Week 24 and 25
As usual when a holiday rolls around, thank you for being patient with me as I skip an update and combine two weeks into one.
The last two weeks have been holiday-centered for me with the build up to Christmas occupying most of my time. I am currently in the midst of my winter break, so school’s out for another week, then it’s back to work for me. It’s been nice to spend time with family and friends, many of whom I don’t get to see on a regular basis.
Christmas was, of course, one of the most anticipated times of the year as far as the Green Garbage Project goes. We approached this season with trepidation, and even back in July we considered how we would get around all the holiday garbage. The concerns were many: would someone who finds our project a waste of time (there are a few of those in the extended family) deliberately give us unrecyclable packaging? What would we do about wrapping paper, tape, ribbon, gift tags, and all the packaging that goes along with the presents? How about packaging/would-be garbage associated with baking or decorating?
Well, the big day has come and gone and honestly, we only added two things to the garbage shoebox – everything else could be recycled or, better yet, reused.
The biggest surprise of the season was how mightily members of our families rose to the occasion, making sure to give presents that were garbage-free and, even better, wrapping these gifts in extremely creative ways. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera for our holiday party, but thanks to my aunt and uncle, we were able to borrow a camera and take pictures of the neat ways our presents were presented to us. As soon as I have those pictures, I’ll post them here. For now, a list of ways our presents came packaged: In gift bags (reusable many times, though these will ultimately be garbage, if not this year), in baskets, wrapped in towels, wrapped in fabric, placed in pretty boxes without ribbon or tape, and in tissue paper.
We never expected our families to go so far out of their way to support our project, but we owe them many thanks and truly, their efforts demonstrate what just a little extra effort will accomplish. One family – virtually zero garbage at Christmastime. Clearly it’s time we start rethinking packaging and wrapping as a culture. It’s not impossible to have an eco-friendly Christmas, just unpopular.
Here are ways we handled various holiday dilemmas:
- Giving presents: I made cloth drawstring bags using Christmas fabric for each of the presents we gave by following this tutorial. They turned out great, and the hope is that recipients will reuse the bags for future gifts or to store holiday decorations in.
- Wrapping paper: Actually, most all wrapping paper is recyclable as long as ribbons are removed from it. The wrapping paper must be made from paper, not plastic or foil. Most communities allow some tape to be left on the paper, so as long as the wrapper wasn’t overzealous about tape, you should be fine to put this in your comingled recycle bin.
- Ribbon: Most of our gifts came wrapped without ribbon, but when we encountered it, we carefully cut or untied the material and saved it away in a bag for future use. I set aside all ribbons/raffia/yarn to be untied after the unwrapping frenzy was complete, then worked the knots apart while watching TV. A little extra effort, but worthwhile because I now have a stash of pretty ribbons and bows to use in the future.
- Styrofoam packaging: None of our presents came with this, but if they had, we are lucky enough to have a recycling facility in the nearby town of Salem, Ore.
- Plastic packaging: This gets trickier. Plastic tags (the kind that hold clothing tags to the clothing) are garbage, no way around this. Plastic packaging that is stretchy, like plastic wrap or plastic grocery sacks, can be put into our grocery store plastic bag recycling container. Even plastic packaging backed with cardboard (think about the containers batteries come in) is recyclable at Far West Fibers. The only packaging issue we regularly encounter is non-stretchy plastic film. We had to add a couple pieces of this to the box after unwrapping movies we were given.
- Gift tags: Generally made from paper so easily recycled.
One of the major things we’ve learned while undergoing our project is simply how to correctly direct the items in our waste stream. When I look at the list above, I realize that really all I’m doing differently this year is sorting things more carefully. Last year, things like ribbon and virtually all plastic packaging would have ended up in the trash. Now, I’ve learned of alternative ways to deal with these items, and they are saved from winding up in a landfill.
In closing, I have to say how this holiday season, combined with this project, has changed my entire mindset on gifts. I’m looking carefully at my life, at my choices, at the way Adam and I choose to spend our money, and I realize how fortunate we are, how much power we have as consumers, and how unfortunate others are. At the risk of editorializing, Christmastime has gotten out of whack and the point of the holiday celebration has been lost under an utter landslide of consumer culture. We buy, buy, buy to the point that oftentimes, the gift itself doesn’t even matter. The presents I value most are homemade items like the marmalade Adam’s parents gave us, or experiences like a weekend stay at the coast given to us by my parents, or money donated in my name to a charity. What I value is being surrounded by family, friends, and good food, and what I don’t need is someone to buy me more “stuff.” This point was driven home when we went shopping at Whole Foods tonight. We bought more than $100 worth of groceries to feed ourselves for what, two weeks? We also bought a Whole Foods bag for $10, the proceeds from which go to feed 100 children in Africa. What if, instead of buying stuff for each other for Christmas, we each bought 10 bags and fed 1,000 people? The power of the individual is an amazing thing, and once we start harnessing it, we will change the world.
Happy holidays to each of you, and may the New Year be a happy and prosperous one.
Week 23
I had several exciting developments last week in Green Garbage Land. First, and most exciting, I got to speak in Salem after a screening of Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home. This is an independent movie produced by a Canadian man who, like Adam and I, got sick and tired of seeing the environment trashed in order to power our consumer culture. In order to raise awareness about this problem, he asked a family he is friends with to save their trash for three months. Saving both landfill-bound garbage and recycling for only three months entirely filled this family’s garage. But the filmmaker didn’t stop there. He traced garbage from its source inside the home to far-reaching places around both Canada and the United States. It reminded me of the book Garbageland (an excellent read, by the way), a book about where our trash goes once it leaves the curb. Additionally, the film addresses other environmental issues the average U.S. or Canadian family contributes to – water pollution and road runoff, excessive energy use, and so on. The tagline of the film is as follows: “Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home is a feature documentary about how the family household has become one of the most ferocious environmental predators of our time.” I think that description of the family household as a ferocious, albiet unaware, enivronmental predator is one of the most apt I’ve yet to run across. This film is a great reminder that our smallest actions have far-reaching consequences. If you want to know more, go to this site.
Anyway, about 200 people showed up for the movie, and I got to speak afterward, along with my Master Recycler course instructor. This is one of the first times I’ve gotten to speak to such a large audience about our project, and I have a marvelous time doing it. Thank you to everyone who came out and saw the film, supporting the Salem Progressive Film Society.
A reader also sent me a link to a super-cool upcycling project that I just have to post pictures of. It took me awhile to get around to this email, but once I did, wow! All I can say is thanks for sending in the link! If you’re like me and looking for a way to recycle/reuse old lightbulbs, check out this link. I haven’t tried this yet, but it’s now added to the list.
Has anyone tried any crafts with lightbulbs? I’ll post about how this turns out as soon as I try it. Take care!
Week 22
Only a month until we’re halfway through the year! With work and life and all, I’ve let some of the pages of this site get a little out-of-date, so this is my promise: give me another two weeks until my winter break and then start looking for updates to pages all over the site. I’d like to get our Tips and Tricks page updated with new info, and I’ve been thinking about adding a section to the site for book reviews. I’m doing a lot of garbage-related reading these days, and I would like to add that information to the Green Garbage Project for those who are interested.
This week, I have added two new links to the “news” tab, thanks to the fact that I have a speaking event coming up this Thursday. If anyone is in the Salem, Oregon area, I encourage you to come to the Salem Progressive Film Series’ screening of a new film called Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home. After the film, I will be speaking briefly about our project, and one of my Master Recycler class instructors will also be speaking. We’ll answer garbage-y questions in a panel format afterward. For more info, check out http://www.salemprogressivefilms.net/ The movie starts at 7 p.m. at the Grand Theater. The new articles I’m posting appeared in The Oregonian (good article, but one error – I teach at Willamina High School, not Dallas High School) and in Salem Monthly. Check ‘em out!
We’ve spent our last week preparing for Christmas and settling back into work after Thanksgiving. This past weekend, we put up our tree and strung lights on the outside of the house. I’ve received a few comments from readers about our cutting a tree down as opposed to using a fake tree or buying a potted tree and planting it after Christmas. I appreciate comments like these and hope everyone realizes that I spend a lot of time thinking about these sorts of issues, weighing environmental factors with other things I need to consider – financial impact, time constraints, and something that is important to me, family tradition. Adam and I discussed the merits of a fake tree over a cut tree, but besides the fact that I just can’t bring myself to let an artificial tree in the house, we’re not so sure the fake tree is better for the environment in the long run. After all, though the artificial tree is used over and over, it does eventually wind up in the dump. Our tree will be composted and its nutrients return to the earth. I haven’t yet looked for a life cycle analysis of a cut Christmas tree versus an artificial one (it’s on the to-do list!), but if anyone has a link, let me know. As for the potted tree, frankly, it’s not in the budget for us this year. The holidays are expensive already, and we’ve decided to commit our social activism money toward Green Garbage Project related expenses. Maybe next year will be the year we invest in a potted tree. We did, however, replace ALL our outdoor holiday lights with energy-efficient LED lights. The house looks quite pretty all decked out for the winter.
I know I’ve made this point several times already on this blog, but I really am concerned that the environmental apathy we often see in our country stems from the fact that no matter what a person does, often it’s never judged as enough. There’s no escaping the fact that we are a consumer culture – that consumption is a part of who we are – and radical changes are not going to happen overnight. I think we have to pick our battles and reward progress – every person who uses a green bag instead of a plastic bag at the grocery store is doing something good for the planet. This year, we choose to focus on drastically reducing our garbage footprint. Maybe next year, we’ll focus on energy conservation, and the year after that, water conservation. To stay sane, we have to take this one step at a time.
Before I close, I do want to say a big thank you to a woman I only know as Mary Lou. In response to the Salem Monthly article which mentioned we were sad to have no candy canes this year, Mary Lou called the editor of the paper and passed along her homemade candy cane recipe. We’ll be trying it out soon, and I’ll post the results as soon as I have them. Thanks so much for thinking of us!
Weeks 20 and 21
As I write this, I’m realizing for the first time that we’re just a month away from our halfway point! This has been an incredible journey so far, and I’m delighted to report that our shoebox isn’t even close to full. We’re sailing through these weeks leading up to Christmas, which is probably a good thing given the potential trash we’ll receive from gifts packaged in non-reusable materials. We’ve decided to cross that bridge when we come to it, hoping that we can repurpose some trash items. Our family and friends are so supportive of our project that I know many are going out of their way to package gifts in recyclable paper or reusable containers.
Since it’s approaching faster and faster, I should mention that I received several tips from family and readers about how to package Christmas presents in an eco-friendly way. My cousin’s wife passed along a project she’s made in the past – cover an old shoebox with fabric and reuse the box over and over for gift-giving. Great idea! The fabric attaches easily to cardboard with a spray adhesive (make sure a local facility can recycle the aerosol can). Many years ago in Girl Scouts, I did a similar craft project in which I covered an old cigar box with fabric. I still have this box today (this must have been 18 years ago).
I also found a suggestion in this month’s Martha Stewart magazine suggesting the use of old glass jars for packaging small presents, which is an idea I also love.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last updated, mostly because we spent a week in Washington with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a nice time visiting relatives, even though it was Adam’s turn to get the flu over the holiday. We’ve gotten better at being garbage-free during times of sickness, thanks to our recent bouts of illness.
I have found one item that produces leftover packaging that I’m simply willing to live without. Call it my amnesty item, if you will, but all year long, I look forward to satsumas hitting the grocery stores. These are essentially seedless mandarin oranges, and I love them. I eat them by the dozens. They are only in season for about two months a year, and I swear these are my secret weapon against any winter colds, I eat so many. I know they aren’t local, unfortunately, but I buy local produce all year round so I can afford a few splurges. My satsumas are one of them. This said, satsumas have always come in a recyclable box. This year, however, the satsuma people are bundling the fruit in netting, and this netted bag of satsumas then comes in a box. This irritates me greatly, but I’m still buying them. So now, I have four or five of these orange nets floating around my house. I refuse to add them to our shoebox, because I’m sure I can reuse them for something. Right now I’m thinking I can trim the raw edges of the net with fabric and perhaps use the nets are reusable produce bags. Any other ideas?
In the past weeks, we run into no other garbage dilemmas. Thanks for reading, and have a good week!