I have been saving corks for many years thinking I would someday make cork boards for people....and well, I havent so I wanted to find someplace that would use them for something other than landfill.

I found Recork America.....

We are partners in recycling. ReCORK by Amorim (previously ReCORK America) is a natural wine cork recycling program. The ReCORK program is sponsored by Amorim of Portugal, the world's largest producer of natural cork wine closures, SOLE, a leading manufacturer of footwear products, and Amorim’s U.S. sales affiliates – Amorim Cork America and Portocork America. The goal is to recycle corks and to educate and inform our audiences about
 the crucial role cork forests play in curbing climate change....... recycled cork can become flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner and sports equipment

To locate a drop off location for your corks, visit the Recork America website .

Here is an email I received recently from a local creek steward. It highlights the good work our community is doing to clean up our creeks as well as all of the work that still lies ahead  to return the water and habitat in the Santa Rosa creek system to health and vitality.

Hello Creek Stewards,

 With nearly 2 3/4 inches of rain in the last several days our creeks have started flowing again.  Not many leaves have fallen yet so the storm didn’t cause as much street flooding as a storm later in the fall might have.  I spent a little time on Santa Rosa Creek near Pierson Street this morning and didn’t see as much trash littering the shoreline or hanging in bushes as I expected.  I think that the work of the Youth Ecology Corps on creeks this summer and the 10 volunteer creek clean ups we’ve had this fall made a big difference.

 Six groups on Colgan, Spring, Matanzas and Spirit Creeks counted the trash they collected on tally cards and the results were turned in as part of the 3 week period of recording data for the California Coastal Commission.  Coastwalk led the Sonoma County effort and reports the following numbers from Sonoma County, with numbers from Santa Rosa in the second column:

No. of volunteers:              1,218                  182

Pounds of trash:               10, 564                 634

Pounds recyclables:           8,390                  236

Distance cleaned:             104.85 miles       3.5 miles

Quantified trash in the Santa Rosa area included:

211 plastic bags

28 balloons

59 pieces of clothing

45 toys

83 straws and stirrers

232 cups

884 food wrappers

125 plastic bottles

136 glass bottles

116 beverage cans

26 plastic six-pack holders

52 pieces of building material

3 tires

What can we make of these results?  Unfortunately, there is a lot of trash out there such as balloons, food wrappers, and plastic bags that can be mistaken as food by birds, fish, terrestrial, and marine animals.  The relatively low number of 26 plastic six pack holders might indicate that these are becoming less used as packaging to the relief of ducks, fish and other animals that can become entangled by them.  Food and beverage packaging is the most common form of trash.  There are 74 more tires somewhere in our creeks.  (This is calculated by having found 3 tires in 3.5 miles of creek and extrapolating that to 77 tires in the 90 miles of creeks within the City of Santa Rosa.  A similar calculation would estimate that 1,111 toys and 2,050 straws remain in our creeks.  Actually, I think these numbers would be high as the clean ups concentrated on creek areas with the most trash.)  Certainly, we can conclude that the volunteers made a difference. 

If you can, please join us for another volunteer creek clean up on Saturday October 24 on Steele Creek by Biella School.  Details are below.  And we’re certainly ready to support students, clubs, or businesses with a creek clean up as a community service project.  Sonoma Country Day School and Waldorf Summerfield School will keep the ball rolling with creek clean ups scheduled for later this month. 

A couple of animal sightings: I was surprised to hear from several people of a coyote wandering in Santa Rosa Creek not too far downstream from Stony Point Road.  I’ve heard of coyotes on the outskirts of town but not of them using the more urban stream corridors.  Sharp-eyed Mary Tressler spotted a river otter in Santa Rosa Creek by Gateway Park (the mosaic fish statue).  A Water Agency maintenance worker in the creek out by Willowside Road was startled when an inquisitive otter suddenly emerged between his hip boots.  A gaze of eight raccoons (time for the Funk and Wagnalls) raised havoc in garages as they used the storm drain pipes to move around a NE Santa Rosa neighborhood.  What have you seen?  It’s always fun to learn from the many eyes, ears, and voices on our creeks. 

Hands Across the County & Make a Difference Day

Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009,

9:00 a.m. to noon

Steele Creek clean up at Biella School – 2140 Jennings Avenue, Santa Rosa (west of Marlow Road)

Hands Across the County, a county-wide volunteer work day underwritten by Friedman's Home Improvement, mobilizes volunteer groups and individuals to make the community a cleaner, safer, brighter place while making friends and having fun too!  This will be the first time we’ve done a community creek clean up on Steele Creek.  Many parents and students will be working on the buildings and grounds.  This is a chance to clean up the neighborhood creek that drains the land as far away as Cleveland Avenue and enters Piner Creek a couple of blocks downstream of the school.  Tools and refreshments provided.  Rubber boots could come in handy. 

Insecta-palooza – explore the fantastic world of insects

Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009,

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Darwin Hall, Sonoma State University

What’s the difference between a bug and an insect?  Do scorpions really glow in the dark?  Find out about the diversity of insects, spiders and other arthropods that live in our gardens, fields and forests.  Entomologists of all ages can explore the fascinating world of insects in a day long series of interactive displays, presentations and lectures and a chance to use the University’s top-notch microscopes.  Sounds like they will cover everything you didn’t know and didn’t want to know about insects.  The flyer for this event is available at

http://www.sonoma.edu/pubs/insectapalooza/images/insectapalooza.png

and details are online at:

http://www.sonoma.edu/pubs/insectapalooza.html

Pick up your free Farm Trails Guide for 2009 -  2010 at a local farm or business or email them and they will send you one for five dollars.

They are really nice this year with recipes and notes from local farmers as well as the typical maps and guides to all the local farms in Sonoma County.

We have been checking Craigslist and Ebay for a bike for Noah but haven't had any luck. So today we peaked into a local bike shop to check prices.....I was surprised that most were over $200. which is not in our budget right now.

Then I remembered about Santa Rosa's Community Bikes store.

We found a great 20" Trek bike in perfect condition that they will tune up and add training wheels to, for $60. In addition to the great deal, we are also keeping a bike out of the landfill and not adding to the waste of more new raw materials that would be used to make a new bike.

I would recommend anyone in the market for an adult bike, kid's bike (they even had princess and Ariel bikes for little girls), unicycles, tandem bikes (yes.... they had it all) to check out Community Bikes in Santa Rosa.

Noah is very happy with his "new to him" bike and we are even more happy for the green choice Community Bikes gave us the opportunity to make.

ALSO, if you have a bike that you would like to donate, they will take it, fix it up and sell to someone else. The money made from the sale will go to their great cause of keeping bikes out of the landfill and encouraging biking more and driving less. 

NEED A NEW-TO-YOU BIKE?

Community Bikes is a non-profit collaborative that promotes driving less, biking, repair and reuse. We support these programs by refurbishing and selling good quality bikes and parts donated by individuals and local agencies. Our inventory varies week to week - road bikes, mountain bikes and everything in between. Please come by or visit us on Craigslist! Volunteers and donations welcome. COMMUNITY BIKES 4009 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa One block south of Highway 12 and one block east of Wright/Fulton Rd & Joe Rodota Trail; Halfway between Sebastopol and downtown Santa Rosa Sunday, 1-5pm and Thursday, 5-9pm A project of LITE Initiatives www.liteinit.org, 707 579-5811 

SonoMax is a free service to  help keep good materials out of the trash.

Green Classified Ads.

IF IT CAN BE REUSED, POST IT ONLINE!!!

We got our Santa Rosa Recycling Newsletter today and I found this link on their website about a planned Center for the Environment that will hopefully start being constructed in 2 years. If you support this idea and want to take the "Go Green" pledge, click here.

North Bay Corporation's Planned Center for the Environment

The North Bay Corporation's planned Center for the Environment is a materials recovery facility (MRF) designed for sustainability and will expand the management of Sonoma County's waste disposal far beyond California's current recycling mandates.

What is a Materials Recovery Facility?

A Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is a state-of-the-art plant designed specifically to recover recyclable materials from our waste stream. Through a series of manual and automated sort processes recyclables are classified into separate areas, baled and transported to a re-manufacturing facility where they can be further processed and made into new marketable materials.

Environmental Impact

Our goal is to achieve 90% diversion, directing valuable resources away from area landfills...propelling us years ahead in the fight against global warming.

The North Bay Corporation's Center for the Environment will offer:

• Enhanced Sorting of Residential and Business Waste for Recyclable Recovery
• On-Site Green Waste Processing for Compost Preparation
• Bio-Diesel Refining Station
• Extensive Processing of Construction and Demolition Materials
• On-Site Restaurant and Grocery Store Food Waste Processing
• Environmental Education for School Children and the Community
• Further Reduction of Sonoma County's Carbon Footprint

Sustainable Building Design and Construction

• Silver LEED Construction Certified
• Solar Panels Covering Rooftop Generate Facility Power
• Wind Turbine Power Generation
• Recycled Building Materials Used in Construction of Facility

Financial and Environmental Benefits for Sonoma County and Area Cities

Jurisdictions that dedicate their waste and recycling stream to the North Bay Center for the Environment will recognize many benefits including:

• Maximizing diversion of waste stream away from area landfills
• No rate increases associated with the cost of construction of new facility
• $10 per ton rebate on all refuse passing through the facility
• Reduced Greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle traffic and noise on area roads

Construction Timeline

Upon receipt of permits we will begin construction on our state-of-the-art recycling complex. We anticipate breaking ground within two years.

Sarah H. informed some of us GreenMommies that  this year's Coastal Clean Up day is September 20, 2008.

Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest volunteer event of its kind. Last year, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared six million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected.

I think she and her family are going to participate and hopefully other GreenMommies may be interested as well. If so you can sign up here and a local coordinator will contact you. 

 Thanks Sarah H. for bringing that to our attention.

About 6-8 months ago, I wrote a post about how I noticed some pretty tremendous water wasting happening ay the YMCA showers (where I shower every morning). Some women would turn on and leave showers to "heat up" that need no heating up, some women would shower in one and let their bathing suit "shower" under another head.....just stuff where I thought "I can't keep watching this happen and not do something about it". So I asked a woman (very nicely, I thought) if she would turn off the shower she was using for her bathing suit because we were in a drought and it was wasting water. She looked at me funny, then laughed and kept the 2 showers going. I thought sarcastically "that went well" and then thought "I really don't want to get into any more of a confrontation while naked with another naked woman in the community shower area".

So I wrote a letter to the Director of Operations at the Y and asked if they could post signs requesting that people conserve water. Within a few days, nice big lamenated signs were up in every  corner of the shower area. I was so impressed with the YMCA for taking my request and acting so quickly. As the months have gone by, the signs began to fall off the shower walls (or maybe the 2-shower-head-lady took them down one by one : ) Either way, I asked the Operations Director a few weeks ago if she could put up those signs again and she did one better...she ordered permanent acryllic signs for the shower areas and they are up today. They look great!!!

All of this is just to say that if you ever feel like you should speak up about something but think you won't be listened to or you may get laughed at, I am saying that ...well , you may get laughed at (lady in the shower) but you may also be surprised to find that (especially on a local level) people are very responsive in general to ideas and positive changes.

I get lazy though and see things that need changing and think about them and think about them and never end up saying something.

So here is my challenge to myself  for local things I have thought about for a long time that need changing and haven't acted on them but will now.  

#1 Ask Trader Joes to look at alternatives to their double bagging system. I know they say that they do it because the handles fall off but then they should purchase bags  with handles that don't fall off or bags with no handles (like they had in the "old" days...TJ's is so good about rewarding people who bring their own bags and reminding shoppers before they enter the store "Did you remember your bags?"....The double bagging system seems to me to be counter to their otherwise eco-minded, anti-bag-ness (is that a word?)

 #2 Ask Safeway to display their reusable bags that are for sale by the check out lanes (seems logical right?). The last  ten times I have been to Safeway, the reusable bag display has been hidden in obscure back corners of the store where people either won't see it at all or will see it AFTER they have realized they forgot their bags and so selected plastic/ paper.

#3 Ask the YMCA to start using something other than Styrofoam for their complmentary coffee they give out in the a.m. It's really nice they give out coffee (God bless them for that) but the Styrofoam has got to go. I will also ask them to make a little sign that requests that members please bring their own mug.

I will keep you updated on the feedback / changes if any, I find after sending these letters. 

We all have our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to being green.  I just wanted to give props to Emily for her efforts to be zero-waste.  I've noticed she is religious about using the cloth diapers, uses re-usable plates and utensils for gatherings, and removes the temptation of using paper towles and napkins in the kitchen by only having cloth around (I know, I was looking for a paper towel in her kitchen once to no avail).  I think that is a great way to change habits, just make it so you have no option!

So I just wanted to say thanks.  I've started using cloth diapers a lot more for Brian.  I'm back to using cloth napkins for the family, and I'm on the lookout for more ways I can move our family towards zero waste. 

If you are looking to buy a bike or have an old one you don't use any more or have one that needs a little repair, then here is a great web site for you......

Community Bikes is a volunteer run bike shop that refurbishes used bikes to keep them out of landfills and encourages to people to get on their bikes and out of their cars.

They are looking for volunteers at any skill level, bicycle donations, and people who want to purchase a bike.

 LOCATION:

4009 Sebastopol Rd,
Santa Rosa, Ca.
707 579-5811

HOURS: 

Thursdays 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Sundays 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
and by appointment
 

With the summer here and BBQ's and birthday parties in full swing (3/4 of my family have summer bdays) I have been thinking a lot about trying to have waste free parties. I struggled with whether or not that is rude to ask people to bring their own plates, napkins, flatware etc. On the other hand I struggle more with the thought of throwing out dozens of plates, and disposable forks that will sit in a landfill forever.  I found this article about our neighboring commuinithy Sebastopol and the efforts they are making to live waste free and I think I am going to risk being rude to my future party guests in exchange for saving some trees and landfill space.

What do you think about that and what do you think is a courteous way to ask people to bring their own  plates and forks etc....Any ideas? 

SEBASTOPOL, California.  In a new and growing trend to tread more lightly on the earth, neighborhood groups have started adding a new dimension to community gatherings.  No trash. 

In year's past, a standard backyard or block party item on the To-Do list was the purchase of paper places, plastic utensils and Styrofoam drinking cups.  No more in environmentally conscious Sebastopol.    Neighbors around High Street host an annual block party and advise all attendees to bring their own, reusable eating utensils.  They set aside an area with common bus tubs for partygoers to wash dishes and recommend everyone bring their own cup for punch, beer, etc.

 A good idea indeed.

Neighborhood organizers have noticed a significantly less amount of clean up required.  Attendees have brought bamboo plates, carved wooden bowls and goblets, ceramic eating utensils and other innovative means of reducing waste.

This, combined with family-style eating bowls for cleaner service, and self-service juice from glass vats or punch bowls, kegs, and even plateless appetizers will surely start a precedent in your neighborhood. 

So, next time you invite a crowd over, keep this in mind, it will enhance the asthetic flavor of your party and do our Mother Earth a good turn. 

For more info on this and other sustainable community-building innovations, contact the \n High Street Collective This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The kids and I went to the Goodwill today to do a little shopping and I noticed that the employees were wearing T shirts that read, "Goodwill, Not Landfill". I love that. They usually focus their marketing on all of their humanitarian efforts which are wonderful too and include education, training, and job placement programs for people with disabilities. But it seems now they are focusing on the ecological benefits of donating and shopping at thrift stores too.

I still cant believe how often I hear people say they went through their things and threw out everything they didn't use anymore.  I keep hoping they mean they gave it away but I have a feeling many times they REALLY mean that they threw it away. 

While at the checkout line, I found information on the Goodwill's new online store. What a great idea! 

Upcycling is the use of waste materials to provide useful products. Ideally, it is a reinvestment in the environment and embodiment of the notion that while using resources one is also contributing to them and their value. This is antithesis of the consume and waste concept in society.

This is the definition I found for "upcycling" in Wikipedia. I saw a featured artist on the Etsy.com site who creates all of her products she sells by upcycling from waste materials. 

Are there creative or practical things you do with disposable materials to upcycle? It doesnt have to be as fancy or artistic as this woman's work but I thought it would be interesting to hear what everyone's ideas were.....I know Jennifer K. has used toilet paper cardboard rolls as napkin holders. What are some other things anyone has done?????

Here is my "Green Corner " contribution to my son' s schools newsletter this month. I know it's  an easy one but I still see so MANY plastic bags being used at the store, I thought I would remind us all of the importance of BYOB. Last month the Green Corner was on the environmental benefits of hanging laundry to dry  instead of using the dryer and the month before that , it was about composting. I should have posted those too but forgot to. Noah's school is out for the summer after this month but I am taking over the newsletter responsibility next year and will post all of my Green Corners for any of you who want to use the same tips for your school newsletters. It's an easy way to get the word out about simple changes we can all make and about GreenMommy.org too.

Paper or Plastic? Neither, please. Did you know that we use 8 percent of the world's oil supply to produce plastic, including BILLIONS of plastic bags each year? Not only is this a huge waste of resources, it results in lots of unnecessary long term landfill (each bag is projected to take nearly 500 years to decompose). It takes 14 million trees to produce the 10 BILLION paper grocery bags used every year by Americans. To help preserve our planet's resources and create a healthier environment for our children, try bringing your own reusable bags with you when shopping. (TIP: Leave a supply of reusable bags in the car to make it easier to remember)

We spent last week in Monterey on the beach which was wonderful. We had a few good days of sunny weather and were able to enjoy playing on the beach, building sand castles, running naked in and out of the waves (Noah, my son...not me : ) and collecting shells. I was surprised by how many sand dollars there were and made a game with Noah about who could find the most. Sadly, many times we were fooled by a round white piece of Styrofoam (bottom circle of the cup) thinking they were whole sand dollars until we got closer and realized it was garbage. Two things struck me about the Styrofoam...1) How much of it we found on the beach and 2) how indestructible it is. All of these pieces we began collecting (I figured the Styrofoam was probably more important to collect off the beach than the shells) were virtually un-weathered which was an indication to me of how long that material will be around. It really reminded me of how awful that material is for the environment and how much I want to avoid it.

I think you should read this article about what is going to happen as 2009 approaches. The 2nd page of the article talks about how disposing of TV's will effect the landfills and our environment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22401907/wid/11915829?gt1=10841 

I was at TraderJoes about 2 weeks ago and as I was going to my car, I saw one of the employees taking a cart full of uncooked pasta and packaged chicken broth to the dumpster. Before he dumped it, I asked him if I could have it. I am sure if it was expired at all, it was just by a matter of a few days (and does uncooked pasta go bad anyway???). I thought I could at least donate it to a food closet or some place that could really use it. Short story shorter, he said no. When I asked him why not he didnt have an answer although I am sure its all about liability.

Once he left the scene, I peeked my head into the dumpster hoping to retrieve the food but unfortunately I couldn't get at it without getting INTO the dumpster and I had my kids with me and well, I just wasn't going to go there that day. What I could reach in the dumpster however were 5 perfectly functional woven baskets that they had also thrown out. 

So now, everytime I go to TJ's, I peek my head in to see what's in there. If it is something good and within arms reach, I grab it. Yesterday, I pulled out a wrapped bouquet of Gerber daisies that look very nice in my house as I write this : )  

I am so frustrated to see all this fine food and reusable "stuff" going to the landfill. I wish we had a better system besides the occasional dumpster diver rescuing things here and there. Does anyone know of an organization that works with grocery stores to prevent this kind of waste? 

 One other observation.....I saw heaps of recyclable cardboard in TJ's garbage dumpster. I have written them a letter to let them know I think they should be more careful in their recycling practices. We will see what they say.....

Anyone want to join me? This year I am not buying ANY gift wrap, bags, bows or ribbons. I think it is just a complete waste of paper and it kills me that it all gets tossed. Some gift wrap can't even be recycled because of tiny metal specs or sparkly patterns.

So all gifts I give this holiday will be given in various "non-wrapping paper" ways. I have a bunch of Christmas bags leftover from last year that I can re-use. I will also be using some scrapbook paper that I already have, the comic section of the newspaper or a big piece of cloth that I can fold(and maybe tuck these directions in so the gift receiver can do the same). "Santa" is even wrapping the kids stocking stuffers in decorated brown lunch bags, leftover from my "pre-green" days.

Lets make less waste this year, who's with me? 

My last post inspired this post.

When I read where the artist of the basket made of old Kodak film  got her material, she mentioned this store, Reverse Garbage.

It sounds like such a great idea for a store. I think it could really work, especially in a place like Santa Rosa where so many creative people live.  It's a store filled with items that would otherwise be thrown in the landfill but instead are being sold to people who can reuse anything from typewriter keys, to metal drums, nylon webbing,  furniture fabrics, and old CD's . It probably caters mostly to artists and sculptors and those creative types. I love the idea!!!!

The concept is very similar, in fact , to Santa Rosa's ReStore which sells recycled building materials and gives the money it generates to Habitat for Humanity.

I put this post under the "Shopping" category even though it  is totally free : ) And because I couldn't find a more appropriate category that it would fit into.....

I confess I have been a dumpster diver from time to time (much to many of my family and friends' dismay). It is just amazing to me what people will throw away. Last night I pulled out of our neighbors dumpster a Little Tikes work bench which was in great shape. Noah and I had fun cleaning it up today and it really almost look like new. I have pulled out glass mosaic top coffee tables, plastic lawn chairs, books, book shelves, etc. I draw the line at food and clothes but my point is that we live in an incredibly wasteful society  and we need to start doing a better job of recycling. 

When we have something we are trying to get rid of  at our house that is still in good shape, we try to put it on craigslist in the free section or freecycle and almost always someone in need of that item has come to pick it up. I recently had a queen size bed I put on the list that was picked up within a half hour of posting it.  

Another resource for Sonoma County residence is the Sonoma County Recycling Guide which has information on where and how to recycle just about everything.  

While in our car the other day, Emma said, "Mommy, look way up high at the bag in the tree!"

Trying to teach a lesson here, I said, "Oh yeah, that  is way up high!  Someone should have thrown that away because now it's in a tree instead of the garbage!" 

"Mommy, we have to get that sticky bag out of the tree!"

"Someone else will do it, Emma."  DOH!  Immediately I kicked myself for 1) teaching Emma "someone else" will take care of things and 2) for coming to that conclusion myself so easily rather than taking it upon myself to take care of it.  In defense of myself, it was too high to reach, but I could have gone about talking to Emma about it differently, instead of jumping to the idea that it wasn't my problem.

Then Emma says, "Mommy, I have a great  idea!  I will get bigger and THEN I will get that bag way up high in the tree."

"Yes, Emma, that is a great idea!"  Emma decided to teach me a lesson here :)

I just thought  that was so cute.  The bag was too high for me to get, but next time I am going to make a point of actually doing rather than just talking, especially when it's something my kids can learn from. 

Here is a blog on recycling I read that gave me some info that I didn't know. Most of it I had heard of, but some of it was news to me, so hopefully you all learn a little too :)

It started yesterday but its not to late to join in! I believe with kids in the house that it is nearly impossible to go completely waste free for the whole week, BUT we can try our hardest and maybe discover new ways to reduce waste that we haven't thought of before. Maybe this will be the week I ACTUALLY bring my own cup to Starbucks!

WARNING: Silly post!    

Back in April, I posted about hovering over public toilets to reduce waste by not using butt gaskets.  Since then I have decided there is one exception!

 When you are out and about and drinks are a part of the night, gauge where you are drunk-wise before employing this technique!  Especially when your good friend, Sarah, keeps suggesting "More?  Another  drink?  How about a watermelon one?  Or a grande strawberry margarita???"

 Because once you hit that point, and you attempt that hovering action, you end up kind of falling to the side and hitting your head on the bathroom wall, which is gross in and of itself.  And your aim is horrible, thus making you use more toilet paper as you drunkenly clean up.

So take my advice and use a butt gasket if you are more than three drinks in, and don't go out with Sarah unless you are up for a good time and a head bruise the next morning :) 

'Tis all! 

So when I pulled up to my house yesterday after running an errand, I noticed that my garbage can (which was lazily left out since pick up day) had shrunk. Yep, shrunk. I was convinced that someone in my neighborhood gave me their small 35 gallon can and took my spacious 96 gallon garbage oasis. I took a closer look and realized that this small can was brand new, no residue at all at the bottom. So I called Empire Waste Management to see what was up. As it turns out they did a "route audit" and the entire time I have lived here ( 3 years), I have been paying for the 35 gallon can, and basically stealing 61 gallons of land fill space each and every week. Go me ...

Well the last thing I need is a more expensive bill, so my husband and I decided to see this as a challenge. We are going to try our absolute hardest to only make 35 gallons of trash a week. This means being extra diligent about recycling and using disposable things more sparingly. It will be a great green step for us. I really don't know if we can do it but we are going to try. Ill let you know on Friday how we did and I promise to admit it if I use my neighbors can when they aren't home...

While I was out for a walk  yesterday with the kids (in the stroller) going down Hopper (a street we normally drive down) I noticed how much garbage there was on the side of the road that I don't notice or miss when driving. More than anything else, I saw many, many plastic bottles. In second place was plastic bags which were hanging on tree limbs, stuck in bushes, or covering a drain grate. 

I started picking up all the recyclable material I found while on our our short walk and entirely filled every spare inch of the stroller (poor kids : ).

It was amazing to me how much I collected in such a short distance.  

Today I read that:

• recycling just one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a TV for 90 minutes, and
• recycling just one PETE bottle saves enough energy to power a 60 Watt light bulb for 6 hours

So the next time I look at something recyclable on the ground and think "Is it really worth it to pick up this ONE bottle or this ONE bag?", I will remember that bit of information and realize ...Yes! It is!