Q is for questions

We’ve probably all heard that there is no bad question, except for the one not asked…and there are many  famous quotes about questions.  Here are a few of my favorites...

The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.  ~Thomas Berger

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.   ~Albert Einstein

It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?   
~Henry David Thoreau

Better to ask a question than to remain ignorant.  ~Proverb

He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever
~ Chinese Proverbs

So what are some questions we can ask about our human footprint?  And what green baby steps can we take to alleviate our human footprint? Here are a few questions related to our human footprint.  

1.  How much energy is conserved by switching to CFLs?               
2.  How much water does the average person use?
3.  How much food does the average person eat?
4.  How many diapers did you wear as a baby?
5.  Won’t going green cost more?                      
6.  How much water does the average shower use? 
7.  How much food is wasted in the US each year?
8.  Why should I buy locally grown and produced foods?
9.  If milk is good for me, how can it be bad for the planet?      
10. About how much packaging does an average American toss each year?                                              

If you are curious like me, tune in tomorrow to learn the answers to these green conundrums!  Some of the answers may shock you. And remember what Einstein said, "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.  The important thing is not to stop questioning."

Candy Haul

Yikes!  My lil goblins hauled in just about 20 pounds of candy!  A dentist's dream come true...

So what is a mother to do?  Well, first comes the trading between siblings.  The kids each shared a few pieces with me and hubby too :)  Then they sorted out the types they don't care for (not as much as I'd hoped) and turned those over.  They also set aside some Hershey's bars for future s'mores or to melt down to make chocolate covered pretzels or fruit. 

In the past, the kids traded in a certain number of pieces for a Webkins.  Sometimes I offer to trade them for iTunes gift cards :)  When we make the trade, I put aside some candy such as m&ms, skittles, tootsie rolls, etc. to decorate gingerbread houses and cookies, freeze, to be added to cookies/brownies, or take it into work.   

The "trick" is...waiting until the candy is old news, they forget about it, or grow tired of it.  Then it's easier to make a trade, or make it disappear into candyland, and spread it out for future use :)

Now don't get me started on all the packaging, candy wrappers, etc that result from all these sweet little "treats"! 

Winks from a chocoholic! 

One step forward, two steps back

I'm REALLY disappointed that Frito-Lay caved in on their compostable SunChips bags!

So what if the bag is a bit noisier than what people are used to?  What??? The bag wakes up a roommate?  Ummm maybe they shouldn't be eating that late at night, it's not all that healthy to begin with!  So stop sneaking snacks in the middle of the night...problem solved! OR pour some chips into a bowl and then eat them!  Do roommates also complain about the FZZSTTTT of the soda or beer can being popped open?   Do we need silencers for cans?  Or the clickety clickety of the laptop keyboard or texting? 

Consumers are so fickle, that they won't buy a product they like due to packaging?  Well, it's too bad because Frito-Lay WAS at the forefront of changing consumer's thoughts and attitudes towards packaging.  And just think, they had responded to consumer demand for more eco-friendly sustainable packaging!  I for one, was a huge fan of the compostable bags.  I didn't care one bit that they were noisier because I knew that after we'd finished the yummy, crunchy chips, the bag would not litter a landfill, and to me that's more important than the crunch of the bag.  In fact, I got a kick out of adding it to our compost, crinkle and all!

Wasteful, landfill clogging packaging in general drives me CRAZY,  which was why I was so happy to be able to compost the Sun Chips bag.  It's time that companies become more responsible for more sustainable packaging, more eco-friendly processing, and become environmental stewards and good examples for consumers.

Personally, I believe laws are needed to push companies to create sustainable packaging.  Without a push, most companies take the cheaper, easier, petroleum-dependent-plastic way out.  If Frito-Lay hadn't caved in, would consumers get used to the bag?  I think their products could stand up to the complaints and they'd still profit because it's the product that consumers are buying to eat, and their products are good.

To their credit, Frito-Lay says they are developing the next generation of biodegradable bags.   And I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it when it finally arrives on the market!  Until then, I'll still be pushing for more responsible, eco-friendly, sustainable packaging and buying the original Sun Chips which will still have the compostable bag  :)


http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-10-05-sunchips05_ST_N.htm

Potato, Po-ta-toe, Tomato, To-ma-to

You say potato, I say po-ta-toe, tomato, to-ma-to....let's call the whole thing off...or not!


So I've blogged several times about one of my pet peeves, packaging, and the amount of packaging that ends up in the trash....http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/04/talkin-trash.html and http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/04/packaging-pet-peeve.html

and I've shared how some packaging can be recycled and also benefit a charity such as Nature Conservancy, via Terracycle, http://peaceloveplanet.blogspot.com/2010/04/time-has-come.html .  When I contacted our local recycling company, and was told that frozen food bags could not be recycled, and many other types of packaging, I didn't want to take "NO" for an answer...so I took it one step further and contacted Ore Ida, which is owned by the Heinz Company (clever since you need ketchup with your french fries!!!) to ask if their packaging was recyclable or not.  They did get back to me, and here is an excerpt from their response to me, 

     "The packaging of the Ore-Ida Potatoes is not recyclable. It is made of composite plastic to allow it to be strong and flexible in the freezer environment.

  

    We support the use of recyclable materials.  Unfortunately, there are currently few acceptable materials available that meet the stringent requirements of food packaging and still fewer systems in place to utilize the end recycled material."

I was happy to hear back from them, yet their materials are not recyclable?  Why can't a composite material be recycled, that makes no sense to me.  What is in it that can't be recycled?  I mean our recycling is plastics 1-7...I hope I can get additional information.  I'll keep you posted. 

Some Serious Green

Some serious GREEN.....

The time has come for companies to step up their game, for marketers to generate new markets for even more recycled goods, for manufacturing experts to make things with less packaging, the least environmental footprint, with the least waste, and in the process make some serious green$$$!!!

At our house, we recycle as much as we can, yet there is not a market for some of the plastics that we should be able to reuse/recycle...look at all the plastic packaging I've collected.  I contacted our local recycling company, and was told that it can not be recycled, but has to go in the trash!  

However, we know that sustainable packaging is possible, and that biodegradable packing is possible (SunChips bags).  Unfortunately it is not common practice to have such packaging, and that is a crime against humanity because it all ends up in the landfills creating a toxic soup.    Thankfully there are some companies that have stepped up their game to find useful end of life uses for packaging, but we need more of them. 


If you haven't checked them out yet, TerraCycle, founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University student named Tom Szaky, makes eco-friendly products from varied recycled products.  http://www.terracycle.net/  Things such as Frito-Lay bags, CapriSun drink pouches, Elmer's glue sticks, Nabisco and Keebler cookie packages, etc.  You can join a brigade, collect the items and receive money towards a charity of your choice which can be your school if the school is participating.  Szaky's ingenious idea to upcycle things that would normally end up in landfills is what is needed.  Now to get TerraCycle to take some more "waste" like plastic bags from frozen foods, plastic cereal bag inserts, etc.  I've already sent them some ideas, we'll see what they think.  

Some interesting statistics from TerraCycle:

• people collecting trash  9,639, 059
• waste units collected 1,821,678,773
• products from waste 178 
• money for charity $829,462.19

Now that's some serious GREEN for charity!!!

At the grocery store - Day 11

Today at the grocery store I was very excited to find that Sun Chips now has a 100% compostable bag that the chips come in! Wow am I a geek!! I never dreamed I'd be excited about green packaging ;) Now if only the rest of the manufacturers would get a move on and use similar packaging! Funny how such a small thing can make me smile :)