Eco-Friendly Tips for the Holidays

Eco-chic is in! In addition to buying the latest recycled or eco-chic gift for your loved ones for the holidays, practicing some of these tips can help to further reduce your impact on the environment. Enjoy these tips on how to be more eco-friendly during the up coming holiday season:

- Don’t order gifts online if you can help it. Driving your car across town to buy a gift emits much less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the amount that is emitted by having each gift shipped directly to your doorstep. Also, it’s cheaper and there is less packaging – no extra boxes and shipping labels needed! If you still desire the convenience of mail-order, use sites like this one (http://www.turninglife.com/) which offset their shipping emissions.

- Alter your holiday meals to include more regional and seasonal foods. Commercial grocery store chains ship in many types of fruits and veggies from far away during the winter so that we can have the foods we love year round. This high amount of food transportation causes tons of CO2 to be emitted – just because we can’t grow tomatoes in the US year round, we should be able to sacrifice them for a few months and eat other winter season fruits and veggies that can be grown locally. The types of local produce will vary by region, so visit this site to figure out what is local to you in the winter: http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/

- Use post-consumer recycled wrapping paper, and reuse tissue paper, gift bags, and anything else you can. It’s senseless to use a plastic coated paper bag once to give your gift to a family member and then throw it away. This is not only an environmental tip which saves paper and reduces waste; it is also a money saver too! In addition, you can prepare for next year by saving the comics of every Sunday’s newspaper to use as wrapping paper this coming year, if you still receive the daily or weekly newspaper. It provides color and fun to a gift while being eco-friendly!

- As the weather gets colder and snow may begin to fall, it can be quite comforting to turn the house heat up so that you will have a toasty house. But curbing your heat use by turning it off when you leave the house and allowing your room temperature to be a little colder in the winter months can save mountains of electricity and money in bills. So, instead of turning up the heat more next time, put on a sweater first to warm up.

- Set your holiday lights on timers so that they don’t stay on all night. It’s not really necessary to have the Christmas tree lights on into the wee hours of night- no one is awake to enjoy them anyways! Also, maybe it is time to replace your old lights with new more efficient LED lights (for example, http://www.holidayleds.com/).

- At holiday parties, try to avoid disposable silverware and dishes. It might be more of a hassle to wash more dishes, but it will drastically cut down on the disposable one-time-use cups and plates.

- Christmas tree: real or fake? There remains a lot of debate on this issue. It takes up to 10 years to grow one tree that is often used for about one month and then discarded. These trees are grown and sprayed with a multitude of chemicals which wash into the environment. Fake trees, however, are also made from plastic and require a lot of fossil fuel inputs. In addition, they are often shipped from other countries. TreeHugger (mentioned below) recommends an alternative would be to buy a potted tree that you can then plant outside after the holiday season.

Here are some other websites with good tips on how to be environmentally friendly during the season of consumerism!

http://www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/holiday_tips.html

http://www.treehugger.com/giftguide/holiday-tips.php

Just as a friendly reminder, I’m not endorsing any specific products I mention in my blog. These are just examples of what I have discovered in my research.

Reusable Water Bottles

Considering the somewhat recent scare over BPA (bisphenol A) and reusable water bottles, I thought I’d share some research I conducted during my time at CHEJ on where to find alternative, BPA-free and other toxic free, water bottles.

Firstly, I need to emphasize the importance of using a reusable bottle rather than a disposable plastic bottle. So here’s a trivia question: how long does it take your plastic soda bottle to decompose when thrown in a landfill?

The only answer most sources agree on is: a very, very long time. Some estimate a few hundred years, some estimate 1,000 years, some estimate even longer.

So, you recycle? Well recycling isn’t totally 100% efficient, and what if you recycle but that recycling bin actually is just emptied into the trash? I’m sure it’s been done before… You might have more piece of mind that you recycled the bottle, but regardless, it’s now going to be sitting in the landfill for longer than your lifetime.

In addition to the environmental aspect of the water bottles, what about the problems with plastic? Plastics are scary, man. It seems that every few years some scientist publishes news that another type of plastic we use every day is actually toxic. What if tomorrow they say the coke bottle plastic is toxic?

How about just getting a stylish, reusable bottle you can carry with you and refill at any tap, soda fountain, or water fountain? Here are some good options:

California Innovations bottle with insulated wrap (also PVC-free), $7, www.californiainnovations.com

Greenfeet stainless steel bottle, $11, www.greenfeet.com

iPlay Baby Wear aqua bottles, $16, www.iplaybabywear.com

Kleen Kanteen stainless steel bottles, $15-$26, www.kleenkanteen.com

Nalgene steel or plastic bottles (new bottles only), $7-$26, www.nalgene-outdoor.com

Sigg aluminum bottles, $18-$29, www.mysigg.com

TIP: If it does not say “BPA-free” anywhere, don’t buy it!

These examples of BPA free bottles are just some of the most common, but this list is not comprehensive! There are probably many types on the shelf at the store- just go look and find the “BPA-free” label, and you’re good to go! If you get a reusable bottle, congratulations, and know that this small deed is making a difference!

Yoga Mats: Toxics Among a Wholistic Practice

Many people (myself included) who are concerned with toxic-free products and living natural lifestyles really enjoy yoga. There’s just something about yoga – it strengthens both mind and body, and it leaves a sense of peace and wholistic balance after a practice.

So here’s an irony: most yoga mats are toxic.

If you've read some of my previous posts, you should've learned that PVC plastic (plastic #3) is toxic. It releases phthlates, which are endocrine disruptors linked to a number of health problems. Many yoga mats are made from PVC.

Yoga is supposed to be a cleansing, natural way to strengthen the body and connect with the mind. It is an all over wholistic ritual. But how can yoga be truly beneficial when you're practicing on a toxic mat? Every down dog or child's pose that puts your nose right to the mat may be forcing you to breathe in unhealthy chemicals! Chances are that your yoga mat (if you have one) is made of PVC. I realized mine was - so I did some research to find brands that are made without PVC, and I thought I should share the results of my research.

In the end, I settled on a Nike yoga mat. I had to give up my “extra thick” and extra comfy mat for the phthalate-free assurance, but it’s more than a fair trade.

In general, don’t trust that something is PVC free unless it explicitly says so. Not everything that actually is PVC free will disclose itself, but use it as a loose guideline.

Here are some links to some PVC free yoga mats:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=yoga+mat+pvc+free&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1726221041&ref=pd_sl_422wrr5kf1_b

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/green-girls-pvc-free-yoga-mat.html#

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00618703000P?vName=Fitness%20&%20Sports&cName=Yoga&Pilates&sName=Exercise%20Mats%20&%20Bags&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a

http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2930556&CAWELAID=164555269

http://www.barefootyoga.com/Detail.bok?no=512

http://www.gaiam.com/product/yoga-studio/yoga-props/eco-yoga-tools/earth+lovers+yoga+mat.do

There are many options out there of PVC-free yoga mats; you just have to find them! The list above is nowhere near a comprehensive list; these are just the first few I found in a quick internet search. That said- I’m not endorsing any of the specific products, just the PVC-free ones!

We can't just throw away our old yoga mats though, despite wanting to get as far away from the phthlates as possible. PVC is toxic to not just your health, but the environment too! My recommendation is to recycle your PVC yoga mat; many groups and yoga centers collect old mats to be used in community service sessions, and I even considered passing mine off to a homeless person to have a more comfy place to sleep.

I know.. it's bad to be giving toxic mats to these people- but in the case of the homeless, they might not care about the phthlate issue because of larger, more pertinent concerns. In their case it becomes a cost-benefit where accepting the yoga mat might help them more than harm.

Of course, it's up to you about what you do with your yoga mat and if you even care enough to purchase a new toxic free one. But, I hope you will put all of these factors into consideration and decide what is best for you!

Composting or Garbage Disposal?

The topic for this blog post arose out of a dinner table conversation I had with my family a few nights ago. I mentioned that I hope to one day (when I have a house and yard) have my own compost system.

As my family began to ask questions about it, I really didn’t have too much knowledge to share and the most pressing question that haunted me that I didn’t have the answer to was: “Does it make much of a difference if I put it (any organic matter) in the garbage disposal versus a compost pile?” And for that matter – versus putting it in the garbage can?

My initial answer was that compost is better simply based on the fact that when you put waste down the garbage disposal, it creates more work for the water treatment plants. I had just taken a course where we did a case study on polluted water and learned about the amounts of water that must be cleaned and purified at treatment plants, so to me, the thought of adding anything to that amount seemed not optimal. And compared to putting organic matter in the garbage can, the matter would be eventually transferred to a landfill where it would sit in a plastic bag and be piled under mounds of plastic and garbage where it would break down without oxygen – creating methane gas. After that dinner conversation, I wanted to find concrete facts to either confirm or deny my initial response. So here is what I found:

Composting is by far the best option to dispose of food waste. It involves no extra energy to transport the waste (except perhaps the few steps to the compost bin) unlike garbage trucks that lug your trash all the way to the landfill or all the electricity used in transporting and treating dirty water. Composting also allows the food waste to be broken down aerobically (exposed to oxygen) so that the byproduct gas is carbon dioxide, which is less harmful than the byproduct of anaerobic breakdown: methane. In fact, an article by Science Daily states that “methane is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas.”

However, there are some times you just can’t compost. Something accidentally falls down the drain, your compost bin is full, or you won’t put meat and dairy in the compost because it is what creates the most noxious odors.

When the waste does go down the drain, it goes into the water supply and eventually ends up at your town’s wastewater treatment center. There, the center strains out particles of food and waste, and typically this stuff that is strained out of the water is then transported to the landfill. Some plants may have other ways of disposing of the waste, but typically it goes to a landfill. So, if you don’t compost and opt for either the trash can or the garbage disposal, the waste will end up in a landfill, where it will decompose under anaerobic conditions and release methane into the atmosphere.

If you take composting out of the equation and are trying to decide between garbage disposal versus trashcan- I can’t really tell you which one is best. Either way, the waste you produce will probably be decomposed anaerobically. However, some water treatment plants have their own landfill where they capture the methane that is produced, therefore preventing its release into the atmosphere. There are too many ambiguous facts about which method is better based on the amount of energy input required to adequately deal with the waste.

Composting, however, is the ultimate way to go: it is minimally energy intensive, creates less harmful greenhouse gasses, and provides you with a great, natural fertilizer to use in your garden. There are many websites that give you the how-to’s of composting, so starting your own compost pile should be easy and rewarding!

References:
http://vegweb.com/composting/ (great site for the how-to’s and FAQs of composting)
http://www.slate.com/id/2201176/
http://www.wickedtastyharvest.com/wicked_tasty_harvest/2009/05/runoff-compost-vs-garbage-disposal-vs-trash.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423181652.htm

Toxic vs Toxin?

Since I’ve become interested in toxics and researching common household items which contain toxics, people have tried to correct me: “Don’t you mean toxin instead of toxic?”

No. I mean toxic. For a while, however, I didn’t have a good reason why I meant “toxic” instead of “toxin,” I’d just been told before that the former was the correct word for what I was talking about, but I had no real justification for that answer. So it occurred to me that I needed to figure out the real reason why I kept saying “toxic” and I should put up a post why. In order to get clarification on the differences of the words, I went to the Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition, which sits in our den at home and looked up the two words.

Toxic: --adj. 1. of, pertaining to, affected with, or caused by a toxin or poison 2. acting as or having the effect of a poison; poisonous --n. 3. a toxic chemical or other substance

Toxin: --n. any poison produced by an organism, characterized by antigenicity in certain animals and high molecular weight, and including the bacterial toxins that are the causative agents of tetanus, diphtheria, etc., and such plant and animal toxins as ricin and snake venim.

The key difference in these two words is “organism.” A toxin is a naturally occurring poison, produced by an organism while a toxic is not necessarily so. My understanding therefore is that a toxin is a toxic, but a toxic is not a toxin.

References:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxin
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic
• http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/34052/title/Toxic_yes_Toxins%3F_No

Types of Recycled Items

“Made from x% recycled material.”

This phrase is showing up more and more frequently with the rise of the cultural phenomenon of “going green.” As consumers become more caught up in the “green” mindset, they’re probably more likely to choose a product – all else being equal – over another product that doesn’t boast the phrase.

But what does this phrase mean exactly?

There are two phrases commonly found: “pre-consumer recycled content,” “post-consumer recycled content” and “recycled content.” I wasn’t actually aware of the difference until my mom told me about it.

Pre-consumer content: This is material that comes as a waste of the production process and otherwise would be sent to the landfill. It is not the typical type of “recycled” most people think they are buying.

Post-consumer content: This is the type of recycled material that most people think they are buying. It is material that has already been used once, sent to the recycling center, and been transformed into a new product.

Recycled content: Generally comprises a mix of both pre and post consumer content. Because this type of content is made of both pre and post-consumer materials, the total percentage is often much higher than the “post-consumer content” percentage. Therefore, this higher number is advertised more to encourage buyers to choose their product.

While it is good that companies are using their production wastes and transforming parts of them into new products, this lingo – the difference between “(pre-consumer) recycled content” and “post-consumer recycled content” – is often confused. To me, it seems more like a marketing scheme than a true benefit to the environment. Thus, the real number that you want to look for is the post-consumer percentage – the real amount that has been reused.

References:

http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/buyrecycled.htm

http://green-behavior.com/buzzword-patrol/post-consumer-pre-consumer-recycled-content.htm

http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=3369
http://www.greenerdesign.com/blog/2009/01/12/staples-eco-friendly-packaging-thats-not-easy

Is this recyclable?

I started writing this blog post in order to do some research and find a site to where I could direct readers to plug in their city and state and find their own local recycling guidelines. Unfortunately, no such site (that I could find) exists. So, since I can’t possibly give you the links for every different recycling program and its guidelines in the country, I urge you to go to your city’s homepage and look up the local recycling guidelines. You may even find that your community doesn’t have a recycling program at all!

It's important to note that not all members of plastics are recyclable. In addition, each type of plastic is recycled separately, so the potential for cross contamination is high. This is a concern because one dirty or wrong type of plastic can ruin an entire batch of recyclables.here are three different types of recycling programs that are typically offered. They are: Dual Stream Recycling, Single Stream Recycling, and Pay-As-You-Throw programs.

Dual Stream Recycling - This is the most common type of recycling program offered. Recyclers separate aluminum and plastics into one bin and paper items into another container. There is still the potential for contamination by mixing of non-recyclables into the mix and by dirty food waste left in containers.

Single Stream Recycling - aka commingled recycling. All recycling items are thrown into the same bin. The recycling collectors take the commingled items back to the recycling center to sort.

The EPA recognizes that this system of recycling is highly inefficient because a large chunk of post-consumer recycled items end up being thrown out by cross contamination into the wrong product stream. The EPA also states that the biggest concern with losing recycled items is that it reduces the amount of material to be used for making new products, thereby increasing the need for use of “virgin materials” in production. This concern is greater than the concern that the unused recycled items will be transported to the landfill. (http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/homepage.nsf/topics/ccrs)

Quoted from the EPA site on single stream recycling: " Portland Metro’s study found a loss rate of 6,230 tons of recyclables. By material type, there was a loss rate of 26% incoming cardboard, 14% metal, 24% plastic bottles, and 1% newspaper.”

Pay-As-You-Throw - This system is actually a waste collection system, but it is an incentive for recycling. With pay-as-you-throw, the consumer is charged for each bag of trash put on the curb for pick-up. As consumers are charged more for their waste, they put less trash out on the curb. As Chaz Miller of the Environmental Industry Association says in his article, this system of charging for trash doesn’t cause consumers to create less waste, but they find other ways to deal with their waste be it in the form of recycling, reusing, or composting for example. (http://wasteage.com/mag/waste_payasyouthrow/

Problems of Cross-Contamination in Recycling
I’ll admit that in the past I’ve been guilty of throwing an unwashed plastic container in the recycling bin on occasion by using the rationale that it is better to recycle it even if it’s dirty. I know that I’ve been told the containers need to be food-free before putting them in the recycling bin, but sometimes cleaning the plastic seems too inconvenient or undesirable. This rationale of recycling the container anyways, however, is not correct, and I figured that a lot of other people may be guilty of the same mistake I’ve made.

So, the next time you finish your yogurt and are left with a mostly empty but dirty plastic carton, remember why it’s worth the effort to rinse it out:

1) It’s more energy and time intensive for workers to sort and clean the recycled items. Often the energy and time required is too inefficient and the contaminated materials are just thrown out to go to the landfill. http://daviswiki.org/Recycling
2) A contaminated batch of recycling produces recycled items that are not as durable or as strong as they need to be to serve their intended purposes. If the integrity of the post-consumer recycled plastic container is compromised, then manufacturers who need the products for packaging will opt for new rather than recycled plastic containers. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/06-when-recycling-is-bad-for-the-environment

Other References:

http://www.nrc-recycle.org/ - This site gives a search box of what you want to recycle and a location (city and state, area code). Great place to look for local recycling locations for those items that your regular curb side pick-up won’t take.
http://www.recyclingcenters.org/
http://earth911.com/ Information on Dual Stream Recycling, Single Stream Recycling, and Pay-As-You-Throw