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The move toward zero waste is progressing. The goal for our household from March 15 to April 15 was one small bag. Lisa and I made it to April 30th before needing to empty. Six weeks!

We are raising the bar and aiming for one bag in two months. Our carbon neutral wedding is coming up in a month which may add up as we can’t control what people bring for gifts. We have asked that there be no wrapping or creative recycled wrapping at most. Packaging is still the primary contributor to our waste and is extremely difficult to get away from. We have been buying more items bulk and bringing our own bags which has taken a little retraining but has been effective in reducing packaging waste. I also learned how to make phad thai seasoning from scratch this month so I don’t have to buy it in packages anymore. If anyone wants the recipie leave a comment and I’ll post it.

To keep everything foul out of the garbage, all vegetable waste, paper scraps, receipts and dust get composted. To deal with a chicken carcas after it was boiled to make chicken broth, I tossed it in the blender with some water and turned it into a liquid paste that would rapidly compost in the outside bin while not attracting vermin.

I started the hunt for ingredients for my homemade detergent experiment today. I found Borax at Safeway ($6.49 CDN) and London Drugs ($4.99 CDN). Safeway also had washing soda by Arm & Hammer but it smelt like it was perfumed which I’d rather stay away from. No luck finding Fels Naptha Soap yet. I did find some Sunlight bar soap at Safeway that would work but it came in a plastic package that couldn’t be recycled or composted so my hunt continues. I think I need to find an old time pharmacy as the mainstream ones only carry Tide and it’s competitors.

I stumbled into No Impact Man via TreeHugger today and became inspired to try something new. I love what 7th Generation and other eco cleaning product suppliers are doing doing vs conventional products but the bottom line is that they are all pricy, come in a petroleum based plastic bottle, must be trucked and then IF facilities exist, recycled. I am aware that some detergents come in a cardboard box but the eco ones I have tried haven’t performed as well as the liquid detergents.

In an effort to reduce my waste toward zero, I am going to experiment with making my own laundry detergent. After a little googlin around, there appears to be a tried and true process using common inexpensive ingredients which is supposed to work very well. Most of the recipies I found are almost the same or slight variations. Cost can apparently be as low as $0.01 per load. I’ll post again with the results soon!

References

http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/articles/FAQs.shtml
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/articles/detergent.shtml
More recipies (scroll way down)

[tags]Zero Waste, Homemade Laundry Detergent, Urban Homesteading[/tags]

I have made almost every stride in my own personal life to reduce my contribution to landfills toward zero but as of late I am feeling a stuck. Our home produces about one small bag of garbage a month, mostly comprised of plastic packaging from food items. So far the shift hasn’t required any major sacrificies to convenience, only mindful purchasing. Further progress will most likely require a compromise to convenience, take more initiative, resourcefulness and a desire to craft many things from scratch. I am up for the challenge.

If anyone else out there has taken on such a project and can offer any suggestions, please leave a comment.

We all pay fees to use municipal dumps and it should be no different when dumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. We must shift our linear systems of production into cyclic processes where nothing toxic accumulates in the biosphere, be it solid, liquid or gas. This is basic common sense and the minimum bottom line that we have to reach. No one wants garbage accumulating in their basement or backyard so lets stop creating it.

A revenue neutral, phased in carbon tax would give individuals and industry a clear fore-knowledge of future costs of business-as-usual. This tax strategy would create an incentive for everyone to adjust their consumption of energy over time. Start gradually and communicate the shift so all are aware of the timetable. Make it rapid enough to achieve a real impact in the short-term and foster a sense of urgency but not so fast that business is crippled. Such a tax will send a strong message to industry that the era of government looking the other way on environmental issues is over. It will create a climate of innovation and give consumers greater choice of options when looking for green upgrades.

Write your MP, premier, environment minister and prime minister and let them know that you are ready to see a carbon tax phased in over the next 10 - 20 years as one step toward a zero-waste society.

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tax
• http://www.carbontax.org/