Some Days I Hate People

This is W. Rathgeber Road, as you turn off Kemp Blvd. It always looks like this. 99% of this is glass bottles that could be put in the city glass recycling (although it is recycled into sand, but that works). I was birding, so only stopped for a photo. I wonder if I clean this up, how long it will last? 

If anyone would like to lend a hand, email green.wichitafalls@gmail.com (put TRASH in the subject, so I don't delete) in the next day or two. I plan to tackle this project.

They Multiply in the Dark

I swear that plastic grocery bags breed. I do my darndest not to get plastic shopping bags, but they keep showing up in the house. Of course, I try to use them again at least once--as trash can liners and for carrying litter I pick up on walks. In spite of that, I still have bags.

I use the plastic bag recycling container at United Marketstreet and wondered if bags placed in there were really recycled. So I called on my friend, Google, and apparently, yes, they can be. We don't have a city plastic recycling that takes plastic bags, so you need to use the grocery store bins specifically for these bags.

Less than 10% of the plastic bags in the US are recycled. Some plastic bags and other plastic film are recycled into composite lumber. Most is shipped to other countries, although much of that is burned for not-so-clean fuel. A small amount is recycled into other plastic products.

However, the best thing we can do is to try to avoid getting the bags to start with, although my own experience is that it is hard to avoid them altogether. Producing 1,500 plastic bags consumes 33 lbs. of fossil fuels and 55 gallons of fresh water, and produces 15 lbs. of solid waste and 0.04 tons of CO2.

Keep your reusable fabric bags in your car and remember to use them. If you are buying just one or two items, refuse a bag and carry your purchases out in your hands. Reuse the bags you do get at least one more time, and remember to take bags back to the grocery and place them in the recycling bin by the front door. 

I truly wish the city would ban plastic shopping bags as some other cities do, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Much of the litter I pick up on walks is discarded shopping bags. As much as I don't see an outright ban happening here in Wichita Falls, it won't hurt to bring it up now and again with your City Council representatives. I am not aware of anyone currently on the City Council who would be a champion of such as issue, but one never knows. 

What's the Deal with Microplastics?

 

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

You all know I have been on a tear to reduce the amount of plastic in my house. I can't say hubby has been a huge help in that regard, but we persist.

Why? Well, first, look at the picture to the left. Do you really want to live in a town that looks like this? No, not all of the litter is plastic, but most of it is. I participate in a lot of little pickups in a year, and plastics are usually the largest part of what we pick up. Most of the trash people who drive by toss out their window around my house is also plastic.

Next, plastics can leech bad things into our food. I am not talking about that today, but it is the big reason I am trying to root it out of my kitchen.

But the third reason is microplastics. Most of the studies about microplastics have had to do with marine life, but the impacts undoubtedly apply to freshwater as well. Here's a little bit about microplastics. Microplastics are the tiny bits of plastic between 1 mm and 5 mm in size. Most are due to the break up of larger pieces of plastic. The number one component of microplastics is #1 water bottles. Nanoplastics are bits of less than 1mm in size. Many of these small bits of plastic can look a lot like the food that fish that other aquatic animals eat, and so they ingest quite a few. Needless to say, this is not very nutritious, although studies are underway to determine the extent of harm microplastics cause other organisms as well as us.

It is estimated we ingest between 8,000 - 11,000 bits of microplastic each year. Your table salt likely has microplastics in it. In tests, 36 of the 39 salt brands tested contained microplastics. In addition to the obvious plastics, many synthetic materials contain plastics as well, leaving microfibers in the environment.  (On a side note, I was surprised to find an issue with even microfibers from denim!) These microplastics are found in drinking water and in the form of microfibers in the air. I did look at our city Water Quality report for 2020 and microplastics are not mentioned, probably because it isn't something the city is required to report on. 

In 2015, the U.S. banned microbeads, which were often present in personal care products. This was primarily due to concerns with their presence in our water supply.

Microplastics seem as if they are a huge problem and one of those overwhelming issues that we might wonder, what possible impact could we as individuals have? You're right, but at the same time, you are not. Each of us contributes to the problem of plastic pollution, whether we're talking about the litter in our community or the microplastics in our waterways and water supply.

So what can individuals do?

 - Cut the plastic. It is hard to avoid plastics, I know. But seriously try to reduce the amount of plastic that enters your home. One thing you can absolutely do without is plastic drink bottles. Our drinking water is very safe. I know some people feel as if the water has a funny taste, but compared to a lot of places I have been, our water is good. However, if you really can't stand it, invest in a filter and use a refillable water bottle. 

- Use cloth shopping bags (and please keep them clean). In addition, invest in reusable produce bags.

- Get rid of the plastic utensils and straws. When in restaurants, ask them not to give you a straw. I wish the city would consider a ban on plastic shopping bags, but I can just hear the public outcry over that, can't you? But you would be surprised how many of these bags we fish out of our local lakes during a cleanup.

- Get something like "To-Go Ware" to carry out your leftovers from restaurants and encourage your favorite restaurants to get away from styrofoam containers for take-out. It's cheap for them but costly for our environment.

- If you do get plastic, can you reuse it? I do reuse bread bags for my own homemade bread and store bags for trash. I would still prefer not to have the plastic to start with, but if it is in the house, it gets at least one more use.

 - Again, if you get plastic, dispose of it properly. Recycling options are not good right now, so be sure any plastic you bring home is put in the trash bin, not thrown on the ground.

An Earth Day Challenge

By NikoLang - Own work (Screenshot), CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=913338

Here we are, another Earth Day anniversary tomorrow (April 22.) I am among those old enough to remember the first Earth Day in 1970. The amount of energy and enthusiasm to be better stewards of the Earth was amazing. Now, there is barely a whimper, especially here in Wichita Falls.

So what happened?

Part of it is probably that it seems we have made little progress in the 47 years since. However, that is not true. In spite of recent reversals in many areas, in the United States is far ahead of where we were then. Many pieces of landmark legislation have been made since. The Clean Air Act (1970); The Clean Water Act (1977); and The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act (Superfund) (1980), among others, were a result.

Some of it may be that we seem to have a "day" for just about everything, most of which seem to be driven by the retail industry (like Valentine's Day). There are plenty of days that seem to be just for fun, like Grouches Day on October 15. But it seems the more designated days there are, the less significance they have.

There are a few things happening in Wichita Falls and the surrounding area that relate to Earth Day over the next couple of weeks. Those I have come across are posted on the Living Green In Wichita Falls Facebook page, but there is certainly no special community events centered around this day. We will have to celebrate individually to have some collective impact.

Here's my Earth Day challenge to people living in Wichita Falls and the surrounding area. Pick something that you can do to be good stewards of the earth going forward. It can be something you already do (just do it again or more of it), a special event, or something you have been meaning to. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Start a compost pile (or vermicomposting bucket for those of you in an apartment)
• Order an organics bin from the city and let's agitate to have the organics picked up every week (see Recycling Options in Wichita Falls)
• Plant a pollinator-friendly or bird-friendly native plant in your yard
• Ditch the one-use plastic shopping bags and plastic produce bags (Did you know you can buy reusable produce bags? I have no trouble using mine at Market Street)
• Make more food from scratch--it tastes better and is less expensive
• Make an insect hotel--most can be very simple
• Stop spraying poisons in your yard
• Plant your own vegetables--even if it is one plant in a pot
• Use compost and other natural fertilizers
• Mulch like crazy--the summer is coming
• Buy local when possible
• Let's get rid of styrofoam--purchase a To-Go Ware or similar and let restaurants know there are more environmentally friendly ways to package food
• Eat more vegetables (especially local) and a little less meat
• Get outside--walk, bike and take the kids. We have a wonderful trail system. Use it.
• Join an organization that is related to environmental issues, especially those that are local 
• Buy a Texas Parks Pass and visit our state parks--you can get in free to any of them for a year with a pass and you get reductions on camping fees. You also send a much-needed message to the state legislature that the parks are important.
• Hold a neighborhood cleanup. Did you know the city sanitation department will deliver one of those big dumpsters to your neighborhood and pick it up again for a very small fee (I think it is $25)? That will save having to haul things to the transfer station and everyone can benefit. Many people do not have a way to transport. Do you have an elderly or disabled neighbor who needs help cleaning up their yard? This would be a good time/place to do it.
• Pick up trash wherever you walk. This town is awash in little. 
• Vote "yes" on May 5 to finish our Circle Trail and improve Lake Wichita.

There's a short list. Feel free to add your own. Post a comment about what you've done or more ideas about steps individuals can take. Feel free to post some pictures on the Living Green Facebook page too.

Recycling Options in Wichita Falls

One of the most wanted city services by people who read this blog is curbside recycling. It is a frequent lament that "We can't recycle."

Progressive Waste provided single-stream recycling at central locations for several months but withdrew the service. Since that time, the city has been answering the question of why they don't offer curbside single stream recycling. It would be the most convenient option for citizens and other cities do offer it. The fact that Progressive Waste withdrew because they weren't making money at it explains a lot about why the city doesn't offer the service, especially as our citizens resist ANY increase in fees.

Progressive Waste trucked the recycling to the Metroplex and then anything that wasn't recyclable (or couldn't be sold for an economical price) was taken to a landfill--so less was recycled than the public thought.

In fact, we can recycle a very large percentage of the waste we produce here in Wichita Falls--I'm going to show you how.

Let's start before recycling. There would be less need to recycle if we generated less waste. We've all heard the slogan "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

We can cut down significantly on waste by using care in what we buy. Purposely choosing items with less packaging, or if that isn't possible, recyclable packaging. At the grocery store, this can also be a more healthy option, as you will purchase much less processed food. Most of us have much more "stuff" than we need.

Reuse is easy--can we use the items we buy as long as possible, use them again, or change them into something else. My husband saves a lot of "trash." He says you never know when something will come in handy. He was saving those little plastic pipe things in spray bottles when the lever wore out. I couldn't figure out why. But then something chewed through the little rubber piece that carries windshield washer between the reservoir and the windshield on my truck and, "Voila!" That little piece fit in the rubber tube just right, and more cheaply than trying to buy one. I have found some useful things at the thrift stores in town. Right now I am looking for a few cast iron pieces and some of those large glass condiment jars--if you come across any, let me know. Some people "upcycle"--changing trash into artwork and other useful items.

So that brings us back to recycling. The single greatest tool we have is the organics bin. Unfortunately, there is an extra $3 a month cost for the organics bin. This is offset by being able to pick up free compost twice a year on the first Saturdays in April and October (for reference, a pickup load of compost usually runs $30+ dollars). These used to be called "yard waste" bins, but the name was changed to reflect the broader range of items that can be put into them. Yes, yard waste is fine, but I put most of my yard waste, other than twigs and branches, into my home composting bins. But yes, if you don't have your own compost pile, then your organics bin can be used for grass clippings and leaves, as well as these tougher materials. But you can also place any organic item into the bin--paper, cardboard, garbage, wood pieces and shavings, magazines and books. If everyone did this, we could compost almost 70% of our city's waste.

What about the other 30%? Most people are aware that you can recycle glass and newspaper. Dumpsters are at various locations around town. I usually place mine at Market Street. Aluminum can be recyled at the city Sanitation Department on Sunset Dr. My husband crushes his and saves them in the garage until he has enough to take them to Bell Processing for a little extra money.

What about plastics? Not all plastics can be recycled in Wichita Falls, but the majority--#1 and #2--can. Remove the lids--they are a different composition of plastic and can't be recycled. You may place them in the bins at the Sanitation Department on Sunset Drive. The bins are behind the fence, so are only accessible during the Sanitation Department's business hours. This is because having "clean" loads is vital to being able to sell the plastic.

You can find dumpsters for plastic, aluminum, glass and newspaper at the Sanitation Department.

The biggest problem with recycling is contamination. If you look in the dumpsters behind Market Street, for example, you'll find plastic bags mixed in with the glass or newspapers. This can cause the entire container to have to be taken to the landfill.  It isn't that difficult--some people are just ignorant of the consequences; others are just plain lazy. We don't have a way to sort our recycling, which means we have to be conscientious about keeping recyclable items separated.

We have many options to be able to recycle the majority of the waste we generate, with a little effort. I am not ready to abandon the curbside recycling effort, but let's use what we have to show it is important to us and then work on the rest.

I do have one suggestion to encourage the use of the organics bins in Wichita Falls. Currently, during weeks with a holiday, there is no pickup of the organics bin. I fill my organics bin nearly every week, so this is a problem. I only put out the regular trash every two or three weeks. I pay more for the privilege of recycling, so I don't like losing that service. It would help encourage people to use the organics bins. I would like to see everyone with each bin with one pickup of each every week. The only bad thing there is that I can see people using the organics bins as regular trash bins and fouling the contents so they would still have to be hauled to the landfill instead of composted.

We have a lot to do to improve recycling. For now, I suggest we work hard getting people to divert as much of their waste as possible into the organics bins and making sure people are aware of the recycling options available and how to sort their waste for maximum effectiveness.

Earth Day 2017

The Earth from space. NASA photo.

I have been very lazy about writing in this blog, as you can tell by the date of the last post. I have been trying to keep up with the Facebook page--as a consequence, this blog as fallen to the wayside. Earth Day is a good time to get back in the saddle. There are plenty of things that need more room than a Facebook post, and there are plenty of people who are not on Facebook. So I am going to make an effort to be a little more regular about updating this. I will then post a link to the FB page for those who are members of that page.

I am old enough I can remember the first Earth Day in 1970. Since then, we have gradually lost interest and allowed Earth Day to pass by largely without notice. This year looks like it may resurge a little bit, at least in part because of the March for Science takes place the same day. That is no coincidence, as the issue that started the entire march is Climate Change. I haven't heard of a march in the Falls, but if I do, I will pass on the details.

There aren't a lot of activities surrounding Earth Day here in the Falls, which is unfortunate. As always, the city has more activities happening than any person could take advantage of, it's just most are not related to nature or the environment. With a little effort, we could have a great themed series of activities around Earth Day (in Penny's head--just say, "No!")

River Bend has some of their usual Saturday activities going on: Science Saturday and Nature Tots Story Time. The Wichita Falls Public Library has a plastic bottle crafts and upcycling programs happening. That appears to be pretty much it, unless there are things I haven't heard about. If you know of an event, email me at green.wichitafalls@gmail.com and I will try to get it here and on the FB page.

So, what to do? I am planning to have my own little Earth Day celebration. Birding in the morning. Gardening in the afternoon. The Audubon Society is asking people to plant a native plant to support the birds. I have quite a few in my yard now, but I will be stopping by Wichita Valley Nursery for another to add. I just have to decide what I want to plant. I also have the makings for an insect hotel standing by--if I don't get it done before, Earth Day would be a good time. It won't be as pretty as the ones you can find on Pinterest, but it will still be home for the bugs. If you want to see some of the photos I've collected on Pinterest, here's a link to by board. Feel free to browse.

How do you plan to celebrate Earth Day?

Living Green(er) in 2016

It's that time of year again. A new year is just around the corner. I have been thinking lately about my New Year's resolutions for 2016. Yes, I am one of those people who make New Year's resolutions, and generally, I tend to stick to them. Mostly because I frame them as goals, not aspirations.

Anyway, in thinking through 2015 and looking toward 2016, I decided that I needed to include one or two goals relating to living more sustainably. I have been doing that the last few years, so this is nothing new, but if I don't include it as one of my goals for the year, then I'll lose focus.

One event that has me really looking at this area a little more is the recent decision by Progressive Waste to stop single stream recycling in Wichita Falls. This means there really isn't a good place to recycle plastics. I have heard Wal-Mart will take most plastics. I am going to check that out and if so, that will be a help. However, wouldn't it be better to reduce at the front side? So my focus for 2016 is going to be to reduce trash. We do reasonably well at this already. We were putting out 1 curbside trash bin a month because we could put most of our waste either in our own compost bins, the city's organics recycling and the single stream recycling. The amount of waste we are putting out has jumped dramatically--mostly in plastics, although there are some metal food cans. I can see that if I don't take control, the amount of trash we put out will double. That's not acceptable. That means I need to look for non-plastic packaging options and ferret out recycling options. I am going to try to can more--I can now, but not enough to make a big dent in the metal cans going in the trash. I can reuse my canning jars.

So that is focus #1.

The next item is this blog. I post fairly regularly to the Facebook page, but have been woefully lazy about this blog. However, many people who have access to this blog do not have Facebook accounts. I can always share the link from the blog to Facebook, but it would be difficult for blog readers to check Facebook posts. I plan to still do a lot of sharing of interesting articles to the Facebook page, but will do a better job of having some more detailed information about topics of interest here.

Lastly, I plan to do more gardening. This is another carryover from previous years. I have a good-sized garden for a residential lot and I have been gradually introducing permaculture. I haven't been very disciplined about it though. So I am going to finish my permaculture course on line and raise a higher percentage of my own food this year. Good exercise, better tasting food and at the same time, removing more of the environmental toxins from our family.

So those are my 3 sustainability goals for 2016. What are yours?

Spring Cleaning: It Doesn't Look Like It Will Happen in Wichita Falls

Trash along a trail near Lake Wichita

I don't know if you have been out and about the city very much, but if you have, you can't help but notice the large amount of trash in all parts of town. I took the photo to the left with my cell phone just walking down a trail near Lake Wichita while I was walking. Although it isn't the best photo, as it was taken with my cell phone, it is easy to see there are several pieces of trash in a small area. This is hardly the worst of the trash around town.

I have people tell me all of the time that the litter situation can't be helped because of the wind. I agree the wind exacerbates the situation as any unsecured trash is going to blow around. However, if people took more care to create less trash and to better dispose of that trash they do create, our community would look much better.

Some years ago the Clean City Commission used to oversee a community-wide cleanup in early April. It was a pretty big deal. In a purge of commissions, the Clean City Commission got the ax. Justifiably so, as the cleanup was about the only worthwhile thing the commission did (obviously, this is my own somewhat jaded opinion.) The citywide cleanup was turned over to a small non-profit, Keep Wichita Falls Beautiful. This non-profit was held together by a very small group of volunteers. They did continue to sponsor the cleanup for a few years, but with dwindling volunteer resources, the amount of time and effort put into the cleanup declined. Keep Wichita Falls Beautiful has since gone belly up. I checked with the city and there is no plan to conduct a citywide cleanup this year.

The city did add some money to the budget this year for additional litter pickup along Kell Blvd, which seems to be the main thoroughfare where Wichitans unload their trash. However, Southwest Parkway is a dump and the access road along Kell also looks trashy. The open field at the intersection of Hwy 287 and Kell is an eyesore. And there are other areas just as bad--these are just ones I happen to pass often, so are especially irritating to me.

I know there are volunteer groups who periodically clean up some areas. I am involved with some of them. The Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalist chapter cleans up Plum Lake quarterly and Sikes Lake and the feeder drainage ditch annually. The Red River Sierra Club group does a regular pick up of a 2-mile stretch of Sisk Road as part of the Adopt-a-Highway program--there are many other organizations that are involved in this program as well.

It is obvious this is not enough. There is no way the city is going to pay for more litter pickup--they hue and cry from the addition of the monies for Kell Blvd makes it pretty clear that our citizenry is not interested in paying for this service. By the same token, I don't think any of us like to see our community looking unkempt, and it's an embarrassment when "company" comes. Our city has been doing a good job of selling Wichita Falls for conferences and events and we need to make a good impression.

So where am I going with this? We need some mechanism to create enthusiasm for a general cleanup. It would be nice if it was informal--in other words, people would just take personal responsibility to cleanup around their homes, businesses would clean up their areas and groups would each take an area and clean it up. But I know that's unlikely to work without a group of people organizing it.

What do you think? Is there a group of citizens who would roll up their sleeves in the next few weeks to get the ball rolling??? I'll bet the amount of work would be minimal if there was a dozen people to take it on. Mostly publicity and some coordination.

Community Recycling Center

OK folks. Many of you have been asking for more recycling options in Wichita Falls. Although not a City-provided service, this center is located behind Sikes Senter Mall and is a free recycling center where you can recycle many things, to include plastics. There is also a bin at the Midwestern State University campus next to the Dillard College of Business Administration. This service is provided by IESI, a waste management company.

IESI is also trying to start a curbside recycling program separate from the city collection. Obviously, there is a charge for this service. I am waiting for additional information from IESI--I'll post that when received. In the meantime, take advantage of this opportunity to recycle more than just organic items.

Spring Compost Giveaway

One can never have too much compost. I have three compost bins, and we bought 2 truckloads of compost this past weekend. We can still use more.

If you need compost, the City of Wichita Falls spring compost give-a-way is April 7, 9 AM - 3 PM. If you participate in the City's Wednesday recycling program, you can receive a free load of compost at the Wichita Falls Organics Facility at 10984 Wiley Road. You will be asked for a copy of your water bill showing the $3 recycling charge.

The compost will be loaded for you. There is a limit of one pickup truck or one 4x8 trailer load per person. You must bring a tarp to cover your load. Workers will not load commercial dump trucks or trailers.

For more information, call 940-761-7977.

America Recycles Day

November 15 is America Recycles Day. The day focuses on the recycling portion of the "reduce, reuse, recycle" trio.

Although few are happy with the state of recycling in Wichita Falls, you can recycle more than you think you can. Anything organic can go into your city composting bin if you don't compost yourself: cardboard, paper, magazines, newspapers, garbage, yard waste, etc. I put out our compost bin almost every week there is a pick up. I put out regular trash perhaps once a month.

Of course, we drop off glass behind United Market Street and take aluminum cans to a recycler for a little extra money.

However, preventing waste to start with is important. I do look for less packaging. I choose glass containers over plastic, since we don't have a good plastics recycling option in our community and plastics contain a lot of crap I just don't want to deal with. Consider cooking more from scratch--you would be amazed how much trash you will cut out and how much less salt, sugar and other chemicals (such as BPA) you'll put into your body. Change  your newspaper subscription to the e-edition. No more black fingers, and it saves a few dollars a month too.

You can repurpose your waste by trying to do something else with it before discarding. I am not very crafty this way, but my husband found some free plastic barrels that were someone else's trash and made me some compost bins and a rainwater harvesting system--things we wanted and for a lot less money. He also tears apart old/broken wooden items and creates new things such as planters, etc. from the pieces.

Post good items to Craig's list for giveaway or for a low price. Give things to Goodwill or the Salvation Army if they are in good shape instead of throwing them away. Shop for used items--I buy most of my books used and also pick up some nice clothes and household items from thrift stores and resale shops. Anything we can get one more use out of reduces the amount of things that end up in the landfill.

Take cloth bags to the store instead of having them drop it in a plastic bag. If you have plastic bags, reuse them at least once more. Ban plastic water bottles from your house if there isn't a health reason to avoid your tap or well water (and if you get your water from the City of Wichita Falls, there isn't one.)

Here are some additional resources for you to consider:
http://www.greenamerica.org/pubs/greenamerican/articles/21Things.cfm
Recycling Glass and Paper in Wichita Falls

Interesting Article On the Cost of Going Green

Someone sent me an article on "10 Reasons "Going Green" Can Cost You More Green."

I think most of us who try to do the right thing for our families and our planet realize that in the current marketplace, our green choices can indeed cost us more than the usual products and services and are willing to pay the price.

However, in a couple of cases, the argument may not hold true entirely. For example: yes, if you purchase the cloth bags, you wll indeed pay more than you would using the plastic bags the store would give you for free. I have found that I have received so many cloth bags as freebies at conferences and seminars, I haven't bought bags in a long time and have plenty. Stores should consider charging customers for using their plastic bags to encourage more shoppers to go green.

Paying to have items recycled is also crazy. Currently, city residents who use the organics recycling bins pay $3/month extra for the privilege of the extra pick up. Since you can divert 60% or more of your household waste into the organics recycling, I personally think the city should charge those who do not use the recycling bin extra for putting more waste into the landfill. However, since those who pay the $3 monthly can get three pick up loads of compost a year, then it is very close to a wash. I paid $30 a pickup load of bulk compost last year. I could get $90 of compost because I recycle, greatly reducing the cost of doing the right thing.

Considering cleaning supplies. There is no doubt that purchasing Seventh Generation or Meyer's products is more expensive than the usual cleaning supplies with ammonia and chlorine in them, but truthfully, most of us could clean almost everything fine with vinegar and baking soda.

So I get the point of the article, but sometimes doing the right thing just has to be done. And is some cases we can do the right thing and still save money.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Were all familiar with the phrase Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The emphasis has been on recycling. Certainly recycling is an important program and all of us should participate to the maximum extent possible. However, we don't put enough emphasis on reducing the waste we generate and reusing products before they are put into the trash.

Jim Miller of the Rolling Plains Journal blog posted a link on Facebook to treehugger.com showing a video of plastics recycling. The video shows why this is an area where we need to improve. Recycling plastic is indeed important, but just look when you're watching the video notice just how much water people and energy goes into recycling those plastic bottles.

I used to take the plastic bottles that I did have and refill them with tap water so I would not have to throw them away. However, I was told that carcinogens leach out of the bottles when they are reused and sure enough that is the case so you can't reuse any plastic containers that were used for food unless they are specifically identified for that purpose.

If that is the case, our best option for eliminating plastics from the landfill is not to recycle plastic but to reduce to the extent possible the amount of plastic that we use. There are many products in the grocery store that used to come in glass containers that are now only available in plastic because of the weight. However, when we have choices, we should try to choose products that use the least amount of plastic possible. Our purchases are very important in determining what products are made available.

So focus on reducing your waste stream and when you can safely do so, reuse items before they are trashed.

Plastics

At the Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalists meeting tonight, Terry McKee gave a short program on plastics and plastics recycling that was very informative. I am going to share a few of the highlights here--if anyone notices a mistake, please post a correction!

A few of the major points from the talk:

• Plastics are made from petroleum, natural gas and in some cases, renewable plants.
• Plastics are highly prone to contamination with their contents, making plastics relatively difficult. Plastics cannot be recycled into the same plastic, but only to a lower grade of products--frequently the plastic lumber. Incineration of plastic releases a variety of toxic gases.
• The number on the bottom of the plastic container indicates the type of plastic. Some are more easily recycled than others and have different uses and dangers.
• All plastics have bad chemicals that can leach into food and drink contents, especially if the plastic container is reused or heated. Once you have used the plastic container, dispose of it unless it is designed for reuse.

I really work at using as little plastic as possible, but I do end up with plastic drink bottles that I have reused multiple times because I just hate to throw them away after one use. But Terry lectured me (again) during the talk, so I suppose I am going to have to be more careful in the future.

And remember the post on Green resolutions? Another reason NOT to use styrofoam to go containers is that the chemicals in the plastic is known to leach into food, especially when the food is hot or oily. Remember, To-Go Ware (or similar).

So look for products that use as little plastic packaging as possible. Do not reuse plastic containers if not made to be reused. Do not heat food in plastic or put hot food into plastic containers unless the packaging is specifically designed for that purpose.

Thanks, Terry, for an informative program.

Green Resolutions

Well, 2011 is upon us. I am one of those people who make New Year's resolutions. I am also OCD enough to create a tracking mechanism to see how I'm doing. That may be why I am reasonably successful in achieving many of my resolutions--I write them down and make myself track progress. I hate to see no movement in the direction I want to go. So I may not achieve all of the resolutions I make, but I almost always make progress



Generally, I don't share my resolutions. I figure they aren't important to anyone but me and unlike many, sharing them doesn't seem to make it any more likely I'll succeed with them. However, I'll make an exception in the case of one of my resolutions, since this blog is about living more sustainably.



Last year I resolved to recycle everything possible and to not use any bottled water in the courses I teach for my business. I now put out a trash bin only once a month, if that--everything else has been going into the compost bin. I expected to get bad feedback on course evaluations over the lack of bottled water in my courses, but that didn't happen. I had ice water in pitchers available and everyone seemed fine with that.



So what's on the docket for this year? This year, I have decided to eat more sustainably. I don't do a bad job of that now, as I cook from scratch pretty much all of the time. However, my husband is a confirmed carnivore, and I have been catering to his preferences in cooking. For a variety of reasons, we have been on different eating schedules this past year, so I am going to go back to fixing more vegetarian meals for myself and eating out less.



I like eating in restaurants, but there's no doubt I eat more and know less about what I am eating than when I cook for myself. I am not going to cut out eating in restaurants, but I am going to eat out less and order more vegetables when I do go out. After all, I do want to help support the local economy, right? (OK, so that bit of logic was thrown out to support what I want to do anyway.)



What's your green resolution? If you're not sure, here are some ideas that won't force a huge change in your lifestyle but can be beneficial. If you're already doing all of these, there are many other things you can do. Anyway, here are some ideas:

• Eat one vegetarian meal a week (or add one more vegetarian meal per week if you are already doing this.) Why? Meat takes more water and food to produce. Eating more vegetables reduces the amount of water used in agriculture and also, leaves more food to feed everyone. Americans eat more meat than they need for good health (yes, I know vegetarianism is a healthy diet and people can choose not to eat any meat and be healthy, but it does require paying attention--so go with me here) and for most, a reduction in meat will have a positive effect on cholesterol.


• Turn up the thermostat in the summer and turn it down in the winter. Just a couple of degrees can make a difference. My husband has been sneaking the thermostat up to 70 this winter and in the summer, he wants the AC on 65. What sense does that make? I try to keep the heat between 65 and 68 and the AC between 78 and 80. When it's 100 degrees outside, 80 feels darned good.


• Start a garden. If you don't have the room or the inclination for a large garden, think about starting some herbs on the kitchen windowsill and planting some tomatoes or peppers in a pot on the patio.


• Buy local produce. Some foods in our stores is trucked thousands of miles when the same type of produce is grown in our local area. Reduce the carbon footprint by buying from local farmers at the farmers market, when it's open.


• Eat more seasonally and put up produce for later. Again, we spend lots of carbon fuel to bring in crops that do not grow in our area (or the US) in the winter. Change up your menus to allow for root and cold weather crops in the winter and take full advantage of in season fruits and vegetables in the spring and summer. Can or freeze in season crops for a winter treat. I have some peaches in the freezer an acquaintance gave me in the summer when he had too many for his family. I am looking forward to a peach cobbler soon.


• Fix water leaks and change out plumbing fixtures to water saving devices as you do so.


• Look for energy saver devices when updating appliances.


• Don't buy bottled water. The water in Wichita Falls tastes good most of the time. If you can taste the Lake Kemp water at certain times of the year, consider getting a filter for the tap or a filter pitcher to keep in the refrigerator.


• Consider buying/cooking in smaller amounts. Americans throw away a LOT of food. This is a waste of money and also uses more resources than needed.


• Make a compost pile. If you don't have room for a big one, consider a small one targeted toward food waste.


• Eliminate some invasive plants from your yard. Although many invasive ornamentals are pretty, they tend to use more water and they provide less food for our native wildlife. We tore out a lot of invasive shrubs this fall and are replacing them with native plants.


• When landscaping, buy native and reduce your dependence on chemicals and water.


• Eliminate plastic shopping bags by getting cloth bags. Remember to take them to the store when you go. It seems my bags migrate into the house, and I don't always remember to put them back in the truck when I go to the store.


• When purchasing cleaning supplies, switch from products with ammonia and bleach to those with natural ingredients. You may have to experiment with different products to find ones that do a good job that you like, but they are out there. I like Meyer's products myself, but there are more to choose from all the time.


• Get a rain barrel. In our area, rainwater harvesting can have big benefits. If you want to experiment, try a rainbarrel first to collect water for your houseplants. Trust me, they prefer rainwater.


• Try to reduce use of your car/truck. Wichita Falls is not laid out for a walking community and public transit is admittedly not as efficient as it is in some larger cities. However, we can all reduce the number of trips by combining errands. I pass by my favorite supermarket and my favorite used book store when I have to go to Wild Bird Rescue, so I often combine those errands on the way, rather than make separate trips.


• Consider buying used. I buy almost all of my books used at this point, although since my husband got me a Sony Reader for my birthday, I am also buying many books as electronic downloads, eliminating paper and transportation altogether. The Wichita Adult Literacy Council book sale is coming up in early March--read cheap and support a great organization at the same time. I also stop in the Goodwill store for shirts and consignment shops for work clothes. I don't always find what I need, but often I do, saving me money and keeping these items out of the landfill.


• Change your newspaper to e-edition. I am still trying to decide whether I like this or not since I made the switch. I just need to develop discipline to read the paper this way each day. I am enjoying less paper cluttering up the house though.


• Spay/neuter your pet. There are way too many unwanted dogs and cats euthanized each year.


• Keep your city cat in the house. Cats kill many wild birds and other wildlife. Cats outside live shorter lives--cars, disease, injury and predators do in many pets. I can understand those who have rodent problems in their barns, etc. keeping outdoor cats, but for most of us, we should take better care of our pets.


• Produce less waste. Consider packaging when purchasing. Making more of your own food from scratch will help a lot, but consider the amount and type of packaging in your purchasing decision. Is the packaging made from recycled materials? Can the packaging be recycled? If you eat out, consider getting To-Go Ware.

These are just a few ideas. Pick one or come up with one of your own. We don't have to make a huge change to make a difference. If we each did one thing, we could make a big difference in our environment. What's your green resolution for 2011?

Follow up on Recycling Service

I was able to contact Jason from Greenco to get more information about his services. He gave me permission to paste his email in this blog, so here it is--the scoop, straight from the person in the know! (I want to point out one of the things Jason says below: "..if something was going to be done then I'm the person to do it..." We need more of that attitude in the Falls.)

"Penny,

"Thank you so much for inquiring! I love the blog!

"First of all I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jason Tucker and I have been working for a home/business water delivery company in Wichita Falls for the past 8 years. Over the years I've had tons of my customers asking me about recycling the bottles. I actually brought that up to my upper management team to see if that was something we could act upon. Although it was a great idea, they just couldn't see where it would be cost effective enough for us to participate. I have been contemplating this idea for a very long time. I finally realized that if something is going to be done then I'm the person to do it, so here I am starting up Greenco. We have a very small budget. We hope to get the word out with flyers, business cards, and most importantly word of mouth. My short term goal is to make as many people as possible aware of how important it is to recycle. My long term goal is to get a recycling plant in the Wichita Falls area that deals with plastic and many other products that the current recycling plants here in town don't handle. At this time, I will be driving to the Metroplex to a recycling center to drop off our loads. Hopefully we will not be doing this long. We are meeting with several companies this weekend to see about having them come to us to pick up and deliver directly to recycling manufacturers.

"With that being said...as far as set up, not much is needed. I supply your bin. There is a $10 set up fee due at the time the bin is delivered.

"Monthly rates for the curbside service:
$7.99 Monthly pick up
$9.99 Bi-Weekly pick up
$12.99 Weekly pickup

*plastics
*aluminum
*cardboard
*paper

"As we grow we will be adding to the list of items we will pick up for recycling.

"We also service businesses and have a one time pick up service available. If you're having a get together and need additional bins give us a call and will get you set up. (What a great way to encourage others to participate!)

"Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

"Thank you!!
Jason Tucker
GreenCo
(940)257-7257"

New Recycling Service in Wichita Falls

I have been out of town for a couple of weeks for vacation and it seems like I am having a hard time reconnecting now that I am back.

I did receive an email over the weekend from Jan Herzog by way of Kelly Maestas. All of you who have been agitating for a way to recycling plastics, pay attention.

Apparently a Jason Tucker has started a curbside recycling for aluminum and plastics, called Greenco. I am sending him an email this morning in hopes of talking to him directly and getting more informaion to share. In them meantime, here is the information in Jan's email:

Accepts all types of clean plastic containers--doesn't have to be sorted
He will supply the bins--a small deposit may be required
$8 for once a month service, $10 for twice a month, and $12 for weekly

This is a startup, so Jason currently works another full-time job. You can reach him by email at jacyn5200@aol.com or 940-257-7257. Since he does work another job, he may not call you back until the evening.

For those who have been wanting curbside recycling and plastics recycling, this would be a good way to get on board. However, as a reminder, you can greatly reduce the need to recycling by reducing your waste stream. It's not entirely possible to eliminate plastic and aluminum waste, but we can cut it down considerably. But I encourage you to recycle what you have and consider contacting Greenco about their services.

I will post more information when I get it.

Correction on Numbers--Recycling Article

I sent yesterday's post to Dave Lehfeldt and he noted two errors, so I am posting the correction here.

Amount of trash per year: 170,000 tons
Amount of trash composted per year: 25,000 tons

Thanks to Dave for making sure we have the correct information.

Today's Recycling Program at League of Women Voters Wichita Falls

I mentioned earlier this month that Dave Lehfeldt, Sanitation Superintendent for the City of Wichita Falls, would be the speaker today for the League of Women Voters, talking about recycling.

As always, Dave gave an informative and interesting presentation. I wanted to share some of the information I gleaned from the presentation (if I make any mistakes, hopefully, someone will correct me.)

I think most citizens of Wichita Falls know the highlight of the city recycling efforts is the composting program. Potentially, this program could capture as much as 66% of the city's solid waste as any compostable material can be placed in the green compost bins. The primary detractor from the program is participation. Of the 33,000 accounts on the city trash routes, only 9,000 participate in the composting program.

• It costs the city $5/month to pick up the compost bins--they charge $3/month. When the $3 fee went into effect, 1800 accounts eliminated the green carts--most were accounts that weren't using them.
• The landfill takes in 160 - 170 tons of trash monthly; 20 - 25 tons enters the composting program (just think how much less trash would enter the landfill if everyone maximized us of the bins.)
• Contamination of compost bins with non-compostable materials still occurs, but is less than in the past. Some of the confusion is due to people calling the bins "recycle bins" and thinking they can put anything recyclable in the bin.

Why doesn't Wichita Falls recycle plastic? Basically, because it isn't economically feasible at this time. The two biggest types of recyclable plastic (#1 and #2) constitute about 2% of the waste in Wichita Falls. Capturing a significant amount would be unlikely (look at the results for the compost program.) It costs $300 to take a load of any recyclable material to the metroplex and they cannot get nearly $300 from selling the product. If there was a local market for the material, it would be look a relook. Currently, Walmart takes plastic for recycle--they can make money on it because they would be sending the trucks back empty, so any money they make on the plastic offsets the expense.

There is no city recycling on computer equipment. However, on the city website there is information on how to participate in the mandatory recycling offered by various computer manufacturers.

A couple of announcements that are exciting:

• The city will be providing compost bins for the Hotter 'n Hell this year.
• Business composting pick up is now available, but only for those with dumpsters, not curbside bins.

As a reminder, the League of Women Voters of Wichita Falls, in conjunction with the Red River Sierra Group, publishes a brochure on recycling opportunities in Wichita Falls. The brochure is due for another update, but is still accurate.

As far as plastic goes, I suggest we "just say no." Although it is impossible to get by without some plastics (I try), I have been fairly successful at eliminating plastics by choosing not to buy items in plastic whenever possible. I do occasionally purchase drinks in a plastic bottle if I am desperate and other options aren't available. A suggestion is to purchase a sturdy water bottle and fill it from the tap--we have good water in Wichita Falls.

Overall the audience learned new things about recycling. If we all concentrate on putting as much as possible into the compost bins, we can divert much of the city's waste stream into compost.

Interested in Wichita Falls Recycling?

David Lehfeldt, Sanitation Superintendent for the City of Wichita Falls, has agreed to speak about the city's recycling plans to the League of Women Voters meeting, June 2, Luby's Cafeteria. The meeting is open to the public. Those who wish to eat should go through the line (either in front of the special buffet set up in the back) and be seated before noon. The meeting starts promptly at noon and will end by 1:00 PM.