91 Seconds of Recycling

I wanted to film all the little things I do around the house that save water, energy, and waste.  I captured it all, and my son put it together for me.  Once you get past the intro, it's not too bad.

It was inspired when raccoons got into the garbages up and down the street on night, and we could all see what each other had thrown out.  There was a whole lot of styrofoam.  There was also a lot of food waste, which is why critters were in there in the first place.

Here's what I do that anyone could do with very little space and/or money:
1. Find a corner of the yard (even if you're in an apartment) and compost all non-meat/dairy/fats food waste and all yard waste.  That saves 30% of a typical person's garbage from going in the landfill.  I have a bucket on the counter that I take out every day - rain or shine.  It's just a short walk to the back of the yard.
2. Use the green bin JUST for meat, dairy, and fat wastes, then it's small enough to fit in the freezer and you won't get maggots all in your kitchen.
3. Turn off the water when you're not using it - we know about teeth brushing, but turn it off when you're sudsing up your hands too!
4. Hang your laundry on a line.  If you don't have a big freezer, and you're a typical person, then your drier is your number one energy user in your household.  Just say no to the drier and hang clothes outside all summer and inside all winter.  It's a minor inconvenience that saves a lot of energy.
5. Hook up your gutters to rain barrels, and use them to water the garden.
6. Save all your batteries, e-waste, old paint, and styrofoam to take to the dump once you've got lots - take all your neighbour's stuff too, so it can all be disposed of properly.
7. Share a spot on the curb so the garbage truck doesn't have to stop as often - which saves gas.
8. Organize all your waste somewhere so kids can easily put everything in the right place:  a cereal box for all the boxboard, a bag for all the plastic bags, and a small bin for stuff that REALLY has to go in the landfill - mainly anything with mixed materials like granola bar wrappers.

Make it a habit, and it will really make a difference!



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Of Disposable Cups and Popcorn Bags, Of Cabbages and Kings

Okay, another post on green bins.  The lack of consistent communication at Waterloo Region's Waste Management facility is makin' me nuts!  It seems every time I call or e-mail or read another newsletter from them I get a slightly different message about what is and what is not allowed in the green bin.   Why do I care?  Because the "product" the green bin program produces will potentially end up used as a fertilizer on crops.  That is, we will end up eating the crap that goes in there.  It's heated to high temperatures which, in theory, kills off all the bacteria like e-coli from the dog crap and meat that we stick in there.  Sometimes that process is ineffective and people die.  And they can't take out toxins from plastics or other chemicals that aren't meant to be consumed. As Rose George writes, "The waste-water industry is intimidating...dissent is not encouraged....We are their lab rats."  Just so you know.....

As I said in an e-mail to our Mayor two minutes ago, "It feels like the region is barreling ahead with something without proper research in place. Some employees of the Waste Management are completely unaware of the composition of popcorn bags and disposable cups, and as such, seem to be making unwise decisions that could compromise the health of citizens of Waterloo Region."

Their recent newsletter encourages us to include disposable cups but not compostable corn starch bags, and suggests we re-use microwavable popcorn bags as liners.  So I asked for some clarification on each of these.

On Tim Horton's Disposable Cups

Weeks ago I was assured by an employee at the waste facility that these cups aren't allowed, but the recent  newsletter says they are.  Curious.  The representative that was nice enough to e-mail clarification this morning told me they ARE allowed because they're just made of paper:  There's a BIG confidentiality message at the bottom of the correspondence I received indicating no unauthorized disclosure (which I didn't notice before I forwarded it all to the mayor - whooops), so I won't quote directly, but suffice it to say Tim Hortons cups are fine to include in the green bins because they're made of boxboard.

The problem is, that they aren't:  "Tim Horton cups contain a plastic liner."  There's a Facebook group protesting the types of cups used even, so it's not like this is an obscure fact that could only be know by insiders.

In Waterloo Region, there are more Tim Hortons than Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, A&W and Harvey's put together. One garbage study found that 22% of litter in Nova Scotia was from Tim Hortons (compared to 10% from McDonalds). This is a huge issue.  Tim Hortons' will offer a small discount if you use a travel mug, but that's not having enough of an effect.

On Compostable Bags


If Tim's cups, which have plastic in them, are okay, why not compostable bags?   She didn't directly address my question about the rejection of compostable corn starch bags.  I think they should reject them, but what personally bugs me more than food concerns, to tell you the truth, is the inconsistency of what they take and what they reject.  I have a strong drive to understand things, to get my head around systems, and this one still seems nonsensical to me.  So it really helps to know they think Tim's cups are pure boxboard.  Then it makes sense that they're acceptable but the bio-bags aren't.

Except... the Tim's cups aren't recyclable because of the plastic in them according to Waterloo Region Waste Management.

Are we having fun yet?   

On Microwave Popcorn Bags

Here's where things get really scary.  I expressed concern over teflon in the green bins because doesn't everyone know microwave popcorn bags are lined with teflon?  Apparently not.  The rep was completely unaware of this.  Really the whole issue is that people don't read every single piece of news about environmental or health issues that comes at them or even the things I write about at this little forum.  Curious.


On C8 or Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) lining the bags.:  "Food and Drug Administration researchers said microwave popcorn bags alone could expose the public to 'hundreds of times' more C8 than normal use of nonstick cookware. The C8 is then ingested by the people eating the popcorn." Worse, I'd say, is eating the bag which will be ground up and mixed in with organics and potentially used agriculturally.

Studies show that PFOA is readily absorbed following ingestion, poorly eliminated, and tends not to be metabolized. As such, "PFOA enters the circulation and is primarily distributed and taken up by the kidneys and liver. Additionally, detection of PFOA in umbilical cord blood indicates that it crosses the placenta." In studies, "PFOA affected primarily the liver and can cause developmental and reproductive toxic effects at relatively low dose levels in experimental animals. It increased the tumour incidence in rats, mainly in the liver."

Take a minute to watch this video if you're not convinced:


Somewhat disbelieving, the waste rep suggested that my club should take on a project of verifying this information, but I don't think we need to verify it. It's in the news over and over. Dupont was sued when some of this stuff got in drinking water in the states. Now we're being encouraged to include it in the bins. This chemical cannot be extracted from the finished product (sludge) before it gets turned into fertilizer and is added to our food chain. I'm afraid if they do nothing to correct this, our little Waste Management facility will be complicit in increased the toxicity of citizens of Waterloo Region.

If you care about your health, please send an e-mail or two.  This is serious.

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Combatting Eco-Fatigue

When we did our initial waste audit this year, we discovered that fully half of our recycling and compost is going to the garbage.  People haven't been sorting their trash as well as they did last year.  So we're trying a few initiatives to combat eco-fatigue...

We were going to give raffle tickets to anyone we caught recycling or composting, but we were worried about the repercussions if we missed someone.  We have visions of angry environmentalists lamenting their lack of tickets.  So we ditched that idea.

Instead we decided to make quizzes to give to MSIP classes - a couple of really hard questions each day - and the winning class gets some homemade cookies at the end of the week.  Then the following week we'll do a great green challenge (like we did for the teachers) pitting classes against one another.  Winners get more homemade treats.

And we made this video that's playing at an assembly tomorrow to remind people what goes where:


I'm not sure what I did to make it have a border instead of being full screen. Next time I'll pay attention to that little detail. The trickiest part of putting this one together, after figuring out a new version of the software, was choosing the music. What would make teens of all walks of life pay attention and/or not be annoyed? I went with the Beatles.

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The Scoop on Compostable Bags

The big news is that Sun Chips will now come in a compostable bag. They call them "earth-friendly bags." But I question if disposable packaging of any kind can really be earth friendly. The article in the Globe suggests that the bags "can be thrown into the backyard composter or municipal green bins." Well, not so fast....

This site makes it clear that compostable bags can only be composted in an industrial facility, not in your backyard.  It has to be heated to fully break down.  That's a problem because in Waterloo, we can't put compostable bags in the green bins.  They site three reasons:

* Different ‘biodegradable’ bags compost at different rates. This can create issues with the quality of the end product.
* Organics need oxygen to compost properly. Wrapping in plastic prevents the microbes from getting much needed oxygen and contributes to odour issues.
* Our processor composts in windrows outside. Once the organics are ground up, plastics can blow around and cause litter issues.

The last newsletter I got from the region actually suggested that people use disposable coffee cups to scoop up dog poop rather than use the compostable bags.  It's odd because I've been told by some workers there that coffee cups aren't allowed in the green bins because they have plastic between layers of paper.  And it's troubling that the waste management people aren't on the travel mug bandwagon yet.  


On the one hand, that they can make a plastic-like substance from corn is pretty cool.  Check out the video here.   But on the other hand, I'm not entirely convinced there's not some petroleum in there somewhere helping it all bond together.  They mention in the film it just takes corn, citric acid, and some "secret ingredients."  Hmmm.  Some compostable bags have only 6-9% corn starch.  I can only assume the rest is oil based.  They degrade better that other bags, but they don't truly compost.  I wouldn't want them in my garden.  Little bits of plastic particles that float around from the degradation process get into our food and our lungs, and they're really harmful to us.

Another problem is that corn starch in the bags wrecks the recycling process if the bags accidentally get put in with other plastic bags which are recyclable (yet rarely recycled).  

But the biggest problem is that if people like this idea, they'll stop trying to avoid buying packaging with their food.  It's a bit of a red herring I'm afraid. 

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More Green Bin Concerns

France Gelinas, an NDP MPP, wrote a letter to the editor of the Globe and Mail on Ontario's proposed new green bin guidelines that "...would allow sewage sludge laden with pharmaceuticals, pathogens, heavy metals and flame retardants to be mixed in with so-called 'A-grade' compost and spread on...farm fields." (Sorry I can't find a link to the letter.)

Organic food is still organic if it's sprayed with sludge, so there's no easy way to make sure your food is clean. I'll be washing my produce more consistently now, but that won't remove all the potential toxins that we're going to grow the food in...


I know people now who used to compost in their backyard, but now prefer the convenience of the green bin, and pay for compost each spring instead of digging up their own for free. People love how easy it is; they love that it all goes away every week. I don't know how to get people to see the bigger system it's all a part of - until someone gets sick. Even then it has to be someone close to home and preferably young before people will be moved to action. Otherwise we think we can adapt to anything. I'm not so sure.

How badly do we need to divert meat waste and animal feces from the landfill that we're willing to do this to ourselves? If the green bin was just to hold waste from food that grows (no meat or dairy), then it really would be great on farm fields. Bury the meat and shit with the blister packs and candy wrappers. Or better, make blister packs and laminated foil illegal as packaging. That would divert a ton by volume.

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There IS No "Away" - My Beef with Green Bins

We have the green bin in our neighbourhood now. It's nice to have someplace for our kitty litter and dog poop and bones which clog up our digester, but I still use our composter for most food waste. And I'm still very wary of the program for a couple of reasons....


The bins collect meat, dairy, bones, and feces from carnivorous animals which have a high bacterial content. The stuff is mushed together and heated to high temperatures to try to kill off the bacteria, but it's not always successful. Then it's all used as fertilizer on our crops along with some sewage sludge. And we wonder how lettuce can give us e-coli which can be fatal.

A colleague asked, but what about the fact that people have used animal waste and their own waste on crops on the family farm for centuries. The key word there is family - it's a known environment. It's not a problem to fertilize with manure when you know the people and animals involved. It's only a problem if someone in the line-up is sick. And that's impossible to know when we work from such a large and unmonitored base.

It's the same with backyard composting compared to municipal composting. I know that my compost doesn't have any weed seeds tossed in or any leaves from a diseased tree in the mix. Municipally, I can't be too sure if the dope on the other side of town is as careful as I am. So the city wide compost could be contaminated and spread disease and weeds. If you want clean fertilizer for your gardens, don't get it from the city, make it yourself in a 4 x 8 box in the backyard.

The "biosolids" they're spraying on our crops could possibly cause us all to get very sick. We have this naive illusion that the government won't let that happen to us. But don't be so sure. It's been an issue in the White House gardens even. In Ontario, 2/3 of all sewer sludge is sprayed on crops. The EFAO has been working to stop the practice completely. But it's far too convenient a way to rid of the waste. Rain to the waters and sewage to the soil. And what isn't used by the city, is sold back to you at garden centers as garden compost. Through our taxes we are paying for the city to pick up our yard waste, let it sit a while to decompose, then sell it back to us. In our region, it's twice the cost of landfilling it, and 100% more than having backyard composters and digesters. On a related note, it costs the city more than half a million a year to collect leaves. Some insist they don't have room to compost, but if they've got room for trees, surely they can squeeze a composter under one.

But beyond the way its used, the green bins allow us to maintain an insidious belief that all our crap just goes away - like dumping garbage in a moving river. Look, it's all gone! But we're a closed system, and it's never all gone. The more we think it is, the more we'll create. If we have to deal with our waste ourselves, maybe we'll have less food waste. Every bit of leftovers will be finished.

After explaining this to a friend, he asked if he should continue using it. I said, "Sure." Try to be mindful of the fact that your crap isn't disappearing when the truck takes it away. And make sure you eat organically and that you know where all your produce comes from (because sludge is an organic fertilizer). Then read The Big Necessity.

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Drink responsibly. Use a travel mug.

Last week we focused on composting, trying to convince teachers to bring their waste to the nearest buckets, and trying to convince students to take the apple core or banana peel to the bucket instead of using the garbage can. Our garbage survey showed that we have about 10 pounds of compost in the garbage every day. I'm hoping we can reduce this number without putting more buckets everywhere. It just takes 10 minutes to empty it all at the end of the day. If we have buckets in every floor and wing of the school, it'll take half an hour.

I also included information on No Impact Man in our display case. He lived a year without making a significant impact on the world. If we all did that.....

This week we'll be focusing on paper cups, particularly Tim Horton's which surround the school on all sides. Our school tosses six pounds of cups a day. Six pounds. There's stats and info here and here and here.

That's it.
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Compost Update

Check out our giant pile of compost! Typically I dig out the usable compost to add to my gardens in the spring, but at school, because it all sits all summer, it seems to make the most sense to dig it out in the first week of September before more stuff is added. Our horticulture teacher had me pile it beside the composter, and he'll get to it soon. Here's the pile. It's amazing to me how well this very simple task works with minimal effort. You can see a piece of eggshell that hasn't quite turned. And there's a few sticks in there. But mainly it's just rich fertile soil that can augment any garden. At home I dig it in about an inch deep between plants, and add some to the bare patches in the lawn before I throw down a mix of grass and clover seed. It beats chemical fertilizers.



In our region there are concerns about the half a million dollars it costs to take leaves off the curb. It's such a no-brainer that people should compost. It can work in apartment complexes too. I have several gardens and five people worth of food scraps and one bin like the one I made for school can easily handle it all. Yet so many have doubts, they just won't try it at home.

More's the pity.

And in other news, KCI's green efforts were lauded in the local paper, unfortunately they didn't mention the blog!


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How To Compost in a School

Several people have asked how I compost all the school's organic matter. They're worried about rats and smell and vandalism and many other what-ifs paralyzing them from action. We just did it, and it was much easier than I thought it would be.


The Bin

The bins the region sells are way too small to be effective. You're much better off making one. I happened to just tear down an old balcony made of cedar boards, so I had the perfect building materials. Our is about 8' long by 5' wide, by 4' deep. It has two separate lids that are hinged. The entire thing is surrounded by chicken wire that goes into the ground a few inches. I would have put the chicken wire on the inside, but the composter got used by other staff before I had a chance. If you can put it on the inside, put the chicken wire across the entire bottom instead of just in the dirt a few inches. Make sure there's spaces between the boards to let in air and rain. The only benefit of the chicken wire on the outside is you can grow morning glory up it.

We keep the bin in a sunny area at the back of the school where students don't hang out much, but it's close enough to get to with buckets of food. My one and only complaint is that in the winter, when the parking lot is cleared, the snow all gets shoved in front of my path to the bin. I often end up climbing a good five or six foot mountain of snow, in a dress, with buckets of garbage. Some people prefer vermicomposting because they don't have to go outside to do it. I like going outside. And, for me, there's a learning curve to tackle with the worms. (And I'm not convinced they'd eat as much waste as we produce.)

If you'll notice, there's no little access door at the bottom to dig out the finished compost, but I find that system encumbersome anyway. I much prefer, just twice a year, to get my rubber boots on and get right into the compost pile to stir things up or get out the "gold".

The Buckets

We have seven pails, well labelled, around the school to collect organic waste. They have signs on them and above them that say exactly what can and cannot go in the buckets. I started with buckets that are similar to our bottle recycling buckets, and ended up with a lot of bottles in them. So I searched out green buckets instead. Students have asked us for more buckets in the hallways, but they're not supposed to eat in the hallways. That's a bit of a conundrum. If I put buckets there, they'll be used, but will I be condoning the hallway eaters?

If you're worried about the buckets attracting mice, I found a mice-away product at the hardware store that, apparently, farmers keep in their tractors so mice don't move into the seats in the winter. It's safe for indoor use (unlike mothballs), and looks and smells like a little pouch of lavender. It might be just that. I tape them to the outside of the buckets so whatever's inside doesn't contaminate the compost.

BUT, the mice and bug issues aren't real concerns because we dump and clean the buckets every night. This literally takes me 10-15 minutes. And we have to stay in the building for 15 minutes after our last class contractually anyway, so I may as well make myself useful. I grab the big bucket from my office, take it upstairs to the staff room, get my washcloth wet and a little soapy, then dump the smaller green buckets into my big one, wipe out the buckets, and move top to bottom. Then I dump the big out outside, wipe that bucket, and return it to my office with the dirty washcloth hanging over the edge. I get my stuff and go. The compostable garbage doesn't sit in the school any longer than the regular garbage, so it shouldn't attract pests any more than otherwise.

I'd include the posters and labels here, but blogger completely messes with the formatting. And I'm a luddite. But you can be creative about it. Basically they say COMPOST to fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, bread, rice, pasta, coffee, tea, and anything that grows in the ground. And GARBAGE to plastic, paper, metal, meats, dairy, eggs, and anything that comes from an animal. I don't worry too much about salad dressing on salads. There's not a high enough percentage of it to make it a problem.

The Process

To keep the bin outside from attracting pests, I layer the waste alternating between food scraps and yard waste. I keep a garbage can full of yard waste beside the bin. I've discovered, if you're going to do this, that it's a good idea to put a few small holes in the bottom of the garbage can so water can drain out if it starts decomposing before it hits the compost bin. The horticulture teacher tries to keep me in yardwaste, but I sometimes run out. So, where I live, on my street's collection day, I've taken to bringing neighbour's yardwaste to my school (with their permission of course). I can return the paper bags to them right after dumping them, so it saves on that waste too. Adding yard waste is key to keeping out rodents and stopping potential odours.

So every night after I dump the compost, I grab a few handfuls of yardwaste to cover it. Then I close the lid, and Bob's yer uncle.

I fill one side of the composter only, and so far, even though sometimes it threatens to hit the top, it decomposes fast enough that it never actually fills up. The sides aren't separated by any barrier, but they could be. After the last exam in June, I'll stir the mess up, shovel solids over to the other side of the composter, and dig out any compost into a wheelbarrow to be put whereever the horticulture teacher wants it. And on Labour Day weekend, I'll be in to get the rest of the compost out to be spread around, nourishing our gardens.

Time and Material

So altogether, you need a bake sale to buy supplies or a scrap boards and pails drive. You'll need 3 - 8' 2x4s for the bin, all cut in half, and 6 - 8' 2x4s for the lids. Planks - 12 - 8' boards for the front and back, and 6 - 10' boards cut in half for the sides, and 10 - 8' boards cut in half for the lids. Don't forget the hardware (deck screws and four heavy-duty exterior hinges), and a roll of chicken wire. You also need as many pails as you think you'll use, paper for posters and labels, and packing tape to stick the labels on the buckets. And mice-away packets if you're worried about that.

To build the bin, a group of handy students could make it in one or two classes if they're well organized and each group has someone who's used a drill before (a long-shot I've discovered), and you've got access to several cordless drills. Do the front and backs first. Lay down six 8' boards, then lay three 4' 2x4s on top, one on each end and one in the middle. Screw the 2x4s to the boards. Meanwhile, have another group working on the lids. Lay the boards down, and the 2x4s around the edges with one more on the diagonal. Screw those together. Then get the 5' planks (10's in half), and screw them to the ends of the back piece. Stand it up, and screw the side boards to the front. HINT - build it wherever it's going to be put permanently. It will be heavy to move once it's done. And it's nice to work outdoors.

Get kids inside the composter with staple guns laying the chicken wire on all sides and across the bottom. Get other students to attach chicken wire to each lid. Screw a 2x4 to the back edge. Set the lids in place and attach the hinges. I've never described how to build something before, so I hope that makes sense. E-mail me if you've got questions. If you're getting your class to do this, take pictures for the yearbook.

It takes one lunch period to label and put out the buckets. It takes a few weeks of morning announcements. After that you need 15 minutes a day to dump buckets, and an hour or so twice a year to dig out the compost. That's it!

Since I don't have a class that I can do this kind of curriculum with, I built the composter myself one Saturday. At first I had students dump the buckets on a rotation, and I'd just check them at the end of the day. But they sometimes forgot, and knowing I was their backup, they didn't worry about forgetting enough to start remembering! So it became faster and easier for me to just dump them myself. The buckets can never be left sitting overnight or someone will get upset and shut it all down. Also, I can do it without gloves then wash my hands. If students are handling garbage, they should have gloves on - which is an added waste. Finally, at my school, it wouldn't be safe to have them climb that mountain of snow in the winter. Teachers are more expendable.

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The Green Bin Debate

This year at our school we started a composting program. The horticulture teacher had already been composting plant material, so it wasn't that hard to add on the rest of the picture - and it makes for better compost too. At home I compost veg matter and plant waste in one area, but I also have a "green cone digester." They were popular about fifteen years ago, but have all but disappeared along with home composting when environmentalism lost favour. A digester will take meats and dairy that can't go in the composter. Actually, we started using it again mainly to accommodate the waste from our new dog, Jack. The waste in a digester is decreased with microbes, then after a year or two of use (or five from my experience), the cone gets relocated and anything left over is buried.


This is Jack, and he makes a lot of "waste." In Canada it's illegal for any feces to go into the landfill. That means that disposable diapers are supposed to be scraped clean before being tossed. It also means we shouldn't bag the dog poop and dump it in the garbage. Just because most people do it, doesn't make it okay. I'm not always a rule-follower, but there's some really good reasons for keeping feces out of the landfill - it's a breeding ground for bacterias. The green cone - or solar cone - reaches high enough temperatures to kill off the bacteria. In the landfill it's all just mummified.

But what happens when feces and meat and other kitchen scraps go into the green bin? It certainly takes a lot of waste away from landfills. That's great! But where does the waste go, and is it preferable than using home or community composting areas? To me, it's a no-brainer that we can save the landfill space AND save the environment better if we each deal with our own garbage locally. But I could be wrong.

First of all, where does it go? In K-W, the green bin waste is shipped to Thorold, Ontario, near St. Catherines. So we're increasing the amount of greenhouse gasses produced in the movement of our garbage because part of it is being shipped a longer distance. This doesn't begin to look at the financial costs involved in the transportation.

Secondly, what happens to it? The film Garbage! has a great little clip of what happens to organics from a green bin program. They're heated up to get rid of any bacteria, then all plastics and non-compostables are spun out of the mix and sent to the landfill. So even if you use a corn-starch plastic bag for your dog poop, the bag might still end up landfilled. And nothing in the landfill decomposes, even compostables, because it's all stacked and buried. But if a bag gets missed, it's not a big deal for the operation if it's not plastic.

But most disconcerting, what happens to the end result? The green bin product isn't really compost proper, it's bio-solids. What makes the difference is the addition of meat, dairy, and feces. If you want to add nutrition to your garden, you want manure from herbivores: cows and sheep mainly, and broken down plant matter. There's a host of problems created if we add manure from carnivores or decomposing meat because they're more likely to host E. coli and other pathogens and contain heavy metals. And some of these might not be totally destroyed by heat.

If pathogens are present, it's not a problem if it's buried in small quantities away from the water table. It is a problem, however, a big problem, if the product of the process is used to fertilize agricultural land. In Thorold it seems they sell the product back to the consumer. It may be great for the flowers, but I'd keep it off the vegies.

A great book, The Big Necessity, by Rose George, talks at length about the growing practice of using carnivore manure (that's us), or sludge, to fertilize agriculture. And it links it all to growing illnesses.

So here's the thing: Do you think it's better to convince a municipality to divert its own waste through composting and green cones, or through a green bin? What would it take for most people to be willing to deal with their organic garbage themselves or communally? And do you think it's safe to use the green bin compost on food?

Views??


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