Archive for landfill waste
A Sustainable Solution to a Disposable Problem with Happy Nappy Diaper Service
Posted by: | CommentsDisposable diapers pose a very real concern to eco-conscious parents who want to help minimize waste that’s clogging our landfills. It’s not always easy to make sustainable lifestyle choices as parents are often too busy juggling children, work, and home life to commit to using reusable cloth diapers. That’s where the Canadian company Happy Nappy Diaper Service comes in to make it convenient for you to choose reusable cloth diapers.
The premise of the Happy Nappy Diaper Service is simple; they manufacture cloth diapers, and then drop off a fresh supply to consumer’s houses each week. They also pick up last weeks soiled diapers upon delivery. The diapers are brought back to their warehouse and cleaned for reuse. Their diapers are made from high performance fabrics. In fact, they are microfiber diapers that have latex free elastic in them. This means that they are safe for babies, as latex is a rapidly growing allergy. This product will help keep a child cool, dry, comfortable, while wearing a breathable and dependable diaper.
For those worried about the laundering process, they are certified phosphate free and do not use LAS based detergents. They don’t use chlorine to whiten or sanitize the diapers. In fact, they “balance the pH levels in the wash to match the pH level of your baby’s skin, which further reduces the incidence of diaper rashes. [Also, they use] cold water detergents because they use less energy than hot water detergents do, making it that much better for the environment.” This means that the laundering process is both safe for baby and the environment, something that is not always easy to achieve.
The choice to switch to cloth is a personal one; however, it should be taken into consideration that the average disposable diaper will stay in a landfill for approximately 500 years. Over 4 million diapers are disposed of per day in Canada. And, “an estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used each year in the US, resulting in a possible 3.4 million tons of used diapers adding to landfills each year.” It’s these statistics that encourage parents to look for sustainable product alternatives.
The Happy Nappy Diaper Service was featured on the CBC’s hit investment series Dragon’s Den. The dragon’s didn’t invest in the company even thought they felt it was a sound business model, because they felt investors were not needed. Arlene Dickinson, a marketing expert, believed that this kind of diaper delivery service will grow in popularity and has the potential hold twenty-percent of the diaper market share. The company has both corporate and franchise locations available in communities in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
Many consumers are looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to everyday problems. It’s with these small changes that people are able to live more sustainable lifestyles and help reduce waste congesting landfills. Kudos to Happy Nappy for giving a viable and convenient option for those wanting to use a cloth diaper instead of the traditional disposable version.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
Eco-School Cuts Trash By 46 Percent with Waste-Free Lunch Challenge
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Anne Hathaway Public School green students recently participated in the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge and the results were impressive. Anne Hathaway Public School is located in Stratford, Ontario (that’s right, Justin Bieber’s hometown), with students from kindergarten to grade 6. “The Waste-Free Lunch Challenge is an elementary school program developed by the Recycling Council of Ontario in partnership with Metro Ontario Inc. and Tetra Pak Canada. The goal of the program is to help schools decrease the amount of garbage they produce and to educate students, staff and parents about waste reduction.” Twenty participating schools will win $1,000 and Anne Hathaway is in contention (good luck!).
According to the Recycling Council of Ontario, “School lunches are a major source of waste in Ontario with the average student’s lunch generating a total of 30 kilograms of waste per school year, or an average of 8500 kilograms (18,700 lbs) of waste per school per year.”
During the week prior to the challenge, Anne Hathaway Public School conducted a pre-audit of their waste which equated to 15.42 kilograms of garbage. Then during Waste Reduction Week from October 17 to October 22, 2011, Anne Hathaway’s green students brought waste-free lunches to school which resulted in a waste reduction to 8.27 kilograms. That’s a 46 percent decrease in waste and 7.15 kilograms of garbage that didn’t end up in a landfill.
The Stratford Gazette spoke to Tarra Green, the teacher that spearheaded and organized this green initiative at the school who said: “It’s important for the kids to take care of the Earth; they are in charge of their future.” It’s commendable that teachers like Tarra Green are inspiring and encouraging students to make greener choices for a sustainable future.
Packing a waste-free lunch is simple and can be accomplished through these 5 easy steps:
1. Pack food in reusable lunch containers
2. Wash and reuse real silverware and cloth napkins. Say no to plastic cutlery and disposable napkins!
3. Store juice, milk, water or other beverages in a reusable and sustainable BPA-free bottle
4. Control food portions to ensure that there are no ‘leftovers’ to dispose of; compost any scraps
5. Pack it all in a reusable lunch bag or tote
Waste Reduction Week is already set for next year – October 15 to 21, 2012. Let’s hope all elementary schools follow the lead of Anne Hathaway Public School and participate in the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge in 2012. If one school in one week can almost cut their waste in half, imagine what communities of schools across Ontario can accomplish.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
Tags: Anne Hathaway Public School, BPA-free, BPA-free bottle, composting, eco-school, Green Initiatives, green students, Justin Bieber, landfill, landfill waste, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, Metro Ontario Inc, organic fashions, recycling council of ontario, reduce waste, reusable bags, reusable bottle, reusable bottles, reusable lunch bags, reusable lunch tote, reusable shopping bags, reusable stainless stee, reusable stainless steel bottles, reusable stainless steel water bottle, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, Stratford, sustainable, sustainable bottle, sustainable bottles, Tetra Pak Canada, Waste Free Lunch Challenge, waste reduction, waste reduction week, waste-free lunch, waste-free lunch bags, waste-free lunchesEnviroKats offer an eco-friendly cat litter option
Posted by: | CommentsAs a cat owner it had never really occurred to me that there might be a more environmentally friendly way to handle the issue of cat litter. Like the majority of the feline friendly households I purchase the traditional gravel clumping cat litter and with the daily changes of her box we go through about 15 lbs of the gravel litter per month not to mention the packaging in which it is contained. Over the course of the year that’s nearly 200 pounds of litter wrapped into newspaper and then taken out to the trash from a one cat household! According to research gravel cat litter and associated waste makes up the third most common item in terms of bulk in landfills, falling behind only diapers and newspapers. Apparently about 8 billion pounds of cat litter winds up as landfill per year in the US.
John King of Arizona has started an eco-friendly cat litter company called Envirokats; he proclaimed it to be litter box system that will never have to be replaced using ground-up tires as the litter. He came upon the idea when disposing of old tires from his vehicle, when informed of the $2.50 disposal fee per tire he asked some questions and found out that the parent company was processing 300,000 pounds of old used tires daily. Most of these are being ground up and sold in the manufacture of asphalt and playground flooring. He wondered what else could be done with the rubber and came up with cat litter. The rubber chips are 100% reusable according to King and can be washed out daily as needed. The entire kit sold online comes with approximately 18 pounds of tire chips and the plastic container for them. The container includes a release valve for washing down as needed. When cleaning the box, solid matter will be scooped out the dangers the rubber chips to be sprayed down with water and then flushing out the residue via the drain valve.
King has also advised that as the litter is made exclusively from carbon-based
materials it naturally absorbs the smell, equally important the product has been tested with various cats to ensure they use it which hasn’t presented any problems. In addition to the reduction of hundreds of pounds of waste just think of the annual cost savings if this product works well for you. Last but not least all of the gravel needed for traditional litter has to be strip mined from the natural environment. While it may present a little bit of extra work for the cat owner it certainly saves a great deal environmentally. Please visit his website to learn more about EnviroKats.
