Picking up trash can be fascinating, seriously! I have the blessing of living in two different places, one way up in the mountains with very little trash, and one in the heart of a major city with beaucoup trash so plentiful it seems to come up out the ground instead of grass. So I have different approaches to my dedication for keeping my world cleaner.
In Colorado, I have a friend who is always training pack llamas, so when we do our adopt-a-road trash pickup, we take a llama along with saddlebags to hold the trash. Then we climb down and up ditches, picking up what tourists flying by have decided to jettison. They don’t live here; why should they care?
Rattling the saddlebags and stuffing trash gradually gets the llamas used to packing and we don’t have to carry all of it. Win-win. Plus, with a llama, people always slow down to look and sometimes notice we are picking up trash, which gets them to thinking about not leaving any!
My city home has a real dearth of pack animals, so I have my own mantra for that: if I see a discarded plastic bag (and who doesn’t daily in the city?) I was meant to pick it up and fill it with trash before depositing it in a proper receptacle. That basically means, every time I leave my house, I will be picking up trash, but that has a finite limit, as does the bag. Then I can continue on my way, enjoying the walk, the day and any flowers.
Imagine my surprise the other day while sauntering down a dirt road gawking at the new snow covering on the mountains, when an empty plastic bag drifted in front of me. Here? Okay, same pledge holds, so I picked it up and started filling. Because of our paucity of trash, I walked a lot farther toting it before it was full. And my surroundings were once more pristine.
Can I invite you readers to do the same? Minus the llama, in most cases, I know, but be aware and help out our planet a little.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Growth Makes Us Uncomfortable
It's supposed to. Anything worth doing usually involves some internal policing and stress. That's how we continue to mesh with our world in a meaningful way. For most of the year, I live in the city, a very diverse area the continues to expand my perspective. One block one way is old historical mansions. One block another way is boarded up tenements. They are all part of my milieu. One thing they have in common, at least along the sidewalks and streets is trash. And trash isn't something we venture forth every day to look for.
I used to pick it up everywhere I went, but I never got to enjoy a walk. So I came up with a solution I could live with. Since I'm the Plastic Bag Lady, I am using plastic bags as my trigger. Whenever I see an empty plastic disposable bag blowing around, I take it as a sign that I'm supposed to pick it up, fill it with trash and dispose of it. That limits my trash forays but not much! Do you know how many trash bags there are in the city? Especially a city that doesn't ban them? At least once a trip, and I walk every day, my mandate kicks in.
Sometimes, when I'm preoccupied or feeling tired or whatever, I walk by one. I usually get ten feet away before I come back and pick it up to fill. No problem doing that and when I come back home, it looks better--for at least a while. I sleep better knowing I'm doing things to help my world and make someone else's trip to the bus stop or store a little more pleasant.
I used to pick it up everywhere I went, but I never got to enjoy a walk. So I came up with a solution I could live with. Since I'm the Plastic Bag Lady, I am using plastic bags as my trigger. Whenever I see an empty plastic disposable bag blowing around, I take it as a sign that I'm supposed to pick it up, fill it with trash and dispose of it. That limits my trash forays but not much! Do you know how many trash bags there are in the city? Especially a city that doesn't ban them? At least once a trip, and I walk every day, my mandate kicks in.
Sometimes, when I'm preoccupied or feeling tired or whatever, I walk by one. I usually get ten feet away before I come back and pick it up to fill. No problem doing that and when I come back home, it looks better--for at least a while. I sleep better knowing I'm doing things to help my world and make someone else's trip to the bus stop or store a little more pleasant.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Spring and Sprouting Trash
It's spring. Flowers are blooming, and unfortunately, so is trash. More people out walking and apparently littering. If your town doesn't have a clean-up day, organize one for your neighborhood. Send out a flyer or an email inviting everyone to meet at your place for coffee, bagels and donuts (People will do anything for free Krispy Kreems) and grab a trash bag to go out and spruce up the area. In St. Louis City, we have Operation Brightside each May and I volunteered to be a block captain one year. Apparently, that is an appointment for life unless you tell them otherwise. Hey! It's once a year. I can do this.
You can also combine trash pick-up with a potluck to follow, anything that makes your environment neater and helps build community with your neighbors.
You can also combine trash pick-up with a potluck to follow, anything that makes your environment neater and helps build community with your neighbors.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Some Things We Old People Can Do to Make Our World Better
This was written over Christmas but has applicability all year long. We have a lot on our minds right now: the economy, terrorism, pat-downs, family, the holidays. Let's not forget about our planet, the one we have to live on and share with others? I was walking through our city neighborhood the other evening, looking at Christmas lights--and trash. A plastic bag blew up around my legs, and I thought it did nothing to enhance the decor. So I picked it up, along with some fast-food containers, and a notice of power shut-off for non-payment, wondering how that anonymous person was doing. I know a lot of people that walk my street are struggling, so what are some things I can do to help that?
Of course, we can identify and give as generously as possible to charities we care about. There are little things we can do, too, to perk up the holidays for people less fortunate that us:
• Pick up the trash: I have this formula that if I find a plastic bag on the street or sidewalk, it is a sign that I'm supposed to pick it up and fill it with as much trash as it will hold. I do this at least weekly. I'm walking somewhere anyway, so why not fill a bag with trash and deposit it in a receptacle? If we all did that, the world might look a little spiffier and worth our efforts.
• Put spare change in the "Feed the Meter" parking meters. We have several of these on corners in the Central West End of St. Louis and all the money fed into the meters goes directly to homeless services. So instead of giving a panhandler money, feed the meter. Then you know where it goes.
• Never pass a Salvation Army bucket without giving them something. I carry quarters and dollar bills in my pocket during the holidays so I'm ready to feed them. It really encourages those frigid bell-ringers.
What are some of the little things you do to make your corner of the world a little better for people? Please share, and sign up to be a follower of this blog. God Bless, and Happy Holidays!
Of course, we can identify and give as generously as possible to charities we care about. There are little things we can do, too, to perk up the holidays for people less fortunate that us:
• Pick up the trash: I have this formula that if I find a plastic bag on the street or sidewalk, it is a sign that I'm supposed to pick it up and fill it with as much trash as it will hold. I do this at least weekly. I'm walking somewhere anyway, so why not fill a bag with trash and deposit it in a receptacle? If we all did that, the world might look a little spiffier and worth our efforts.
• Put spare change in the "Feed the Meter" parking meters. We have several of these on corners in the Central West End of St. Louis and all the money fed into the meters goes directly to homeless services. So instead of giving a panhandler money, feed the meter. Then you know where it goes.
• Never pass a Salvation Army bucket without giving them something. I carry quarters and dollar bills in my pocket during the holidays so I'm ready to feed them. It really encourages those frigid bell-ringers.
What are some of the little things you do to make your corner of the world a little better for people? Please share, and sign up to be a follower of this blog. God Bless, and Happy Holidays!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Debris is Everyone’s Problem
I live in the pristine high mountains of Colorado part of
the year. Trash is nowhere nearly as plentiful as it is around my city digs.
Perhaps that makes it all the more noticeable. It jars the scenery by its
singular intrusion. Whether near or far, I’m always on trash patrol. I think it’s
one of our responsibilities as citizens of this much-stressed planet. If we can
make our surroundings easier on the eye of someone with enough ugliness in his
life, I’d like to do that.
Out in Colorado, we pick up what we see, and even in the
frontier, we have an adopt-a-road program. Mostly we get beer and soda cans and
fast-food wrappers. It may also be leftover markers and gel packets from a
trail race. Whatever shouldn’t be there, we try to pick up. Sometimes I have a
pack llama to carry it for me!
Back in the city, with trash everywhere, I developed a
mandate. If I see a discarded plastic bag (and who doesn’t on a daily basis?) I
take it as a sign I should fill it with trash and deposit it in a trash can.
Everyone’s living situation is different. What would be
really cool is for all of us to set up a game plan for trash remediation where
we live and work. Some of the ideas I’ve heard:
- Get a group of co-workers or friends to schedule a bi-monthly trash patrol around your area for a couple hours and then end at a favorite coffee house for fun and conversation
- Sign up for an adopt-a-street program and make it a family affair or a memorial project for someone who was a great citizen. Erect a sign in their honor.
- Pick up trash as part of a service organization service project, in honor of Martin Luther King Day or for your university.
- Make that your contribution to Earth Day every year.
- As a manager at a business, sponsor a contest with employee teams as to which team can pick up the most trash on their lunch hour around the business with fun, edible prizes. You’ll have the added benefit of increasing the activity level of your employees.
Most of all, really care about where you live and work and
help it be the best it can be.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Spring Blitz
It's getting close to spring. In St. Louis all the daffodils are out and it's the first week of March--strange. Up along side the daffodils is all the trash a city seems to sprout continuously. Time to think about cleaning up your home turf. We have something called Operation Brightside, a volunteer effort supported by the city to organize all the wards into blocks with block captains. I'm the block captain for our area and one weekend in April, we clean. The city supplies garbage bags and picks up the trash and heavy items on a certain weekend for each ward.
One year, we got our alumni association to help us clean up our neighborhood because it coincided with our university day of service. This year, we're probably on our own.
Think about where you live and see if you have such a program. If not, organize one. Get your neighbors together one morning in early spring to clean up, plant flowers, just make your neighborhood a better place to live. It doesn't take that much work, and it's a great way to teach your kids about civic mindedness and pride in neighborhood.
In Colorado, we have a similar program. The Colorado Department of Transportation enlists neighborhood associations to clean up along local highways. We go out three times a year, wearing reflective vests and toting showy garbage bags to spruce up the area. C-DOT picks up the trash bags. Within our association, we have an adopt-a-road program to keep those picked up. It would be great to sit back and complain about the trash. I'd rather pick it up and have a place to live I can be proud of. Think about it.
One year, we got our alumni association to help us clean up our neighborhood because it coincided with our university day of service. This year, we're probably on our own.
Think about where you live and see if you have such a program. If not, organize one. Get your neighbors together one morning in early spring to clean up, plant flowers, just make your neighborhood a better place to live. It doesn't take that much work, and it's a great way to teach your kids about civic mindedness and pride in neighborhood.
In Colorado, we have a similar program. The Colorado Department of Transportation enlists neighborhood associations to clean up along local highways. We go out three times a year, wearing reflective vests and toting showy garbage bags to spruce up the area. C-DOT picks up the trash bags. Within our association, we have an adopt-a-road program to keep those picked up. It would be great to sit back and complain about the trash. I'd rather pick it up and have a place to live I can be proud of. Think about it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
White Plastic Bags in Winter
White plastic grocery bags blend with the snow--to a point. But the shape give them away. Snow is flat and covers the ground with its pristine veneer, while plastic bags give themselves away by blowing in the wind, as if to remind us of their flagrant trashy nature. Even when you can't pick them up and fill them with trash, still, pick them up. They aren't snow and no one is fooled.
Trash knows no season. Neither, then, should our efforts to create a neighborhood we can be proud of.
Trash knows no season. Neither, then, should our efforts to create a neighborhood we can be proud of.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Proper Waste Disposal
If you are like me, you go through sporatic clearings of stuff, whether papers, files, cosmetics and hair products no longer used--anything to feel less hemmed in. The trick to being effective at one of these spring/fall/whenever cleanings is to get organized. You'll do yourself and the environment a favor.
Step 1: Set a finite area to clear that's not too overwhelming, like the master bathroom cabinets
Step 2: Have two bags handy: one for trash and one for recycle. Don't get lazy on this one. You just have to rinse out those half-used bottles to recycle them.
Step 3: Reuse or recycle: Left over shampoo you no long like, or it has sulfates and you can't use it on your straight hair, can be poured into hand dispensers and used for handwashing. Check environmental websites to see what should NOT be emptied down the drain.
Step 4: Get rid of outdated prescriptions, but don't flush them down the toilet. More and more, we are finding escalating amounts of drugs in our drinking water and streams. Unless it specifically says to flush, and very few drugs do, adulterate them so they can't be used and put them in the trash.
Step 5: Durable goods you no longer want can be donated to a charity--like that curling iron you never got the hang of, or the humidifier you never use.
Sept 6: Separate business papers into those with personal information that need shredding and those you can recycle.
Then just do it. YOu will feel so free that you have cleaned out all those drawer and cabinet hoggers. And you will probably feel more like tackling that file cabinet in your office.
Step 1: Set a finite area to clear that's not too overwhelming, like the master bathroom cabinets
Step 2: Have two bags handy: one for trash and one for recycle. Don't get lazy on this one. You just have to rinse out those half-used bottles to recycle them.
Step 3: Reuse or recycle: Left over shampoo you no long like, or it has sulfates and you can't use it on your straight hair, can be poured into hand dispensers and used for handwashing. Check environmental websites to see what should NOT be emptied down the drain.
Step 4: Get rid of outdated prescriptions, but don't flush them down the toilet. More and more, we are finding escalating amounts of drugs in our drinking water and streams. Unless it specifically says to flush, and very few drugs do, adulterate them so they can't be used and put them in the trash.
Step 5: Durable goods you no longer want can be donated to a charity--like that curling iron you never got the hang of, or the humidifier you never use.
Sept 6: Separate business papers into those with personal information that need shredding and those you can recycle.
Then just do it. YOu will feel so free that you have cleaned out all those drawer and cabinet hoggers. And you will probably feel more like tackling that file cabinet in your office.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Mr. Foster, Please Go Away
We live in one of the most beautiful unspoiled places in the U.S., high in the Colorado Rockies. In the summer, the wildflowers knock your socks off. In the fall, the aspens glow with gold against the rocks and deep green of the conifers. Also ubiquitous are the beer cans someone drops into the gully across from our driveway most weekdays. So going out for a walk means coming home with the beer cans to put into the recycle bin.
This guy who prefers Foster's Ale and his friends who drink a variety of other brews either live or work up here. So why do they think trashing the place is okay? Why do they think their mother will be there to pick up after them? I considered posting a sign asking them why they are doing this. My husband thinks if I did that, he may give us all his trash just to make a point. He's probably right. Anyone who would do this everyday is living un unconscious life. I don't even want to think about him drinking and driving.
So unless we catch them in the act, the only thing we can do is continue to pick up the cans, the bags, the fast food wrappers so we can continue to enjoy living in this paradise and give it the respect it deserves.
Friday, June 10, 2011
A Much Overdue Blog Entry
I could say I’ve been away, and I have, but even then I could have done something. What I could have done wouldn’t have had the impact as this PowerPoint presentation emailed to me by a friend. Check this out, and after you watch it, if you aren’t recycling every possible thing you can, then we’re in worse trouble than we thought.
Google this to get the astounding show: what_is_this_made_of.pps
Google this to get the astounding show: what_is_this_made_of.pps
Monday, April 18, 2011
Differences Around the World
Every country, every city, every neighborhood has different priorities with regard to the environment. In our neighborhood in the city, I can pick up a big bag of trash everyday in front of our townhouse complex. Next day, I go out and do it again. Trash seems to come up like grass. When we go to Mexico, trash is in huge piles. In African villages, any hole becomes a trash dump; no pretty trucks coming by on a regular schedule to pick it up. In Asia, we’ve got heavy air pollution, water pollution, but we’re pretty good about trash.
In Taiwan and in Shanghai, we saw small boats with the daily job of scooping trash out of the water in the harbor. Walking through neighborhoods anywhere in China, we saw virtually no trash. On the historic Bund on Shanghai harbor, every few yards are these helpful containers, encouraging people to recycle. We saw them everywhere in major cities. You just can’t breathe the air.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Myths About Recycling
Myth: Recycling Plastic Bags is Just as Good
As I’ve explained in earlier blogs, Less than 3 percent of plastic bags are ever recycled, and when they are, it costs $4,000 per ton, while manufacturing them costs $32 per ton. No one can get excited about doing it. Even when we put them in a recycling bin, most of them won’t get recycled. Many are shipped to countries like India and China, where they are incinerated and cause pollution. The best solution is not to use them; bring your own reusables.
Myth: Cheap Reusables Are a Good Alternative
Most of them don’t last very long and create their own disposal problem; some of them contain lead. Get high quality bags you can launder and that will last for years. No hassle, no waste.
Myth: Paper is Better Than Plastic
You are just trading problems with either. It takes 4 times as much energy to make a paper bag than a plastic bag. Paper comes from tree pulp, which means cutting down trees. According to Reusit.com, in 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Global warming gets two boosts: once from the deforestation and again from the manufacturing process.
Myth: Banning Bags is the Best
Bans force people to change their behavior, and may actually drive them in the wrong direction: to paper or cheap reusables. Charging a fee, like 5 cents a bag, requires people to make a conscious decision. Bans also inconvenience customers. Sometimes we just need plastic bags for drippy meats, pet messes or kid messes! It’s nice to have disposable bags as an option.
Source: reusit.com
As I’ve explained in earlier blogs, Less than 3 percent of plastic bags are ever recycled, and when they are, it costs $4,000 per ton, while manufacturing them costs $32 per ton. No one can get excited about doing it. Even when we put them in a recycling bin, most of them won’t get recycled. Many are shipped to countries like India and China, where they are incinerated and cause pollution. The best solution is not to use them; bring your own reusables.
Myth: Cheap Reusables Are a Good Alternative
Most of them don’t last very long and create their own disposal problem; some of them contain lead. Get high quality bags you can launder and that will last for years. No hassle, no waste.
Myth: Paper is Better Than Plastic
You are just trading problems with either. It takes 4 times as much energy to make a paper bag than a plastic bag. Paper comes from tree pulp, which means cutting down trees. According to Reusit.com, in 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Global warming gets two boosts: once from the deforestation and again from the manufacturing process.
Myth: Banning Bags is the Best
Bans force people to change their behavior, and may actually drive them in the wrong direction: to paper or cheap reusables. Charging a fee, like 5 cents a bag, requires people to make a conscious decision. Bans also inconvenience customers. Sometimes we just need plastic bags for drippy meats, pet messes or kid messes! It’s nice to have disposable bags as an option.
Source: reusit.com
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Some Plastic Litter Good News Items from Resusit.com
As of January 1, 2011, single-use, non-biodegradable bags are banned in Italy, which uses 1/5th of the 100 billion bags annually used across Europe. While retailers argue that biodegradable bags are too expensive and not as durable (it’s the durable part that bothers us), similar bans in other countries have worked. In the two years since China banned the bag, it has kept 100 billion bags out of landfills.
Another good idea for reducing plastic bags is bag fees. They are proving successful in cities like Washington DC and countries like Ireland that put their PlasTax in effect in 2002. Washington DC’s little fee resulted in an 80% reduction in use-and-toss bags.
Fees work for a number of reasons, say environmental experts:
1. They are market-based solutions that get people to change their habits – and with a nudge not a shove. Even small, 5-cent fees make a huge impact.
2. The money collected from fees can be earmarked for clean-up, especially when funds are hard to come by.
3. It gives us choices. If we don’t want to pay for clean-up, we can bring our own bags and keep our money.
On the Styrofoam front:
Eben Bayer’s company turns agricultural waste into biodegradable packing material grown from a fungus. Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is commonly used to pack everything from delicate hardware and breakables for shipping, to our take-home meal from over-generous restaurant servings. None of that is recyclable, and when it degrades in nature, it releases carcinogens. Bayer's packing material, if adopted for widespread use, could reduce the production and disposal of polystyrene immensely.
From MSNBC:
Stockholm-based appliance company Electrolux AB recently produced a custom set of five vacuum cleaners made from water-borne plastic trash. The refuse was collected from different oceans and seas across the globe, with each locale’s most prevalent trash dictating its vacuum’s unique look.
Though the vacuums are not for sale, they do work. Electrolux hopes these fashionable, functional pieces of art will begin a discussion about the growing problem of water-bound plastic pollution and perhaps even move people away from the use-and-toss culture that led to the current situation.
Another good idea for reducing plastic bags is bag fees. They are proving successful in cities like Washington DC and countries like Ireland that put their PlasTax in effect in 2002. Washington DC’s little fee resulted in an 80% reduction in use-and-toss bags.
Fees work for a number of reasons, say environmental experts:
1. They are market-based solutions that get people to change their habits – and with a nudge not a shove. Even small, 5-cent fees make a huge impact.
2. The money collected from fees can be earmarked for clean-up, especially when funds are hard to come by.
3. It gives us choices. If we don’t want to pay for clean-up, we can bring our own bags and keep our money.
On the Styrofoam front:
Eben Bayer’s company turns agricultural waste into biodegradable packing material grown from a fungus. Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is commonly used to pack everything from delicate hardware and breakables for shipping, to our take-home meal from over-generous restaurant servings. None of that is recyclable, and when it degrades in nature, it releases carcinogens. Bayer's packing material, if adopted for widespread use, could reduce the production and disposal of polystyrene immensely.
From MSNBC:
Stockholm-based appliance company Electrolux AB recently produced a custom set of five vacuum cleaners made from water-borne plastic trash. The refuse was collected from different oceans and seas across the globe, with each locale’s most prevalent trash dictating its vacuum’s unique look.
Though the vacuums are not for sale, they do work. Electrolux hopes these fashionable, functional pieces of art will begin a discussion about the growing problem of water-bound plastic pollution and perhaps even move people away from the use-and-toss culture that led to the current situation.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Another Plastic Bag Ban!
San Jose, California has passed an ordinance that becomes effective Jan. 1, 2012 to entirely ban disposable plastic bags in the city of 1 million people. Paper bags will be available—for a fee. It’s the strongest anti-bag legislation in the U.S. to date.
Not only will unsuspecting customers left (not) holding the bag, but , fines of up to $1,000 can be imposed on shops which break the ban. It will affect about 5,000 businesses.
Exempted from the ban are restaurants and nonprofit secondhand stores. Plastic bags used to protect meat, produce or bulk foods, and sandwich bags and trash bags are also exempt.
Proponents of the ban are excited because they consider it an opportunity to lead on an important environmental issue. Emily Utter, policy associate with Save the Bay, said in an interview: "This ordinance is a great step forward and will keep millions of bags out of San Francisco Bay." She and others are hopeful other cities and California will follow suit. Currently, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Santa Cruz were considering laws to restrict plastic bag use. Cities like San Francisco and Washington already restrict plastic bag use.
People who were against the ban included Tim Shestek, the American Chemistry Council's senior director for state affairs (lobbyist for the petroleum industry?), who called the ban was "unfortunate."
Fact or Fiction?
Councilman Pete Constant, who voted against the ban, told the paper that the city had voted to increase "the burden and cost for people in the midst of one of the deepest recessions we've experienced in our lifetime." –San Jose Mercury News
How much of a burden, really, is bringing your own bags? Grab a tote bag from that conference last year. Re-use your sturdy Trader Joe’s handled paper bags. If we are putting burdens on people, it isn’t by making them bring their own bags.
Also from Councilman Constant:
Plastic bags are fully recyclable, and instead of entertaining recycling partnerships and programs, the City Council chose a policy that punishes consumers by raising grocery costs unnecessarily.
We’ve gone over this before in this blog, but do the math: It costs $4,000 to process and recycle one ton of plastic bags, which can be sold on the commodities market for $32. Recycling is in no way cost-effective.
Not only will unsuspecting customers left (not) holding the bag, but , fines of up to $1,000 can be imposed on shops which break the ban. It will affect about 5,000 businesses.
Exempted from the ban are restaurants and nonprofit secondhand stores. Plastic bags used to protect meat, produce or bulk foods, and sandwich bags and trash bags are also exempt.
Proponents of the ban are excited because they consider it an opportunity to lead on an important environmental issue. Emily Utter, policy associate with Save the Bay, said in an interview: "This ordinance is a great step forward and will keep millions of bags out of San Francisco Bay." She and others are hopeful other cities and California will follow suit. Currently, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Santa Cruz were considering laws to restrict plastic bag use. Cities like San Francisco and Washington already restrict plastic bag use.
People who were against the ban included Tim Shestek, the American Chemistry Council's senior director for state affairs (lobbyist for the petroleum industry?), who called the ban was "unfortunate."
Fact or Fiction?
Councilman Pete Constant, who voted against the ban, told the paper that the city had voted to increase "the burden and cost for people in the midst of one of the deepest recessions we've experienced in our lifetime." –San Jose Mercury News
How much of a burden, really, is bringing your own bags? Grab a tote bag from that conference last year. Re-use your sturdy Trader Joe’s handled paper bags. If we are putting burdens on people, it isn’t by making them bring their own bags.
Also from Councilman Constant:
Plastic bags are fully recyclable, and instead of entertaining recycling partnerships and programs, the City Council chose a policy that punishes consumers by raising grocery costs unnecessarily.
We’ve gone over this before in this blog, but do the math: It costs $4,000 to process and recycle one ton of plastic bags, which can be sold on the commodities market for $32. Recycling is in no way cost-effective.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Your Thoughts, Please
We have a lot on our minds right now: the economy, terrorism, pat-downs, family, the holidays. Let's not forget about our planet, the one we have to live on and share with others? I was walking through our city neighborhood the other evening, looking at Christmas lights--and trash. A plastic bag blew up around my legs, and I thought it did nothing to enhance the decor. So I picked it up, along with some fast-food containers, and a notice of power shut-off for non-payment, wondering how that anonymous person was doing. I know a lot of people that walk my street are struggling, so what are some things I can do to help that?
Of course, we can identify and give as generously as possible to charities we care about. There are little things we can do, too, to perk up the holidays for people less fortunate that us:
• Pick up the trash: I have this formula that if I find a plastic bag on the street or sidewalk, it is a sign that I'm supposed to pick it up and fill it with as much trash as it will hold. I do this at least weekly. I'm walking somewhere anyway, so why not fill a bag with trash and deposit it in a receptacle? If we all did that, the world might look a little spiffier and worth our efforts.
• Put spare change in the "Feed the Meter" parking meters. We have several of these on corners in the Central West End of St. Louis and all the money fed into the meters goes directly to homeless services. So instead of giving a panhandler money, feed the meter. Then you know where it goes.
• Never pass a Salvation Army bucket without giving them something. I carry quarters and dollar bills in my pocket during the holidays so I'm ready to feed them. It really encourages those frigid bell-ringers.
What are some of the little things you do to make your corner of the world a little better for people? Please share, and sign up to be a follower of this blog. God Bless, and Happy Holidays!
Of course, we can identify and give as generously as possible to charities we care about. There are little things we can do, too, to perk up the holidays for people less fortunate that us:
• Pick up the trash: I have this formula that if I find a plastic bag on the street or sidewalk, it is a sign that I'm supposed to pick it up and fill it with as much trash as it will hold. I do this at least weekly. I'm walking somewhere anyway, so why not fill a bag with trash and deposit it in a receptacle? If we all did that, the world might look a little spiffier and worth our efforts.
• Put spare change in the "Feed the Meter" parking meters. We have several of these on corners in the Central West End of St. Louis and all the money fed into the meters goes directly to homeless services. So instead of giving a panhandler money, feed the meter. Then you know where it goes.
• Never pass a Salvation Army bucket without giving them something. I carry quarters and dollar bills in my pocket during the holidays so I'm ready to feed them. It really encourages those frigid bell-ringers.
What are some of the little things you do to make your corner of the world a little better for people? Please share, and sign up to be a follower of this blog. God Bless, and Happy Holidays!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Washington DC Bag Fee Update
From Reusit.com Newsletter:
After 10 months, the charge for disposable bags in Washington DC has brought in less revenue than hoped, but plastic bag use has dropped by half. Even the small $0.5 a bag charged at stores is apparently making residents think, and helping them remember to bring in their own bags.
For each disposable bag purchased one penny goes to the store selling it and the rest goes to the city for cleaning up polluted rivers. Workers cleaning those rivers say it’s working. They are seeing less bag pollution.
How can you make this work in your city or your grocery store? Reusit.com has downloadable form letters you can use to send to your municipality or your friendly grocery store chain to get them to consider charging for plastic bags. Many already have in place a mechanism for taking 5 cents off your bill for every bag you bring in. It can work both ways! Just go to:
http://www.reuseit.com/take-action/tools-to-influence-policy/form-letter:-retailers
http://www.reuseit.com/take-action/tools-to-influence-policy/form-letter-to-government-officials
Adapt this letter to your needs and send it in!
After 10 months, the charge for disposable bags in Washington DC has brought in less revenue than hoped, but plastic bag use has dropped by half. Even the small $0.5 a bag charged at stores is apparently making residents think, and helping them remember to bring in their own bags.
For each disposable bag purchased one penny goes to the store selling it and the rest goes to the city for cleaning up polluted rivers. Workers cleaning those rivers say it’s working. They are seeing less bag pollution.
How can you make this work in your city or your grocery store? Reusit.com has downloadable form letters you can use to send to your municipality or your friendly grocery store chain to get them to consider charging for plastic bags. Many already have in place a mechanism for taking 5 cents off your bill for every bag you bring in. It can work both ways! Just go to:
http://www.reuseit.com/take-action/tools-to-influence-policy/form-letter:-retailers
http://www.reuseit.com/take-action/tools-to-influence-policy/form-letter-to-government-officials
Adapt this letter to your needs and send it in!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Aging with Pizzazz
I have some courses I teach to help people like me get a handle on their lives. This serves two purposes: it allows me to connect other people to my lessons learned, and it reminds me what I need to be doing more consistently.
Probably the most relevant course for my generation, that 76-million pig-in-a-python Baby Boomer bubble, is Aging with Pizzazz. Aging is a good thing; it means we are still alive. But of course, it has its downsides. How do we deal with them in a way that enriches our lives and those around us? This class has probably undergone the most evolution over time as, coincidentally, I have aged.
Pizzazz is a relative word and means different things to different people. For one person, it may be looking 40 at 60. (Does Joan Rivers come to mind?) For another, a tattoo. For many of us, it means having the vitality and health to do what we want, to keep physical limitations at bay. That certainly is a viable definition of pizzazz and one inherent in my life philosophy. Recently I had an “Aha!” revelation for another dimension of pizzazz.
My new slant on pizzazz impacts this scary old world in which we find ourselves. We must become more involved with long-overdue change, whether we’re talking about the lonely senior up the street, health care reform, immigration, global warming, homelessness, or foreign wars. We seem to have abdicated all that to special-interest-embroiled lawmakers. What happened to the government of the people, by the people, and for the people? According to the system, we choose legislators who represent our wishes and send them off to Washington, (or Jefferson City, or Sacramento, or wherever). There, they discover that to get anything done, they have to scratch a lot of backs.
We can’t leave real change to our legislators. We need massive grass roots involvement, starting with one person, to let special interests know what they can do with their pork barrels. Which brings me to Aging with Pizzazz: We are former hippies, children of the 60s and 70s. We understand the power of activism. We also understand that part of our ongoing responsibility is to embarrass our children (and now our grandchildren), but also to teach them that activism is not age-defined. We can use our 60s heritage to make our mark.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from my older students is that to younger people, they are invisible. Now is our time to be visible, to return to our activist roots. Let’s let this country know the power of 76 million “I’m mad and I’m not taking it anymore” Boomers. We can truly age with pizzazz by caring enough to fight for our passionate issues, to raise awareness, and to ignite our smoldering frustration in a way that can have real effect for us and generations to come. It starts by finding and channeling our passions into something that has a positive effect on other people. It starts by letting our pizzazz shine, one person at a time.
Competing Causes
Focus is essential. There is a lot in our world that needs fixing, especially if you live in the United States. Other countries have their own problems; ours just seem to be more visible. After having visited remote tribes living for generations on atolls that are three inches above sea level, I returned from the South Pacific passionate about combating global warming and our changing our administration’s pigheaded blind eye to the doom awaiting us. I was even more passionate because of the effect on other places I’ve been, rare and precious places. When I climbed Kilimanjaro 13 years ago, I had to tromp across a dense snow and ice field to reach the top. The snow is almost gone. Antarctica had breathtaking icebergs and floes which now pose a threat to penguins and other Antarctic fauna because they get separated from the land and carry them far out to sea. Yes, global warming is indeed a good cause.
I’m a nurse and a health educator/medical writer. I write about all the new technology and research breakthroughs that could save people’s lives if they could afford them. But 24% of our population is either minimally or uninsured. The technologies that could save their lives are out of reach. A record number of bankruptcies were filled last year because of medical bills. For some people on Medicare, the Medicare Part D “benefit” actually costs them more for prescriptions than before. And hey, I have a pre-existing condition. If my insurer drops me, as they are doing at a record pace, I couldn’t get coverage. We hear Medicare will run out of money just about the time I’m eligible. Health care reform: another cause I could really get behind.
While the administration attempts to distract us by playing on public fears of a flu pandemics and frivolous spending, we are giving all our tax money away to hundreds of other countries, and supporting all their citizens who sneak into the U.S. to get a better life. What about our homeless, our destitute, our lost children, and disenfranchised citizens? Boy! That really gets my dander up! We need to do something about that.
The point is there are countless good causes worthy of our hearts and souls and efforts. But meanwhile life goes on. There are jobs to do, houses to be relocated, grandchildren to be cared for, vacations calling. So whose job is it to fight all these big fights? How do we focus on one at the exclusion of the others? By making a choice. If we choose just one, a cause or a person we can help; if we all are vocal about our vision--however small--of a better world, and if enough people share that vision, change will happen. It has to be small enough and defined enough that we can realistically make a difference. The alternative is that we will all sink together.
So in order to put my money where my mouth was, I had to choose. I decided I could do two things besides my American Red Cross volunteer work: I could improve every daily encounter for the other person, and I could get people to lose the plastic (bags, not credit cards). So I started the Plastic Bag Lady blog to give tips (I am a writer, after all) on how to painlessly move toward reusables in our daily lives. I practice what I preach. We have cloth bags everywhere. Never do I walk into any kind of store without one. I take my own coffee mug to Starbucks, and carry a reusable water bottle. Stay tuned here for upcoming tips on decreasing waste for the holidays.
I believe we are here for a reason and for a very short time in the whole cosmic scheme of things. That belief and the power of even one person’s action can keep our lives from ever being inconsequential. People who take action are never invisible. # # #
Probably the most relevant course for my generation, that 76-million pig-in-a-python Baby Boomer bubble, is Aging with Pizzazz. Aging is a good thing; it means we are still alive. But of course, it has its downsides. How do we deal with them in a way that enriches our lives and those around us? This class has probably undergone the most evolution over time as, coincidentally, I have aged.
Pizzazz is a relative word and means different things to different people. For one person, it may be looking 40 at 60. (Does Joan Rivers come to mind?) For another, a tattoo. For many of us, it means having the vitality and health to do what we want, to keep physical limitations at bay. That certainly is a viable definition of pizzazz and one inherent in my life philosophy. Recently I had an “Aha!” revelation for another dimension of pizzazz.
My new slant on pizzazz impacts this scary old world in which we find ourselves. We must become more involved with long-overdue change, whether we’re talking about the lonely senior up the street, health care reform, immigration, global warming, homelessness, or foreign wars. We seem to have abdicated all that to special-interest-embroiled lawmakers. What happened to the government of the people, by the people, and for the people? According to the system, we choose legislators who represent our wishes and send them off to Washington, (or Jefferson City, or Sacramento, or wherever). There, they discover that to get anything done, they have to scratch a lot of backs.
We can’t leave real change to our legislators. We need massive grass roots involvement, starting with one person, to let special interests know what they can do with their pork barrels. Which brings me to Aging with Pizzazz: We are former hippies, children of the 60s and 70s. We understand the power of activism. We also understand that part of our ongoing responsibility is to embarrass our children (and now our grandchildren), but also to teach them that activism is not age-defined. We can use our 60s heritage to make our mark.
One of the biggest complaints I hear from my older students is that to younger people, they are invisible. Now is our time to be visible, to return to our activist roots. Let’s let this country know the power of 76 million “I’m mad and I’m not taking it anymore” Boomers. We can truly age with pizzazz by caring enough to fight for our passionate issues, to raise awareness, and to ignite our smoldering frustration in a way that can have real effect for us and generations to come. It starts by finding and channeling our passions into something that has a positive effect on other people. It starts by letting our pizzazz shine, one person at a time.
Competing Causes
Focus is essential. There is a lot in our world that needs fixing, especially if you live in the United States. Other countries have their own problems; ours just seem to be more visible. After having visited remote tribes living for generations on atolls that are three inches above sea level, I returned from the South Pacific passionate about combating global warming and our changing our administration’s pigheaded blind eye to the doom awaiting us. I was even more passionate because of the effect on other places I’ve been, rare and precious places. When I climbed Kilimanjaro 13 years ago, I had to tromp across a dense snow and ice field to reach the top. The snow is almost gone. Antarctica had breathtaking icebergs and floes which now pose a threat to penguins and other Antarctic fauna because they get separated from the land and carry them far out to sea. Yes, global warming is indeed a good cause.
I’m a nurse and a health educator/medical writer. I write about all the new technology and research breakthroughs that could save people’s lives if they could afford them. But 24% of our population is either minimally or uninsured. The technologies that could save their lives are out of reach. A record number of bankruptcies were filled last year because of medical bills. For some people on Medicare, the Medicare Part D “benefit” actually costs them more for prescriptions than before. And hey, I have a pre-existing condition. If my insurer drops me, as they are doing at a record pace, I couldn’t get coverage. We hear Medicare will run out of money just about the time I’m eligible. Health care reform: another cause I could really get behind.
While the administration attempts to distract us by playing on public fears of a flu pandemics and frivolous spending, we are giving all our tax money away to hundreds of other countries, and supporting all their citizens who sneak into the U.S. to get a better life. What about our homeless, our destitute, our lost children, and disenfranchised citizens? Boy! That really gets my dander up! We need to do something about that.
The point is there are countless good causes worthy of our hearts and souls and efforts. But meanwhile life goes on. There are jobs to do, houses to be relocated, grandchildren to be cared for, vacations calling. So whose job is it to fight all these big fights? How do we focus on one at the exclusion of the others? By making a choice. If we choose just one, a cause or a person we can help; if we all are vocal about our vision--however small--of a better world, and if enough people share that vision, change will happen. It has to be small enough and defined enough that we can realistically make a difference. The alternative is that we will all sink together.
So in order to put my money where my mouth was, I had to choose. I decided I could do two things besides my American Red Cross volunteer work: I could improve every daily encounter for the other person, and I could get people to lose the plastic (bags, not credit cards). So I started the Plastic Bag Lady blog to give tips (I am a writer, after all) on how to painlessly move toward reusables in our daily lives. I practice what I preach. We have cloth bags everywhere. Never do I walk into any kind of store without one. I take my own coffee mug to Starbucks, and carry a reusable water bottle. Stay tuned here for upcoming tips on decreasing waste for the holidays.
I believe we are here for a reason and for a very short time in the whole cosmic scheme of things. That belief and the power of even one person’s action can keep our lives from ever being inconsequential. People who take action are never invisible. # # #
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Let’s Talk about Plastic Bottles
According to Reusit.com, one of the leading sources of reusable everything:
• An estimated 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and jars were disposed of in 2008. (EPA)
• Store-bought bottled water is a rip off. Tap water is often subject to more stringent regulation and testing than bottled water. It costs a fraction of the cost from the tap. It is cleaner, cheaper, and thus healthier. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• As of 2006, and estimated 60 billion PET single-use beverage containers were bought. Approximately 45 billion of these were discarded after use. (Container Recycling Institute)
• Another estimation put bottled water spending at a collective $100 billion in the US for 2006. (OneWorld.net)
• Every square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it. (UN, 2006)
• Ten percent of the plastic produced every year worldwide winds up in the ocean. 70% of which finds its way to the ocean floor, where it will likely never degrade. (UN, 2006)
The above statistics come directly from their site. If you want to know more, sign up to receive their newsletter at: http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/plastic-bottle-facts. The right sidebar has the sign-up slot.
The fact is: plastic waste is literally swamping this planet, whether it’s plastic bags, my personal favorite, or all things disposable plastic. How hard is it for us to make a little extra effort to reuse and wash? Reusit.com has thermal coffee mugs and a variety of water bottles that are BPA-free, dishwasher and microwave safe. No excuses.
• An estimated 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and jars were disposed of in 2008. (EPA)
• Store-bought bottled water is a rip off. Tap water is often subject to more stringent regulation and testing than bottled water. It costs a fraction of the cost from the tap. It is cleaner, cheaper, and thus healthier. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• As of 2006, and estimated 60 billion PET single-use beverage containers were bought. Approximately 45 billion of these were discarded after use. (Container Recycling Institute)
• Another estimation put bottled water spending at a collective $100 billion in the US for 2006. (OneWorld.net)
• Every square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it. (UN, 2006)
• Ten percent of the plastic produced every year worldwide winds up in the ocean. 70% of which finds its way to the ocean floor, where it will likely never degrade. (UN, 2006)
The above statistics come directly from their site. If you want to know more, sign up to receive their newsletter at: http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/plastic-bottle-facts. The right sidebar has the sign-up slot.
The fact is: plastic waste is literally swamping this planet, whether it’s plastic bags, my personal favorite, or all things disposable plastic. How hard is it for us to make a little extra effort to reuse and wash? Reusit.com has thermal coffee mugs and a variety of water bottles that are BPA-free, dishwasher and microwave safe. No excuses.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Second Oceanic Plastic Bag Island Discovered
I’ve written about the huge Pacific plastic garbage island twice the size of Texas. Now, as reported in an April 15th, 2010 AP article, researchers have discovered an Atlantic island of waste plastic, most of which comes from land. Researchers are warning that this new blight on the ocean stretches over thousands of square miles between Bermuda and Portugal's Azores islands.
The debris is harmful for fish and sea mammals. There is no real way to clean the oceans, so we have to do what we can by keeping disposable plastics out of circulation. It’s a global problem — it unfortunately is not confined to a single patch," Cummins said. Still more data are needed to assess the dimensions of the North Atlantic patch.
“Charles Moore, an ocean researcher credited with discovering the Pacific garbage patch in 1997, said the Atlantic undoubtedly has comparable amounts of plastic. The east coast of the United States has more people and more rivers to funnel garbage into the sea. But since the Atlantic is stormier, debris there likely is more diffuse, he said."Humanity's plastic footprint is probably more dangerous than its carbon footprint," he said.
A paper cited by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says as many as 100,000 marine mammals could die trash-related deaths each year.
The debris is harmful for fish and sea mammals. There is no real way to clean the oceans, so we have to do what we can by keeping disposable plastics out of circulation. It’s a global problem — it unfortunately is not confined to a single patch," Cummins said. Still more data are needed to assess the dimensions of the North Atlantic patch.
“Charles Moore, an ocean researcher credited with discovering the Pacific garbage patch in 1997, said the Atlantic undoubtedly has comparable amounts of plastic. The east coast of the United States has more people and more rivers to funnel garbage into the sea. But since the Atlantic is stormier, debris there likely is more diffuse, he said."Humanity's plastic footprint is probably more dangerous than its carbon footprint," he said.
A paper cited by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says as many as 100,000 marine mammals could die trash-related deaths each year.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Spring and Trash: Go Ask Alice
With the last vestiges of snow fading away, we are emerging from our winter cocoons and recommitting to our fitness programs. Here’s an idea: how about a trash pick-up fit-walk? In the immortal words of that famous song, Alice’s Restaurant:
You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick ….. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both (strange)…. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people [picking up trash] and singin’ a bar of Alice's Restaurant, …... They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day [picking up trash and] singin’ a bar of Alice's Restaurant? And friends they may think it's a movement.
So why not start a neighborhood clean-up movement? First of all, the people who read this are not the ones depositing the trash. I get that. But if I can get people all over the country to start their own fit-walk pick-ups, we could start a trend. All you need are three things:
• Walking shoes
• A grungy old cloth bag with a shoulder strap (not plastic, puleez!)
• Wet wipes
Once a week, you get some friends together and you go out, armed with the above paraphernalia and start race-walking to the first piece of trash. The goal is how fast you can pick up trash and move on to the next piece. It gets your pulse rate up; you get to bend and stoop; use your arms and shoulders; and move those legs. After an hour, you dump your bags of trash in a bonafide trash receptacle, clean off your hands, and reward yourselves with a cup of joe. Then in between your competitive trash walks, when you go out on your own, just stuff a small cloth bag in your pocket and pick up trash as you go. If you happen to see a plastic trash bag as litter, use that to collect your trash. That, my friends is single-person activism at its best! And the adult equivalent of making exercise a game.
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