Kiss me, I'm environmentally friendly!

This weeks installment is more a message than a tip. Tomorrow, Friday April 22^nd, is Earth Day, an annual holiday intended to increase awareness about the importance of keeping our environment healthy. The first Earth Day was held in 1970 and is now observed by hundreds of million people across the globe and is recognized by 175 countries. After over 40 years it seems the message isn’t being conveyed loud enough or is falling on deaf ears. Our Planet’s environment has never been more threatened than it is now. Humans have repeatedly ignored calls to action, mostly in the name of profit. It is human nature to be short-sighted and to procrastinate until it is too late or when we’re forced to change our ways. No doubt you’re aware of some of the world’s worst environmental disasters- two of which have happened just in the last year- the BP oil spill and the nuclear crisis in Japan. It is unacceptable to continue to operate status quo, yet it seems to happen all too often.

This weekend strive to be a green advocate. Attend a local Earth Day event in your community. If you have children explain to them the importance of this day. Organize a litter patrol with your neighbors. Speak up against folks you witness being wasteful. If your community doesn’t offer recycling or only accepts limited materials get in touch with your township to voice your interest in expanding their services. Make a donation to an environmental advocacy group or organization. Plant a tree.

You’ll feel good knowing you took some time out of your day to think of Mother Earth. You’ll also be proud of yourself that you’re part of the solution, not the problem.

Make space, save on household waste

This weeks green tip focuses on simple ways to reduce household paper waste.

Mail- No doubt most of you pay some or all of your bills electronically, saving paper, energy, time and money. If you notice you get junk mail repeatedly from the same source, contact them and ask them to take you off their mailing list. The amount of junk mail we receive is staggering, any amount you can reduce this is important. Always recycle junk mail (and newspapers) whenever possible.

Paper Towels- This is a common area of excessive, unnecessary waste. This strategy begins during your grocery shopping. Instead of purchasing paper towels that come in large squares consider switching to a brand that offers smaller, rectangular sheets of towel. Many cleanups and chores around the house can be accomplished using one of these half-sized disposable towels. If the mess in question is only water use a dishtowel to absorb it instead of paper towels. However paper towels that have been used to soak up a body of water can be dried out and re-used. Some brands dry more rigid than others but if your dried towel doesn’t seem useful anymore consider using it to place under one of your indoor plants that may leak or under one of your pets water dishes or food bowl.

Napkins- Heres an area that is almost never considered as a way to reduce waste. It’s a common practice to place disposable napkins around the dinner table for use during chow time. The best way to reduce this waste is to invest in some cotton or linen napkins that you can throw in the washing machine. If you’re set on using disposable napkins consider changing some of your habits. If you’re like me, you may experience times where you don’t touch your napkin or may only use a small area of it. On countless occasions I’ve noticed folks throwing away an un-touched, clean napkin. Unused napkins should always be reused. If you fancy yourself as living a hard core green lifestyle then do as I do and reuse napkins that have been only lightly soiled. This extreme obviously isn’t for everyone but it does make a difference. Lastly, always, always, always save and reuse unused napkins you get with your drive thru meals. For some reason the friendly young kid at the checkout window thinks you need 7 napkins for your order of fries.

Tissues- This paper product actually does not get wasted nearly as often as the two previous items (and I do not endorse reusing mildly-dirty tissues. Even I find that overkill). It seems the vast majority of people only use tissues when they have to, so carry on…

Toilet Paper- The best way to reduce waste here is actually to purchase high-quality, two-ply bathroom tissue. Studies have shown that people use less overall material with heavier, thicker toilet paper as opposed to the see-through thin stuff. You’ll pay more at the register but it will last much longer.

Repeat after me: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Waste can mean beauty

This week’s tip is intended to aid you during your gardening and landscaping activities this Spring and Summer.

There are many philosophies and strategies for designing and maintaining healthy gardens, shrubs and other plants. Most gardeners and landscapers agree some amount of composting goes a long way towards keeping your property healthy and free of intruding or non-native plant species. Compost is plant matter that has decomposed and broken down. The most common use for compost is as a fertilizer or as a soil amendment. Organic compost is loaded with healthy nutrients and minerals plants need in order to flourish. Compost can be bought at your local home improvement, hardware or gardening store. There’s a much more effective and green way to go about composting your plants: make your own. Almost every household has the ability to produce compost. The formula is easy and you already have the ingredients. All you need to do is set aside unused, leftover, damaged or rotten vegetation, including fruits and vegetables, withering or dead household plants, old flowers and yard waste- it can all be mixed together. Some people have a container designated to compost that they keep in their kitchen next to the regular trash can. Next you will need to clear an exterior area of your property to make room for a compost pile and/or compost bins. Since the interior compost container can get filled up and smelly rather quickly you may want to make it a habit to empty it onto the pile outdoors more regularly than you would the regular waste in your trash cans. Be prepared to take at least two trips per week out to your pile. You’ll be surprised how mast that pile can grow. You will want to maintain the pile by mixing it up every few weeks. This expedites the decay process. A pitch fork makes the best tool, I’ve found. The older stuff at the bottom is the end product so when it comes time to do some composting take your yield from there. It will take months for Mother Nature to do her work but at the end you’ll have a whole mess of free, organic compost at your disposal. And you’ll feel good knowing you’ve saved time and money and reduced your carbon footprint by recycling unwanted waste. You’ll also be surprised at the volume of waste you will divert from the trash can to the compost container. You may even find you can downsize your kitchen's trash can (imagine the impact this would create if everyone composted- smaller, fewer landfills, one trash night a week compared to two; its endless).

Composting is not a warm-weather exclusive activity. You can add to your compost pile year-round. It will never stop breaking down into its finest particles, however extreme cold can temporarily suspend the process.

Making and maintaining your own organic compost is an easy green practice to implement in to your daily lives. And the quality of the compost you make yourself doesn’t even compare to the store bought stuff!

Happy fertilizing!