Egg-cellent!

It's almost time for the Easter Bunny to come hopping down the bunny trail, and this year maybe you'll have an egg-cellent environmentally friendly surprise filled with sweets in your basket! Instead of plastic eggs from China, consider buying the "first 100% renewable Easter Eggs" made in the USA by eco eggs™.  Eco eggs offers their renewable multi-colored Easter egg alternative from non-toxic corn starch instead of petroleum-based plastics.  The eggs are also compostable, and do not generate emissions and create landfill waste, yet they are durable enough to be stored for years and used again and again.  And if you need grass filler for your Easter baskets, eco eggs™  also offers eco grass that is compostable and made from non-toxic corn starch, or can be stored and reused for years.  And just think, if one or two eggs get left behind after the egg hunt it won't be a problem!  The plant-based eco-eggs will slowly and harmlessly decompose.  For more Earth-friendly Easter tips be sure to check out http://alacartegreen.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-easter-2011.html 

Here's to an eco-Easter filled with fun and hoppiness :)

A Method to the Madness

The madness of dustbunnies, dirt, and pet hair...do you sweep or vacuum and turn around to the madness of more of the same?  Seems to be a never ending battle at our house.  But I have found an eco-friendly product to help with the madness.  My "Method" to the madness is the Method Planet Friendly Sweeper Dusters.  I love these dusters because they don't send the dust flying, but capture the dust, dirt, and pet hair electro-statically.  That's good news for our indoor air quality, but the best part in terms of the planet is that these dusters are made from corn and they are compostable and biodegradable.  Method even gets the package perfect...the carton is made from bamboo and recycled paper, and the cardboard sleeve that holds the carton shut is at least 15% recycled paper too. No plastic!

So when you think green cleaning, there is a good "Method" to the madness of dustbunnies, pethair, and dirt.  Give the Method Planet Friendly Sweeper Dusters a try, and when you are done, add them to your compost, not the landfill!

One step forward, two steps back

I'm REALLY disappointed that Frito-Lay caved in on their compostable SunChips bags!

So what if the bag is a bit noisier than what people are used to?  What??? The bag wakes up a roommate?  Ummm maybe they shouldn't be eating that late at night, it's not all that healthy to begin with!  So stop sneaking snacks in the middle of the night...problem solved! OR pour some chips into a bowl and then eat them!  Do roommates also complain about the FZZSTTTT of the soda or beer can being popped open?   Do we need silencers for cans?  Or the clickety clickety of the laptop keyboard or texting? 

Consumers are so fickle, that they won't buy a product they like due to packaging?  Well, it's too bad because Frito-Lay WAS at the forefront of changing consumer's thoughts and attitudes towards packaging.  And just think, they had responded to consumer demand for more eco-friendly sustainable packaging!  I for one, was a huge fan of the compostable bags.  I didn't care one bit that they were noisier because I knew that after we'd finished the yummy, crunchy chips, the bag would not litter a landfill, and to me that's more important than the crunch of the bag.  In fact, I got a kick out of adding it to our compost, crinkle and all!

Wasteful, landfill clogging packaging in general drives me CRAZY,  which was why I was so happy to be able to compost the Sun Chips bag.  It's time that companies become more responsible for more sustainable packaging, more eco-friendly processing, and become environmental stewards and good examples for consumers.

Personally, I believe laws are needed to push companies to create sustainable packaging.  Without a push, most companies take the cheaper, easier, petroleum-dependent-plastic way out.  If Frito-Lay hadn't caved in, would consumers get used to the bag?  I think their products could stand up to the complaints and they'd still profit because it's the product that consumers are buying to eat, and their products are good.

To their credit, Frito-Lay says they are developing the next generation of biodegradable bags.   And I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it when it finally arrives on the market!  Until then, I'll still be pushing for more responsible, eco-friendly, sustainable packaging and buying the original Sun Chips which will still have the compostable bag  :)


http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-10-05-sunchips05_ST_N.htm

L is for LUNCH

Stomachs gurgle, eyes turn to look up at the clock...then the bell rings!  Yeah, time for lunch and RECESS!!!

Over 76.6 million children look forward to lunch and recess.  It's when they get to chat with friends, refuel with lunch, and get some fresh air and exercise.  These children consume homemade lunches and cafeteria food, and when they are done, they produce an astounding amount of lunch related trash.  On average, school-aged children eating disposable lunches generate about 67 pounds of waste per year.  For an average sized elemenatary school that translates to about 18,000 pounds or 9 tons of lunch waste that ends up in the landfill.

So what ends up in the 9 tons of trash at an average school?  Just think about what you send you children in their lunch, or what they eat in the school lunch they buy, and then consider what they don't eat and what goes in the trash...

Paperbags, plastic ziplocks, packaging from chip bags, cookies, cheese sticks, and yogurts, juice boxes, milk cartons, banana peels, apple cores, peach pits, and lots and lots of uneaten food is thrown out.  If you saw the amount of food that goes into the trash your stomach would turn.  I've seen the food wasted at snack time and at lunch time...and I can hear my parent's voices in my head, "that food could feed many starving people, don't waste food!"  I'm also saddened by the amount of trash that could be recycled but is not.

It's estimated that 380 billion plastic bags (about 1,200 plastic bags per person/per year), and about 2.7 billion juice boxes are thrown away each year. (Earthworks Group, 2009)  When I read the statistics about plastic bags I quickly calculated that my family would use on average 7,200 plastic bags made from non-renewable petroleum products per year.  YIKES!  So over the course of the last year, I've switched the family over to using reusable sandwich and snack bags.  Via a school fundraiser, I bought wrap-n-mat www.wrap-n-mat.com which I like because it provides a clean surface for the sandwiches to set on instead of the germy lunchtable.  Then I discovered snacktaxi.com http://www.snacktaxi.com/, and resnackit.com http://resnackit.com/.   I bought a few of each brand and was hooked on them!  They are easy to clean, and can be reused over and over, and are made of food-safe materials.  We also use small glad plastic containers instead of plastic bags for muffins, and other things that stand up better in a rigid container (and to appease the pickiest of all..the teenagers in the family who are not easily swayed by my eco-conscious reasoning...they just find it hard to be "cool" using my awesome eco-snack and sandwich bags).  I must comment that the kids, hubby, and I have had many positive comments about our fun, colorful reusable bags, and we are often asked for info about the bags, which we readily share.  Recently my sister sent us some new bags called Lunchskins 3greenmoms.com  and those have been a nice addition to our collection as well.

To transport our lunches, we've never used paper lunch bags (except on field trips when we can't stow the reusable items).  Instead we have a variety of lunch "boxes".  We have pretty, stylish Vera Bradley lunchbags  for my fashionistas http://www.verabradley.com/product/Lets-Do-Lunch/154875/defaultColor/Blue%20Rhapsody/p/154875.uts, LLBean lunch boxes http://www.llbean.com/llb/search?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&init=1&freeText=lunch&Go=, and Built BYO lunch bags available at Target, Kohls, etc. 


So it really couldn't be easier to bring a waste-free lunch...with sturdy lunch bags from LL Bean, or pretty choices from Vera Bradley, taking your lunch can even be a fashion statement!  There are many waste-free, accessories such as reusable stainless steel or aluminum water bottles that can be used to keep hydrated throughout the day http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/08/k-is-for-kleankanteen-or-similar.html, reusable, non-plastic snack and sandwich bags, and cloth napkins.  Instead of plastic utensils, encourage your family to take regular silverware and return it.  With all the various reusable items, there are so many options for decreasing our waste, and the costs associated with it.

As for food waste, much of it could be composted, and recycled into "brown gold" by the humblest of decomposers, the Earth worm.  Greening of school lunches could easily be integrated into the school curriculum.  Setting goals to reduce waste, bring waste-free lunches, sorting out recyclables, composting, graphing waste reduction and disposal savings could all be integrated into science, math, and even writing curriculum.  I wholeheartedly believe that providing children with opportunities to learn about positive environmental habits will lead to lifelong attitudes about sustainability and environmental stewardship. 



sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/education/toolkit.htm
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/education/pdfs/toolkit/tools-m.pdf
http://www.wastefreelunches.org/
http://www.snacktaxi.com/ 
http://www.wrap-n-mat.com/Overview-of-Linings-i-16.html
The new 50 Simple Things Kids Can do to save the Earth, Earthworks Group, Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, Kansas City, 2009

Everyone loves suprises

Everyone loves surprises, right? 

Well, my compost has provided me with some fun surprises over the years.  How did the compost give back this time?  Recently I composted directly under a tree that was in need of some organic TLC, and then added some grass clippings on top of it.  Later I added bark mulch on top to pretty it up.  The other day, as I walked by the tree I notice some dark green seedlings and chuckled to myself.  A few days later, there was a strange mound under the tree, and when I took a closer look, I saw that more seedlings were pushing up on the mulch creating the mound.  I dug down and found the cast off seed pods.  I'm pretty sure they are butternut squash seeds.  If I am correct about the seeds,  it looks like the yummiest butternut squash soup scraps have resulted in a bunch of healthy seedlings, and hopefully more yummy squash.  

It's not the first time that the compost has given back either!  In the past, I composted into a corner of the garden, and we ended up with a cantaloupe plant that yielded some small but tasty melons.  Since the garden was reconfigured I can't compost into the corner, but this year I already found some tomato seedlings from some cherry tomatoes that fell to the ground last year.  It's always fun to get surprises, and I'm excited to find out if the surprise seedlings will really be squash.  Stay tuned! 

Green mulch?

So spring is here, and you hear the lawn mowers buzzing and keeping the lawns looking presentable.  Now I wish I could say that we use a push reel mower, but with 1.5 acres it would be quite a workout.  We do however, collect our grass clippings and use them as mulch under trees, in areas that need weed control, and in our compost.  It's the perfect use for grass clippings instead of trashing them (people really do pay to throw away good mulch?!) 

Biodegradable cleaning wipes - Day 16

So I ran out of my favorite cleaning wipes (I know, I know a disposable product), and found that Green Works makes "natural biodegradable" cleaning wipes with natural ingredients such as coconut-based cleaners and essential oils, so I figured I'd give them a try. They work well, and it makes me feel better knowing that even though I'm using something disposable, at least I can compost them, and then recycle the container they come in. Surprisingly, they were comparable in price to other wipes, so it was a total no-brainer to give them a try, and I'm glad I did.

At the grocery store - Day 11

Today at the grocery store I was very excited to find that Sun Chips now has a 100% compostable bag that the chips come in! Wow am I a geek!! I never dreamed I'd be excited about green packaging ;) Now if only the rest of the manufacturers would get a move on and use similar packaging! Funny how such a small thing can make me smile :)