Trash report: Southern California's effort to clean up the confusion

Great LA Times article by Mary McVean about trash and recycling in LA.   Trying to help clear up the confusion about what you can and can't recycle, compost, trash etc.  For the greenies, the wanna-be greenies, and all the rest.

The article by Susan Carpenter about her attempt to cut down on her trash production and efforts to learn what can be recycled is excellent too.  We cut our trash production by half or more just be installing a compost bin.  Although I must admit I didn't know that those disposable plates, forks, spoons etc that say they are compostable don't break down in a home compost bin. 

Thanks LA Times for helping get the information out to us!

Green is my favorite color

Green Tips

A great way to start the new year - greener.

The Two-Minute Test
If you aren’t sure about the flow rate of your showerhead, you can test it using a five-gallon bucket and a stopwatch. Turn the shower on full blast (hot and cold). Place a five-gallon bucket under the shower and capture all of the flow. Fill the bucket for exactly two minutes. If your showerhead uses 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) or less, the bucket will not overflow during the two-minute test. If the bucket overflows during the test, you do not have a functioning low-flow showerhead.

Shower Power 
To maximize showering efficiency make sure that you have installed a low-flow showerhead in all of your bathrooms. All showerheads manufactured in the U.S. must restrict flow to 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) or less. Some models are designed to use even less water.

Natural Gas Dryers 
Consider switching to a natural gas clothes dryer, which is typically less expensive to operate than electric dryers, often by as much as 50 percent.

Get a Free Water-Saving Kit 
Southern California Gas Company customers can request a free water-saving kit that includes three faucet aerators and a low-flow showerhead:  www.socalgas.com/kit.

What’s Your Water Footprint?
To learn how water-intensive your lifestyle is and how to lessen your “water footprint,” visit Waterfootprint.org.

Recycling No-Nos
Here are five things, according to earth911.org, that will contaminate or thwart paper mills' attempts to recycle paper and cardboard:

• Oil and water don't mix. That large pizza box with the oil imprint will become recycled paper with an oil stain.
• Did your napkin or paper towel blot up a water spill or nail polish remover? It could have been the latter, and, for this reason, napkins and paper towels are not recyclable.
• Plastic linings added to paper products; a perfect example is paper cups.
• Wet newspapers
• Pressure-sensitive adhesives, such as sticky notes, postage stamps, and address labels.

Hang Laundry Out to Dry
Automatic clothes dryers use 6% of total electricity consumed by American homes, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Save energy, and make your laundry smell extra fresh by putting up a clothesline, just like your grandparents did. Start simple with a few sheets, towels and pillowcases, and if you like the results, gradually do more loads.

Write Stuff
Disposable plastic pens aren’t recyclable or biodegradable. The greener choice is refillable pens, marker, and pencils. When choosing a printer, opt for an inkjet printer, which uses 20 watts of electricity versus 300 watts for a laser printer.

Check for Leaky Faucets
Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year. Not sure if you have a leak? Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.

Install Faucet Aerators 
Installing faucet aerators and low-flow shower heads will cut water heating costs by 50 percent and save up to $300 per year.

Save Time, Energy in the Dryer
Add tennis balls or dryer balls to your dryer. They will speed up drying time and save you electricity.

Check out Pasadena  Green City here.

Earth Machine Composting Bins - It's all the rage (at least I'm hoping it will be)

We became composters about a year ago at our place in the San Rafael hills and my mission is to spread the word and help reduce landfills with all the of kitchen and yard waste that could be turned back into usable soil.  We've managed to cut down from our big garbage bin to the smallest the city of Pasadena offers and that isn't usually full.  (Except for the big party we threw Saturday night but that's another story).  We keep a small compost pail under the sink for kitchen scraps and use a biodegradable bag liner.  I've been using Bio Bags and you can find them online - even found them on Overstock.com once.  And, no folks, it doesn't smell.  The pail has a charcoal insert which keeps odors away.  (Money saving tip - Marshall's has compost bins sometimes).  The soil has been usable to spread in our garden and mulch our yard for a few months now.  Great stuff!  Our bin came from the city of Pasadena and you can find information here  Pasdena Compost Info.   Recently though I was at the Burbank Board of Realtors and the city of Burbank has a program as well that uses a bin from a company called Earth Machine and I had compost bin envy.  Yes it's true.  It is user-friendly and even borders on sexy - for something that turns garbage into soil. Their compost booklet is excellent too. Click here for their website Earth Machine  or you can contact the city of Burbank as well here. 

See what I mean?!



(Image courtesy of Earthmachine.com)