The Zero Waste Lifestyle - Book Review

When I fist started on this new year resolution (started in Dec. - but I always like being early) I felt overwhelmed with everything I saw that I wanted to change. I didn't know where to start. Luckily - my teacher training kicked in and I looked to the wonderful world of resources regarding practical environmentalism - BOOKS! There are websites, blogs, and films as well of course - but I have always been partial to tangible books. Here's the first that I've finished: The Zero Waste Lifestyle by Amy Korst.

This book seemed a bit extreme at first, and Amy did go 'hard core' when committing to a zero waste lifestyle. However, the tone of the book is very upbeat and promotes the message that ANY change you make for the better concerning your consumption and pollution habits is GREAT so don't beat yourself up. I haven't done all the recommended exercises in the book (a 'trash audit' of your home and removing garbage bins etc.) but I admire her strategies and dedication. After the 'Getting Started' section part two focuses on zero wasting specific rooms, cleaning, travel, workplace, and holidays/special occasions. Some great features of the book are shopping checklists to track your waste, tables to transfer your items to see trash created and replacement options, contributions from other zero-wasters who have different lifestyles and live in different areas, and 'Meet Your Goal' summaries at the end of each chapter highlighting easy, moderate, and advanced steps you can take regarding that subtopic. There are also a couple of great recipes for DIY solutions from ricotta cheese (did it - excellent!) to household cleansers. I found lots of references to other resources to get plastic free items, grow my own loofahs (I'll blog about how that turns out in the fall), and join great organizations like terracycle (again - another blog entry, another time). Amy has her own website as well, The Green Garbage Project, though she hasn't written an entry for a bit. Her husband had some health difficulties last year so I hope they are doing alright.

This is a great read. I like how striving to be zero waste is not only good for the environment, but good for the community (buy local, talk to your neighbors) and good for the ethical soul (be happier with less, investment of time and energy = value rather than money). I appreciate her approach to others she comes across who are skeptical of her choice:

Talk to those who are willing to listen. Never take on a "holier-than-thou" attitude. [Because] everyone's lifestyle is a legitimate choice, and in time those who criticize you may learn from your quietly conscientious example.

Pg. 39

Smeed Maa Banadoura

One of my goals to be more 'green' in my eating habits is to prepare more vegetarian meals. We are now up to at least two a week and will go for three once some local produce becomes available in the spring. Vegetarian meals are good for the environment because they take less energy to create the raw ingredients AND the raw ingredients do not harm the environment. (esp. if I try to stick to organic and local) The following is a staple in our house and is from my grandmother. BONUS - all the ingredients are readily available in most cupboards and are cheap!

SMEED MAA BANADOURA
(or Cracked Wheat with Tomato)

1 cup cracked wheat
1 med onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. oil
1 can of tomatoes
Water or tomato juice
Montreal Steak Spice (your choice amt.)
1 can chick peas

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in oil until tender.
2. Add tomatoes from can, squishing them between fingers (or you chop them) - reserve liquid.
3. Add reserved liquid and water/juice to make up 5 cups total liquid.
4. Add cracked wheat and montreal steak spice. Stir. Cover and bring to a boil.
5. Add chick peas and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 20-25min. stirring occasionally until liquid is almost absorbed.
This easy meal can be served hot or cold and is family friendly. Enjoy!

Green Fashion

Picture the flashing camera bulbs, the red carpet, the microphone shoved in your face, and that all important question: "Who are YOU wearing?"
More importantly WHAT are you wearing?
Most fabrics in a person's wardrobe fall under two categories: cotton and synthetics. Although the first is technically a 'natural' fibre cotton is an extremely chemical insecticide-heavy crop. Most cotton is also genetically modified so that farmers can spray their crops with Roundup and not effect the cash plants. This has the unfortunate side effect of creating pesticide resistant surrounding weeds that are now being treated with different chemicals. There are a lot of 'green' fabrics now out there - but it is also important to check not only their beginnings (GMO? organic? fair trade?) but also their processing. (dyes, pulp processing etc.) I have taken a personal clothing oath - I will now only buy garments that have minimal or no impact on the environment and will research before I open my wallet. Here is my most recent purchase: I got this shirt from the CBC shop and it features Canada's godfather of green - David Suzuki. I bought the shirt because of the icon (and I love CBC) but was happy to learn that it is made out of 100% organic cotton. Although cotton requires a lot of water to grow, organic means that it is free of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Cotton also does not undergo any chemical processing to change it from picked cotton to woven fibre. Finally - added bonus - this garment was made in Canada (a VERY hard thing to find!)

This is my OTHER way of being a green fashionista - go vintage! I was doing this before because I like being one-of-a-kind and finding cool deals, but it is also excellent for the environment! When I choose to re-use an item I am not asking the earth to come up with one more iota of raw materials. Reuse is the second R remember? This little green number I got from an awesome seller on etsy (where I do a lot of my shopping) called Vintage Pod. Etsy is an amazing online source for vintage goodies and the sellers are REAL people (not corporations) who either find wonderful remnants from the past or create their own pieces of art and craft. Here are a few of my favorite vintage sellers: gogovintage FabGabs fashion rerun

Deciphering Labels - FSC

On a lot of paper products that come in the mail (and on some cardboard) I have seen this symbol: It represents the Forest Stewardship Council. This is a third party verification organization to monitor environmental forest management. It is an international organization but there is a Canadian branch. It also requires producers that apply for certification meet standards protecting endangered wildlife, aboriginal people's rights, and worker conditions. Many banks print on FSC certified paper and building supplies can also be certified. These supplies fall under the subheading of Controlled Wood certification. On their Canadian website they state:

FSC Controlled Wood has been verified NOT to come from:
Illegally harvested forests;
Forests harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights;
Forests in which high conservation values are threatened;
Forests that are being converted to plantations or non-forest use; or
Forests in which genetically modified trees are planted.

The FSC logo can be printed with a lot of additional information which can require a little bit of deciphering. If the label looks like this: the product is from well managed forests but it 100% virgin material (no recycling).
If the label looks like this: it is made with a combination of FSC virgin fiber and recycled materials. The loop in the corner tells you how much is pre and post consumer recycled fiber.
Finally, if the image looks like this: the product is made entirely of recycled fiber and the loop % is the same as previous. The number at the bottom is a code number so the product can be tracked through the supply chain to the manufacturer, distributer, or supplier.

My Local Waste Management Dept.

I had a very educational afternoon today. I attended a Managing your waste workshop put on by my local waste management department. I still want to tour the recycling and composting facilities of my municipality - but this workshop went a long way in informing me of what my diverting waste options are.

We started with an icebreaker by being given bags of garbage to sort into compost, paper recyclables, container recyclables, reusables, hazardous waste, and landfill garbage. Our group did pretty well but I found out that plastic 'clams' (any hard form of plastic that has no removable lid) is not recyclable at this time. HOWEVER - on April 1st they will be! Yipppeeeeeee! Other tips the region gave us were to separate materials as much as possible for easy sorting and rinse out/empty containers so they do not contain food waste of liquid. This is because the machinery at the plant identifies an object by either weight or computers and if a mixed material is detected the item may be sent to a landfill. Right now Durham's Waste Management facilities divert aprox. 53% of garbage from landfills (an excellent record when compared to other Ontario regions) and their goal is to get it to 70%.

The Durham Waste Management site is extremely easy to navigate and includes a great tool called "Know Before You Throw"



This program allows you to type in any piece of garbage you have and it will direct you on how to dispose of it properly. Our region has special drop off sites for recycling some waste that I didn't think was possible (styrofoam, paint, electronics etc.) We even have a curbside battery collection program!

All-in-all it was a very positive presentation and I left knowing I could purchase local compost from the green bin program, that we have 'reuse' days when gently used items can be picked up for charity, and that many local businesses take back the garbage that comes with their products to recycle or reuse themselves (local greenhouses and their flower pots for example). I also came home with some great recycled swag and contact numbers for educational presentations for my students.

Small Change - Body Wash

I love body products. I don't wear make-up but I like to buy lotions and potions to make me feel pampered. But recently I've been thinking about what is IN some of these products and becoming concerned not only about the personal effects of exposure, but also the environmental effects of the products I purchase. I've come to the conclusion that the less ingredients a product contains the better it probably is. This way I can research easier and limit the 'unknown' factor of what my body is coming in contact with. Consider my most recent switch:

On the left you see AMANDE SHOWER OIL by L'Occitane (what I was using) and on the right you see VANILLA DREAM SHOWER GEL made by a local wise woman and yoga teacher at OM creations http://omcreations.ca/ . Here is the list of ingredients of the two products.

AMANDE SHOWER OIL: vitis vinifera seed oil, tipa-laureth sulfate, laureth-3, caprylic/capric triglyceride, parfum/fragrance, cocamide mea, sorbitanoleate, propylene glycol, prunus amygdalus dulcis oil, tocopherol, water, sunflower seed oil, rosemary leaf extract, coumarin, limonene, linalool.

VANILLA DREAM SHOWER GEL: glycerine soap base, vanilla and basil essential oils.

Now which one sounds better? All the STUFF in the first product was not only coming in direct contact with me and being absorbed into my skin, but was also being washed down the drain into our waterways. After doing some research (brief - consisting of The Environmental Working Group's website) I found out Coumarin is an allergen and immune system toxin and Limonene is linked to wildlife and environmental toxicity as well as shown to create reproductive toxicity in animal studies. Who wants that on their skin?

"Take out" - the trash

This is a short but important post - I HATE STYROFOAM! I absolutely HATE it. It is unnecessary, harmful to humans, AND harmful to the environment. I am trying to cut it out of my life completely and am researching how I can get other (larger) participants in society to do so as well. Some styrofoam comes into my life unbidden - like in packaging in the mail. This I strive to re-use and try to remember to ask sellers not to use if I'm ordering from them. I'm also getting all my meat from local farmers and butchers - so that stops that excess packaging right there. But recently I've been going out to lunch with colleges and I've had trouble finishing my meals. Then I'm left with a conundrum - should I leave my leftovers to reside in the garbage of the establishment, or should I tote them home in a one-use-only styrofoam container?

This is my solution - BRING MY OWN CONTAINER! It got me some funny looks from my friends - but I don't care! Now I get to bring my leftovers home for my husband instead of forcing myself to eat until I feel sick! I've also taken to talking to the managers of places (much to the amusement of others) about my frustration.

I'm never offensive - I still feel politeness is important - but I do want my opinion to be heard and for restaurants to change. It is not any more expensive to use plastic containers that can be locally recycled to house a patron's leftovers and I think more food emporiums should change over. I'm now filling out those comment cards a lot!

I also now own a number of travel mugs to stop my trash creation whenever I want a cup of coffee (though trying to find fair trade coffee is another frustration). Whenever I 'forget' my mug - I buy another one to add to my collection. This is happening less frequently now I know it's going to 'cost' me. One final note - I DID look up where, if anywhere, I could recycle polystyrene (styrofoam) and found this awesome site: www.earth911.com. If you go into their search engine and type in your product and location you can (hopefully) find a recycling centre near you. I've found a place called Intercon Solutions in Scugog that takes plastic bags as well as many other items including styrofoam peanuts!