Our Recycling Project

Over the years, I've experimented with different ways of handling my recycling. I'm sure that I've spent an inordinate amount of time and energy working on my recycling project, so, in the spirit of trying to save others some time and effort, this is what we're able to recycle and how it is organized.

Under our kitchen sink we have 7 separate containers (from left to right) for compost, mixed recyclables (glass, plastic, and metal), corrugated cardboard, paper, newspaper, grayboard (paperboard), and magazines.

In case you were wondering, those are milk boxes. I just took three half gallon boxes, washed them thoroughly, cut out some sides, and taped them together with gorilla tape. The containers under the sink provide a convenient location to sort recyclables without having to take everything to our larger recycling bins in the garage everyday. (Our trash can for what can't be recycled is separate and located elsewhere in the kitchen.) I empty these small containers into our larger recycling bins in our garage once each week where they stay until we take them to our community recycling program once each month.

This is about a month's worth of recycling.

In addition to the categories I mentioned above, I also have separate containers/bags for batteries, electronics, grocery bags, telephone books, and printer cartridges that I keep in the garage.

The key to successful recycling is finding a system that works for you. It must be simple, clean, and out-of-the-way. This system only requires a few minutes every week. I've never actually weighed our trash, but I'd say we recycle roughly 75% of our household waste.

Action: Carbon Offsets

You've done everything you can possibly do to reduce the amount of pollution that you're responsible for pumping into the environment, but you are bothered by what's left. Face it. Unless you are willing to live a primitive lifestyle, you will be responsible for some environmental degradation and human rights abuses.

That's it, right? We've done everything we can do. Time to go on about our merry way.

Maybe not. There's another idea that has been gaining support recently. They are called Carbon Offsets. The idea is that you can balance (or offset, if you like) the carbon dioxide you release into the atmosphere by supporting the production of clean energy.

Initially, I had reservations. It sounded an awful lot like the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences in the Middle Ages; in this case, a license to pollute. After doing some research though, I think carbon offsets can be used wisely. For example, my family does everything we can to reduce our negative impacts on other people and the environment. We change the way we drive and walk to work to conserve gas. We rarely use the air conditioning at home. We use sunlight to illuminate our house during the day and compact flourescent lightbulbs the rest of the time. We buy most of our food locally. We recycle. The list could go on, but in the end we still use some electricity, natural gas, and gasoline.

Until our society catches up to our ethics, carbon offsets appear to be the best way to close the gap. By purchasing carbon offsets, we help new windmills, solar arrays, and farm methane projects come to realization, and we support the generation of sustainable energy from already existing producers. Most importantly, we reduce the demand for energy from some of our heaviest polluters like coal-fired powerplants.

Native Energy http://www.nativeenergy.com/ is a company in which the majority of the shareholders are Native American. From their website: "NativeEnergy helps you help build Native American, farmer-owned, community based renewable energy projects that create social, economic, and environmental benefits." Most of their projects help build windmills on Native American lands that will then be owned and operated by the local community. The rest of their projects direct funds toward sustainable energy projects on family farms across the U.S. (There are several projects in Pennsylvania.)

Check out their website. Even if you don't decide to purchase any offsets, it's very informative.

If you do a search on "The Grist" you'll find a plethora of articles and discussions about carbon offsets. Perhaps surprisingly, not all of the opinions are on the side of offsetting. http://www.grist.org/

NPRs Scott Simon recently interviewed Al Gore and quized him about carbon offsets. This was the interview that got me interested in researching the topic. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11789919

Great website from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Tufts Climate Initiative. They have many resources about the practices of carbon offseting and carbon trading, and they have a review/rating of the major companies who sell carbon offsets worldwide. http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/carbonoffsets/ratings.htm

"If you think you're too small to have an impact try going to bed with a mosquito in the room." -- Anita Koddick

"The begining is the most important part of the work." -- Plato

My Favorite Sun Tea

Always looking for ways to have a smaller eco-footprint*, I've taken to making sun tea. No energy required to heat the water other than the free energy of the sun.

You can easily create your own flavors with the vast variety of teas and infusions out there. My favorite is 2 or 3 bags of Lipton tea and 1 bag of Earl Grey to a half gallon of water. Place your tea bags in a glass container filled with water. Put in the sunlight to brew for at least 2 hours. Sweeten to taste.

*Eco-footprint: short for Ecological footprint, an illustration that compares our impact on the environment to a footprint.

Action: Replace Standard Lightbulbs with Compact Flourescents

According to the government's Energy Star website Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) last 10 times longer and use 75% less energy.

They are initially more expensive, but will save between $30 and $45 in electricity over their lifetime.

When a CFL burns out (depending on use that should about 7 years later) they should be disposed of properly because they contain a very small amount of mercury. From the Energy Star website: "CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing – an average of 5 milligrams, which is roughly equivalent to an amount that would cover the tip of a ball-point pen. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal that amount."

Because CFLs are so much more energy efficient they result in overall less pollution. Much of our household electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, one of the dirtiest forms of energy production, and burning coal emits mercury into the environment.

Check out http://www.earth911.org/ for proper disposal options. There are local and national companies that will handle the lightbulbs correctly.

Here are a few resources for more information:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls
http://www.ncgreenpower.org/media/newsletters/2005/newsletter_fall2005_page6.html
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/lighting.html One of my favorite sites on energy efficiency.

"Whenever you see darkness, there is extraordinary opportunity for the light to burn brighter." -- Bono

Why Americans Aren't Ready for Cheap Gas

I'm guilty. I admit it. I'm part of the problem. I do as much as I can to conserve gasoline, but I still miss the target on a few things. First, I drive too much. Sometimes I drive when I could easily walk or bicycle instead. Sometimes I miss opportunities to carpool because I haven't planned well enough. The car I drive isn't as fuel efficient as it should be.

The bad part is that I'm not the worst by any stretch of the imagination. Everyday I see other motorists speeding down local roads -- every one of them apparently late to a very important date. Then there's my friend who drives an SUV but still complains about the price of gas. That's right. He doesn't complain about his vehicle's horrible gas mileage or his decision to buy such a gas hog. He complains about the price of gas. My personal favorite is my coworker who lives across the street from our office (all of 200 yards) but on even the nicest days insists on driving to work.

Worst offenders aside, most people I know are actually interested in spending less at the pump, and there's a growing awareness of the environmental degradation, killing, torture, and oppression that take place as a result of our thirst for oil. The question then becomes how do we begin to free ourselves from this chain.

The beginning is simple:
Carpool. It sounds too good to be true but sharing rides with a friend effectively doubles your gas mileage. Imagine if you could share a ride with two or more people.

Minimize the use of your heater and air conditioner.

Combine errands and trips.

Walk, ride bicycle, or use public transportation.

Drive more conservatively. Fast acceleration and gunning the engine uses more gas. Braking wastes the energy used during acceleration. 5-33% savings*

Follow the speed limit. According to the Department of Energy “…you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon ...” 7-23%*

Use cruise control on the highway. In a road test by Edmunds.com, a Land Rover got about 14% better mileage and a Mustang got 4.5% better mileage using cruise control rather than driver controlled speeds which waste gas with unnecessary acceleration and braking.

Get the junk out of your trunk. The more weight in your car; the more gas that is required to speed up. You can also be creative and start to strip down your car like race car drivers do. Pretty soon my passenger seat and back seat are gonna go! 1-2% per 100 lbs*

Avoid idling. Idling equals zero miles per gallon. It is unnecessary to “warm up” a modern car by idling more than 30 seconds. Instead, driving your car gently when you first start out in the morning will do a better job of getting the engine to its optimal operating temperature. In the same test at Edmunds.com, they saved up to 19% in mileage by turning off the car when idling more than one minute.

Keep your car tuned up. This includes keeping air filters clean; the exhaust system in good repair; spark plugs, wires, and other electrical components in good condition; change the oil regularly with quality synthetic oil; keep tires properly inflated; and use fuel system cleaners from time to time.

When you buy a new car, buy one that gets better gas mileage.

Since I've already written about local foods: eat locally. Maybe you didn't drive that beef all the way from Montana or Chile to your supermarket but someone did.

If you are relocating, consider locales with good public transportation and thriving businesses within an easy walk or bicycle ride.

*US Dept of Energy and EPA site: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
Edmunds site on fuel economy: http://www.edmunds.com/fueleconomy/index.html
Car Talk's Guide to Better Fuel economy: http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/fueleconomy/
I'd call this extreme fuel economy: Hypermiling. It's a number of driving techniques and strategies that can dramatically increase gas mileage. I'm trying a few of their techniques, but they are not for the faint of heart. http://www.hypermiling.com/ and http://www.cleanmpg.com/

I've also heard about putting magnets around your fuel line and adding a very small amount of acetone to your fuel to improve gas mileage but have not tried these myself nor verified their effectiveness or safety. Does anyone else have any experience with these or have any other tips or sites?


Coming soon... lawns, lawn mowers, and mainstream landscaping.