It's All About the Little Things

During the holiday season, which for me is stressful more often than not, I find it useful to change my perspective and look at the big picture. Most years, this means reminding myself that no matter how much my family members irritate me (after too much time spent in close quarters), I still love them, and even though I have to travel pretty far to be with them, I'm still glad to be in good company over the holidays. This year however, I switched my mindset in a new way: I muted the voice inside my head that rants and raves about the poor decisions made by the government (you know, the usual, policies that will cause harm to human and environmental health). What did I pay attention to instead? The little things!

Over the past week I experienced small moments of delight whenever I noticed a simple action taken by my family members to reduce their environmental footprint and protect their health. Take for instance my mom, who saves water every time she takes a shower. As you can see in the photo above, she keeps large juice bottles in the bathroom so that she can fill them with the cold water that runs out of the tap before the hot water makes its way from the heater in the basement to the shower on the second floor. Later, she uses the juice bottles to fill a watering can which she uses on her indoor plants. Brilliant!

There were little things of a green nature in my brother and sister-in-law's home, too, like organic milk. Keeping pesticide-laden feed, copious amounts of antibiotics, and unnecessary synthetic growth hormones away from dairy farms means healthier cows, healthier humans, fewer superbugs, and a safer environment. My brother also attached his indoor Christmas lights to a timer so that they wouldn't run all night, and my sister-in-law told me the car sits unused for one or two weeks at a time. In the kitchen I found dish soap containing only natural fragrances and no phthalates. The list goes on!

I received some great eco-friendly gifts, too, like a bottle opener made from post-consumer materials that is completely recyclable, an energy-efficient electric blanket that will let me turn my thermostat even lower than I already do overnight, and a teflon-free rice cooker made of stainless steel in a double-boiler configuration. At a time of year marked by unnecessary consumption, excessive gift-wrapping, food waste, and high carbon emissions from extensive travelling, it was an absolute pleasure to delight in these lovely things.

What green actions does your family engage in? What green products did you receive as gifts?

5 Ways to Green Your Holiday Food Bank Donations

At this time of year, many people spend a lot of time running around crowded malls in search of gifts for family, friends, colleagues, teachers, neighbours, even mere acquaintances. Little thought is given to the spirit of the holidays and the value of spending more quality time with loved ones. Thankfully, some of us are able to stop for long enough to consider the less fortunate, for whom the daily struggle of putting food on the table far outweighs the desire for accumulating "stuff".

If one of your goals for this month is to make a donation to a local food bank, I'd like to offer the following tips that will ensure your generous contribution will not only feed the hungry, but also leave the smallest footprint on the planet.

1. Apply the same good food rules you use for your household grocery shopping to the items intended for the donation bin. In other words, choose cans of tuna labelled as line-caught albacore or skipjack, and look for non-perishable items containing locally grown ingredients processed in your area.


2. Select whole foods rather than overly processed junk food to avoid scary chemical-based additives and preservatives that do as much damage to the environment as they do to human health. Don't forget that the longer the ingredient list, the more energy likely went into the making of the product!


3. If you can afford to, choose organic food. It's a shame that healthier options cost more in our current food system, but remember that you're voting with your dollars every time you buy better products, whether they are destined for your own dinner table or someone else's.


4. Try to find cans labelled as BPA-free. It's a tragedy that those who rely on food banks end up ingesting far more bisphenol A than the average person, simply because their veggies and seafood so frequently come in cans, and most cans are lined with BPA. But we can help make a difference!


5. Avoid plastic and waste: opt for food packaged in cardboard boxes and glass jars (check if your local food bank will accept glass) and select bulk items rather than individual servings, such as oatmeal, juice, and canned fruit. And don't forget to use your reusable grocery bags to transport the food.

For ideas on which items are needed most, please consult the Stop Community Food Centre's website, and consider asking your local food bank about their donation guidelines. May the holidays be happy, healthy, and dignified for all.


Photo of food donation bins used under Creative Commons from photologue_np (flickr).

New, Green Product vs. Used, Traditional Product? You Decide.

I'm stumped, and I need your opinion. "You" being the loyal followers of my blog!

Thankfully, this isn't a picture of my phone, but some days I feel it might as well be. For the past two and a half years, I've been using a cell phone that features a large touch screen, like the one depicted here. Before I adopted the phone, it belonged to my father, who has the tendency to pass down electronics to me when he's ready for the next model. Did he realize he was doing something environmentally friendly when he gave me his old laptop in 2003, his digital camera in 2005, his handheld video camera in 2007, and his cell phone in 2009? Probably not, though I'm always grateful for the gifts. Either way, I'm glad my footprint is small when I don't have to buy new electronics.

To get back to why I feel like my phone reminds me of the one in the picture, you need to know that the touch screen on my phone is showing signs of its age. Crazy, I didn't realize two-and-a-half was so old! The phone has lost its (warning: pun!) touch when I try to send a text message. The keyboard appears on the screen, I begin typing, and some of the letters don't show up, or one letter is mistaken for the one next to it on the keyboard. This, despite the fact that my fingers have not significantly increased in size over the past few years. Once I realized that the space bar fails to insert a space one out of every three times I touch it, I knew for sure that I was nearing the point where I would have to retire my little radiation-emitting friend.

But what do I replace it with? Unlike tablet PCs, e-readers, and Apple products - which I haven't been tempted to buy -  I can't function very effectively without a cell phone (if you had to take public transit in Toronto as often as I do, you'd understand how vital it is for me to be able to update friends about how late my arrival will be). I know how to safely dispose of the old phone, I just don't know which of the following two options to go for:

A. The new, green cell phone

• greener materials: some use plant-based plastics, others are free of flame retardants and PVC, and many newer models contain a great number of recyclable parts than before


• reduced energy use: power-saving mode and solar panels to help with recharging, and one model even has an alarm that notifies you when the battery has fully charged, so that you can unplug it right away and avoid drawing phantom power


• eco-friendly companies: green production practices, take-back recycling programs, and supply chains free of unfair labour or minerals tainted by conflict

B. The used, traditional cell phone

• no new materials: avoiding the production and processing of toxic products for use in circuit boards, screens, batteries, and casings (and the packaging that new phones are sold in)


• reduced manufacturing- and transportation-related energy use: all of the power that went into producing the phone and moving the raw materials and parts around the globe is spread out over two users and a longer lifespan


• lower demand for new phones: if I don't buy a new phone, I'm not contributing to the never-ending demand for new products, the kind of demand that prompts companies to make more and more each year

Those are some good arguments for both sides! There are counter-arguments, too. For example, new cell phone models are not nearly green enough to be considered eco-friendly, not unless the manufacturers avoid heavy metals and petroleum-based compounds altogether. On the flip side, giving a used phone a second home doesn't do anything to encourage cell phone companies to keep developing and improving on their green models.

Your turn: what would you do in my place? What is the biggest factor for you? Does my decision even carry consequences when in China and India, over 1 billion phones are in use?


Photo of broken cell phone used under Creative Commons from Ninja M. (flickr)
Photo of rotary phone used under Creative Commons from Stephen Mitchell (Fotopedia).

Guest Post: Edit My Closet

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you know that I like to figure out the motivation behind people's green actions - or lack thereof - in an attempt to find more effective ways to encourage the public to make the world a better place. It will come as no surprise, then, that I was intrigued by Edit My Closet, a service that helps clients de-clutter their homes by identifying the barriers that stand in the way and reinforcing a simpler, greener attitude about consumption. I asked founders Beth and Cheryl to tell us more in this guest post.

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Beth and Cheryl, the founders of Edit My Closet, have been providing their customers with emotional support while physically assisting in de-cluttering, organizing, and removing no longer needed/wanted items, for over five years. Their background in Social Work enables them to read body language, validate experiences, and be conscious of the emotional charge associated with de-cluttering. Beth and Cheryl both live in Toronto and have sparkling closets.

Dollar stores, leisure time, "I deserve it" upgrades, larger living space, disposable incomes, "just in case" mentality (holding on to things, physically or otherwise, out of fear one will never have access to them again), and shopping as a form of self-medication have all played an integral role in producing the cultural epidemic known as clutter.

Clutter is defined as "a confused or disordered state or collection". It's not difficult to be confused or disordered when we have an abundance of meaningless, useless objects surrounding us. This state can easily lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and out of control. This is why the process of de-cluttering (carving out time to consciously go through your stuff and discard items that are no longer useful) is considered therapeutic.

The process of letting things go and saying goodbye can be a difficult and emotionally charged experience. Our consumption and "holding-on" patterns are brought into awareness as we move through this process. The typical result, however, is one of liberation and clarity, especially when the process is executed in an environmentally conscious and sustainable way.

We provide our customers with five steps to make the de-cluttering process easier:

1. Identify a cluttered space that requires organization. Easy!


2. Establish expectations. Is there a specific vision for the space, i.e. easier access to items hanging in a closet, or wanting a drawer to close? Be clear around the intentions; writing them down helps significantly.


3. Compartmentalize and assess! Empty all of the items from the space and sort them into smaller, categorized piles. For example, when organizing an office you may have a stationery pile, an electronics pile, a decorative pile, etc.


4. Create 3 separate piles labelled Toss, Maybe, and Keep. Baskets or bins can be used in lieu of piles.
   • Go through each item piece by piece and ask: Is this essential? What’s its purpose? Has it been used in the past six months? Could someone else benefit from the item? Taking pictures of items that evoke sentimentality is a great way to "hold on" without compromising storage space.
   • Look at the empty space and think back to your vision. Are you missing anything? Would additional storage solutions help? Are there things in the “Keep” pile that actually belong in another room or area? If yes, where?
   • Further compartmentalize items in the "Toss" pile to Recycle, Donate, Return, and Give-Away piles. Take the time to donate items to shelters, libraries, and second hand stores that rely heavily on donations to serve the community effectively. Donate/recycle as quickly as possible to avoid rooting through the bags and reclaiming items.


5. Clean the area before putting the items back. De-cluttering is the perfect time to pull out the vacuum and make use of all of your favourite natural cleaning products. Miss Charlotte over at Les Bonnes Idees provides a recipe to make your own! Click here to view it.

We'd like to leave you with one last tip: de-cluttering is most often performed in the spring, as it is widely associated (for good reason) with new beginnings. However, we encourage you to try de-cluttering one space per month. Tackling areas in small steps like this is less overwhelming than a big once a year job and will certainly have a big impact over time. Good luck!

For more information about Edit My Closet, please check out our website or contact us at info(at)editmycloset.com.


Photo of cluttered room used under Creative Commons from Christopher Gollmar (flickr).
No clutter logo used under Creative Commons from Sean MacEntee (flickr).
Photo of homemade natural cleaning products used under Creative Commons from Mrs. Green (flickr).

Green Habits

What makes us conserve water and energy, divert waste from landfills, and choose alternatives over the car? How does Canada stack up to other countries? The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) took a stab at answering these questions with a survey in 2008. 10,000 people were polled in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The results are in, and The Globe and Mail designed some colourful graphics to help explain it all. I thought it might be neat to get your comments on some of the interesting points in the report.

Water

• Canadians and Mexicans use about twice as much water per person as residents of France and the Czech Republic.

I'm assuming this has something to do with our water-intensive industries like agriculture, coal and nuclear power plants, manufacturing, and my favourite: the tar sands. These industries grow disproportionately quickly as compared to our population size because we export so much food, energy, and oil.

• The most common household water-saving device in Canada is the low-flow shower head, compared with water-efficient washing machines, showers, and toilets in Australia and Korea.

Shower heads are cheaper and easier to install. I wonder if that's the reason for this discrepancy? Or does this have more to do with the fact that Canadians are delusional about how much water we have? Just because the Great Lakes are, well, great, doesn't justify wasting water.

• When people have to pay for household water use, consumption drops by 20%.

I know that those who are charged for water tend to conserve it, but I didn't realize the margin was so great. With that in mind, why aren't we charging for it if everyone already has to pay for power? This is probably why people are more likely to save energy than water - I bet there are more compact fluorescent bulbs than low-flow shower heads in Canada!

Energy

• In Canada, only half as many people use thermal insulation compared to efficient light bulbs, and even fewer have installed efficient furnaces.

This is a sad statistic, since the biggest proportion of household electricity use in Canada goes towards heating. I wish more people knew that you don't have to commit to a complex renovation project to better insulate your home - just buy a winter weatherizing kit for your windows!

• Hydro bill = conservation of electricity.

I look forward to the day when tenants in multi-unit buildings pay for the power they use. I can't stand hearing people boast that they waste electricity because they don't have to pay for it.

• Most homeowners aren't willing to pay much more for renewable energy.

And they shouldn't have to! I've said this many times before: if the things we consume were priced according to their full life cycle cost, from resource depletion, to energy and water use during manufacturing, to the disposal of toxic substances, then conventional energy sources such as coal would be expensive, while wind power would be affordable.

Waste

• Canada, Australia, and Sweden recycle twice as many products as the Czech Republic and Mexico.

As a Toronto resident, I'm very thankful for the City's hard work in this area. The number of things I can recycle is astounding, and while this doesn't make up for consuming too much, it's a good start.

• Young people produce 10% more garbage than their parents.

Why? They don't have to pay for the trash they produce? They look cool with a branded, single-use paper coffee cup in their hand? The media bombards them with messages that associate consumption with sexiness/happiness?

• Canadians are better at properly disposing of used batteries than expired medication.

 I hope events like the City of Toronto's Community Environment Days will help balance out those numbers. Improperly discarded prescription medication finds its way into our drinking water!

Transportation

• When commuting, the proportion of Koreans using public transportation is almost as large as the proportion of Canadians driving cars (around 50%).

I think we can all agree that most transit systems in this country need some work. I don't get why provincial and federal levels of government aren't helping out more.

• People state they would use public transportation if it were faster and cheaper, and they want transit stops no farther than 15 minutes from their homes.

Sounds reasonable. We need better infrastructure in suburban areas, or better yet, we need to stop developing the sprawl!

• On average, a 20% spike in gas prices would prompt motorists to cut back on their driving by 8%.

This is funny, because driving 120 km/h on the highway instead of 100 km/h represents a 20% increase in fuel consumption. Just saying...

You might be interested in reading the full article or the OECD report. The graphics are quite useful. Make sure to come back to this post afterwards - please help me make sense of some of these stats!


Photo credits: water droplet; wind turbine; landfill; traffic.

Roll Up the Rim to Waste

I have a confession to make. This isn't easy. As recently as a few years ago, I willingly and eagerly fed my addictive personality by participating in a contest that required me to waste single-use paper coffee cups despite owning an insulated travel mug. Based on the title of this post, my Canadian readers know what I'm talking about and can probably relate. At the risk of alienating those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, but in staying true to my values, I will not post a link to the contest website in this post. All you really need to know is that this yearly contest is run by a popular coffee chain, that the prizes range from a preloaded coffee cards to mountain bikes to cars, and that the nationwide compulsive consumption of coffee in single-use paper coffee cups began today and will continue for a few months. If you're wondering, I've never won more than a donut.

There are many types of people in this world. Some aren't terribly susceptible to the temptation of contests like these, while others dramatically increase their coffee consumption in a desperate attempt to win. Those who usually buy hot beverages from a variety of stores find themselves heading back, over and over again, to the same coffee chain - if they're going to be buying coffee, it might as well be from the store where they have a chance of winning a prize, right? Worst of all, people like me intentionally leave their travel mugs at home because the contest is won or lost right there on the single-use paper cup. My most shameful memory from the years I participated is of the day on which I brought my insulated mug to the store, had it filled with coffee, then asked for an empty, unused paper cup because I deserved a chance to win "in return for my purchase", which is how I think I put it to the employee at the time.

Let's take a step back and think about what we're really buying into. I believe we frequently ignore some pretty serious issues around coffee: society tells us to say no to drugs, yet most of us are physically addicted to caffeine, and our culture endorses, even encourages this behaviour. We support the local food movement, but insist on consuming large amounts of a beverage that is made from a bean that grows nowhere near here - and it's no special occasion delicacy, no, we want it multiple times a day! Sustainable production methods are important when it comes to the fruits and veggies we eat, but our favourite Arabica is most often grown in full-sun and fertilizer- and pesticide-intensive conditions, causing deforestation, the destruction of habitat in some of the world's most biodiverse regions, and soil and water degradation. While the friendly barista enjoys a decent wage and the tips we leave in the jar, plantation workers are exploited and farmers are unfairly paid for the harvest. Talk about bang for your buck! So many economic, environmental, and social injustices for such a low price.

But it's not enough that we want to pay a mere dollar fifty for 12 ounces of java. We also want a container for the beverage that will outlive its usefulness after being in our possession for about 20 minutes. Most importantly, at this time of year we want as many of those containers as we can possibly get our hands on. All for the thrill embodied in the few seconds it takes to unroll the rim of a single-use paper cup, revealing "please try again".

I was once there. I no longer am. If I want excitement, I'll find it in performing a taiko (Japanese drumming) piece with my fellow students in front of a large audience. If I'm drowsy and need to perk up, I'll go for a brisk walk around the block. If I want a mountain bike, I'll save up until I can afford to buy one, then bring my business to a local bike shop. This year, it's not enough for me to avoid the cups by boycotting the contest; I'm going to avoid the coffee chain entirely, at least for the duration of the promotion - possibly longer. So I'd like to ask those of you who usually participate in this waste-producing event: will you join me in rejecting it?


Photo credits: cup on sidewalk, cup and ashtray, cups in grass.

Organic Tobacco... What Will They Think Of Next?

Tonight I'm expecting three dinner guests, so I'm going to take a really quick break from cleaning and cooking to get something off my mind: organic tobacco doesn't make sense.

Apparently a growing (ha! pun!) number of American farmers are beginning to cultivate organic tobacco, since the increased costs and slightly lower yield are offset by a much higher selling price once harvest time comes around. The cigarettes made out of this tobacco are then marketed as being "natural" due to their lighter environmental footprint as compared to the conventional ones.

But... who buys these? There are people who worry about environmental degradation, and they might approve of the fact that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides were used, protecting the soil and nearby streams, but what about the amount of waste generated by the production, consumption, and disposal of the cigarettes in question? Then there are people who worry about their health, and they may take comfort in the fact that they aren't being exposed to residual toxins from the nasty chemicals used to grow tobacco using conventional methods, but what does that matter if they're still inhaling tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide?

Folks, I'm stumped. Is this just another example of "make it, and they will buy it"? Do any of you smoke, and if so, would you pay more to buy "natural" cigarettes?

No Impact Week: Day 1 - Consumption

It's only the third day of the year, and No Impact Week is already in full swing. You remember this experiment, right? I wrote about it about a month ago, encouraging you to experiment with a greener lifestyle to kick off 2011. Even if this is the first you've heard of the project, it's never too late to make small changes to your day-to-day routine that can lower your carbon footprint.

Before we go on, I have to be honest with you: I'm breaking the rules. No Impact Week started yesterday, but I didn't step outside for so much as a brisk walk around the block. Then today I dropped off some books at the library and came right back home afterwards (round trip on foot: ten minutes). As for the forecast for the remaining five days of the experiment? It's not looking so good. You see, I'm worried that I don't fit the target audience, since I'm not commuting to work everyday and therefore automatically avoiding things like shopping, cafeteria food, paper coffee cups, overheated office buildings, and public toilets that use 13 litres per flush. Not to brag, but I live a pretty eco-friendly life already, and many of the tips in the official No Impact Week How-To Guide were checked off my to-do list years ago.

So here's what I propose: I'll challenge myself twice! Once, this week, more in spirit than in practice. I'll highlight some of the ways I am already reducing my footprint and discover new strategies for waste reduction, pollution prevention, and water and energy conservation. Then, later this year a second time, I'll try the project again at a time when I feel it will really hit home. Perhaps I'll choose a week when I am commuting to work every day, engaged in social activities on multiple evenings, and out running errands and hosting dinner parties on the weekend. Then I can really put my new footprint-reducing strategies to the test!

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Day 1: Consumption

How can we do more with less? Do we really need all this stuff? What happens to the connections we have with each other when we spend so much time shopping?

The main step outlined by the How-To Guide involves choosing not to buy anything you can live without for the week and finding alternatives for all the other stuff. This is particularly relevant around the holidays! This year I received some great gifts that fit this category well, including second-hand books and home-baked cookies. I, too, was able to avoid the mall and hand-make some gifts instead of buying them. For some of my friends, the gift exchange was replaced by a celebratory dinner - a much more memorable experience than unwrapping a present. In favour of reusable gift bags I save up, no single-use wrapping paper was bought, and I was happy to ignore all of the ads promoting whichever colours were "in" for decorating new year's celebrations. I even squeezed in a trip downtown to drop off a stack of used paper so that a non-profit organization I support could avoid buying new printer paper!

What did I do with the time and money I saved by avoiding unnecessary purchases? Besides savouring many cups of tea while reading books, I spent a lot of time with loved ones! Not having to make long trips to the mall freed up my schedule to an incredible degree. My online calendar shows four relaxing tea dates with friends, an interview for a great volunteer position with YUF CSA (which I got), one housewarming party, and five meals (one breakfast, one lunch, and three dinners) in addition to the ones with family... all within a span of two weeks! Incredible!

Before this post gets too long, I'd like to come up with a few strategies to keep this un-consumptive lifestyle going in the new year:

• clothing - I can really get by with less if I pay more attention to what I buy, and it can all be second-hand if I look hard enough! Maybe I'll try organizing a clothing swap with my friends.
• household items - I have no difficulty buying used furniture but need to put more effort into sourcing smaller goods from better places, like the dust pan and bread basket I've been wanting for months!
• personal care products - I've made some headway in terms of avoiding nasty chemicals in my soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and moisturizer, but haven't found a way around buying new containers over and over; will this be the year I start making my own products?

Stay tuned tomorrow for my thoughts on Day 2 - Waste.

Photo credits: store lineup and book with tea.

Buy Nothing Christmas

If you're struggling to find the perfect gift for each person on your list this year, don't worry: it's not you. Maybe the problem is that most of the stuff you can find in the mall is useless, and you're not the kind of person who feels comfortable gifting unwanted things (that will no doubt be thrown out) and spending way too much money doing so. Well, you're not alone!

To help you out, please check out this list of alternatives to avoid purchasing junk for loved ones, brought to you by the nice folks at Buy Nothing Christmas. There you'll find some great ideas, including some of my personal favourites that I've used in recent years: baking a seasonal dessert and presenting it in a tin that previously held store-bought cookies; collecting quotations that remind you of someone and writing them into a blank notebook; and putting together a gift basket filled with edible items you know the recipient loves and will consume.

Happy gifting!

The Story of Stuff

Annie Leonard is my hero. If you haven't already, watch The Story of Stuff and The Story of Bottled Water, and read this LA Times article about her.

Biodegradable materials are sitting in landfills, and that sucks.

Only two posts in and already there's a recurring theme in my blog: when people don't buy reusable water bottles and travel mugs, they often justify their consumption by proclaiming that plastic bottles are recyclable and (some) paper cups are biodegradable. "I'm doing my part", they say while complimenting the local corporate coffee house for bringing in those new recycling stations (don't get me wrong, I'm glad they've taken that step). We need to work harder at educating each other about what works and what doesn't when it comes to waste diversion initiatives, and make sure certain issues are being properly addressed.

Let's think about those fancy new biodegradable paper and plastic cups that can be found popping up at the office, often for catered meetings. My first concern is that the shiny green "biodegradable" label may only suggest that some fraction of the material can break down (which also makes me wonder if they used vegetable-based ink?), or worse yet, that the item could take centuries to decompose. I'd rather not even consider the possibility that some products marketed as biodegradable could break down only to release harmful toxins. As far as I know, there is no official definition for the term, no standards for making a biodegradable claim, and no regulatory body to separate the good from the bad and the ugly.

Another issue with these feel-good cups is what happens to them after the water and coffee has been consumed and the meeting is over. Off the top of your head, how many compost bins have you spotted scattered around your office building? I'm willing to bet the number is smaller than one for most of you. I'm also willing to bet that a lot of people out there think this is a non-issue, ignorant of the fact that the fate of a biodegradable cup is not so glorious when mixed with plain old garbage. Trash is compacted so tightly that biodegradation, if it occurs at all, takes place very slowly because of the anaerobic conditions of the landfill it ends up on. Add to that a relative lack of light and water in the middle of the heap, and a definite lack of the microorganisms that actually perform the biodegrading magic, and what we're left with is lettuce from the 1960's that has not decomposed. Ew.

The alternative? Bring biodegradable items home for municipal curbside green bin pick-up, which, unfortunately, is not without its share of problems. This program was designed with two important facts in mind: (1) people are prone to laziness, and (2) people can be easily motivated by money. I happen to believe in the universal application of these tenets - because I'm often one of those people! There are lots of communities where residents now have to pay if they set out too many garbage bags for collection (threat of losing money), which encourages waste diversion actions like separating compostables from inert trash. So, in the absence of a burning desire to get dirty in the backyard with a garden compost bin and so many possible uses for healthy soil (threat of physical activity - let's face it, we all like getting sweaty at the gym and only at the gym), people happily fill their little curbside green bins. Out of sight, out of mind, as is so often the case. Let's pretend there haven't been issues with organics sent to landfills because they were held in non-biodegradable plastic bags and simply because workers have been mixing them with regular trash.

But once again I'm letting my cynicism get the better of me. Every new program, green or otherwise, is implemented with lots of kinks that need to be ironed out, and eventually they will be. In the meantime, talk to your employer about setting up a composting program at work, or approach your condo board about getting in on the municipal organics collection program. If you're really keen, show up at the management office of your local mall and demand that they commit to setting up green bins alongside the recycling bins in the food court.


As for me, in September I look forward to moving out of my overpriced high-rise apartment and into a walk-up with a friendlier landlord in a quieter neighbourhood. There are many reasons for making this change, including the prospect of setting up a composter on the property and encouraging my new neighbours to help me turn vegetable scraps - and the occasional biodegradable cup - into rich soil. Next summer, get ready for backyard tomatoes!

Learn the 3Rs again, for the first time.

You know what sucks? There are people out there who feel good about themselves for recycling only a fraction of the items they bring into their homes, and stop there. Recycling was never meant to be used as an easy way to be environmentally-friendly. Technically speaking, it's the second worst thing to do with garbage besides dumping it on a landfill (with the exception of burning it, I guess). But I guess it's appealing to take the relatively easy step of separating paper, glass, (some) plastics, and (some) metals from the rest of the trash. For many people, once it's in a blue bin, it's out of mind, and it's "job well done".

But the well-done job has unsavoury side-effects. How much water is used to turn paper back into pulp? Or to clean a glass bottle well enough to be refilled? How much energy is used to melt down plastics and metals? How clean is the energy powering the plant? There are different reports out there, some claiming recycling is more energy-efficient than manufacturing products from raw materials, but there are so many factors that need to be taken into account (type of material, process used, fuel efficiency of vehicles used in weekly curbside pickups, etc.) that it's almost impossible to decide which option is better. The bottom line is that both are wasteful compared to reducing consumption and reusing items within the home.

I'm sure this is all old hat to everyone. What really prompted me to write about the downsides of recycling is the unsettling news that the city I live in sells a significant amount of its recycling to China, where the local cheap labour force sorts and recycles it into things like shoes, which are then shipped back across the ocean and sold to us (because last year's styles are so... last year). What a convenient little system that supports poverty halfway across the world - perhaps I need to start a second blog that comments on the intersection of environmental issues and social injustice? Back to my point: I realize building a brand new recycling plant here is no small matter and probably quite expensive, but I tend to be the kind of person who hopes that creating jobs and supporting the local economy is more important. There I go being idealistic again...

My hope is that we can educate each other on recycling and realize that it's not the solution. I hate hearing people say, "at least I can recycle it" when they buy a bottle of water, as though that makes everything better. Of course, at the end of the day, I'd rather see an empty soft drink can in a blue bin than a trash can! But that's mainly because we know conclusively that recycling aluminum is much less energy-intensive that refining it from scratch. Not so for many other products. I'm just hoping we continually remind ourselves that recycling is the last and least beneficial of the 3Rs. It's a good starting point, but that's all it is.

So, to recap: first, reduce consumption. Buy less, and when you do buy, choose products with less packaging and carry them home in reusable bags (preferably not the ones made in China). Second, reuse items, whether for the same function (travel mug) or a new one (repurposing clothing as rags for cleaning). You can also regift and even upcycle useless scraps of material into higher quality products. Then, once you run out of clever and creative ideas, by all means, recycle instead of trashing your stuff!