They didn’t deliver my Dex phone directory.
I was a bit startled today when I heard the screen door on my front door open. No one rang the doorbell or knocked, but it sounded like someone put something in my doorway. Being a curious person, I quickly ran to the window and peaked out to see who was soliciting in my neighborhood.
I saw an energetic woman lugging heavy plastic bags full of phone books to my neighbor’s doors. Seeing this I was a little upset because I distinctly remember writing a blog post Yellow Pages Go Green, and opting out of phone directories in my area on the Don’t Trash the Phone Book
“Well that didn’t work,” I thought as I went to the door to grab the phone books and toss them into the recycle bin. As I opened the door, a little door hanger came fluttering in. It said that Dex was now delivering books in my area, but since I had opted out, they did not give me one. If I have changed my mind, the flyer said I could opt-in again.
“It did work,” I thought with some excitement. Then I got to thinking, I have not received any of the five local directories I used to get, once I opted out on the website.
If you want to free up some space in your closets or drawers, and reduce paper consumption, consider opting out of redundant directories. You can also call or email the directory companies and ask to opt-out of their delivery.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Waking Up an Ordinary Environmentalist
Three actions for morning-challenged coffee drinkers
A fresh-brewed cup of coffee in the morning is fantastic! If you are morning-challenged like me, you probably don’t have a lot of brain activity prior to that first cup, so here are a few things you can plan ahead for, so that first cup taste great and is environmentally- friendly.
1. Stop Trying to Impress your Coffee Maker
Why are some coffee filters white, and some brown? Strictly, for appearances: apparently someone in the coffee filter business decided a long time ago that white coffee filters looked better, so they started bleaching them. Most inexpensive white coffee filters use chlorine to turn the natural brown color to white. That means more processing with water, chemicals, and energy for no practical reason. The color does not affect the taste. Take a look next time you are in a coffee house – they are probably using brown filters. Stop trying to impress your coffee maker, stick with the brown filters.
2. Choose Sustainable and Ethical coffee producers.
As good as coffee is, it is bad for the environment. Rainforests are replaced with plantations that produce high-volume beans, however eliminate natural environments for wildlife. These plantations often negatively influence the indigenous populations and prey on the small coffee farmers. There are a number of companies that sell sustainable coffee, that may be shade grown, and possibly fair trade. You can find this information on the package labels. Starbucks http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility, for example has a strong sustainability program and many of their beans are grown in environmental and ethical ways. Yes, you may pay a bit more, however read on for a way to save a bit of cash.
3. BYOC = Bring Your Own Cup
If you buy a cup of coffee, you are likely buying a paper cup, a cardboard band to protect your hand and a plastic lid. You can compost the paper parts (really it works!); however few places will recycle the plastic lids. Bring your own travel mug and you will not have to worry about waste, your coffee will stay hot longer and many coffee houses will give you a 10cent or more discount if you bring your own mug. That means once a month you get a free cup of coffee if you are a weekday customer – or about $25 a year. That will make up for additional costs you spend on sustainable coffee!
Three simple steps an Ordinary Environmentalist can choose to do to positively impact the environment; in our backyards and ½ ways around the world.
A fresh-brewed cup of coffee in the morning is fantastic! If you are morning-challenged like me, you probably don’t have a lot of brain activity prior to that first cup, so here are a few things you can plan ahead for, so that first cup taste great and is environmentally- friendly.
1. Stop Trying to Impress your Coffee Maker
Why are some coffee filters white, and some brown? Strictly, for appearances: apparently someone in the coffee filter business decided a long time ago that white coffee filters looked better, so they started bleaching them. Most inexpensive white coffee filters use chlorine to turn the natural brown color to white. That means more processing with water, chemicals, and energy for no practical reason. The color does not affect the taste. Take a look next time you are in a coffee house – they are probably using brown filters. Stop trying to impress your coffee maker, stick with the brown filters.
2. Choose Sustainable and Ethical coffee producers.
As good as coffee is, it is bad for the environment. Rainforests are replaced with plantations that produce high-volume beans, however eliminate natural environments for wildlife. These plantations often negatively influence the indigenous populations and prey on the small coffee farmers. There are a number of companies that sell sustainable coffee, that may be shade grown, and possibly fair trade. You can find this information on the package labels. Starbucks http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility, for example has a strong sustainability program and many of their beans are grown in environmental and ethical ways. Yes, you may pay a bit more, however read on for a way to save a bit of cash.
3. BYOC = Bring Your Own Cup
If you buy a cup of coffee, you are likely buying a paper cup, a cardboard band to protect your hand and a plastic lid. You can compost the paper parts (really it works!); however few places will recycle the plastic lids. Bring your own travel mug and you will not have to worry about waste, your coffee will stay hot longer and many coffee houses will give you a 10cent or more discount if you bring your own mug. That means once a month you get a free cup of coffee if you are a weekday customer – or about $25 a year. That will make up for additional costs you spend on sustainable coffee!
Three simple steps an Ordinary Environmentalist can choose to do to positively impact the environment; in our backyards and ½ ways around the world.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Can Oatmeal Make for a Better World?
Yummy sustainability in the cereal aisle.
My blog post “Have I Peaked?” listed my 2011 Ordinary Environmentalist resolutions, and #3 is to Buy Sustainable Products and Packaging.
With that in mind, I was at the grocery store looking for instant oatmeal that wasn’t laden with sugar and artificial ingredients and I came across a product that caught my eye because it was a small box of organic instant oatmeal. Creative and eye-catching I thought, but probably 3x as expensive because it looks like a specialty item. Nope, it worked out to be priced similar to other brands. What the heck, I thought, and tossed a box in my shopping cart.
Yum! The BetterOats Organic Raw Chai Spiced oatmeal is very good and I’ll buy it again, for a number of reasons:
PACKAGING – There are four great things about the packaging:
1. The box uses up to 35% less packaging then other brands.
2. It takes up 35% less space in my cupboard – a surprisingly nice benefit.
3. The box and the paper envelopes are both recyclable.
4. The oatmeal packet is cleverly designed to measure your liquid so you do not need to find a measuring cup, or guess the right amount – a great benefit if you bring this to work).
SUSTAINABILITY – BetterOats purchases wind energy credits – a sustainable resource.
HEALTHY – whole grain, flax, no artificial anything, and organic.
TASTY – it has great texture and plenty of flavors. It has to taste good, or it isn’t worth buying!
Ordinary Environmentalists are not extremists, we simply make everyday choices that promote sustainability and reduce our impact on the environment – like buying yummy oatmeal with an eco-friendly slant.
My blog post “Have I Peaked?” listed my 2011 Ordinary Environmentalist resolutions, and #3 is to Buy Sustainable Products and Packaging.
With that in mind, I was at the grocery store looking for instant oatmeal that wasn’t laden with sugar and artificial ingredients and I came across a product that caught my eye because it was a small box of organic instant oatmeal. Creative and eye-catching I thought, but probably 3x as expensive because it looks like a specialty item. Nope, it worked out to be priced similar to other brands. What the heck, I thought, and tossed a box in my shopping cart.
Yum! The BetterOats Organic Raw Chai Spiced oatmeal is very good and I’ll buy it again, for a number of reasons:
PACKAGING – There are four great things about the packaging:
1. The box uses up to 35% less packaging then other brands.
2. It takes up 35% less space in my cupboard – a surprisingly nice benefit.
3. The box and the paper envelopes are both recyclable.
4. The oatmeal packet is cleverly designed to measure your liquid so you do not need to find a measuring cup, or guess the right amount – a great benefit if you bring this to work).
SUSTAINABILITY – BetterOats purchases wind energy credits – a sustainable resource.
HEALTHY – whole grain, flax, no artificial anything, and organic.
TASTY – it has great texture and plenty of flavors. It has to taste good, or it isn’t worth buying!
Ordinary Environmentalists are not extremists, we simply make everyday choices that promote sustainability and reduce our impact on the environment – like buying yummy oatmeal with an eco-friendly slant.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Will there be a rum shortage soon?
Sugar Cane based paper products are introduced.
I just learned that Emerald Brand is making paper plates and toilet paper using 70% - 100% less trees in their products. They are replacing wood pulp with sugar cane.
What??!! I immediately began to think that if this takes off, there could be a shortage of sugar cane – the main ingredient in rum! Will there be a shortage? What will we do without our daiquiris, rum ‘n cokes and mojitos this summer?
Relief washed over me when I kept reading and learned that the paper products where actually going to be made from the by-product of sugar cane juice pressing. Whew – it’s the juice that goes into the rum!
According to earth911.com, “Rather than using virgin or even recycled paper, the new products use Bagasse, the leftover residue from sugar cane juicing. Using Bagasse in new products reclaims an agricultural waste material and prevents the polluting gases created during Bagasse’s usual disposal – burning. It also takes less energy and fewer chemicals to produce Bagasse-products than it does to manufacture tree-based paper products.”
This is an excellent example of how we can rethink our production processes and see how we can leverage existing waste materials to create products, instead of negatively affecting our environment.
This change agent saves trees, reduces air pollutants and minimizes use of energy and chemicals – and doesn’t affect rum production. Cheers to all Ordinary Environmentalists who support products like this!
I just learned that Emerald Brand is making paper plates and toilet paper using 70% - 100% less trees in their products. They are replacing wood pulp with sugar cane.
What??!! I immediately began to think that if this takes off, there could be a shortage of sugar cane – the main ingredient in rum! Will there be a shortage? What will we do without our daiquiris, rum ‘n cokes and mojitos this summer?
Relief washed over me when I kept reading and learned that the paper products where actually going to be made from the by-product of sugar cane juice pressing. Whew – it’s the juice that goes into the rum!
According to earth911.com, “Rather than using virgin or even recycled paper, the new products use Bagasse, the leftover residue from sugar cane juicing. Using Bagasse in new products reclaims an agricultural waste material and prevents the polluting gases created during Bagasse’s usual disposal – burning. It also takes less energy and fewer chemicals to produce Bagasse-products than it does to manufacture tree-based paper products.”
This is an excellent example of how we can rethink our production processes and see how we can leverage existing waste materials to create products, instead of negatively affecting our environment.
This change agent saves trees, reduces air pollutants and minimizes use of energy and chemicals – and doesn’t affect rum production. Cheers to all Ordinary Environmentalists who support products like this!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Slipping and Sliding to Sustainability
How falling into a snow bank can help with sustainability.
This morning I went to get my Sunday paper and as I slipped and slid and eventually fell into the four-foot snow bank at the end of my driveway, I managed to hang on to the paper; which was conveniently wrapped in its protective plastic sleeve.
After dusting the snow off, and looking to make sure no one saw my ungraceful fall, I took a closer look at that plastic newspaper sleeve and noticed it had some new printing on it this week:
“Green15™ This product is made with at least 15% recycled material and with 15% less plastic.”
I’m pleased to hear that the StarTribune is making conscious choices that reduce their impact on the environment. That got me to thinking about one of my Ordinary Environmentalist consumer decisions I am making in 2011; Buy Sustainable Products and Packaging. This means I will look for packaging that is made, at least in part, from scrape and recycled materials. We are a little over a month into the year, and here is one product I found that works great, and is very thoughtfully packaged:
Seventh Generation dish soap = 90% Post Consumer Recycled materials (PCR). That means they use scrape and/or recycled materials content in their dish soap bottles. The bottles are recyclable too, helping to close the loop and make this packaging, nearly 100% sustainable.
It is great to see that companies such as the StarTribune and Seventh Generation™ are making sustainable packaging decisions that us Ordinary Environmentalists can choose to purchase for our households.
Falling in the snow bank wasn’t a great way to start the day, however it did wake me up, and I found another example of how companies are paying attention and converting to sustainable packaging practices. It is now up to us to purchase products from these companies.
This morning I went to get my Sunday paper and as I slipped and slid and eventually fell into the four-foot snow bank at the end of my driveway, I managed to hang on to the paper; which was conveniently wrapped in its protective plastic sleeve.
After dusting the snow off, and looking to make sure no one saw my ungraceful fall, I took a closer look at that plastic newspaper sleeve and noticed it had some new printing on it this week:
“Green15™ This product is made with at least 15% recycled material and with 15% less plastic.”
I’m pleased to hear that the StarTribune is making conscious choices that reduce their impact on the environment. That got me to thinking about one of my Ordinary Environmentalist consumer decisions I am making in 2011; Buy Sustainable Products and Packaging. This means I will look for packaging that is made, at least in part, from scrape and recycled materials. We are a little over a month into the year, and here is one product I found that works great, and is very thoughtfully packaged:
Seventh Generation dish soap = 90% Post Consumer Recycled materials (PCR). That means they use scrape and/or recycled materials content in their dish soap bottles. The bottles are recyclable too, helping to close the loop and make this packaging, nearly 100% sustainable.
It is great to see that companies such as the StarTribune and Seventh Generation™ are making sustainable packaging decisions that us Ordinary Environmentalists can choose to purchase for our households.
Falling in the snow bank wasn’t a great way to start the day, however it did wake me up, and I found another example of how companies are paying attention and converting to sustainable packaging practices. It is now up to us to purchase products from these companies.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
One Leg at a Time
Shopping for jeans can promote sustainability in manufacturing.
Eco-friendly, sustainability, recyclability; all of these are words that describe what an Ordinary Environmentalist looks for when they make purchases. When it comes to clothes however, it is a bit difficult to make purchase decisions that are environmentally mindful, without going to fringe stores and buying 100% organic hemp t-shirts.
Levi’s® is launching a new line called WaterLess jeans this month. They figured out that they could save a lot of water usage by changing their manufacturing process. With this line of jeans, they are using ozone within their ‘softening’ stage to help reduce water usage.
OK…. what does that mean? According to Levi's website, that saves from 28-96% of water consumption, saving about 16M liters of water for this new spring season line. That is a lot of water – and that is for one product line, in one fashion season.
I am not, as an Ordinary Environmentalist, going to purchase jeans exclusively based on their environmental impact; I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else.
I will however consider them, and as with any product with sustainable practices, it may be the tipping point for me to purchase it over other similar products.
Eco-friendly, sustainability, recyclability; all of these are words that describe what an Ordinary Environmentalist looks for when they make purchases. When it comes to clothes however, it is a bit difficult to make purchase decisions that are environmentally mindful, without going to fringe stores and buying 100% organic hemp t-shirts.
Levi’s® is launching a new line called WaterLess jeans this month. They figured out that they could save a lot of water usage by changing their manufacturing process. With this line of jeans, they are using ozone within their ‘softening’ stage to help reduce water usage.
OK…. what does that mean? According to Levi's website, that saves from 28-96% of water consumption, saving about 16M liters of water for this new spring season line. That is a lot of water – and that is for one product line, in one fashion season.
I am not, as an Ordinary Environmentalist, going to purchase jeans exclusively based on their environmental impact; I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else.
I will however consider them, and as with any product with sustainable practices, it may be the tipping point for me to purchase it over other similar products.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Caps Off!
What you may not know about recycling plastic bottle caps.
Is the rumor true that bottle caps from water and shampoo bottles are recyclable? The answer is yes, however if you are putting them in your recycle bin, they are probably not being recycled.
Paul Kallevig, Customer Service Representative from Allied Waste in Eden Prairie MN told me that I can put the caps in my recycle bin, and “Though they are not recyclable, they are made out of a chemical that floats when it is melted. Once the plastic is melted down they skim off the contaminants off the top.” That waste plastic is then thrown away. This explains why many recycle/waste haulers allow caps to be included in your recycling bin. Bad news is that it means those caps - or the melted globs are ending up in landfills.
The good news is that plastic #5 caps can actually be recycled by bringing them to any U.S. Aveda Salons. Just make sure they are clean and store them in a bag until you are ready to take them to the local Salon. Aveda is an environmentally conscious beauty products and services company and they utilize this recycled plastic into their product packaging.
Aveda has provided a handy reference sheet on what caps can be recycled. You can bring in any #5 rigid caps with threaded necks from shampoo, water, milk, detergent, flip top, and pharmaceutical bottles. Don’t include plastic pumps or non-ridged lids from things like yogurt and margarine lids. You will be surprised at how much plastic this adds up to in your household.
Aveda also has a school caps recycling program that looks easy for a group or individual student to introduce into their school.
If you want to see what one amazing, 11-year old student has done, check out his website dedicated to recycling plastic caps at: RecycleCaps.Webs.com
Now, just find your local Aveda Location, and incorporate an occasional stop during your regular errands.
Hats (or caps) off to Aveda for their sustainability initiative, and for every Ordinary Environmentalist who takes this little step to a better world.
Is the rumor true that bottle caps from water and shampoo bottles are recyclable? The answer is yes, however if you are putting them in your recycle bin, they are probably not being recycled.
Paul Kallevig, Customer Service Representative from Allied Waste in Eden Prairie MN told me that I can put the caps in my recycle bin, and “Though they are not recyclable, they are made out of a chemical that floats when it is melted. Once the plastic is melted down they skim off the contaminants off the top.” That waste plastic is then thrown away. This explains why many recycle/waste haulers allow caps to be included in your recycling bin. Bad news is that it means those caps - or the melted globs are ending up in landfills.
The good news is that plastic #5 caps can actually be recycled by bringing them to any U.S. Aveda Salons. Just make sure they are clean and store them in a bag until you are ready to take them to the local Salon. Aveda is an environmentally conscious beauty products and services company and they utilize this recycled plastic into their product packaging.
Aveda has provided a handy reference sheet on what caps can be recycled. You can bring in any #5 rigid caps with threaded necks from shampoo, water, milk, detergent, flip top, and pharmaceutical bottles. Don’t include plastic pumps or non-ridged lids from things like yogurt and margarine lids. You will be surprised at how much plastic this adds up to in your household.
Aveda also has a school caps recycling program that looks easy for a group or individual student to introduce into their school.
If you want to see what one amazing, 11-year old student has done, check out his website dedicated to recycling plastic caps at: RecycleCaps.Webs.com
Now, just find your local Aveda Location, and incorporate an occasional stop during your regular errands.
Hats (or caps) off to Aveda for their sustainability initiative, and for every Ordinary Environmentalist who takes this little step to a better world.
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