Not So Ingenious

On January 16, 2010... I posted about how I was throwing some "ingeo plant-based" iTunes gift cards into my compost pile...hoping that in a few months I would've been able to post a photo of a shriveled up gift card. WELL... today as we were moving finished compost from our compost bin to our veggie garden, I saw this:

 I was so happy and excited about the idea of my iTunes gift cards composting... but, unfortunately, over a year after I added three plant-based gift cards to our compost pile.... not much has changed.  Back in December,  I had found a card in the compost pile and had originally thought that some of the writing was gone... I was wrong.

 What had happened is the outer plastic had separated from the solid white card...which (obviously) made me think that writing was gone... *sigh*... I can still read "ingeo plant-based card" as clear as ever... (such a bummer)

... maybe the cards will compost in a commercial composting facility??  I don't know.  What I do know is that I'm going to keep sticking to requesting that our family and friends make donations to our favorite causes in lieu of gift cards (or gifts)... 

Curious??  Some of our favorite causes and people we support are:

The Plastic Ocean                     

Sara Bayles-- $5 for 5 Gyres Expedition 

Wallace J. Nichols                             

Surfrider

Ocean Cure

Going Waste-Free Saves (Everything)

A little over a year ago, a reporter came to my home to interview me about our trash... or rather our lack of trash. :)  Everything that he asked me was pretty basic... until he asked me if "being well off made doing everything we do... 'easier'??"  I was completely baffled by the question because by saving resources we save another kind of resource... $$$$.

Think about it.  By reducing and reusing, it's impossible not to save money.

All those disposable products... all of those individually wrapped/boxed convenience products... some may seem cheap... but in the long run they end up being more expensive... not only for our wallets... but for the Earth as well.

Check out these facts that I found on the Kids Konserve website:

Crazy right?!  But here's the thing... that's just children's lunches.   What about the teachers... what about the people who pack a lunch for the office... what about picnics??

Hmmm...  I'm feeling like running some numbers.....

• Bottled water... one plastic single-use bottle of water per day for a year (365 days) at $1.50 per bottle = $547.50* per year!  (And we all know that nobody drinks one bottle of water a day.)
• Reusable water bottle costs anywhere from $12.50 to $22 ... fill that bottle with tap water and.... Shoot...Tap water is practically free it's so cheap. 

Want to see the math yourself?? Check out this Water Calculator :)

On to plastic baggies aka zip-locks or sandwich bags:

• A box of 50 basic zip-lock bags runs around $4 (of course depending on where they're purchased).  Let's say that you use 3 every day for a whole year.  That's 1,095 bags in one year!  And let's be honest... I remember when I used plastic baggies... I went through a lot because I used them for EVERYTHING!  Hmmm... so what does that add up to...well besides a whole lot of waste... around $90* per year for something that's thrown away!!
• Food Cozy 5 for $23.  Use, Wash, Reuse... Repeat.  

Some other common products to check prices are on single serve yogurts vs. tubs of yogurt, cups of fruit vs. fresh, Uncrustables vs. unpackaged made by you PB&J sandwich... the list can go on and on!!

Of course, I pack my kids waste-free lunches for school... but we also pack waste-free for picnics, work lunches, on-the-go snacks and... well, you get the picture.

As the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approaches... make the decision to go "Waste-Free."  There are SO many amazing products out there that make packing Waste-free lunches (and snacks) super easy.  If you're ready to go Waste-Free, check out Kids Konserve.

Reasons why I like Kids Konserve:

• Many of their products are made from recycled materials... including bags made from recycled plastic bottles and containers made from recycled stainless steel!!  (If you're recycling... and you should be... then you should also look for products made from recycled materials to complete the circle of Reduce Reuse Recyle... don't let it end with Recycle :))
• Their products come in convenient kits or products can be purchased separately to make your own personal waste-free kit!!
• Kids Konserve is a company who believes in giving back, their school Waste-Free Challenges give a percentage of every sale back to the school.  Check out their Waste-Free Lunch Challenge.  
• Clean Up Your Act This Earth Day! and Miss Earth Day
• With every order placed in April, you will receive a free 20oz. stainless steel Kids Konserve Bottle (of course, while supplies last ;) )

AND... if that's not enough... just because you've taken the time to read my blog (YAY! You!!)....they've offered a 15% discount code (earth15) valid until April 30 to use at their website!!  Thanks Kids Konserve!!!  

"As Americans we have come to depend on the many convenience products that are available to us, and nowhere is this more evident than in the school lunch room. Most parents pack lunch items in single-use plastic bags, aluminum foil, or wax paper, or they purchase single-serving items that come in their own disposable package. Admittedly, these products are extremely convenient, but what is the environmental cost to a country that relies so heavily on them?"  

-- www.wastefreelunches.org 

*I am not a mathematician ;)  If you see an error... please feel free to do the math :)

Teach Them Better

Over the weekend, we went camping in the Uwharrie National Forest (NC). This particular camping (and 4-wheeling) trip was organized by Carolina Rover Owners Club (CROC). I should go ahead and say that my husband really enjoys 4-wheeling, but I-- honestly--don't get it. I go to specifically to hang out.... BUT this time was different. This time, I was given a mission. For the second year (I didn't go last year), CROC held a competition for picking up litter.

Rule & Prize: Whoever picked up the most litter (by weight) on the trails would win $50.

Of course, I told my husband (and everyone we knew) that we had this competition in the bag and there was no way we wouldn't win ;)

SO...for once I was excited to go 4-wheeling... because we knew exactly what we would do with our winnings.... AND because without the ability to 4-wheel... there would be no way for me to hike my way around the forest with 3 kids in tow.

Saturday with a line of 4 Rovers following us on the fire trails... we took our time... stopping when we saw litter along the trails. I felt a tiny bit bad holding up the line... wishing we were at the end of the line... but then constantly reaffirming to myself that being in the lead was a positive thing because not only were we first to pick up the trash....others could see what we were doing and hopefully it would catch on (maybe not that day... but I know it'll catch on) ;)

This is everything we were able to stop for... hop out... and pick up:

Plastic bag with cigarette wrappers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, chocolate candy bag, chip bags, intake hose, metal spoon, plastics, and a WHOLE bottle of antifreeze!

When I took the picture and saw everything that we picked up... I was happy and kind of bummed. "Happy" because we took the time to do the right thing.... "bummed" because the forest trails have only been open for 2 weeks this year... AND the trashing has already begun. I just can't understand how people (especially outdoor enthusiasts) can throw their trash to the ground. Shoot... I remember the PSA's from my childhood....and just visiting YouTube... there's a PSA about littering/polluting for every generation. Here are a few of my favs... the first one from the year my Mom was born!!!

Seriously... there is absolutely no excuse. People should know better... especially by now!! It just makes no sense to me. I often think... "how would these litterbugs feel about me walking into their home and throwing my trash on their floor??" Hmmm...

I'll go ahead and say what my daughter has been singing for the past few weeks, "What do you do with a litter critter? What do you do with a litter critter? Hey 'Ho! You teach them better. Hey Ho! You teach them better."

Besides us, only one other person picked up litter... and they wondered where and how we found all that trash! SO... of course.... even not being able to pick up every piece of trash that we saw... we won the $50.

We've decided to donate our winnings to "The Plastic Ocean". Why?? Because I stand behind their work... their efforts... 100%. I met Bonnie (check out her and my friend Jennifer's blog: The Plastic Ocean) a couple of years ago... she's amazing in that she read something about plastics in our oceans (I read it too... and it has been my motivation for picking up litter) and was completely affected by it enough to get involved with the Algalita Foundation and start making a difference. Along with visiting the Great Pacific Garbage Patch...she-- along with my friend, Jennifer-- went to Bermuda last summer to study the impact of plastics in the Sargasso Sea-- did you know that baby sea turtles spend their first years there... safe in the protection of the Sargasm? did you know that it's loaded with trash... mainly plastics? AND did you know that the Sargasso Sea is 1 of 5 major ocean gyres that are collecting our trash... our litter??? Think just because you don't live near the coast...that you don't or can't have an impact?? Remember.... everything is connected... we are ALL connected...

If the Ocean Could Talk- Trailer from J Sun Productions on Vimeo.

By the way...we're also planning on going back to help with trail clean-ups... no prize included ;)

Ingeo = Ingenious

I just finished redeeming lots of iTunes gift cards and have noticed something...

As soon as I pulled the cards off their paper "hanging" thingie... I noticed "ingeo plant-based card"!! No more PVC... I'm thinking that ingeo means "ingenious". I briefly searched to see if I can compost it... but didn't find much except that lots of companies are switching to this "new" plant-based plastic, which-- by the way-- makes me very happy.

SO... I've decided that I'm gonna chuck the cards in my compost pile and see what happens. Maybe in a few months... if all goes the way I hope it does... I'll be able to post a pic of shriveled iTunes cards.

My LOVE for iTunes is growing by the second... :)

Update on December 26, 2010:  Nearly a year after tossing my iTunes gift cards into my compost pile... the only thing that has changed is the color.  All of the writing is pretty much gone... but the cards haven't even begun to shrivel.  Still going to leave the cards in the pile and see how long it takes for them to compost... if they compost at all.  

(By the way, this year we made sure to request no gifts.)

UPDATE #2-- March 4, 2011: Not So Ingenious