is free and it offers a full spectrum of user tools to help our swappers communicate with other members and negotiate mutually agreeable swaps. Once you agree to an exchange, you can just meet in person or ship locally. There is a lot of room for creative and green swaps. I invite you all to check it out!
Tags: apartment complex, barter, books, computer repair, exchange, green lifestyle, initiatives, neighbours, newsletter, recycle, reuse, reycle, swap, Toronto
Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, gardening, recycling | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Diana Cassa from Beeton, ON writes:
I’m trying to find information on reusing plastics numbered 2, 4 and 5 and hope you can help direct me. I freeze foods in them like homemade spaghetti sauce in yogurt containers.
Is it OK to freeze these plastics or should this be avoided? Is it OK to place them in the dishwasher? I’ve seen reports that say you should not freeze water bottles, although there are just as many that say this isn’t true. I don’t freeze water bottles — in fact, I don’t buy them at all — but I am wondering if the plastics I do freeze pose problems.
Lindsay writes:
You are not the first to ask about which plastics to use, reuse and recycle. We have tackled such an issue in our summer "Finding Solutions " edition of David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge newsletter . The nuts and bolts of it can be described as "2, 4, 5 keep yourself alive"! Those numbers are the safest to reuse, so check your containers.
From what I’ve researched, freezing is generally okay (I’d still stick with 2, 4, and 5 plastic types) but do not microwave plastics and do not put them in the dishwasher. For some plastic types, like #1, more chemicals are released when they are washed and reused. The good thing is that #1 is highly recyclable.
Tags: containers, freeze, Lindsay, microwave, newsletter, plastics, recycle, reduce, reuse
Posted in Consumer Issues, David Suzuki's Nature Challenge, Food, Green Living, Human Health, Lindsay, recycling | No Comments »
