Day 5-15

Over the past 10 days we have done the following:
1. Created a recycling bin upstairs (so less goes into the bathroom trash)
2. Created a place in the bathroom to put empty tooth paste, deodorant, and the like so we can recycle via TerraCycle& Toms of Maine
3. Created a bag labeled "caps" to avoid tossing them in the trash and we plan to take the bag to Aveda once it is full. Avada has a cap recycling program.
4. Purchased Eco friendly razors from Preserve (they are made from Stony field yogurt cups)
5. Created a place to put empty make up and cosmetics so we can take them to Origins to be recycled
6. Created a place to put plastic film so we can take it to Jewel to be recycled
7. Signed up for our Village composting plan
8. Skipped the paper bag at Jimmy Johns drive through this week
9. Brought our own Tupperware to Wholefoods and asked the butcher to use it instead of their paper wrap
10. Signed up on DMA to have our name removed from paper mail marketing campaigns

Day 4: Gain a better understanding our of local recycling program

Three days into trying my best to avoid waste, I found myself with pile of questionable debris.  So I emailed our Public Works department to get some clarification and here is what I found:

Juice pouches = waste
Dryer sheets = waste
Pizza box = compost
Used paper towels = compost
Stash tea bag packaging = waste
"Sealed for your protection" on vitamins = waste
Metal jelly jar lids = recycle
Straws = trash (if paper then compost)
Saran wrap = trash

Day 3: Recycle drycleaning bags correctly & other "film"

For years I have been putting our drycleaning plastic bags into our recycling bin only today to learn that they really don't belong.  It turns out drycleaning bags fall into the same catagory as plastic shopping bags and that catagory is called plastic “film”.  The catagory also includes: newspaper bags, bread bags, and even the wrapping on the outside of paper towels and toilet paper. If dry and clean of food or other contaminants zip lock bags and cereal box liner also can be recycled at retail-sponsored recycling programs like Jewel.  Looks like we will be creating a new bin for our plastic "film" recycling.

Cling wrap and prepackaged food bags including frozen food bags and prewashed salad bags are NOT to be lumped in this catagory.

Day 2: Be conscious about what is waste and what can be recycled

The morning after watching the third film of the weekend,  The Clean Bin Project, I found myself stopping and actually taking into account exactly what I was putting in the trash and what I was recycling.  I stopped and thought for example, can that wine cork really go in the recycling bin?  I googled recycling cork, only to find that for years I've been tossing many a wine cork into our recycling when really it needs to be handed to a store that specifically collects corks.  A quick search pointed me in the direction of WholeFoods as a convenient source.  Or this morning after finishing off a jar of jelly, instead of tossing the food contaminated jar into the garbage feeling rushed and trying to beat the clock to work, today I put it in the dishwasher to wash and then recycle. Another example today, instead of reaching for a make-up wipe remover I washed off my mascara with a wet towel and diverted one more item from the waste bin.

Although our village partakes in streamlined recycling, I pulled some plastic bins out of the basement and had my son label them (paper, glass, plastic) in the hopes more thought would be placed into what is going into our recycling bin.  Then we took some small paper bags, hung them in the pantry and labeled them corks, light bulbs and batteries (so we take the time to properly recycle).

Day 1 (March 4, 2013):Stop using plastic shopping bags

The first film we watched Saturday was tittled, BagIt, a documentary that started out about plastic shopping bags but then evolved into a plastics investigation and their effect on our waterways, oceans, and what scared me the most, the effect on our bodies.  The plastic shopping bag is now evil in my eyes.  Our first action today is to stop using them, period.  Stop using them to pick up our dog's poop and stop using them at the grocery.  We have put mulitple fabric shopping bags in both cars so they will always be easy to grab on the way into a store and we have bundled the ones we did have in our house and plan to drop them off at Jewel to be recycled.

Day 17: Adjustments to Equipment: Thermostat setbacks

The report recommends an indoor temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months with an adjustment down by seven degrees for eight hours at night and by four degrees for ten hours during the day when someone is home or by seven degrees during the day when no one is home.
For a/c during the summer months they suggest the indoor temperature should be set to 73 degrees Fahrenheit with an adjustment up by five degrees for eight hours at night and ten hours during the day when someone is home and seven degrees when no one is home.

Here is some info from the EPA regarding settings and savings.

Goal: Set thermostat per outlined guidelines

CO2 Savings/year: variable because it was not tracked prior

Cost/year: $0, actually we will save money on our utility bills, the EPA suggests up to $180 saved

Day 16: Adjustments to Equipment: Water heater temperature

Here's an easy one! Set back the water heater setting to 120 degrees.  "Every 10 degree Fahrenheit reduction in a water heater reduces energy consumption by 3-5%," suggests the authors of the supporting information to the study.

Unfortunately when I went downstairs to check out household's setting I found letter indicators, not numbers.  Our temperature gauge options are A, B and C.  We have our heater set to A, the lowest on the scale so I'm going to assume that is 120 degrees and we've already done our part in conservation here.