Low Impact Living Enviromental Impact Calculator

I came across this dandy impact calculator that I wanted to pass along to you. Just click on the title and you will be there. The website is Low Impact Living and if you are able, take a minute to cruise around. I found out a lot information just on a quick run-through. It also features a neat list of products and services that are are eco-friendly. I have been contemplating a kitchen renovation and was very happy to find one place that has a good choice of new floorings and cabinetry to choose from.

I also want to brag about my score on this calculator - 30! The average score is 100, so I'm feeling pretty green. After you get your score you have access to a list of projects that you can do to lower your score even further and for those of you with a mathematical bent - there are all sorts of graphs and charts to satisfy you. I was able to knock my initial score of 33 down by 3 by checking off some of the projects I have already done at my house.

I'm interested in hearing and sharing with everyone, ways that they have reduced their own environmental impact. For instance, years ago I was a foster parent and part of the house inspection included reducing the temperature on your hot water tank to avoid scalding the kids in your care. At first I felt gypped out of my super-hot morning shower but after I noticed I no longer had such dry skin and hair, I figured it may be due to the morning scalding I was giving to myself so I accepted the new-lower high temps.

What have you done to intentionally (or unintentionally) reduced your environmental impact?

Let's share, discuss and consider...

Email Garbage

This morning my email inbox is suffering with a terrible case of spam-itis. No, I don't want to see your webcam and I don't think you are hot. Ugh, I suppose this is the price we pay for technology.

This made me think of a cool email that I received from an old friend. He was forwarding a joke or something but in the body of the email he wrote the following:

I was asked recently why I send some things as a BCC. It is simply this. Note that if you got this email, I was thinking about you or you wouldn't be seeing it. Note also, more importantly, that the reason I send some email BCC is that I will not risk YOUR email address getting on to another person - whom you likely don't even know - as having a virus or invasion of some sort giving out YOUR email to a spamlist bot or the such on their machine. In this way, I protect you and safeguard your personal address.

Carry on and rest assured I thought of you specifically and hand pick my email recipients - every single time.

Pretty nice, don't you think? That's just the way Aaron is. I think I am going to plagiarize his words onto my email forwards to let others know that I care about them and their computers too. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you borrowed them too.

Not-so-new store in town

I realize that I may not be aware of EVERYTHING that goes on in this town, but I'm pretty good. I had not been to Nature's Supply (click on the title for the webpage) so I decided that before I went to the evil chain stores for my weekend munchies, I would hit the "Supply" and am I glad I did!

They have all sorts of stuff that I knew I needed and plenty that I never knew I needed. I was hungry for something pasta-y and found some Muir Glen pasta sauce (very good) and some rice pasta (not so good). They also had some really pretty zucchini and other veggies. The best part of all, when I made my purchase, the clerk started putting my items in a PLASTIC bag and I told her "no bag" and she said "That's good!". Woo Hoo!

Be sure and give them a visit the next time you want to experiment with some organic, recyclable, sustainable or otherwise eco-friendly stuff.

It's a good kind of tired...

Back to the office after a great weekend. I don't have to tell you how wonderful it is to spend time with those you really care about. I actually hang out with some people that I went to high school with over 25 years ago. We have all been through life's changes but who better to laugh with about old age than ones that are traveling that road along with you?

Anyway, I'm super busy today but wanted to share some things that I read this weekend in a magazine (recyclable, of course). The mag is Yes! Building a Just and Sustainable World. The page I'll steal from is called The Page That Counts:

Percentage of plastic bags that end up in the trash - 99%

Percentage REDUCTION of plastic bag use in Ireland afther the government began taxing bags in 2005 - 95%

Number of dollars the US government spends annually on renewable energy reserch - 1.5 billion

Number of dollars of revenue ExxonMobil generates in ONE DAY - 1 billion.

Miles per gallon a car got in a 1973 contest sponsored by Shell - 376.59 mpg.

Wow...

Being Green This Holiday Weekend,,,

Hopefully I caught you before you left for the long weekend - Here is an informative article courtesy of USA Weekend. Have a green weekend~

It's easy traveling green
These smart, surprising tips make for eco-friendly trips.
By Natalie Ermann Russell

It somehow seems more important to treat the world well when you take the time to travel it. The greenest thing you can do is vacation close to home -- but for many Americans, that wouldn't count as vacation. Thankfully, there are smaller ways you can travel green.
Road tripping? Watch your speed. A lead foot not only decreases gas mileage, but it also adds extra CO2 to the air.
Go to Portland, Ore. Good for the environment: It was ranked the No. 1 sustainable U.S. city by SustainLane, a green media company. And it's in the right neighborhood: Four of the top five cities are on the West Coast (second through fifth place: San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Oakland). "There's a real understanding of the fragility of our ecosystems on the West Coast, perhaps because of the proximity of nature, maybe because we haven't been here as long," says SustainLane's Frank Marquardt. Good for you: "Portland has several green hotels, a variety of places to get local food," Marquardt says. "You can get around easily with the bus system, enjoy the park space, drink the water, breathe the air -- it's all part of the experience."
Stay at a green hotel. Good for the environment: "The average hotel goes through more products in a week than 100 families do in a year," says Jen Boulden, who is the co-founder of eco-lifestyle website IdealBite.com. Many eco-conscious hotels put soap and shampoo in shower-mounted dispensers (eliminating plastic bottle waste) and will change your linens less frequently at your request, saving about 5% on utilities, according to the Green Hotels Association (GHA). Good for you: Soap and shampoo dispensers mean no more fumbling with slippery little bottles. Check out greenhotels.com for a member list of the GHA.
Eco-conscious, service-oriented vacations let you have fun while you help the Earth.

Go green when you rent a car. Good for the environment: Whether you're driving the whole way or renting a car after a flight, rent a hybrid, says Wendy Gordon, general manager of National Geographic's "The Green Guide." Your trip will create less pollution. If you're not familiar with how a hybrid car works, many rental places will help you before you set out. Avis and Budget, for example, provide you with a list of do's and don'ts, plus a how-to for starting the engine. Good for you: Fewer stops to fill up translate into money saved. Plus, you'll learn to drive a hybrid -- the way of the future.

Take a vacation with a higher purpose. Good for the environment: Through organizations such as the World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, you can pitch in at an organic farm almost anywhere in the world. Or, at Wilderness Volunteers. you can learn about working on wilderness projects with environmental agencies like the National Park Service. Good for you: These vacations are relatively inexpensive (the Wilderness Volunteers trips are only $239 for a week, including meals), and the groups often are small. Many even take you places you couldn't go on your own.

Buy carbon offsets for your travel. Good for the environment: Carbon offsetting operates with a simple premise: You give money to organizations such as Carbonfund.org and TerraPass.com, and they invest that money in "clean energy" projects (like helping dairy farms turn cow waste into power). The idea behind it is that these clean-energy projects "cancel out" the bad-for-the-environment carbon emissions that were released by the 747 you hopped aboard to go on your Caribbean vacation. Good for you: Peace of mind for under 10 bucks. You can "offset" up to about 6,000 miles on an airplane at TerraPass.com for just $9.95 (mileage and prices go up from there). And any money you give Carbonfund.org is a tax write-off.

Shut down the house before you head out. Good for the environment: Even when turned off, appliances use up energy (including TVs and cable boxes). "Unplug as many things as you can before you leave," says Thomas Kostigen, co-author of "The Green Book." "Set timers for your lights, if you even need them on. If every home in the United States would use a timer for 12 hours per day instead of letting their lights burn 24/7 while on vacation, we'd save $187 million in energy costs."

Good for you: Why pay for electricity used when no one is home?

Cool Shirt, Even Cooler Idea...

So Vignesh stops by with his cool new shirt, courtesy of Cooper's Bike Shop just for participating in the "Ride Your Bike To Work Day" last Friday. Pretty nice shirt just for signing up!

Trash Talk

While out this morning walking Gracie (my miniature schnauzer) I noticed a plastic water bottle in the road. My first thought was "Hey, that should be recycled". I'm pretty proud of that cuz' it shows that my whole mindset about garbage is changing over to the recycling mode. It's sort of like taking high school Spanish class and then, before you know it, you start thinking in Spanish and maybe even dreaming in Spanish. Then I picked up the bottle and actually brought it into work to add to our Green Corner.

I haven't mentioned much about the Green Corner of my office yet so now is the time to confess. I have become more than the office bully when it comes to recycling. I sacrificed a corner of my office (48 inches by 36 inches) to contain recycling containers (cardboard ones supplied by the Physical Plant Recycling department) and info on Recycling in Stillwater. So if you happen to be in Engineering South and are carrying around your recycling, fee free to drop by!

In my quest to find out more about the recycling programs on campus I have been dismayed to learn that the webpage information is terribly out of date. It seems that the recycling committee has disbanded and hasn't met in YEARS. It also appears that the only department that I can find any info about that has an active recycling program is the Library. I plan on taking a trip over there in the near future to share some info and possible collaboration ideas. My one last hope is that ECO-OSU is still a functioning entity. If anyone has any information, please pass it along and I will post it.

Green Acres is the Place to be...

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and take the ECO-Footprint quiz. What is an ecological Footprint you ask? Well, gather around I'll tell you a story of how many acres of our planet it takes to sustain your household and what you can do to reduce it. or as it says on the Footprint website - If everyone lived like you, how many Earth's would it take to support your lifestyle?

From the most recent episodes of "Wa$ted" (see previous posts) it seems that most of the families run an average of 60-90 acres per family. A scary diagram is then shown of how land that really translates too. I'll be honest, I've been hesitant to take the quiz. I am truly trying to do better but I am faced with a few obstacles.

Obstacle #1 - I live in a 103 year old house. Yes, it has a heat pump (yay!) but it also has asbestos siding (boo!). Yes, it has a wrap-around porch and is in the shade most days (yay!) but a lot of the windows are painted shut and I don't have an attic fan (boo!).

Obstacle #2 - I live 12 miles from work with no public transportation to speak of.

Obstacle #3 - I really don't like fruits or vegetables :( I like MEAT!

I realize that these are just excuses and I DO have a plan for each to lessen my footprint. here is what I am proposing for #1 - get some of the windows unstuck and look into an attic fan. #2 - I have signed up for the OSU GreenRide Program (http://portal.greenride.com/OKstate/home.aspx) and have been matched up with someone so maybe that will work out a couple of days a week. And # 3 - I promise to visit the Farmer's Market at least once a month and WILL purchase and EAT the items that I find there.

And now, for my Ecological Footprint Results (drumroll please) 15.1 Acres! Not too shabby if I do say so myself! The area that I was least pleased with was the Services area. it seems that I eat too much prepackaged and non-local foods, which I kind of knew already.

If you would like to brave the quiz and get your own personal footprint go to http://www.ecofoot.org/ and then let me know your results!

The Day of the Worm, part 2

Do you ever feel like some things were just meant to be? Like that chance meeting that turns into a lifetime friendship or the lousy day at work that forces you to follow your true path in life?

Well, I think that maybe, just maybe, I was meant to be a worm farmer. Granted, I haven't even gotten my first worm yet but the stars are aligning and the the mood feels right for something great to happen. A week or so ago, I posted about worm composting and how I had wanted to start a composting program for myself but just didn't have enough "stuff" to create one on my own. Enter, the first of the cosmic coincidences: I saw an episode of one of my new favorite shows "Wa$ted" on TLC and they were teaching about worm composting for apartment dwellers. Very interesting, so I started doing a little research...

After deciding to wait until after Memorial Day (a girl has gotta get in some lake time) for my creation of the homemade bins and the purchase of my Red Wigglers, I had put the venture in the back of my brain for "composting" a littler later.

Enter the second of the cosmic coincidences: While driving along a remote area of Payne county on Saturday, I kept seeing the same garage sale sign at every mile marker. Thinking to myself "Whoever made those signs must be an avid g-saler because they are very clear to read while speeding by and they probably share another of my number of pet-peeves of a poorly created signage. Anyway, after about 6 miles of signs (gotta advertise if you live out in the sticks) I decided that I had to meet the person responsible. I followed the next turn off and found the sale. Walking up the long, long drive what did I see but a WORM COMPOSTER! Now that's what you call a COINCIDENCE! Who has worm composters just sitting around waiting to be sold in a garage sale? Well, this guy did! Yep, it was a Guy-garage sale. Very different from the better known Gal-garage sale. Much more bargaining involved and usually guys don't know what the value name brand women's items really are.

I grabbed up that composter after only a cursory once-over and asked the money belt wearing dude how much he wanted for it ---FIVE DOLLARS! Practically new and included the original instruction manual! I threw some money at him and packed it up into my little car after a few minutes of "worm talk". I asked him why he was selling and he said that it had gotten a May Fly infestation and his wife said it had to go. Good info to know so that does not happen to me.

Enter the third cosmic coincidence: "Forecast Earth" on the Weather channel (yeah, I'm a geek that watches the Weather Channel for the programs) had an episode on this guy that quit Harvard at 22 to begin his own worm poop plant. He and some buddies where raising worms for poop to fertilize their illegal plants (yep, marijuana) and it worked out so well, they decided to market it to their other friends. Three years later, this guy is a millionaire from selling worm poop! Okay, I have no illusions of great worm poop wealth, but I do see this as another sign that I might, just might, be moving in a cool, new direction. If I'm wrong all I have to lose is $5 bucks and a May Fly infestation...

Stay tuned for more worm farming updates!

Stillwater Collection Center

Well, it's about time! I finally made it over to the new collection center on Perkins Road that had it's grand opening on Earth day 2008 (May 14). I drive by it nearly every day on the way to work but haven't had the opportunity to take a peek. Let me tell ya that it was worth the stop. I gathered up a few things that I had in my recycling bin at home and left a couple of minutes early for work.







When you arrive at the site, there is a big gate and a drive- thru. To the right is the office which is actually MANNED! The guy came out to help another customer (recycler?) so I had to fend for myself. The giant bins were clearly marked for clear glass, colored glass, newspaper, magazines, plastic, cardboard, aluminum, tin and mixes waste. I put in my few items (every little bit helps!) then ventured over to the other side of the site which housed the motor oil drop off, metals, electronics, yard waste, mulch, batteries and tires. I had no idea it would include all of this! I really need to clean out my garage...








Be sure to click on the title "Stillwater Collection Center" for the link to the city page. It gives all the dos and don'ts for the center and lots of good information. Please use this service so that Stillwater will realize that we need places like this all over.




Thank you and now I will step down from my soapbox...

May 16th is Bike to work day

This Friday, May 16 2008 is Bike to Work Day. Let's turn out in force! Park your car (save some $$), ride your bike (be healthy), and show Stillwater that bike riding is a sustainable option!

You can register and get a free T-shirt by filling out the registration form available at Cooper's Bicycles. You can also register to win a $250 gift certificate (redeemable at Cooper's) at Stillwater National Bank- at the 6th and Main location or the 3rd and Main location.

More details: If you would like to ride with a group, you can meet up with others at 7:15 am at Babcock Park (19th and Western), or Whataburger, or the Senior Center on 12th St at Couch Park. Groups will then ride to Stillwater Medical Center for photos (to go in the NewsPress), and (I think) food and prizes. Festivities should be over by 8:00 am. You could also just meet up with the rest of the bicyclers at the hospital (probably in the parking lot on the east side of the hospital). If you have any questions, call Mary or Susan at 372-2525 or Stephanie at 742-5991.

This info is courtesy of Sustainable Stillwater at http://www.oksustainability.org/sstw/

Gaseous!

I just got back from a little road trip (sorry for the lack of posting) and really noticed the gas price differences along the way. I also paid close attention to the still large number of SUV's on the road that were carrying only one or two people.

As of this morning, the price in Stillwater for a gallon of regular was $3.65. I drive approximately 30 miles/day which works out to just over $74 per month in fuel costs for me and $889 per year. I used the handy calculator on http://www.drivelesssavemore.com/ (click on the title of this post "Gaseous" for a link). This calculator will also help you determine if reducing your driving will really benefit you and our world.

I have made a conscious effort to limit my driving (no extra trips, group shopping and errands in one long trip) and I am also lucky enough to drive an awesome Toyota Echo (sadly, no longer offered int he US) that gets incredible mileage, around 40 MPG!

I often get on my little soapbox about people that drive vehicles for looks rather than practicality and economy. My friends that drive SUVs know my rant by heart. I really believe that just because you have a child, that doesn't warrant a 17 MPG vehicle to compensate for all the extra space that your child allegedly needs. Granted, I don't have children but surely they don't require that you drive a all-wheel drive, 8 cylinder, 9 passenger vehicle that can tow a playground behind it.

Whew! Sorry for that lapse...

Finally, my point for this post: here are some tips for reducing your fuel consumption. Some are obvious, but some just might strike a cord. Enjoy and consider.

10 Ways to Reduce Your Fuel Costs, NOW!

Purchase Fuel Wisely - Save up to 20%
1. Use the Right Grade of Gasoline / Don't Top Off: Most cars run fine on regular. Check your vehicle owner's manual to find out what's right for your car. Don't "top off" at the pump and make sure your fuel fill cap is on tight and working right. Regular grade fuel cost about 20-cents per gallon less than premium grade.
2. Look for the Best Price / Limit Purchases When Prices are High: Today's gasoline provides very similar engine performance (although some brands have different gasoline blends that provide other benefits), so choose stations in your area with the lowest prices. Fuel prices can vary 10% within a few blocks. Avoid filling the tank during high-price periods.

Alter Travel Practices - Save up to 30%
3. Use Carpooling / Public Transit / Non-Motorized Options: Ride the bus, carpool, bicycle or walk instead of driving alone. Sharing a ride to work with a friend or two effectively doubles your fuel economy for the trip. (see http://portal.greenride.com/OKstate/home.aspx if you work at OSU)
4. Take Advantage of Telecommuting / Telecommunications Technology: Many employers offer telecommuting as an option. Use the computer and telephone to replace vehicle trips for business, shopping and services when possible.

Drive More Efficiently - Save up to 20%
5. Don't Drive Aggressively / Drive at the Speed Limit: Avoid aggressive driving and aggressive starts. All vehicles lose fuel economy at speeds above 55 mph. Driving 65 instead of 75 mph reduces fuel cost 13%. Driving 55 would save 25%.
6. Reduce Air Conditioner Use / Close Windows: Using the air conditioner increases fuel cost from 13% up to 21%. If it's cool enough, use the flow-through ventilation instead of rolling down the windows or using the AC.
7. Eliminate Extra Wind Resistance and Weight: Using a loaded roof rack increases fuel consumption. Carry the load inside your vehicle if you can. Removing unnecessary weight is better still.
8. Minimize Vehicle Idling: Today's vehicles are designed to warm up fast. Avoid idling when you can; idling is 0 miles per gallon.

Improve the Efficiency of the Vehicle You Drive - save up to 50%
9. Maintain Vehicle Efficiency: Regular maintenance as prescribed by the vehicle owner's manual will help your vehicle achieve its best fuel economy. Some overlooked maintenance items, such as a dirty air filter and under-inflated tires, can increase your fuel cost up to 13%. When replacing your tires, replace them with the same make and model as the tires that were on your vehicle when it was new. It's been estimated that if all Californians properly inflated and aligned their tires, we'd save 300 million gallons of gasoline a year!
10. Drive or Purchase a Fuel-Efficient Vehicle: Drive your most fuel-efficient vehicle whenever possible. When purchasing, consider the most fuel efficient vehicle and save up to 50%. Consider a hybrid-electric, a diesel vehicle, or even a motorcycle. The next best option is to purchase the most fuel efficient vehicle within the class of vehicles you are considering.

Worm-alicious!

Hmmm, while watching the new tv show "Wa$ted" on TLC (also on Planet Green) I saw a show that mentioned worm composting. I've always wanted to start a compost pile but don't really generate enough waste to make a good showing. This seems like a great alternative.

What you do is put together in a plastic tub (you know, the kind you put your RECYCLING in) a bit of wet newspaper, dirt, organic matter (scraps) and then some worms - then let them go to work! What the worms produce, worm-doo, makes great fertilizer and the liquid drainage, worm-wee, makes great house plant tea. Win-win as far as I'm concerned.

I gave a call to our local Cooperative Extension to see if anyone knew anything about it and ended up talking to a very knowledgeable woman who composts and she had a couple recommendations. First, Oklahoma worms aren't REDWORMS. You need redworms to do this type of composting. She suggested that you do a web search and get about 1/2 pound of worms to start as they multiply pretty fast (all that dark, smelly organic matter makes for a romantic setting I presume). second, she said that you shouldn't pay for than $20 or so for your worms. There really isn't any such thing as bigger, stronger and faster worms.

Click on the title "Worm-alicious" for a great webpage that gives you the worm habitat recipe and instructions. As soon as I have mine set up , I will send out updates. Happy worm farming!

Plastic bags blowin' in the wind...

I hate plastic sacks. The blue ones (you know who they belong to) and white ones blowing around the streets, parks, yards and even on campus. The sound of them is like fingernails on a chalk board. In the past, when forced to go from paper to plastic, I would re-use them as garbage bags. All the while thinking that I was doing "my part".

How wrong I was.

What I needed to do was refuse them all together and use bio garbage bags. And if I was recycling the way I should, I would have at least 30% less garbage anyway.

So I made a New Year's goal, not a resolution as those tend to fail, but a goal to eliminate all plastic bags from my life. I've done pretty good. I use all-cotton washable bags for shopping. I find that if I keep them in the car and transfer my wallet to an empty bag I am more prone to remember to use it. Last week while at the Piggly Wiggly (love that name, hate the store) I forgot to take in my bag. The check out line was short so there was no time to run back to the car so I just asked the cashier to hand the items back to me and I put them back into the cart UNBAGGED! Horrors! You would have thought I had asked to go naked in the store! When I convinced her and the bag-carryout-guy that I wasn't up to something sneaky I took my own cart out (bag guy wanted nothing to do with the whole thing), placed my purchased items in my cotton bags and returned the cart to the store. Easy enough!

I found my new grocery bags in my own closet. It's amazing what you can make do with. I originally thought I should go out and BUY new bags but further thought made me realize that I would be defeating my purpose somewhat. It's all about re-use, reduce and recycle. Think that through the next time you get a bright "Green" idea and make sure that is really is what is best.

Final note: Click on the title of this entry (Plastic Bags blowing in the wind) and check out Wal-mart's reusable bag program. Not too bad if you must go to Walmart!

InkDrop by Staples

While I was checking out the Staples website for information on some of the items that we buy forthe office, I came across this new service that is being offered. If you purchase your ink and toner from Staples (they have great specials and coupons) you can take advantage of it. Here's the explanation from their website:

When your ink cartridge runs out, drop a new one in your printer and mail us the empty one using a prepaid InkDrop envelope or mailing label. We'll get it and send you a replacement before you run out. We'll even recycle your old ones.
The service is free, even the shipping. The only purchase you make is your cartridges. Once you're signed up and place a cartridge order we'll send your welcome kit with everything you need to get started.

It's nice to see the big companies working to become a little Greener and provide a great service. Click on the title "InkDrop by Staples" for a link to the webpage.

Plastics tutorial

I discovered this bit of information about recycling plastics that I felt covered all the bases. Don't forget that I have a place in the Recycling center (in my office) for recycling of #1 and #2 plastics!

How to Recycle Different Types of Plastic - Adding Up the Numbers When You Recycle Plastic Products and Containers

Dear EarthTalk: What is the deal with plastics recycling these days? Can you explain what the different numbers molded onto the bottom of plastic containers stand for?

Tom Croarkin, Fairfield, CT

Answer: The confusion over what we can and cannot recycle continues to confound consumers. Plastics are especially troublesome, as different types of plastic require different processing to be reformulated and re-used as raw material. Some municipalities accept all types of plastic for recycling, while others only accept jugs, containers and bottles with certain numbers stamped on their bottoms.

Recycling by the Numbers
The symbol code we’re familiar with—a single digit ranging from 1 to 7 and surrounded by a triangle of arrows—was designed by The Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988 to allow consumers and recyclers to differentiate types of plastics while providing a uniform coding system for manufacturers. The numbers, which 39 U.S. states now require to be molded or imprinted on all eight-ounce to five-gallon containers that can accept the half-inch minimum-size symbol, identify the type of plastic. According to the American Plastics Council, an industry trade group, the symbols also help recyclers do their jobs more effectively.

Easy Plastics to Recycle -The easiest and most common plastics to recycle are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) and are assigned the number 1. Examples include soda and water bottles, medicine containers, and many other common consumer product containers. Once it has been processed by a recycling facility, PETE can become fiberfill for winter coats, sleeping bags and life jackets. It can also be used to make bean bags, rope, car bumpers, tennis ball felt, combs, cassette tapes, sails for boats, furniture and, of course, other plastic bottles. Number 2 is reserved for high-density polyethylene plastics. These include heavier containers that hold laundry detergents and bleaches as well as milk, shampoo and motor oil. Plastic labeled with the number 2 is often recycled into toys, piping, plastic lumber and rope. Like plastic designated number 1, it is widely accepted at recycling centers.

Plastics Less Commonly Recycled - polyvinyl chloride, commonly used in plastic pipes, shower curtains, medical tubing, vinyl dashboards, and even some baby bottle nipples, gets number 3. Like numbers 4 (wrapping films, grocery and sandwich bags, and other containers made of low-density polyethylene) and 5 (polypropylene containers used in Tupperware, among other products), few municipal recycling centers will accept it due to its very low rate of recyclability. Another Useful Plastic to Recycle
Number 6 goes on polystyrene (Styrofoam) items such as coffee cups, disposable cutlery, meat trays, packing “peanuts” and insulation. It is widely accepted because it can be reprocessed into many items, including cassette tapes and rigid foam insulation.

Hardest Plastics to Recycle-Last, but far from least, are items crafted from various combinations of the aforementioned plastics or from unique plastic formulations not commonly used. Usually imprinted with a number 7 or nothing at all, these plastics are the most difficult to recycle and, as such, are seldom collected or recycled. More ambitious consumers can feel free to return such items to the product manufacturers to avoid contributing to the local waste stream, and instead put the burden on the makers to recycle or dispose of the items properly.

Breaking the bottle habit

I wanted to provide a little clarification on the water bottle situation that I mentioned in a previous post. While watching a Tivo'd program last week (don't ya love Tivo?) I came across noted Green Authority, Simran Sethi, discussing the current plastic bottle situation. She explained that it has now become apparent that the hard, plastic, clear bottles that we have using in an attempt to hydrate and save plastic have been found to be leeching toxic chemicals into us with every sip. Superfantastic. She said to check the recycle stamp on the bottom of all of your bottles (including baby bottles and sippy cups) and if they have a "7" in the triangle you should quit using them immediately.

So goodbye beloved red plastic water bottle with the awesome snap cap, you served me well all the while slowly poisoning me. Well played.

Greener toothbrushing

Okay, if you've ever used organic toothpaste, the you know that it is disgusting. Maybe we have just become desensitized to the chemical taste of REAL toothpaste but, ecch! So when I saw this toothbrush I automatically shuddered at the very thought but am trying to be open-minded to anything that might make our little world a little greener.

It's the Source Toothbrush and here are the facts:

• Replaceable head toothbrush with renewable resource handle.



• Wood Fiber blended with PLA, a plastic derived entirely from Nebraska maize. The resulting material is 100% renewal resource.



• Flax with post consumer polypropylene.



• Replaceable Heads consume 1/5 the material of standard toothbrushes.



• Replaceable heads - reduces environmental impact.



• Radial bristling - first toothbrush in the world to have it. Makes brushing easier and more effective.



• 3,080 Tynex® nylon bristles - available in soft or medium. Reversible for right or left hand.

Are old toothbrushes filling our landfills? Hard to imagine, but could be. This might be worth a try and it will be a definite conversation starter the next time you find yourself brushing your teeth with an audience. Try one out at radiustoothbrush.com and let me know how it works out

Sweepin' my life away...

I was just reading one of my favorite magazines, Body & Soul (ugh, it's Martha Stewart production) and saw a funny article about the resurgence of the BISSELL CARPET SWEEPER. It seems that the office has been greener that I originally thought because we have had one for years! Many thanks to our receptionist for providing it for us.

It really does work well for our office carpets. You might even think about getting one for your home. It's quiet, energy efficient, inexpensive and might even encourage others in your family to give it a twirl around the floor! One of the best things about it (as if these weren't enough) is that it doesn't stir up dust. So if you have a problem with dust or if you have an area that you want to try to keep the dust at bay, this might be a pretty good solution

You can purchase one (or at least read about them) at bissell.com. The one pictured here is called Perfect Sweep and runs about $29.99.