G is for Glass

Good old glass…glass has been used for centuries for storing many liquids including medicines, olive oil, wine, and of course foods such as pickles, mason jars full of beets, relishes, tomatoes, berries, etc.  Today, glass is still used for those items, as well as spaghetti sauce, soda, juices, liquors, perfume and much more.   One reason I like glass is that it doesn’t leach into your food the way plastic does and it can be recycled infinitely.  Of course the drawbacks are that it is heavier and more breakable than plastic.  Luckily, glass containers are 40 percent lighter than when they were 20 years ago, and I don’t know about you, but I prefer my food without leached chemical additives.  This is also the reason I prefer to reheat in the microwave with glass/Pryrex instead of plastic.  

Glassmakers have always known about the properties that allow glass to be recycled, but over the years, glass recycling has grown in part due to the increased curbside recycling efforts, and in part due to consumer demand for recycled glass in varying products.  Currently only a small fraction of all glass (especially bottle glass) is actually recycled - something like 2.5 million tons of the 17 million tons of glass in the waste stream is actually reused by bottle makers each year. The US does not mandate the recycling of glass like Europe does, so its up to the individual and industry to make sure the glass gets recycled. While statistics vary on the amount of glass recycled, the EPA reports that 34.5 percent of glass beer and soft drink bottles and 28.1 percent of all glass containers were recycled in 2007.  Today, Americans recycle nearly 13 million glass jars and bottles every day.  But, we can and should do better, and surprisingly there is a greater demand for glass than what is actually recycled; a whopping 1 million tons!

Because glass recycling is not required in the US, recycling rates vary widely, from 15% to 80% depending on the state.  California, boasts a glass-recycling rate near 79 percent.  But what about the glass that is not recycled?  It has been estimated that every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper.  Those glass bottles and jars would take 4000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in the landfill.  

If we were to recycle 50% more glass than we are currently recycling here in the US, we would save enough energy to power 45,000 homes for an entire year, which is the size of a small town! Put in another way, the energy saved from recycling just ONE glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours.  A recycled bottle also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.  One thing to note is that while recycling programs will accept glass containers and bottles, they will not take drinking glasses, light bulbs, and Pyrex because they are treated when manufactured and that processing would contaminate the other recyclable glass. 

So, after the glass is collected, what happens to it?  SMAAASH!  The glass is crushed into material called “cullet”.  Then glass manufacturers mix sand, soda ash, limestone, and cullet and heat the mixture to a temperature of 2,600 to 2,800 degrees F.  Then it is molded it into the desired shape. Using cullet saves manufacturers money and helps the environment; cullet is less costly and melts at lower temperatures than raw materials, and as a result, less energy is needed to produce the new glass and that helps reduce greenhouse gases.   As mentioned above, the need for cullet overshadows the amount deposited for recycling by over 1 million tons each year.

Speaking of recycled glass, 90 percent of recycled glass is used to make new bottles and containers, and 10 percent is being made into new and exciting items daily.  There are examples of beautiful recycled glass items everywhere...I couldn't believe how many interesting things are made from recycled glass!  I was in awe at the recycled glass items I found on the internet: beautiful glass beads, glassware, mulch, jewelry, coasters, sun catchers, tumbled glass for fish tanks or vases, drawer pulls, counter tops, spoon rests, soap dishes, tiles, and more.

I love these glass tiles: https://secure.susanjablonmosaics.com/glass-tile/organiks-100-percent-green-product.html?linkid=lsl and these beautiful countertops: http://www.curava.com/products

I had never heard of glass mulch before, but it looks neat: http://www.closetheloop.com/products/gardenglassmulch.html   There lots of interesting glass gifts at:http://find.uncommongoods.com/?q=recycled  , and lovely glassware at:http://www.potterybarn.com/products/casa-recycled-glassware/?pkey=x|4|1||10|casa%20recycled||0&cm_src=SCH

Beautiful coasters by Aurora Glass

However, one of my favorite sites, http://www.auroraglass.org has amazingly beautiful, useful gifts which caught my eye.  But it is their noteworthy humanitarian mission that really captured my attention.  The Aurora Glass Foundry is a waste-based business that not only recycles glass, but funds the charitable works of St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, OR.  All profits from Aurora are returned to the community in the form of assistance for homeless and low-income people through emergency services, housing, jobs, training, and other charitable endeavors.  In my book, that's about as GREEN as it gets! 

Source: http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html
http://www.solidwastedistrict.com/stats/glass.html
http://www.texasglass.com/glass_facts/history_of_Glass.htm
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/calling-all-americans-we-need-to-recycle-more-glass.php

F is for Footprint...Carbon footprint

The original idea for this blog came from wanting to help my family learn to reduce our carbon footprint, and the goal is to take babysteps to get us there.  Some of the steps have seemed painful to my kids, but they are getting a little bit more "greenwashed" each day.  

 According to Wikipedia, one's carbon footprint is:
"the total set of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event or product" ^[1]. For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent of other GHGs, emitted."

The goal of many, including myself is to reduce the carbon footprint of an individual, family, company, town, country, or the world.  The development of alternative energy projects to promote carbon offsetting, such as solar, geothermal, wind energy, and reforestation, are ways to reduce one's carbon footprint.  On a smaller scale, not idling the car while in the carpool line, or riding your bike for local errands will also reduce your carbon footprint.  

When you think about it, every choice we make can have an impact on our carbon footprint.  For example, whether I choose to buy produce that is trucked or flown from far away (this results in emissions and thus my carbon footprint), or buy from a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), or grow my own vegetables does impact my carbon footprint.  And although I am only one person, who is trying to teach the other 5 family members, and who chats about the changes we've made to family and friends, I'd like to think that the ripple effect of positive changes will make a difference.  

If you are interested in finding out more about CSAs in your area, Google CSA + your town or state, or check out this link  http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml  You can't beat fresh local produce, it tastes better, you support your local economy, AND you are helping to reduce your carbon footprint!  Every little green babystep counts! 
 
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint, July 19, 2010

E is for Electricity and Energy

So officially we are using the energy from the sun to dry our clothes!  

It's been a sultry July, and we've been sweating it out around here, NOT using our window ACs to cool the house, even at night.  To the chagrin of the family, I've opted to deal with a little bit of humidity and pull the cooler air in by window fans because the thought of our electric bill doubling due to ACs has not been appealing!  During the cooler morning, we suck cool air in, use the window shades to keep out the heat, but,  I now will feel less guilty about using the ACs if the mercury rises because we are not sucking power for the dyer....and in this house of 6 we do more loads per week than the average household (that is a discussion for another time!).   

On a side note, I do need to invest in a dryer rack as well because the ladies of the house (excluding myself) are in an UPROAR that their unmentionables might be seen.  Mind you our backyard is as private as can be this time of year, we can't see any of our neighbors houses because of the gloriously green trees!  

I couldn't resist a quick tally of the watts used by the 5 window units: including  4 window units in the bedrooms and one larger unit that cools the downstairs...those ACs use up a grand total of 4026 watts!!! 

And then I had to compare the wattage of the overworked and underpaid dryer - that baby sucks up a whopping 4400 watts and gets a workout weekly, and often daily all year long!!!

I'm hoping that using the sun to dry the clothes will offset the times that we use the AC, and that in the long run we will save electricity and energy since we can use the clothesline even when we don't need the AC :)  

Can't help but smile about summer!

recycling on the road

Well, it's been awhile, but we are still thinking and doing green deeds even though it's summer!  We're just back from a trip to the Jersey Shore, we had great weather and fun on the boardwalk, rides, at the waterpark and of course the beach.  Too bad we had obnoxious teenage neighbors above us who disturbed our sleep each night at horrible hours!  But we didn't let them ruin our fun :)  

So while we were on vacay we continued to recycle the items that NJ recycles such as cans, bottles, and glass. However, it just didn't feel right to toss out the cardboard and paper goods, juice boxes that need to go to Terracycle, and aluminum foil from our lunches on the beach...so we brought them home and recycled them here!  I drew the line at the compostables though and they did not make the trip home :) 

D is for donate...

D  is for donate.... 

I've discussed donation in several of my blogs, and how donating usable items instead of adding to landfills makes sense because it not only helps others, but also helps the planet.  Items can be donated to family, friends, the library, schools, etc. 

http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/04/recycle-reuse-reshare-with-big-bro-big.html 
http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/03/spring-cleaning-day-23-24.html 
http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/03/spring-cleaning-day-17.html 
http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/05/closet-philanthropist.html
http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/02/books-day-6.html 

To locate donation sites in your community, you can google "where to donate used items" or check out some of the following sites and plug in your zipcode.  You can also join FreeCycle to donate many varied items that would otherwise end up in the landfill, you name it, and someone out there wants or needs it, from used doors, to grills, clothes, baby gear, vacuums, sewing machines, mattresses, furniture, etc.  www.freecycle.org You list your items on the site, and members will email you to arrange to pickup the item.   

There are several well known organizations that you can donate to as well: 

• Goodwill - http://locator.goodwill.org/?gclid=CIGzwYTTqKICFUFM5QodbEmuSA   
• Big Brothers Big Sisters (will pickup items at your home) - http://www.kintera.org/site/c.diJKKYPLJvH/b.1539755/k.323E/Donating__Donate_to_Charity_Donate_online_easily_to_Big_Brothers_Big_Sisters.htm
• Local churches often have donation bins outside of the church.    Catholic Charities is an example of churches helping those in need  http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1724
• Planet Aid - http://blog.planetaid.org/  

 Other sites to check: 

• http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/clothesshoes.htm 
• To donate shoes, check out http://www.soles4souls.org/about/green.htm 
• You can even donate old keys instead of throwing them out, and Keys for Kindness benefits the MS Society, so the keys stay out of the landfill and the MS Society benefits as well.   http://www.keysforkindness.com/

Donating makes you feel good, keeps useful items out of landfills, and helps others.  It's a WIN-WIN!  Happy Donating!!

C is for clothesline...

C is carbon footprint, compost, cleaning supplies, and clothesline...

Growing up, my Mom had a free-standing umbrella-style spinning clothesline, and I can remember standing on my tippey toes and helping her take the clothes off the line.  When a friend asked if I'd greened my laundry yet, I had to admit that the only thing I'd done so far was to use cold water instead of warm or hot, and I've switched to eco-friendlier laundry detergent.  But I know we can do better!  

I checked out some info on the net, and found some pretty interesting info.  Here are 10 reasons to use a clothesline from www.laundrylist.org

Why line-dry?  For starters, dryers use 10 percent to 15 percent of domestic energy in the US.

10. It saves money — more than $25 a month on electric bills for many households.
9. Clothes last longer when line-dried.
8. Clothes and linens smell better without exposing your body and the environment to potentially toxic chemicals in many detergents, bleaches and fabric softeners.
7. It can conserve energy and the environment, while reducing climate change.
6. It is moderate physical activity that you can do indoors or outside.
5. Sunlight bleaches and disinfects.
4. Indoor racks can humidify in dry winter weather.
3. Clothes-dryer and washing-machine fires account for about 17,700 structure fires, 15 deaths and 360 injuries annually. The yearly national fire loss for clothes-dryer fires in buildings is estimated at $194 million.
2. It is fun. And it can be an outdoor experience that is meditative and community-building.
1. Line drying clothes demonstrates that small steps can make a difference.

With these reasons fresh in my mind, I began looking into installing an old fashioned clothesline to dry the clothes with the power of the sun instead of paying for the electricity :)  There are basically two types,  the umbrella-style spinning clothesline which is typically installed on a post in the ground with cement  (I did see one at Lowe's) and the pulley-type of clothesline (which is much less expensive, and the materials area also available at Lowe's).  I decided I wanted a pulley-type, and we found out what hardware and supplies we'll need, and went so far as to buy the items.  But then the project stalled as life got more hectic than usual and we had an ah-ha moment that I'm glad we had before doing the project.  We realized that the distance from the house to the tree, is pretty long and that traditional cotton clothesline will sag and stretch a lot as a result.  We thought back to a dog run we had at one point that went from the house to the same tree, and decided we'd have to get creative and instead of traditional cotton clothesline, we will have to use coated wire to support the weight of the laundry over the distance similar to the dog line.  

There lots of different options for installing outdoor clotheslines too.  I found some good info on the following sites:
http://www.clotheslineshop.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=C

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1558520,00.html
www.laundrylist.org
I'm very  excited to see how it helps to decrease the electric bill and the yummy sunshine smell of sun-dried laundry!    Stay tuned and I'll let you know how we make out...

B is for bottles

B is for Bottles....                                                                  
Billions of plastic bottles......

• It is estimated that  Americans buy about 25 billion single serve plastic water bottles
• about 22 billion (about 8 out of 10 water bottles) are NOT recycled
• “The United States ranks first among countries in soft drink consumption. The per-capita consumption of soft drinks is in excess of 150 quarts per year, or about three quarts per week.”James A Howenstine M.D.     A Physician’s Guide to Natural Health Products That Work  http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2007/11/09/chew-on-this-us-soda-consumption  (We won't even get going on the health impacts of soda!!!!)    
• Oil is used to produce plastic; it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to make water bottles for Americans
• Plastic does not biodegrade
• The water, soda, and juice bottle are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
• Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator
• Plastic bottles made of PET can be recycled into many useful things including carpet, fleece, bottles, kayaks, school lunch trays, and much more
•  Only ELEVEN states have bottle bills, but no two are alike
• Only THREE states, California, Hawaii and Maine, include plastic water bottles in their laws for deposits on bottles

I would love it if a national "bottle bill" or "producer responsibility bill" were enacted.  Shifting costs from the government and taxpayers to consumers and producers is what the country needs; if only lobbyists could be stifled and politicians would do the right thing and put a national bill in place.  There would be less litter, less resources used, and energy savings.  

The Container Recycling Institute has put together a handy " bottle bill tool kit" to help anyone interested in getting a bottle bill in their state. 39 more states need to take advantage of the tool kit to get a bottle bill in place, and 8 states need to take a look at the tool kit to get water bottles incorporated into their current bottle deposit bills.    http://toolkit.bottlebill.org/

B is for bottles....and BILL....it's time we had a National Bottle Bill/Producer Responsibility Bill!!! 
http://www.bottlebill.org/

Sources:  http://www.container-recycling.org/facts/plastic/     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5279230/

Read more: How soda bottle is made - manufacture, making, used, parts, procedure, product, Raw Materials, The Manufacturing Process of soda bottle, Quality Control, Recycling http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Soda-Bottle.html#ixzz0pA0NUscJ