Biomethane and the environment- Why the car you drive matters
If you absolutely have to buy a new car, then please consider for the sake of our planet, investing in a biomethane gas vehicle!
Tag: environment
Don’t Buy Peanut Butter In A Plastic Container. Ever.
We do not buy much plastic, as we know about its health hazards. But this new discovery about peanut butter in plastic containers blew our minds!
Paper waste and recycling 411
“Prefer paper to other materials, as it can be recycled”. But how many of us really know about paper waste and its recycling?
Evelyn mentioned the other day that if she has to buy something made of paper, then she would like to buy the item made of recycled paper. She said that making paper is one of the main reasons that forests are taken down. Trees along with plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and provide oxygen. So I decided to look into the recycling world of paper and paper waste.
A useful but wasteful product…
These days paper is an everyday natural material, we all use it and take it for granted. Moreover, we are using it more and more each day, creating lots of paper waste. Though it is a recyclable material, paper still makes up almost half of the waste in the U.S.
Kind people at theworldcounts.com have put together a very informative list of the facts on paper and paper waste:
- As we speak, more than 199 tons of paper has already been produced.
- 324 liters of water is used to make 1 kilogram of paper.
- 10 liters of water is needed to make one piece of A4 paper.
- 93% of paper comes from trees.
- 50% of the waste of businesses is composed of paper.
- To print a Sunday edition of the New York Times requires 75,000 trees!
- Recycling 1 ton of paper saves around 682.5 gallons of oil, 26,500 liters of water and 17 trees.
- Packaging makes up 1/3 or more of our trash.
- U.S offices use 12.1 trillion sheets of paper a year.
- Paper accounts for 25% of landfill waste and 33% of municipal waste.
- With all the paper we waste each year, we can build a 12-foot high wall of paper from New York to California!
- The lessening of paper usage was predicted due to the electronic revolution. It didn’t happen. Demand for paper is expected to double before 2030.
- Every tree produces enough oxygen for 3 people to breathe.
Negative impacts of paper production
A very important fact that we can’t overlook is the environmental impact of paper production. This is because of the many negative effects:
- 40% of the world’s commercially cut timber is used for the production of paper.
- Pulpwood plantations and mills endanger natural habitats.
- Over 30 million acres of forest are destroyed annually.
- The pulp and paper industry is a big contributor to the problem of deforestation and is partly to blame for the endangerment of some species that live in the forests.
- The life cycle of paper is damaging to the environment from beginning to end. It starts off with a tree being cut down and ends its life by being burned – emitting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
- Paper production uses up lots of water. Remember, an A4 paper requires 10 liters of water per sheet!
- Most of the materials in landfills are made of paper. When paper rots, it emits methane, a greenhouse gas. When it is burned or composted, carbon dioxide.
- Pulp and paper mills discharge water that’s riddled with solids, dissolved organic matter called lignin, alcohol, an inorganic material such as cholates, chlorine, and metal compounds. All of this contributes to soil and water pollution.
- The paper industry is the 5th largest consumer of energy in the world. It uses up 4% of the world’s energy. To produce 1 ton of virgin paper, it is estimated that 253 gallons of petrol is used.
How to minimize paper waste
Paper is recyclable but it seems that people do not put much effort into its recycling or perhaps we are not educated to do so. This is something we can change if we are consistent, we can make the situation better. When thinking of environmental issues and solving them, we can no longer think that it comes down to an individual (each individual can change their habits for the benefit of all). You can’t change the world alone, you need a group of people believing and making the change. It is time to remember to reduce, reuse and recycle, and encourage everyone you know to do it as well.
What Eve and I discussed is that it would be wise to buy items made of recycled paper (ie., toilet paper!). Next time you are looking to buy paper, ask for recycled paper, even if it costs more money, producing virgin paper that is often bleached costs the environment so much destruction. The same goes for notebooks or blocks, etc. The other thing that we can do is to encourage the paper industry to use environment-friendly ways of manufacturing paper. We seem to forget our important role as consumers. We can influence how industries produce the products that we buy. With each purchase, we vote for the kind of world we want to live in.
Positive sides of paper recycling
Paper recycling reduces the demand to cut down more trees thus increasing carbon dioxide lingering in the atmosphere. Though trees are renewable resources, it is still a frightening number that around 160,000km² of the forest is chopped down every year. Trees take rain, sun and time to grow, yet chopping them down in one fell swoop is a devastating and unnecessary end. Trees do much more for us and other living beings when we leave them be to clean the air we breathe.
The recycling of paper requires 40 percent less energy than making it from scratch. Modern paper mills normally generate their energy from burning waste wood whereas recycling plants often rely on electricity from fossil fuels. So that’s the case against. Recycling causes 35 percent less water pollution and 74 percent less air pollution than making new paper. Recycling a tonne of the newspaper paper also eliminates 3m³ of landfills.
But it is still wise not to buy newspapers and magazines, instead using them in the libraries.
How is paper recycled?
I have always wondered how the recycling process of paper looks like. Earth911.com has put together a list to explain it:
- After you put the paper in your recycling bin, it’s taken to a recycling center where contaminants such as plastic, glass or trash are removed.
- Next, the paper is sorted into different grades.
- Once the paper is sorted, it Is stored in bales until a mill needs it, and then it is transferred to the mill for processing.
- Once at the mill large machines (pulpers) shred the paper into small pieces. This mixture of paper, water, and chemicals are heated and the pieces of the paper break down into fibers.
- The mixture is pressed through a screen to remove adhesives and other remaining contaminants.
- Next, the paper is spun in a cone-shaped cylinder to clean it, and sometimes ink is also removed. At this point, the pulp is sent through a machine that sprays it onto a conveyor belt. Water drips through the belt’s screen and the paper fibers start bonding together.
- Heated metal rollers dry the paper, and the paper is placed onto large rolls, which can be made into new paper products.
Give your effort to recycle paper properly
It seems like the process of making recycled paper is not so easy at all. It takes lots of energy and work hours for many people managing heavy equipment. Also, it is very water-consuming. But it is still better than cutting down more trees and making just paper out of them.
We can play a big part in decreasing paper waste and help more paper to be recycled. It is very important to recycle properly. I guess sometimes we wonder while looking at different types of paper, how to recycle them.
Here are a few common items that cause confusion:
Shredded Paper: yes, it can be recycled. But just in case also check with your local recycling program for specific information.
Staples & Paper Clips: leave them on, as the equipment at paper mills that recycle recovered paper is designed to remove them. Though, you should remove paper clips as they can be reused.
Sticky Notes: yes and no. It depends if your local recycling program accepts mixed paper. Paper mills that process mixed paper are able to remove adhesives.
Conclusion
We all use paper and we all need it. You probably have noticed that the fullest bin of the three recycling bins is always the paper one. So keep that bin filled, so more paper can be made. Avoid wasting paper and reuse paper as much as possible, ie., the blank side for notes. BUT do not start using more plastic. Also, avoid printing documents unless you absolutely need to, such as opting for online statements. Skip single-use paper products whenever you can do lessen the demand for it. You can also upcycle paper by, for instance, wrapping presents and other items in the newspaper. Share the knowledge with your friends and help to make a change.
More interesting things to read about the subject:
How Can We Stop Deforestation?
If you are looking for green products and you would like to support ethical companies, check out FirmHugger and find a variety of green options.
References: Earth911.com
The whole truth about plastic numbers*
You have actually no idea of the secret life of plastic. It is wilder than most of us would ever think! The truth lies in the plastic numbers.
Eating local food doesn’t matter – what you eat does!
If you want to be more environmentally friendly, then you should eat local food. We all know that, right? But how wrong we have been believing that!
The high impact of full-time work
In 1926, Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford made a groundbreaking change: 40-hour weeks with five working days became a must. Full-time work was born.
Full-time work is classified as 35-40 hours in the West. Having this kind of work commitment especially outside of the home means that you trade a lot of your waking hours for money. But if we are completely honest with ourselves, full-time jobs take away from the hours you spend out of work.
Ways that full-time work trickles into your life
Your commute to and from work adds additional time, preparing your work clothes adds more time. The unpaid work you take home adds more and more time, and finally, all the mental, emotional and spiritual strain robs you of your peace and time.
We rarely just go home and switch off the work problems mode- we take our day with us home whether it’s good or bad. Imagine that you got promoted or had an amazing presentation or secured a client at work, chances are you think of these successes as a reason to celebrate after work! In the same vein, if you have a bad day at work, you may also want to indulge after work, unless you’re a master of compartmentalizing your life and accompanying emotions.
Working during most of the week also means you have less time to live your life purposely. You may be living on auto-pilot and going through the specified motions required to survive each day. Here are some ways that working 5 or more days at a 9-5 has a high impact on you and the environment.
Food choices
Before work, you may buy a packaged breakfast such as granola, yogurt, and fruit or a tofu sandwich and a coffee (your own travel mug would be the best choice but you probably forget it).
At work, you may order in lunch or go out and grab take away in plastic and packaging. Styrofoam, for instance, does not ever disappear unless burned, which causes fumes that are unhealthy for all.
You may order in more often because you don’t want to spend the time you have before bed cooking (even if you like to cook), which means you’re using more packaging. More packaging equals more pollution in the oceans and more trash in the landfills.
Transportation
The distance you travel to work and the area you live determines how you will travel to work. While many in Europe are able to bike to work in cities like Copenhagen which is the bike capital of Europe and Berlin where we’re currently based which is ironically the vegan capital of Europe. However, when it comes to green transportation, those who live more than 30 minutes from work often drive in heavily toxic traffic or use public transportation. Driving over an hour a day increases gas emissions, which has a high impact on the environment.
Children and transportation
Having children is by far the highest impact choice we can have on the plane, but still, we are all here and are grateful.
As a driver, your time spent in car increases as you shuffle kiddos back and forth from school and hobbies, not to mention the resources needed to raise a new human.
Mind you, working full-time then coming home to work further is exhausting and takes away from raising the innocent children you brought into your life.
Those who ride their bikes with children are truly magical and they really help the environment; along with cloth diapers, wooden toys etc. But personally, aside from the latter fun stuff, I know that I would not be able to ride with a child in tow, because I’m comfortable on a bike as it is, especially for long periods of time with the pressure of being a valid source of transportation needed to get us from point A to B.
Note: I live an hour away from work and there are not appropriate bike lanes for those kilometres, even if I was able to cycle for 2 hours in traffic.
Time spent transporting at least twice a day to and from work means that you have less time to make conscious choices about the impact of your daily activities on the earth. But we can’t underestimate the rippling effects of a happy employee – someone who makes a positive difference through their work. On the other hand, having less time and energy to devote to looking at your life for what it is and changing what you don’t like means you continue doing the same thing that is bringing the same results of headaches and a lack of flow. This may lead to illness which uses up even more resources.
YOU are part of the environment
Are you happy with your job? If you are, then congratulations. You are living by example. If not, then you are the only person who can do something about it. Seek counsel from your boss and if nothing changes– move out of the environment because you are not a tree. You can move when something doesn’t work!
Your mood, your health or lack of affects the greater whole. Your choices to consume and create waste affects the world. The environment at work affects you. Are you contributing to a healthy environment or adding to an unhealthy one?
Every month is Veganuary
Now when the most important month for the environment and animals is over, continuous attention to Veganuary is much needed.
Why love your soap bar?
Should you grab that soap bar? Yes, definitely, if you want to save money and eliminate plastic in your bathroom! Don’t worry about the germs!
What to know about a shampoo (bar)?
Nature lovers headache: who would have known that a transfer from your everyday shampoo to an all-organic shampoo bar can be such a hassle?
I must admit that honestly for the longest time, I really didn’t give much thought about what I was washing my hair with. If it was in a container, it promised many good things and it was meant for hair, I was okay using it! I mean, how wrong can one go with a shampoo anyway. Right? Shampoo bar-say what?
By now I have found the hard truth on my own and it is not pretty. Transitioning from consumer products to all-natural products may be a bit complicated. The new items may not give the wished results. It may even give worse!!
Let me share my painful path from using any shampoo to an all-natural shampoo bar.
Why did I decide to start using a shampoo bar?
Since the late spring of 2018, we have been trying not to bring plastic home. Though we were really committed to not buying plastic, we oftentimes still did. Mostly when buying groceries. Also, we weren’t really committed to the whole idea, ass we were thinking like a usual Aldi, Lidl, or any grocery store user. If it was not there to grab plastic-free, then it probably doesn’t exist.
We agreed to use up what we already had in plastic containers and plastic packaging. And then make a change gradually, when we run out of different items. It took us some time to get to change our plastic toothbrushes to bamboo ones. We just recently made the switch to a toothpowder, as we used up our last tube of organic toothpaste that we cheaply stocked up on when leaving Bulgaria in the summer of 2017. Unfortunately, we are still using plastic razors, given to us by friends, so…anyways, back to shampoo containers.
My first shampoo bar – let the…misery begin!
When the last non-fuzz shampoo bottle was finished, I asked for a shampoo bar as a present for my birthday. I was so excited, as I knew the bar will come in a tin box. Or at least in a cardboard box. Well, it didn’t! It came in a little plastic bag. Oh, well. At least I tried. I wish this could have been the least of my worries with this new shampoo bar!
I took my new bar out of the package (less plastic packing than an average shampoo container) and it really felt like something special. The bar consists of wheat proteins and yellow clay. I loved its shape and size – a perfect fit for my hand and easy to apply. It lathered very well and smelled fresh, not like the average shampoo. I was happy and satisfied when drying my hair.
After a few hours of drying, I felt that my hair felt dirty. It didn’t feel anything like before washing – it felt worse! I thought okay, this is my own fault, as I thought I didn’t rinse my hair properly. I have had this issue before in my younger years – too eager to get out of the shower. My hair is really thick and long, so probably I need more care when rinsing.
When my hair was completely dry, it all looked clean and felt nice. Except for the area near my neck, the nape, which seemed to have quite a big section of smelly sebum infused clumps of hair. Since most of the time I keep my hair in a ponytail anyway, it wasn’t a big problem for me to chew through.
Here we go again!
After a week (I wash my hair once a week), it was time to wash my hair again. I washed as before and rinsed. More thoroughly this time. No luck – still the same results as before! I continued like this for almost two months. Putting so much effort each time to rinsing thoroughly. I divided my hair into different parts to concentrate more on each section.
I forgot to research the hair washing problems with a shampoo bar before washing my hair. So I kind of got used to this. And also hoping that different times would give me different results. I also believed that this was some kind of transition period anyway. I started thinking that perhaps this particular bar is not meant for my hair type.
On one fine day, I remembered to research the problem. When I found out, what was the cause of it – I was blown away. This is a common issue and it takes just a few easy steps to solve this disaster. Thanks to Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve, it all made complete sense! I made the following discovery:
Commercial liquid shampoos and conditioners often contain synthetic silicones and silica that coat your hair, to make it “feel” nice, but leave a residue in your hair. Styling products and your own natural sweat and oil production can add to residue build up.
The detergent shampoos with loads of SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) are very good at stripping EVERYTHING (even those natural oils we want) and ridding your hair of residue.
Clarifying your hair is a way to remove the build-up some products leave on your hair which can make your hair dull and lifeless. Regular household baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate aka Baking soda) is an easy clarifier to use.
Source: CVSAS
Baking soda to the rescue – once again!
My hair was emitting all the crap that I had been using for years. Once I realized this – it gave me back my hope! I didn’t blame myself anymore on the fact that I didn’t know how to wash my hair. Nor did I blame the soap. There were now solutions to try and I was ready to change the situation.
Hard water and/or residue from previous products can cause shampoo bar adjustment problems. To tackle both of these problems, baking soda rinse can make miracles.
My recommended rescue regimen for the first month, when transitioning to a bar shampoo:
- Make a simple baking soda clarifying hair rinse using:
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 – 2 cups warm water
- Make your hair wet under the shower and then add the above-mentioned rinse.
- Wash your hair with your shampoo bar – just circling the hair edges on the scalp and scattering the lather all over the head.
- Sprinkle a bit of baking soda on your fingers and massage it on the scalp. Do it in several areas of your head.
- Rinse your hair thoroughly and dry.
- Spray some ACV-water (3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and a half cup of water) mixture on damp my hair.
After a month I stopped doing everything else, I just continued using a bit of baking soda on my fingers and my scalp, while washing. I haven’t had any problems since. But I haven’t dared to stop using baking soda while washing altogether, as the experience was too painful to go through again.
Share your experiences and tips in the comments, please!
Some valuable links to help your transition to a shampoo bar smoother:
- What is an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse and when to use it – Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse
- How to wash your hair the best using shampoo bar – hair washing techniques
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