Category : Recycling
With 200 articles in the Mommy Footprint vault I’m hopeful I’ve shared all of my Earth Day tips over the last year. I’ve kept a few tips up my sleeve in time for an Earth Day article and hope you enjoy. <wink>
The tag line on the Mommy Footprint site is “what will your legacy be?” and that is still the driving force behind this blog. Changing small acts in everyday life is what will impact our world the most. A few upcoming acts I pledge to write about include:
~ starting a database for readers of where PVC plastic lurks that effects children in their household, classroom, etc.
~ Talking about products that are next to the skin or worse (!) inside our bodies that are produced with chlorine, dioxins, and chemicals.
~ Trying to convince high-end, educational facilities to eliminate toys or products that young children can mouth or bath with that are made from PVC; my goal is to have it completely removed from the Vancouver aquarium gift shop because of the precedent it should uphold to the marine life it educates the public about.
~ Hold companies accountable for the products they sell to consumers when they are manufactured and sold containing harmful chemicals or materials.
~ Encouraging parents to create eco-friendlier events for children like birthday parties, family BBQs and special events; a guest or child from these get-togethers will always notice something different and the ball of education starts to roll.
~ And always watching for new ideas or concepts to engage children with nature. Like anything in life – children bore easily so it’s up to parents to keep creative ideas flowing even if we feel exhausted and struggle ourselves. There is no greater accomplishment in my life than having all my children engaged and joyful in nature…and no matter how tired I feel, the fresh air has always been healing for my body and soul.
Enough about me. Here are some ideas for unique ways to celebrate or kick-off family goals this Earth Day:
Show kids recycling codes on plastic. Post a chart with each resin code with a child friendly description and let kids take on the task of sorting household plastics for recycling. It’s like an easy math problem or game that kids would love. Incorporate the topic of plastic packaging into this new activity. Teach your child about the massive amounts of plastic that cannot be recycled and how as a family you can reduce and purchase products more responsibly.
Mark storm drains in your neighborhood or surrounding community at your school. I’ve talked about this activity a lot because it was the highlight of my summer last year with my sons. I got 1-1 time with them to talk, and they loved telling people why they were doing it and putting documentation on door knobs. Then of course hammering the decal into the pavement ~ what child wouldn’t enjoy this? For more information read Ultimate Eco Activity For Your Family.
The Hummingbirds are out and hungry in my neighborhood. What a treat to still have Black Capped Chickadees to watch in our back-yard and Blue Jays in our front ~ and to now have Hummingbirds join the crowd. Too fun! If you don’t have a bird feeder, purchase a cheap one. Guaranteed your local thrift store will have a hummingbird feeder for sale.
Plant one vegetable in a pot or garden with your child. Teach your family the power of one small act and the many positives that result from a household garden.; no pesticides, no cost to purchase from the store, better taste, and the pride of growing something yourself. Make a pledge to add a vegetable to the garden every earth day – imagine what it will look like in a few years.
Write a quiz for your kids on products that can or can’t be recycled. Have samples of these materials and test their recycling knowledge and ask them to pick out items that can or cannot be recycled.
For a list of adorable Earth Day crafts, check out the Crafting Our Way To A Greener World article on the Kids Stuff World site. I especially love the globe cookies and egg carton owls. I wish you a wonderful day on Earth Day (April 22nd, 2009) and hope you find joy and a bit of magic, with discussions and conversations with friends, family, and children about why celebrating the earth’s health is so important.
Green Planet Parties discovered an amazing new product in the exciting world of Eco-friendly tableware. A new line of plates and bowls made from the abundant palm leaf tree is the latest trend and the story behind the ‘chain of custody’ from this product is also very special. Take a peek at this picture and read on…
Let’s face it – no one loves the idea of buying, using and disposing of paper plates and plastic cutlery etc., but when it’s your turn to host the family BBQ or when you’ve volunteered to pick up supplies for an event at your school – it really becomes a necessity. The good news is there’s a growing supply of more environmentally friendly choices for disposable tableware that are not made from virgin fibre paper, plastic or the hardest to decompose… Styrofoam! Some great new options out there include bagasse (sugarcane) and PLA (plant based) and reed pulp ~ all very good choices for those such occasions where disposable tableware is needed.
Something new that you might want to consider is “Earthens” tableware. This is the most obviously green and natural-looking tableware you’ve ever seen ~ they are a real conversation starter because they are so naturally beautiful looking. These plates and bowls have a wonderful ‘chain of custody’ story too – that is, from how they are grown, who manufactures them, who benefits from their sale and how then can be returned to the earth as soil. (more…)
I’ll admit I’ve never looked at the codes on the bottom of my plastics until I started trying to rid my household of plastics containing BPA. While this began so I could eliminate a health concern for my children, I’ve since learned what these codes mean in the world of recycling. Hopefully after reading this, some confusion will be eliminated so that people can start recycling the right types of plastic and realize how harmful plastic is to our environment.
Resin codes are found on most plastic with the ’chasing arrows’ surrounding them in a triangle shape. These codes were created to classify plastic products. The arrows are misleading because they duplicate the symbol for recycling, however, it’s not true that plastics marked with any resin code can be recycled.
Most cities have their own recycling programs and govern which plastic resin codes they’ll accept at curb-side. My community accepts a high number of resin numbers (1,2,4,5,6) and have different and appropriate departments where each plastic is recycled appropriately. If a code 3 or 7 gets mixed into what a resident leaves out, that too gets sorted and put in the garbage, as there isn’t a recycling program for these two numbers. Find out which resin codes your city takes and what it does with plastic that doesn’t have a recycling program. Because all plastics have different melting points, it’s important to keep the different types separate because if recycled together, you wind up with goo.
Worldwide recycling rates for plastics with resin codes 3-7 is around 1 percent. Yikes! NONE of type 7 plastics can be recycled.
Key points from this information? Remember that the little triangle made of arrows doesn’t always indicate recyclability for all codes. Also, with such low percentages of all plastics being recycled, we should try to limit what we purchase in the first place.
Charts and graphs normally confuse me, but the American Plastics Council gives a nice breakdown of the codes, their description, and examples of products produced from them. (more…)
An article in my local news inspired this article, as I felt such a strong reaction to what I was reading. Talk about feeling the consequences of your actions! A person decided to dump litres of latex paint into their storm drain which flowed into a local creek which happens to be a high volume fish-bearing waterway. What caused me to gasp is my 4 year old was releasing coho fry into this very creek only weeks ago on his first preschool field trip. Because of this action, about 44,000 fry and eggs narrowly escaped death, because the quick acting creek’s president shut off the creek intake and switched to the back-up well water. They won’t know if the thousands of fish will be affected, but it makes you stop and scratch your head. Even if the storm drain isn’t marked, come on!
So I did some digging on the disposal of hazardous household waste… paints, antifreeze, antibiotics, etc. The culprit in the above crime (latex paint) is one of the easiest types to dispose of, along with water based paint, as it’s less harmful to simply ‘dry up’ this paint. If you buy cat litter or sawdust, fill up a paper bag with it, and then pour the remaining paint into the bag. Wait for the paint to be absorbed and dispose of the bag with your household trash.
You cannot do this for oil-based paints as they post potential environmental and public health risks. You need to contact your local hazardous materials resource centre for information on proper disposal. OR you can give away or donate leftover paint to a local theater group or non-profit organization. Or even more fun, you can also locate a user for your paint through freecycle.org, an online swap shop. I’ve never heard of this website before, but it’s a nonprofit movement of people who are giving away stuff. It’s all about reuse and keeping good things out of landfills. I logged onto this site and found local communities with groups setup, close enough by to drive to and this is a worldwide site! Very cool find.
Something that is piling up in my cupboard after a bad flu and strep throat season is old antibiotics. You know that last little bit of medicine that never gets used up? I’ve been collecting my bottles of old antibiotics in a safe place and when it’s worth the trip for me, I can bring it to my local pharmacy. My pharmacist told me to take a marker and black out my personal information on the label, then bring them in and they’ll look after proper disposal of what would be a harmful substance to the environment. (more…)
I’ll admit I’ve never been an ‘accessories’ girl. I own one watch (a Roots sports watch that has a night light so I can clock what ungodly hour my kids get me up), no jewelry, purses, umbrella, and really only 1 pair of shoes. I wait until I’ve worn out my current pair of crocs or boots, then buy another pair to wear. It’s not because I don’t want to look cute, I just know I’ll lose anything that isn’t nailed down to me. I might be the last person on this planet that doesn’t own a cell phone. It’s all I can do to keep track of my wallet and camera. Oh yes, the 4 kids, their stuffed animals, snacks, change of clothes, diapers…. yikes! No wonder I don’t have accessories.
However, lately I’ve been carrying a green reusable canvas tote for my wallet, kids’ snacks, diapers, etc. and I’m using it very proudly. It might not be the most attractive bag ever, but if I loose it (give me a week and that thing is gone); I’m only out a few dollars. I think I’m onto something…girls, can the canvas totes be our new Prada? My sister was recently here with her latest Betsy Johnson purse and I was temped to ask how much, where can I find one, etc., but I think I’m ok with my new discovery.
Especially when using the canvas tote is in the top 10 ways to green your home. Read the below from www.livescience.com:
“Eschew plastic bags by bringing your own reusable canvas totes the next time you’re at the supermarket or store. Because petroleum-based plastic isn’t biodegradable, it’s certain to outlive you-by about a millennium or so. Each year, thousands of marine animals, including the endangered leatherback turtle, choke to death on plastic trash they mistake for snackable morsels. Our unholy love for plastic disposables has also bred a swirling vortex of plastic trash the size of Texas in the North Pacific Ocean-not surprising when you consider that Americans run through about 100 billion plastic bags annually, using up an estimated 12 million barrels of oil.
You’ll easily forget about horrible plastic bags when you see the amazing totes found on Etsy. I love this site devoted to selling handmade items. Just to demonstrate that the reusable canvas tote doesn’t have to be ugly like my green selection…check out this one with owls!
Loose Caboose Designs is the adorable shop on Etsy that created this bag.
