Brave New Leaf

Target & Archer Farms reinvent cereal box packaging

A Minneapolis-based Target in conjunction with Archer Farms (an organic line) is trying to reinvent cereal packaging.

The new packaging removes the need for the inner plastic bag to hold the cereal in. It also features a snug-fitting lid to keep the cereal fresh.

The packaging itself is made from 55% recycled material with 50% post-consumer content, and claims to be fully recyclable itself.

Little else is known about the packaging since Target seems to be keeping mum on the subject.

Link [Sustainable Is Good]

Wal-Mart giving away 1 million reuseable bags on Earth Day

Earth Day is this Saturday, April 19th. In response, Wal-Mart is giving away a stunning one million reuseable shopping bags at their stores.

If you want one, show up at 8am at your local store.

But if you miss it, don't worry too much. The bags are available for just $1 at Wal-Mart the rest of the time.

Link [Walmart.com]

Make "stuff" commual to reduce consumption

The Good Human shares with us a breakthrough he had:

"While we cannot share a roll of paper towels, a television or our couches, there are some major purchases that can be shared amongst neighborhood friends or family members.

When I was growing up, two of my neighbors shared a snowblower each winter....

...Remembering this from when I was kid got me wondering about what other products could be a shared financial burden between families while also effectively reducing our consumption, waste, and raw materials cost…and this is what I came up with:

• Snowblowers, of course. These could be shared by several different families, not just two.
• Lawnmowers
• Garden tools like shovels, hoes, rakes
• Tree trimmers
• Chainsaws, weed eaters
• A Pool
• Sports equipment
• Camping equipment
• Magazine subscriptions
• Books"

Great idea. Of course, we do share books and magazines as a community at something called a library. But these other occasional use items make perfect sense to be shared within a community. And given the expense of some of these items, it's remarkable that more neighbors don't band together to purchase them.

What are other items you can think of that would work in this scheme?

Seattle to impose disposable bag sin tax

A little over a year ago, San Francisco made headlines by banning plastic bags and styrofoam containers from restaurants, grocery stores, and pharmacies.

This week, Seattle proposed that they similarly ban polystyrene take-out food containers, but veered wildly from San Francisco's lead in proposing a disposable bag "sin tax".

Seattle large supermarkets and pharmacies will be required to charge 20 cents per disposable bag used, regardless of whether that bag is paper or plastic. To encourage people to use reusable bags, Seattle is hoping to send a reusable bag to every person in Seattle.

Personally, I'm disappointed with the laziness of this proposal. You can tell that the Seattle politicians saw an opportunity for revenue generation, and went in the direction that gave them a $10 million dollar windfall rather than taking the right step and banning plastic bags altogether.

"The problem with a ban is that all it does is leave people without a choice," said City Council President Richard Conlin.

Isn't that point, Richard? People are fundamentally lazy. If you want to make major strides towards altering people's behaviors, charging them another dollar for five bags at the register is not going to make them think twice about changing their behavior. In my opinion, forcing the issue with an outright ban is the right way.

more at twiigs.com...

Washington Ecology Dept. funds several biowaste-to-fuel research projects

The Washington Department of Ecology announced that it will grant over $600,000 to several research projects focused on conversion of organic wastes to ethanol, biodiesel, and organic fertilizer.

We at Brave New Leaf are not fans of turning food into fuel, but food waste is a much better story. Converting waste into food prevents the organic material from going into a landfill and extends its lifecycle. Washington is rich in organic waste from its logging industry and high rates of food scrap and yard waste recycling, so successful results from these projects could be boons for WA state. Read more about the various projects.

The Search for Green Electronics

In the search to find the greenest electronics out there, Greenpeace performed a survey amongst major electronics manufacturers. The results were extremely interesting. 37 products from 14 manufacturers were evaluated from the likes of Sony, Nokia, Dell, HP, LG, Panasonic and others.

The products were rated on the following "green" criteria:

1.  use of hazardous chemical substances
2.  energy efficiency of the device
3.  product lifecycle: greenhouse gas, energy, and recycling stories
4.  innovations and marketing

Good news was hard to find, but there was some. Turns out that most manufacturers are going beyond legal requirements for hazardous materials in their products, and are making encouraging headway towards energy-efficiency improvements.

However, the lack of a concrete lifecycle methodology with their products means that producing the products still uses lots of energy, produces tons of greenhouse gases, and the short lifespan of the products (avg: 3 years for cell phones, 7 years for pcs, 10 years for tvs) means they are landfilled extremely quickly.

No individual product scored better than 5 out of 10 on the survey. However, three products did meet that halfway mark. And to my surprise, they are all from Sony! The top three greenest electronics surveyed were:

• Sony Vaio TZ11 notebook computer
• Sony Ericsson T650i mobile phone
• Sony Ericsson P1i PDA

Brave New Leaf applauds Sony for its commitment to create more sustainable electronics, and encourages them to go even further in their efforts.

If you're interested in reading the rest of the Greenpeace survey, you can find it here.

We Love Jam is the first US company to use biodegradable plastic food packaging

We Love Jam sells delicious jams and jellies in limited quantities produced from fruit from their organic trees.

A self-proclaimed green company, they have now gone a step further and changed their packaging to biodegradable plastic bags that will break down in a landfill.

The plastic used is largely plant-derived.

"We learned that natural, plant-based and biodegradable cellophane was used for many food products several decades ago but was replaced by synthetic non-recyclable and non-biodegradable plastic that is now confusingly called cellophane," says Co-founder Haeberli.

"Consumers today who buy food and care about the environment never know what type of plastic wrapper their food is in since packaging isn't marked to let them know."
 

more at twiigs.com...

In Canada, Milk comes in Bags.

Did you know that in Canada, milk comes in bags? 

I found an entire website devoted to how this crazy idea works.

Some people state that this is more environmentally friendly because the bags are biodegradable, use less packaging than jugs, and take up less space in the landfills. But they look like ordinary plastic to me.

The FAQ of the website is particularly amusing (and utterly uninformative):

"Q: WHY?
A: Why not?

Q: What do you usually do with the bag part of a milk bag     after the fact? (The fact being drinking the cow product inside said bag.)
A: Typically they are recycled, though I have seen some people use them for freezer bags. Sometime we joke around and say that they're poor people's condoms.    

Q: That's super expensive!
A: Take mind of exchange rates.

Q: What money do you use in canada, anyway?
A: Canadian currency.
   
Q: How is the milk bag better than the milk carton or jug?
A: I don't know. It seems as though they are easier to recycle, more enviromentally friendly.
   
Q: Where did the milk bag originate?
A: I don't know. I read somewhere that it was like, Greenland or something. I'll have to look into that.
   
Q: Who invented the milk bag?
A: ... I don't know. I don't think it was 'someone'. Probably a group of crazy hippies.
   
Q: Are all milk bags the same size?
A: Yeah, pretty much. Unless you count those drinkable milk pouches we all used to drink when we were little at school. But that's a whole other species of milk bag compared to what this site is about.
   
Q: Does the milk stay fresher?
A: Not anymore than it would in a jug.
   
Q: Wait, do you leave the milk bag open? You don't seal it? Don't cockroaches get in?
A: It's a small hole cut in the corner of the bag...
Q: Yeah, but still. Small roaches can get in, no?    
A: Yeah, I guess. If I had roaches that might be of concern.
   
Q: It looks like a bag of cocaine
A: Okay.

Q: I think milk bags would cause more problems. See, someone can accidentally throw the jug and it wouldn't spill easily. The milk bag would (if it were already open) and SPLASH. - it would create a mess.
A: How can you accidentally throw a milk bag anyway?
Q: *walks into the kitchen* Hmm...some milk with donuts would be nice! *grabs the pitcher. it slips* WHOOPS.
A: They're not soap. They're usually pretty well into the pitcher. And then you have the weight of the bag.
Q: So they're not slippery?
A: No.
Q: Oh...
   
Q: Do you have jugs?
Q: In Canada
Q: ...that sounds horrible
Q: Do they sell jugs there is what I really meant. And I don't mean prostitutes either.
A: They might sell them specialty.
Q: Do you know if they're more expensive than milk bags?
A: If they were cheaper, I think we'd carry them like everyone else.
   
Q: AREN'T THEY DANGEROUS TO LITTLE CHILDREN?!
A: Not anymore than Michael Jackson. And you can take that whatever way you want.    

Q: Does milk in a bag work easier than milk from a jug when shooting a milk saturated porn?
A: Good possibilty.

Q: Do they have ebonics in Canada?
Q: And if they do, do they say "wud de fook is dat shit aboot?"
A: ...Why are you asking me this?
Q: Just trying to imagine a ghetto-Canadian asking for milk at a convience store.
   
Q: Do you have to wait in long lines at Canadian hospitals?
A: Uh?
Q: You know, just in case you get milk poisoning.
   
Q: Do they have pine trees in Canada?
Q: And do they have Arab cab cars with pine smelling air freshner?
A: What the hell?
Q: Just wondering."

Read more at The Canadian Milk Bag.

What do I do with: Printer Cartridges

My inkjet printer stopped printing colors the other day. This was pretty inconvenient since we were trying to print boarding passes at the time, and nothing came out looking right. We bought a replacement cartridge (man, those are expensive!) to remedy the immediate problem, but I sat for a while staring at the old cartridge trying to figure out what to do with it.

Since it was an HP cartridge, I first went to the HP website. They have a recycling program for cartridges where you print out a postage-paid label, and send the cartridge in for recycling. Well, downcycling really. They shred the materials and put them in auto parts and other products.

I printed out the label, but immediately noticed that in order for my cartridge to be recycled, I have to mail it to Tennessee. From Seattle.

Let's think about this a moment: does that make sense? Won't we lose more in energy shipping it such distance back to HP than we gain out of the recycling process? We can figure this out.

Let's assume a semi-truck, 2800 cubic feet of space, drives straight to Tennessee, at the semi-truck average of 6 miles per gallon. My printer cartridge, individually packaged in a standard-size UPS box, is about 1 cubic foot, so let's say the truck has 2800 cartridges on it. Tennessee is 2500 miles from my home, so we're looking at 417 gallons of gas to get there. That's about .15 gallons of gas per cartridge to ship it back to HP. Best case.

On the flip side, it takes 2.5 quarts of oil to make a new printer cartridge. That's .42 gallons of gas. We don't know how much oil is conserved by the downcycling process, but given other similar recycling programs, let's put it at 40% efficiency. That means that recycling the cartridge will save .16 gallons of gas.

.15 gallons to ship it, .16 gallons saved in the recycling. It's not a very compelling argument for recycling. And that's even assuming that once the cartridge gets to Tennessee that it doesn't get shipped anywhere else to be processed.

I figured there must be some other options. And there are!

Refill until you are forced to recycle
Most printer cartridges can be re-used 4-7 times before they reach end-of-life and need to be recycled. Many companies, including Walgreens and Staples perform refill services. Lots to beware though. Some programs ship the refills out, so you should ask where it is going before you sign up.

Also, the quality of refilling is a bit dicey. Depending on the health of your used cartridge, it might not work as well as a new cartridge. Still, since refilling is significantly cheaper than buying a new cartridge (25-50 dollars cheaper per cartridge!) it's worth the risk of trying it.

Check with your local waste utility
Checking with King County Waste led me to a Kirkland-based business called Eco Cartridge. They are experts in refilling and re-manufactured cartridges and guarantee the quality of their work. They refill cartridges in-store in 10-15 minutes, and have a handy set of guidelines for keeping your cartridges working at their peak. They also work with local recycling agencies once the cartridges are no longer viable.

Finding a local resource like this is valuable since it keeps the miles down on your recycling effort.

Whatever you do, don't consider home refills
While home refill kits exist on the market, it's extremely difficult even for an expert to perform a cartridge refill with home equipment. One of the reasons for this is the compression needed in the cartridge for it to work properly. There's not a good way to replicate this at home. If you try it, your results could be rather...disturbing.

Reader Letter: Greening Kitty Litter

Dear Brave New Leaf,

Up until very recently, I always got plastic bags when I shopped so that I could scoop kitty litter into them.  Now that I'm using reusable bags, I find myself turning to Glad kitchen trash bags for the cat box, and that's both wasteful and expensive. Most litter isn't safely flushable, and I've never found an acceptable (to me -- my cats will do their business on anything) environmentally friendly litter. So the question is, how do I dispose of the stuff and do the minimum of environmental damage?  Is there some wonder-litter out there that I just haven't found yet that will be low-tracking, safe, not vile-smelling, and easy to use?

I hope this will be of use to you and other readers.  It's certainly been bothering me.

I love you blog, and have gotten a lot of inspiration from it, including joining a CSA and switching to CFL bulbs.  Keep up the good work.

Best regards,
Jennifer T

Jen! May we call you Jen? Thanks so much for writing in! We are delighted that you have gotten some inspiration from Brave New Leaf, and applaud your environmental efforts to date. Let's hear it for Jen!

Now to your question: how to green that kitty litter. First of all, you may scoff at the suggestion, but did you know that cats can be taught to use the toilet? I know. I didn't believe it either until I saw it with my own eyes. It might be worth an initial effort to see if it takes and eliminate your kitty waste problem once and for all. Plus you'll have the coolest cats on your block.

Assuming that sounds incredibly ambitious, let's talk kitty litter. Basically, the green issues around litter break down into two categories: the litter content itself, and the disposal of the litter. Unfortunately, neither of these matters have a clear-cut green solution.

Choosing a green litter
The primary environmental complaint against traditional kitty litter is that the bentonite clay contained in it is strip mined. Also, this clay doesn't really break down, but just sits in a landfill, taking up space.

More natural alternatives of kitty litter can be bought made out of corn, wheat, or newspapers. Friend of Brave New Leaf, Allie, can walk you through how to make your own kitty litter out of old newspapers. Of course, these "natural" alternatives may have used nitrogen fertilizers or contributed to deforestation, so the environmental impact may be a wash.

Theoretically, the primary benefit of these natural alternatives is that you can flush the poop down the toilet, and then compost the remaining litter. I have my reservations about this disposal solution. Cat poop can contain a number of parasites that are hard to kill and toxic to other wildlife.

So what litter you choose is up to you and what best makes sense for your kitty and lifestyle. By far, the most recommended alterna-litter on the web is Swheat Scoop, which is made from wheat, and "certified" as a flushable litter.

The greenest way to dispose of kitty litter
As we've already discussed, one answer to the disposal problem is the flush/compost method. By the way, do not even think about attempting this if you have a septic tank. It will clog.

I like the fact that you used to use plastic bags from the store to toss your kitty litter. Have you looked around for other plastic bags you can reuse? What about the bag that your loaf of bread comes in? What about the plastic your tortillas are wrapped in? The bag your Sunday paper comes in? Can you tie your dry cleaning bags at each end? A little creative thinking, and you may be surprised what you can reuse.

Another possibility, and my ultimate recommendation for you, is to use a biodegradable bag or litter liner. I won't kid you: these bags still use petroleum to make them strong, but unlike plastic bags, their corn-based composition means they'll break down in a landfill and won't spend millennia floating around the ocean.

Biobag makes biodegradable cat liner bags (scroll down past the dog stuff).

One more tip
If you're ever struggling with how best to dispose of old prescription medicines, mixing it with kitty litter is the ticket! The litter will absorb any seeping medication and ensure it doesn't make it into our water supply. Coffee grounds can also work reasonably well.