Earth Day Q&A with The Reuser

#EarthDay2016

Yesterday, I got the hare brained idea to do a FB Live video about Earth Day! Yay!

Here is the video with some show notes:



1st Question:
What would you tell a green-newbie about where to start? What are a few easy ways to begin reducing waste?

My answer: start with a durable bottle and bags to start, then you can attempt other habits, like durable/reusable to-go container, napkins, utensils, etc.
DO NOT do it all at once! It takes me years sometimes to fully create/solidify a habit.
2:00: I mention Liberty Bottleworks (my favorite bottles!-the link will take you to the Amazon listing for the bottle shown in the video and is an affiliate link*.)
3:00 I mention collapsible to-go containers. Here is an affiliate link* to an Amazon listing for a collapsible bento box.

2nd Question:
6:30 I often get asked "But I'm only one person, are my efforts going to make a difference?", I'd love to hear your answer to that!

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead

My TEDx talk

3rd Question:
Can you give the group some suggestions how they can encourage change in others without coming off condescending and like a jerk? I struggle with this I've made many changes for the better in my own life and would like to see those changes in others around me.
A: Starting with yourself is great! People won’t change unless they’re ready. You do you and let that influence those around you!

At 9:00 I talk about "hidden benefits" and mention Glass Dharma straws.*

Final Question: Who are you wearing?
11:30 My haulternative video with Little Did You Know.

If you like what Andrea got, you should consider my ProThrifting services!















*Affiliate links help me to make a small percentage of your purchases for helping you to find great products. This in turn helps me to serve you more fresh content!

#Green2016 Challenge!

Take 1 of 5 pledges and reduce your waste. Do something sweet for the planet for Valentine's Day.

If you are on Facebook and don't follow The Reuser; Go. Do it. This is primarily where I post stuff these days, but I realized I should probably let you know about the #Green2016 Challenge. I'll post all the pledges here as well, but the basic premise is: you pick 1 of 5 pledges, post it to your favorite social media site (social media is how we communicate our norms to people these days so posting about waste reduction behaviors can be really powerful and can inspire others!) and then spend the first 2 weeks of February doing your best to stick to your commitment. We don't expect perfection (The Reuser has tried and failed many times before she tries and succeeds!) but we do expect you to do your best! 

An epidemic of disposables on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Why does it have to be a plastic water bottle?  

I'm a geek. I've talked about it many times on this blog before. I love me some scifi. I've watched just about every major science fiction show you could name. Moreover, I really love me some Joss Whedon. I'm a Joss fangirl, I guess you could say. Heck, 3 of my dogs have been named after Firefly characters. He's done no wrong, for me. Until now. 

Now, I know it's probably not fair to pick on Joss for the epidemic of plastic water bottle portrayal on ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Man, that's a bitch to type....) However, it really is an epidemic. Check it out: 

Thirsty after a long workout with your ridiculously handsome "SO"? (that's supervising officer, not significant other) I get that you need a little drink of water, but perhaps next time you can take a cue from another super hero show and use a reusable water bottle? 

Perhaps the most interesting thing, though? When the show wants to show a serious "moment" and get out the good stuff, do they serve it in disposable cups? Of course not. 18 year old booze deserves (and gets) something a little more classy: 

Hey, SHIELD writers, props people, director (I'm talking to you, Joss!) I can get you some reusable water bottles for your show and they're even made here in the United States. Really. Just please stop portraying plastic water bottles as perfectly acceptable and normal, because they really do some damage. Sincerely, -The Reuser

Modeling the norm on the show Arrow

Felicity uses a reusable water bottle while working out.

TV show Arrow does it right when drinking water.

Recently, Not-hubby and I watched the first season of Arrow.

I noticed this moment where Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Dig (David Ramsey) are training. (Felicity's character had gotten into a few scrapes in earlier episodes and she's starting to get her badass on...) When they've finished, Dig picks up a pink reusable water bottle and hands it to Felicity. The show could have easily used a disposable water bottle but someone (production, props, actors?) decided to use a reusable water bottle instead. Nice job, Arrow!

Living today, with tomorrow in mind

What does "reducing consumption" actually look like? Is it as hard/scary as it sounds? Does it mean "sacrifice"?

These are some of the questions I tackled last night while giving my new presentation. I wanted to write this post to follow up on it and to share some related resources.

dried chickpeas from the bulk section in
a reusable fabric bag. The bag was made
from some curtain material, bought at a
thrift store. This helps eliminate the
plastic bag or the steel can that
would normally be associated with this purchase.

The more I do this job, the more I realize that while recycling is good, we're not going to recycle our way out of the mess we're in. We need more aggressive measures. Also, the majority of the environmental effects/footprint of the stuff we use comes well before we ever set hands on that stuff. In other words, the manufacturing of an item is generally more important than the end of the life of that item.

To illustrate this point for my audience last night, I linked to this report. It's a life cycle analysis (LCA) done by the Oregon DEQ that compares different ways to deliver drinking water and the differing environmental impacts. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of illustrating my point last night, but when reading back through that link this morning, I realized the bullets do a good job of saying what I was trying to say.

Some other relevant resources from the presentation:
Paper Karma helps you reduce unwanted junk mail
Two different "online resources" presentations I've given in the past with lots of lists/ideas (These can always be accessed in the right-hand bar under "Resources")
Using fabric as toilet "paper" (Two caveats for this link: 1. I'm not sure how concerned I am personally about BPA or BPS in my toilet paper and the author doesn't link to any evidence in the post. And, 2. I'm not attempting this in our house-Not-hubby would never go for it, and sometimes you have to choose your battles. I included it, though, because it's another instance in which I had a knee-jerk reaction to a concept, but once I read the post about it, it doesn't seem so "scary" or "weird")

I talked a lot last night about consumption, but I think this article is a good one to read for a different way of looking at how we feel about consumption. (Turns out, we're all a little sick of it, actually...)

Lastly, I think one of the easiest ways to reduce consumption when it comes to food is to buy in bulk. Here's a really great round up of some of the benefits of buying in bulk and there's also a "buying bulk" challenge that you can participate in this month (April, 2013) and perhaps win a prize!

I've noticed that my own knee-jerk reaction to the term or concept of "reducing consumption" has been that it will be a sacrifice and people (including me) don't like change of any kind, much less sacrifice. But the most interesting thing about creating these new habits is that after awhile, you realize you're not really sacrificing anything. Moreover, there are hidden benefits (saving money, not having to deal with excess packaging, etc.)

What are some habits that you've created? Did you find it hard or did you feel like you were sacrificing? Were there unexpected benefits?

Waste-less holiday ideas

Did you know waste generation sky rockets around the holidays? We make about 1/4 more waste in these short cold months.

Perhaps you're already down with getting and giving presents that create less waste. After the holiday season, I plan to share some of my ideas with you of what I did this year. (Can't show you now, or the recipients on my list would know what they're getting!) but... I will share with you a whole list of ideas:

From the Natural Resources Defense Council

From World Wildlife Fund

From Changing the Present

Treehugger has their guides broken into type of gift-recipient (geek, foodie, kids, etc.)

Buy carbon offsets from TerraPass

The Daily Green has a great list of lists.

If you're wondering what I'm making this holiday season, my Pinterest board of handmade gift ideas might be a good place to start.

Happy Environmentally Friendly Holidays to you and yours!

-The Reuser

Alternatives to Disposables - Reusable straw review and giveaway

Glass Dharma giving away 1,000 free glass straws for Earth Day

This is the "beautiful bendy"
and it's the straw I am
currently drinking from. 

Last month, I taped a live segment with the More Good Day Oregon program entitled "Green On The Go." I already had most of the reusable items that I wanted to display in my personal inventory. One item I hadn't ever invested in, though, was a reusable straw. I contacted a company here in the states that makes reusable glass straws, Glass Dharma and they sent me a few straws to highlight on the show and to try out. Work and a whole mess of other obligations prevented me from actually trying the straws until yesterday. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. For me, it was as if I had been trying to cut a steak with a plastic knife my whole life and suddenly someone gave me a real steak knife to eat my food with. The experience didn't leave me speechless or anything, but I was struck by how much I enjoyed drinking from a glass straw. This might sound a little strange, but they feel really good in your mouth. You can feel the temperature of your beverage and the end is smooth, not like a plastic straw.

To be honest, before the segment, I hadn't given much thought to straws. I have been slowly removing disposable items from my life and trying to replace them with reusable alternatives, but I didn't have any strong feelings/thoughts about straws, yet. Since the segment, I've been thinking a lot more about straws. Just like the steak knife, this is what straws should be! When choosing between disposables and durables, I have yet to find an instance where the following doesn't hold true: durables are more elegant, nicer to use and well, more durable than their disposable counterparts. I know we all love the convenience of disposable products, but the fact remains these items aren't very convenient to our planet. Even if the disposable is able to be recycled (which is rarely the case) there are still a lot of resources that went into creating this item that we use and then immediately throw out.

If you'd like to try out a glass straw, Glass Dharma is giving away 1,000 of them this Earth Day. You can submit an essay of 100-200 words or a short YouTube clip. Easy peasy!

Don't be discouraged if these new habits take awhile to form. I've changed my habits for: bags, to-go containers and cups but it seems to take me, on average, about a year to create each new habit. I won't say I'm proud of that, but I seem to have trouble with:

• Remember to have the item with me 
• Take it in to the store or restaurant
• Remember to ask the cashier or wait staff for no disposables
• Actually use what I brought with me. 

I've screwed up the process at every one of these steps in the past, but eventually I get it and it becomes second nature. Habits are hard to break, but the enjoyment of using a better product that you're not just going to throw away is well worth it, in my opinion. The perceived inconvenience is far outweighed by the quality of the durable products, and the glass straw is just the latest product to convince me of that.

Lastly, here's an interesting infographic from elocal.com that talks about some of the problems with our constant purchasing of disposable products. I thought it was interesting, perhaps you will too.

Happy Waste Reduction!