Taking a bag of recyclables out for a walk

I don't normally take a bag of non-curbside recyclables out for a walk, but this morning, and yesterday, I did. Why? Our school is hosting a recyclable plastics collection (in partnership with the friendly rangers at Tryon Creek State Park) as part of our Earth Week festivities. Walking with bags of plastic films and rigid plastics to school is about as low-carbon impact as it gets. The rangers have generously offered to truck everything our school collects to Far West Fibers at the end of the week. Pretty cool deal, if you ask me. If it's a success, our school may host more of these collections on a regular basis next school year.

Sorry to say I don't have a picture of me and the kids walking with our plastics. It would have been a great photo op. But of course, being my own papparazzo, I had my hands full. Except for when my neighbor carried my bag for a while after my arms started cramping up. Whoever says chivalry is dead, doesn't live in my 'hood.

How does your school observe Earth Day, or Earth Week (as we call it)?

Happy birthday, to one fabulous garbage can!

As I get older, I spend more and more time muttering to myself, 'just where does the time go?' For example, it was 4 years ago that our family first went on a garbage diet. Going from weekly garbage pickup, to monthly. Four years, reader. Four years!


Now I will confess that just about every month, right before our pickup day I have a minor freakout. I start to wonder about all those unnecessary things hidden behind closet doors, under beds, stashed in linen closets. Don't even get me started about storage areas or the garage. I know you know the things. Various rag bags. The seemingly endless supply of temporary tattoos my kids acquire. Stickers. Ribbons. Old mylar birthday balloons that I mean to use as wrapping paper, but usually forget I have. Little bits of odd assorted stuff. That could have a reuse purpose. Or could perhaps be better organized. Or perhaps really need to be thrown away.

So there's this dual impulse. Keep saving all those assorted odds and ends, to creatively REUSE them! Or, THROW IT AWAY ALREADY, and fill up that danged garbage can, because you only get one chance each month and may as well fill that bad-boy up the brim and get your money's worth! And in truth, what happens most often is I close those doors and walk quickly away. So much easier than actually dealing with it all.

Happily, I've never once missed a single garbage day since going to this once-a-month scheme. Our pickup is on the first Friday of every month, at the crack of dawn (which was last Friday, if you're paying close attention -- it's just that I didn't get around to writing about it until this Friday). I remember each pickup day simply by putting a note on our calendar (I know I'd be kicking myself if I forgot). It's cool that this low-garbage diet works over the long haul. That it fits our needs. We can put the recycling out whenever we need to, which seems to average about twice a month for our family.

Do you limit your family to one garbage can a month? How does the garbage-lite diet work for you?

Time for some green new year's resolutions!

I'm a pretty goal oriented person, so I've got nothing against new year's resolutions. Some years I focus on one big resolution. Other years, smaller or private ones. This year I'm noodling over a few medium sized goals:

1. Actually grow fruit on my fruit trees instead of just keeping them on life support. Here's what has happened so far... We bought some fruit trees in the past few years. We planted them following the helpful suggestions from the tree grower. After that. Hmm. Well. Um. Did you ever notice that trees don't come with owner's manuals? And I'm pretty much clueless. I did have a chat with a master gardener at our farmers' market back in summer, and they said fruit trees should be sprayed twice a year in November and February, which I confess, I have already blown as far as November was concerned because it was just too darned cold and rainy. However, I did go to the library this weekend and now have a book about growing citrus. I will try to get my little potted lemon and lime trees off life support this year, and into fruit production mode. And I will do that February spraying if it kills me!

2. I need to get out of my winter produce rut. Maybe you're afflicted with something similar? You go to the store and buy the same darn things, regardless of where they come from or if they are in season or what they cost, simply because you know how to make them and are mostly certain that your family with eat them. Right now, for better or worse, I buy broccoli, apples, pears and carrots. Boring. Lame-o. Now, I know I could really push myself to a higher level by subscribing to a produce delivery box like those offered by Organics to You or Spud. But I'm scared. I keep stalling. I keep sticking to my rut. Help me.

3. Get rid of stuff. Being a Master Recycler and minimal producer of garbage, there's this part of me that hates to throw anything away. I'm not a hoarder. It's not that sick. But there comes a point when enough is enough. I need to be a little more selective. I've got to accept the fact that we can no longer recycle mylar here in Portland and either find a really fantastic reuse for it (or reuse org), or get rid of it already. Same with a lot of stuff. Clearing out feels so good, especially at this time of year.

4. Remodel our kitchen greenly and affordably. We're in the very early planning stages. Super, SUPER exciting. But, let me remind myself that it's in the EARLY planning stages. So I must contain said excitement and remember to work on the other previously stated goals.

I could probably go on and on. Lots of things to work on this year. And you? Did you have a happy, happy holiday season? Are you super ready to greenify your new year's resolutions? Please share what you are working on. It's great to be back and get the EnviroMom conversation started again.

Post-Holiday Recycling at Portland area Whole Foods stores

Here's an important date to put on your calendar for the new year: January 8, 2011. Why? Whole Foods stores in the Portland Metro area will host post-holiday recycling events to take all that non-curbside recycling off your hands. You know the kind of stuff festive merry-making produces: rigid plastics, electronics, styrofoam, and even clothing and household items too. The recycling stations will have friendly volunteer Master Recyclers on hand to provide helpful info on where to bring these types of items year round. This recycling event will be held on January 8, 2011, from 10am to 4pm at the following Whole Foods locations:

• Fremont 3535 NE 15th Ave, Portland
• Pearl 1210 NW Couch St, Portland
• Hollywood 4301 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
• Laurelhurst 2825 East Burnside St, Portland
• Tanasbourne 19440 NW Cornell Rd, Hillsboro
• Bridgeport 7380 SW Bridgeport Rd, Tigard

 

November 15: America Reycles Day!

Stop what you are doing! Right now! Did you know that today, November 15, 2010 is America Recycles Day? I only did because we've been getting upteen emails about it for the last few weeks. And not to be confused with Earth Day, which comes in spring. Or World Diabetes Day, which was yesterday, I think. And Teacher Appreciation Week, which goes on this whole week. Sheesh. Lots of things to think about/do/commemorate.

Back to America Recycles Day. I'm guessing you're like me. You probably recycle every day. Or when your recycle bin gets full. But, hey. If it's a conversation starter for someone in your life who isn't a full-fledged recycle-freak like us, then so be it. Go forth and recycle! Or better yet REDUCE and REUSE!! OK, now. As you were.

Carpet and pad recycling

As we get our house ready to sell, one of the things we need to do is replace the carpet on our stairs. It's looking pretty bad. Happily, I found a nice wool remnant at Marion's Carpet Warehouse: not only was it inexpensive, but finding it gave me that 'reuse' buzz. Okay, while not technically 'used' at least I was able to salvage its discarded remains. :-) But here's a question I've never faced before: could we recycle our old carpet and pad?

Whenever I'm faced with a new recycling conundrum, I always pick up the phone and call the Metro Recycling Hotline: 503-234-3000. Portland peeps, I urge you to write down this number and keep it handy. I've called them dozens of times, and I almost always get a live human immediately. The hotline is an invaluable resource. Unfortunately when I called and asked about carpet and pad recycling, I didn't get great news. You can recycle carpet pads for free (except for felt, horsehair, rag and the waffle type, which is what we have -- they don't accept those types) at two Far West Fibers locations: the one in outer NE at 12820 NE Marx and in Hillsboro at 6440 SE Alexander.

Carpet is trickier. According to Metro, there is no place to take old carpet for recycling. I did find a service that will take it for a fee: $19.50 for the first 480 lbs plus a $9.50 transaction fee. But there is no guarantee that it will actually be recycled because only certain types of nylon carpet can be recycled (the service couldn't give me any other specifics). You just drop off your carpet (pad, too, if you like), pay the fee and maybe it will be recycled, maybe not. What Metro recommends is that you take your old carpet to the Metro Transfer Station in NW Portland. Someone will often sort through and identify the recyclable carpet, pull it out and haul it away for recycling. But you still have to pay the transfer station fee, which is about the same as the above-mentioned service. So it's kind of a crapshoot. And a little confusing. We still have a long way to go in carpet recycling.

You can check the Carpet America Recovery Effort website for carpet recyclers in your area -- and good luck!

A low-waste block party

Last Tuesday for National Night Out, my street held a block party. Our street doesn't technically have any 'blocks' -- we're just one narrow, windy, pot-holed street about 1/2 mile long, comprising about 50 households. Typically a party with that many people would generate a lot of waste: paper plates and napkins, plastic cups and utensils. But my very eco-minded neighbors who organized the party wisely printed up flyers asking everyone to bring their own plates, utensils, cups and napkins, as well as a dish to share and a beverage of choice. Would folks comply?

Yes! Most people brought durables, and our hosts put out extras. There were a few disposables (I can see some in the photo), but not that many. A recycling bin captured glass beer bottles and aluminum soda cans, and our hosts put out jugs of water and durable cups. They didn't try to capture any compostable food waste since there was such a mix of meat, grain and dairy items. (But when curbside food scrap composting goes Portland-wide next year, we will be able to scrape our potluck plates right into our yard debris bins!) At the end of the evening, after 50 or so adults and children cycled through, all that remained was a small 20-gallon garbage can filled about 1/3 of the way with food and disposable waste. Not too shabby. I tossed our scraped plates and dirty utensils into a plastic bag and brought them home to wash, as did many of my neighbors. Easy peasy.

Bravo Doubletree Hotel for dual garbage/recycling cans

Not too long ago I stayed at a Doubletree Hotel and was delighted to discover two small waste receptacles in our room that were designed to hold both recyclable and non-recyclable trash. I meant to take a photo because these cans were pretty much identical to ones I had designed in my brain a few years ago. At the time I wanted a smallish bathroom-sized can into which two removable 'sleeves' could be inserted -- one for recyclables, and one for trash. Lo and behold, Doubletree had read my mind. Here's a gawd-awful sketch of what it looked like (with red-faced apologies to my artist and designer friends who are cringing at this moment.)

I know, right? Brilliant and awful at the same time. These cans were maybe 12 x 12" around and 18" high -- perfect for a bathroom, or any room for that matter. The removable inserts were made of plastic and they had labels for 'non-recyclable items' and 'paper, glass and plastic recyclable items' or something similar. I don't know why there aren't cans like this out there on the market (or maybe they are and I just can't find them). I've seen some very, very pricey stainless ones that are large and have a lid, but it doesn't have to be that fancy. Ultimately I just put small aluminum pails in our bathrooms for recyclables, and they are working out fine. But for limited spaces, this other design is ideal. C'mon waste receptacle industry, step it up! Recycling is the new black.

Oregon couple rocks their personal garbage reduction challenge!

OK, so when is living a waste-free lifestyle going to become an Olympic sport? I think we start petitioning the Olympic Committee right after you read this...

Now, Heather and I strive to keep garbage to a minimum within our two EnviroMom households, and we boast putting out only one garbage can of waste per month. Respectable for families of four, with kids! Because you've probably heard that the average American family produces 4.5 pounds of garbage per person per day. So imagine, if you will, an Oregon couple who produced a mere 3 pounds IN A YEAR! Yes, you read that right. Three pounds.

Thanks to Willamette Week, I just read about Amy and Adam Korst, of Dallas, Oregon, who have just completed their Green Garbage Project. A year of striving to live trash free, with a fan-flippin-fantastic result of only having 3 pounds of garbage after their extreme waste-free adventure.

So what, you may ask, did they end up tossing? Some rubber gloves, a few light bulbs, the lining from a box of Cracker Jack, the blister packaging from a year's worth of birth control pills, the heads from some razors, among other things. Not a whole heck of a lot. Just goes to show what you can do when you put your mind to it.

Read all about the Korst couple's garbage free adventure at GreenGarbageProject.com. Nice job you two!!

Oregon: it just got easier to recycle paint

A new program just launched that makes it much easier to get rid of all of those partially-used paint cans you have lurking in your garage. PaintCare, a non-profit that manages Oregon's Paint Stewardship Program, has partnered with paint stores around the state to offer collection of unused paint from consumers and contractors. Currently about thirty retailers around Oregon will accept your paint for recycling, and that number will expand to ninety by the end of the year. The paint will be sent to Portland's Swan Island recycling facility, where it will either be mixed and turned into new paint available through the MetroPaint store or used as additives in other building products.

Now, don't look at this as an opportunity to be careless with your paint purchases (not that you would). Part of PaintCare's efforts involve educating consumers about buying only what you need. And, if you want to keep a little extra on hand for touch-ups, store it properly so it doesn't dry out. To keep the seal tight around the paint can lid, cut out a piece of plastic bag or film and place it over the opening before hammering on the lid.

There is no cost to drop off your old paint -- a small fee has been added to the sale of new paint to cover the costs. To find a drop-off location near you, enter your zip code at the PaintCare Website.