ECO Desi

The Plastics

Hello, EcoDesi here. 

So the past week was a busy one.  Ok so it wasn't that busy but I like to say that so that people don't think of me as some kind of nerd who only thinks about recycling 24/7. 

Anyway what I have been researching in between work assignment is what the recycling symbols with the numbers mean.  Everyone should know what the recycle symbol looks like.  However, on recyclable plastic items symbols have numbers within the loop ranging from 1 to 7.  And I was always unsure as to what they meant.  My sister-in-law who is a chemical engineer told me once that plastic products/packaging that has certain codes could be recycled and others couldn’t be.  I was blown away by this but when I asked her to clarify what that meant she changed the subject.  Typical SIL behavior, change the subject when you don’t know the answer.  But it still left me curious so here is what my research turned up.

First of all a bit of background, the codes are called the resin identification codes.  They are used by manufacturers to indicate the type of polymer that plastics are made with.  They are put on products to separate the plastic properly when they are sent for recycling. Here are the types of plastic out there and a few of the products made by each:

(permission to be reprinted from RecycleSaintLouis.com)

So the next question is what can and cannot be recycled?  Well that depends on each municipality.  Based on York region’s waste disposal website all plastics numbered 1 to 7 are recyclable and can go in the blue bin.  However saran wrap and plastic bags are not accepted.  That is because Plastic bags and film can get caught in the automated sorting equipment, resulting in the facility shutting down or the possible risk of a fire.   (http://www.york.ca/Services/Garbage+and+Recycling/Blue+Box+Recycling+Program.htm#Plastic)

I contacted Peel Region waste disposal to see if the same applies to them and got a quick and prompt reply from supervisor D. Trevor Barton who said “Regardless of where you live in the province, no municipality takes thermal shrink wrap (Saran Wrap) dispose of that material in the garbage. The Region of Peel accepts plastic shopping bags, grocery bags, plastic film from pop and water bottles and overwrap from toilet tissue/paper towels etc. PLACE ALL THIS MATERIAL IN ONE TIED BAG AND PLACE IN THE BLUE BOX -do not set it loose.” 

He also suggested using the search engine found at the website which I noticed is present at all waste disposal websites.  In this search engine you type in the type of product you want to dispose and it will tell you whether to put it in the blue box, garbage or the waste disposal depots that are found all over the Ontario.

	What can and cannot go in the blue box	Waste disposal search engine
York Region	York Region Blue box	York Region search engine
Toronto	City of Toronto Blue Box	Toronto search engine
Peel Region	Peel Region Blue box	Peel Region Search Engine

 

So I hope my research was useful.  I tried to make is as simple as possible because sometimes it gets overwhelming and god knows we have enough things to worry about.  But at least this way we can make a note of what kind of products we usually buy and keep in the back of our mind what goes where when we dispose of it.  I have noticed that when items are sorted correctly, the quantity of overall garbage reduces significantly and that always gives me a warm feeling as if I just saved the whole world by myself.  I know, I’m an optimist.  But let me tell you, it’s better than being a cynic and doing nothing.

Anyway until next time.  Take care people.

Freecycle

So a few days ago I wrote about the 3 R’s of environmentalism.  To recap for those of us that don’t remember or who probably didn’t read my blog (which is probably the majority of you I know) , they are:

Reduce,
Reuse,
Recycle.

In my opinion Reducing and Reusing is probably the hardest thing to do especially in our disposable obsessed society, where buy, buy, buy is the mantra.   But I think I’ve discovered a really clever way in which we can practice REUSE.  I think I first read about it on Oprah’s website but I can’t find it there anymore.  So you will just have to take my word on that.  But it is this fabulous on-line community that calls itself  The Freecycle Network.

Freecycle makes a play on the word recycle.  But by definition we know recycling means the breaking down of items and making use of the raw materials we extract to make something new.  In contrast to this if you freecycle something you are actually re-gifting something that you don’t use to someone who will make good use of it. 

To date I have re-gifted quite a few things. 

 If memory serves me correctly they are:

- A DVD/VHS player (given to someone who didn’t have cable but had a two year old they wanted to keep entertained)

- An old fridge (the person who took this gave me a box of candy to show their gratitude)

- A foozball table (someone wanted this for their nine year old)

- Scrap pieces of cloth (that someone used to make a quilt)

- An old BBQ (that someone needed for their backyard wedding)

- 4 old patio chairs (a father and son trio came to pick those items up)

- A freestanding hammock (given to another environment enthusiast like me)

Just remembering these old items that I’ve given to people gives me a lump in my throat.  Not because I think I did something exceptional by giving them something that I wasn’t using but more because they were so happy and grateful for it.  And I in turn have gotten a few things from generous people such as Lilly buds,  maple saplings but since I’m all about practicing the art of reducing these days and trying to buy less and consume less this has been more about re-gifting for me than taking.

Now don’t get me wrong. There is a bit of work involved. If you want to give something away you have to post a message and that message has to follow a certain format which is approved by the moderators of that group before it goes on the board.  Then if someone likes it they email you and you have to set up a pickup date, time and place.  You can pre-arrange to leave things on the porch or garage so if you are not home you can tell them to come by and pick them up.  It is definitely easier to throw things in the garbage but trust me the feeling of giving it to someone who you know will make good use of it is far more rewarding.

Anyway until next time. Take care people.

The Three R's

So I recently bought a laptop. And in order to be green (and save a few bucks) I decided to buy a slightly used one. I found a shop close to my home that calls itself a computers and electronics outlet. I just walked in and started asking questions. This was my first experience in buying a laptop so I wasn’t sure what I needed but the sales guys were very helpful.

It turns out that the store leases their machines to small to medium sized businesses in the area and when the lease is done, they then sell those machines to the general public. And I loved it. Not only was I getting a top of the line machine at a cheap price (I confirmed this with the IT guy at my work) but I was also implementing one of the Three R’s of the Environmentalist’s mantra: Reuse.

For those of us who are not familiar with the three R’s they are: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Most of us only think of Recycling when we think of being environmentally conscious. But as the following chart shows the three R’s are listed in order of priority and Recycling is the last of the 3 while Reducing in the most favoured of the tree:

REDUCE: The main gist of this is …

• Buying less

• Buying long lasting things with the least amount of packaging. This way we throw away less of what we buy.

• Fixing things when they stop working. Instead of throwing it away and replacing with something else

REUSE: Buying a perfectly working used good (case in point my laptop story) or selling/giving away the things that you don’t use to someone who will use it. These are all good and noble things to do my friend. Try it. You won’t be disappointed

In my opinion, Reducing and Recyling are the hardest for us North Americans to do because our society and economy tells us to buy, buy, and buy. But if we put a little effort into it we can change our buying habits, have less impact on the earth and save a few bucks along the way.

RECYCLE: As defined in Wikipedia, Recycling is the breaking down of a used item into raw materials which are used to make new items. This is also a noble thing because it means less extraction of materials from the earth but the reason why it is not rated highly is because implementing this takes up a lot of energy in breaking down the items and making new things. For a list of items that can and cannot be recycled please see my earlier post.

So I am happy to say that my laptop is working well and I’m happily typing away right now.  It was truly a great buy and it makes me think that the next time I’m in the market to buy something I’ll definitely check out the slightly used options before I look at the brand new options.

Anyway until next time.  Take care people.

Greetings from ECO Desi

Hello, EcoDesi here. That’s right, EcoDesi.

Has a nice ring to it, I think.

So who or what is an EcoDesi? First off it is a who, not a what. And the definition (drum roll please):

It is an individual having ties to the Indo-subcontinent who has decided to incorporate being green into his/her lifestyle.

So for now it’s just me but if you’re cool enough I’ll include you in my club too. I know creepy right. On a serious note, what I want to do is incorporate a greener way of living into my lifestyle and see where it leads me. I’m going to use this forum to share my observations and any tips that I pick up along the way and hopefully inspire others to be EcoDesis as well. I’m already living greener than most people by carrying reusable bags every time I go grocery shopping and being vigilant about recycling paper products and anything with the recyclable label. But I consider these minor steps, I want to do more and truly understand why doing things a certain way can help the environment while the other way can impact it negatively. And in the process I want it to become second nature to me.

And I’m not doing it because I’m some long-haired, hippy, living off the earth, never shave my arm-pits type of girl. I’m really very hip and urban. Really I am. My reason for living greener is first because the planet is dying (and I’m sure everyone agrees with me on that unless you are an ostrich with your head buried in the sand) and secondly there are all these unexpected benefits that come with living greener that it’s a wonder nobody did it sooner.

But of course not everyone thinks this way. I’ve noticed that my friends and, especially the desi community isn’t really big on this idea of living green. Even with all the data out there and our ever warmer climate very few people take this issue seriously, much less do anything about it. And when I probe why, the reasons given vary from I didn’t think about it to it’s not a cool thing to do. For example, just a few days ago I accompanied my smoker work friends for a smoke break. The weather was nice and I felt like going outside and shooting the breeze (while standing upwind so as not to get their second-hand lung cancer causing smoke). So as we made our way down they decided to get some coffee from the café in our building. As we stood in line I asked them why they didn’t bring down their travel coffee mugs that we all got when we joined the company. And nobody really had an answer until one girl said that it was cooler to have the paper cups with the logo on them as opposed to the travel mugs. She said it half jokingly but I think there was some truth to that. Her answer kind of surprised me. I had never thought of those paper cups as a status symbol but then I don’t spend that much time thinking about status symbols so that might be just me.

So it got me thinking and I would be really interested in knowing why people don’t take the environment issue as seriously as I do. Is it because we don’t think the issue is real? Is it because thinking about the environment is inconvenient in our busy yuppie lives? Is it because we think that doing anything will be very insignificant so why bother? Let me know your thoughts. I am very curious to know.

Anyway until next time. Take care people.