Thank You New York!

A friend just alerted me to some fabulous news that came out last week.  I'm a bit behind the times, but nonetheless I'm excited - NYC will now recycle all hard plastics!

I know recycling isn't the answer to all of our waste problems.  The cycle can only operate a few times on any one piece of plastic.  But nonetheless, for things like yogurt tubs that only come in plastic, I'm happy to at least be able to recycle them a few times around.  This will still reduce the amount of waste that's sent to landfills, and New York (and the world) need that reduction badly. 

I simultaneously worry that this recycling program will make it easier for people (including me on some days) to choose plastic packaging over metal or glass or no packaging, because the guilt over throwing the plastic away could be assuaged by being able to put it in the recycling bin.  That issue will take much more effort and education to resolve, but for now this is a step in the right direction. 


Another exciting part of that announcement, which should have been more than a blip in the middle, is that the city will also increase their composting ('organic recycling') programs at public schools.  Even less landfill waste, and more dirt.  I like it. 

Toothpaste woes, Toothbrush win?

I'm almost out of toothpaste, so I decided to try switching to Tom's of Maine.  I got the cinnamon flavor, as I dislike mint for the most part.  Unfortunately, I had a very painful few days before I gave up on it.  The toothpaste burned the inside of my mouth.

At first I thought that the cinnamon was very strong and I wasn't used to it, or just changing to a new toothpaste for the first time in years, or maybe my gums were having a sensitive day.  But it happened again, and again, and finally after 3 days of trying to use the smallest amount possible I decided it wasn't worth it any more.  Even a day after I stopped and went back to my old toothpaste, parts of my mouth are still tender.

I sent Tom's a message, asking for a refund, and they've agreed.  It's only a few dollars, but it's the principle of the thing.

I also got a new toothbrush, made by Preserve and purchased at Trader Joe's.  It's made of recycled yogurt cups, and comes in a plastic sleeve that serves as a pre-paid mailing envelope.  The idea being that once you use the toothbrush, you put it back in the package, tape the thing closed and mail it back so it can be recycled through Preserve's Gimme 5 program.  If I have to get a toothbrush, I'm a fan of this plan. 

Alternative Wrapping Paper

I came home Saturday with a suitcase full of presents and the knowledge that I didn't want to use any traditional wrapping paper this year.  My plan was just to use the comics section of the newspaper.

Instead I wound up getting a little bit crafty.  Last week, Dogs or Dollars mentioned a tutorial about making your own bows.  So I dragged out a bunch of old magazine pages I had saved from grade school (I'm a sort-of-recovering pack rat...) and got to work.

I slightly changed the tutorial because of the size of my magazine pages.  I used 3 10.75" strips, 3 9.75" strips, and 2 8.5" strips, all 0.75" wide, plus one 3.5"x1" strip.  And I put the bows together with a glue stick, instead of double-stick tape.  I think if I do this again, I either need to use more glue or a different kind of glue, since a lot of them fell apart later...

I was only able to wrap a few presents in comics pages - it might have worked better if I had told anyone at home about this a few weeks ago.  Instead I just had two Sunday funnies and one weekday comics page.  So I also wrapped presents in brown paper bags and put one in a box.

Looking through those old magazine pages, I found a bunch of animal pictures,  so I decided my young male cousins didn't need bows.  The Star Wars-obsessed 10-year-old got everyone's favorite 'droids :)

All in all, I'm pleased. Tape is still involved in the wrapping, so it's not totally plastic free, but basically everything else involved was destined for the recycling bin.  The gift tags were made from a piece of pastel paper I've also had laying around since high school.  I've already given some of the comics+magazine bow presents, and they didn't get many comments, so I guess that means no one thought they were weird?

Reusing Yogurt Containers

Thus far, buying yogurt has proved to be one of the big sticking points in reducing waste.  I haven't yet found yogurt in a reusable container, and NYC doesn't recycle any plastic besides bottles.* 

I started eating yogurt a lot last year - who knew I could really love it when you get rid of all that fake sugar and flavoring? Anyway.  Nothing beats yogurt and granola for a quick, simple breakfast. 

I buy a big container from a dairy at the Greenmarket every week or two.  They started to stack up on my shelf because I figured I would find a place that would take them, i.e. the Gimme 5 program.  That hasn't happened, although I will take some home at Christmas (my parents' county recycles all numbers).

In the meantime, though, I've been using them as bulk-buy containers.  They're lightweight and stack together, which means they're easy to carry, and when I get home I just wash them. I've even used them to store some foods that don't spoil fast and that I eat fairly quickly, like oats, brown rice, and pasta.  I sharpie the food, cost, and tare onto the lid to make life easier on the volunteers at 4th Street Food CoOp. 


*http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/resources/plastics_collection.shtml

Old Blue Jeans

This box contains 15-20 pairs of jeans I've worn and ripped through in the last 8ish years.  The really unfortunate thing is that these jeans ripped along the inner thigh; they wore thin from constant wear and then just tore through.  If the holes were in the knees, like they were when I was a kid, I could patch them or leave them ripped.  Alas, these are really not appropriate for public wear.  I didn't want to throw them away, so I've been piling them up thinking "someday" I'll do something with them.  Well, they managed to take up a drawer and a half of space without me ever doing anything.

I need that drawer space.  I'm proud of myself for crafting a wine-bottle tote out of one leg and a waistband, but I'm not going to make 30-40 of them.  That leads back to the "someday" problem, and even if I started a business I'd still have scrap.

Enter Cotton from Blue to Green's mail-in program*.  They take old denim clothing and turn it into insulation.  Then some of the insulation is granted to projects like Habitat for Humanity, for use in insulating homes for those in need.

Green Guilt assuaged?  Potentially helping those in need?  Totally worth the shipping cost.

*Cotton from Blue to Green also takes denim through volunteer-organized drives; none appear to be scheduled on their website, hence I'm mailing my jeans in.

(Very) Small Successes at the Beach

We're on a family vacation this week.  I've had a hand in producing a lot of trash, which I'm not proud of.  There are a few bright spots, though.

Like cloth napkins and a reusable produce bag.  I've actually managed to get my family to use the cloth napkins at every meal we've eaten in the apartment.  And to use the reusable produce bag, which my Grandma made for me from a fabric scrap and shoelaces.

I was disappointed to find out that they don't recycle here. At all.  But this is our little pile of recycling, and it will go home to be recycled there.