I have decided to only acquire biodegradable products for the month of April. The challenge that I have set for myself is that if I already have something that is not biodegradable, I will still use it because it would be impossible to with stain from all things that cannot break down easily. I couldn't blend things, work on my laptop, live in my house... I won't keep gong because the list is inexhastible. But I did want to set out to start making changes in how I purchase and this personal challenge is a great way to jump start this shift. And it's not a convenient time to do this but when is it ever?
Why would I try this? Perhaps it is because withstaining from certain behaviors is part of my upbringing as a Mormon. Although I am not a practicing Mormon now, I do appreciate that I learned willpower as a result of my rearing which shunned sex, drugs and all that good stuff. I will also mention that I was vegan for 5 years and have been a vegetarian for 12 years so again, I am used to withstaining from certain things because of my beliefs.
Also, earlier this year, I tried an experiment in January to help kick off the new year with a different attitude. I didn't purchase any new commodities. If I had to purchase anything, it would be pre-owned. It was such a relief not to feel compelled to buy stuff for once. We are raised to think goods will bring us that ultimate joy which we seek. Rather, joy comes more in the anticipation of getting something. Once obtained, it might be forgotten. As another bonus, this experiment really helped me save money and led me to evaluate what do I really need in life... what can I do without? You know what, I was happier living without. Also, when one doesn't consume all of the time, when something is purchased, it is much more cherished.
I want to go down this path of slowing down consumerism because I just started to feel bad about what I as an individual and also what society is doing recklessly with our planet's resources. Sure new gadgets are fun, but ultimately to what extent? Now I am not perfect and do not plan to be Thoreau and isolate myself from everyone and everything. But I will make impacts where I am able.
I feel like we as society give ourselves too much credit for helping the environment. More people use totes for shopper bags... which is great but everything we buy mostly comes encased in plastic. Shampoo, many food items, clothes that have polyester which is all clothes practically these days, take out food... This list goes on as long as it takes plastic to biodegrade. Forever. If doesn't come in a plastic container, whatever you want will most likely have a non-recycleable plastic wrapping.
This confession time. I may have binged shopped on items I knew that I would need just like someone drinking themselves into the hospital before they gave up alcohol for lent. So I picked up deodorant, toilet paper encased in plastic wrapping, peanut butter for the dog (he won't eat his food unless I put it in his bowl sometimes), and some TV dinners since I work 60 hours a week. I know it might be gaming the idea to some extent but.. It's my experiment and my rules. Like I said, plastic is everywhere and this is not easy but I will find solutions as I transition my thinking and lifestyle.
I am also doing this because recycling isn't the end all be all answer. The byproduct of recycling is pollutants in the air. Aluminum recycling has the highest amount of pollutant byproduct from recycling. Plus think if the materials mined to make that thing which you're going to throw away. Oil is mined from the ocean disrupting sea life and then shipped around causing more pollution a and disruption of marine eco systems and then sent to a plant where underpaid kids make our stuff and push more pollutants into the air and then that gets driven here and shipped there and distributed everywhere and thrown away ending up back from whence it came most probably... In the ocean disrupting sea life. One other note is that not all of the items that we put in recycling can be recycled. Many caps on bottles cannot be recycled even though the bottle can. If items are dirty, there is trash or these non-recyclable materials, then your whole recycling load for the week could actually end up in the dump. I recommend that you check out what can recycled by your local recycling facilities. You might be surprised by what you cannot and can recycle. For instance, I did not know that I could recycle bras in Salt Lake! Check it out here
Now what does biodegradable mean? It means that whatever item in question can be broken down in a reasonable time. My definition of reasonable is 1 month up to 3 years. So what items do this? Paper products, cotton and hemp, food and plastics derived from plants.
Now There are interesting advancements in plastics that are used in a variety of circumstances from corn based trash bags to 3d printer filament. And I didn't know that cows milk could be used to build biodegradable materials. Very interesting. There are also varying types of sustainable packaging. On this topic, styrofoam should outright be banned. Actually it kind of is in NY and other cool cities that you would expect this from like San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and D.C. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nyc-bans-expanded-polystyrene-food-containers-opens-market-to-alternatives/
Actually, here is a longer list of cities that have banned styrofoam and those that are proposing bills to do so. http://www.groundswell.org/map-which-cities-have-banned-plastic-foam/
It seems that every city in California had already banned this sunstance from use at places of business. I want this to be the case in Salt Lake! Let's ban styrofoam and plastic bags. Let's act cooler than we are for a change. Note to self: write to Congressman so an aid can spit back a canned response about what they are doing in the community blah blah. I will still do it anyways. Actual, let me go do that. Funny how this country works. Everything has to be a grass root community effort before the the whole nation catches up 10 years later.
Now biodegradable isn't the long term solution either but is a short-term one and a better one. This experiment isn't about not consuming but consuming differently but it does help curb a lot of useless and wasteful consuming as a byproduct. We humans waste a lot. We dispose items that were damaging to our earth in the garbage without a second thought. And landfills are filling up. This is not a sustainable system at all. I know that there are other issues that I need to tackle too liking buying local and giving up gasoline and a whole myriad of other issues. I choose to focus in this experiment right now as it's a a signicant change in the right direction. I am also not perfect. I do want to be better though
I learned while doing this experiment how I shouldn't throw away biodegradable materials that I have like paper. It would so better in your own compost of commercial composter if you can find one.. Commercial landfills are not designed to biodegrade. If it did, it would release too much methane. I did not know this and will behave differently in the future.
I found this helpful source for how long it takes common materials to biodegrade. http://recycling.about.com/od/Resources/fl/How-Long-Does-It-Take-Garbage-to-Decompose.htm The one that is most shocking is glass take a million years! Just wow. I will always recycle glass knowing that. We don't have curbside glass recycling in Salt Lake but I so collect the bottles to a point where it looks like I am an alcoholic and then take it to a container tucked away by a cemetery where the dead can't sleep with all the glass being dumped there. Step it up Utah! Seriously. There is another letter that I need to write to someone. Here is a list of some common items and their decomposition period.
Cigarette Butts - 10-12 years;
I had no idea about this so I help that this information helps you to make informed decisions about what you buy, don't buy, reuse and recycle. I think that we grew up thinking that this is all OK... that this is how life is supposed to be. One focussed around obtaining more and more stuff at the expense of fleeting happiness. But what if we were in an environment that didn't pose environmental conscious actions as difficult but just part of life? My grandparents were depression babies And they learned how to live without or make an item last for as long as it could. I have been keeping a journal of my observations, questions and epiphanies. That will be added in more posts. I think each of is can make an big impact of we first lessen our impact. If you are wondering how you can start to replace items with biodegradable items, I highly recommend referencing the blog www.trashisfortossers.com I discovered from my English husband that "tosser" is another name for dick or douchebag In England. Clever. On that website you can find out how to replace everything you can think of (well mostly) with biodegrasable materials and without plastic packaging. You can specifically reference this link for help in your journey to become more impactful by being less impactful http://www.trashisfortossers.com/2013/08/zero-waste-alternatives-ultimate-list.html?m=1. It is also fun to plug into eBay or Amazon "biodegradable" into search terms and see what comes back. Sadly, a lot of products come in plastic packaging or non-biodegradable shipping materials like peanuts, air bubbles and tape. When looking at my daily life, I realize how my life is full of items that cannot biodegrade easily. It has been an amazing experience to change my habits. It's actually a lot of fun making changes that I feel really good about. | |
| I have a lot of ideas on how I can engage with my community, lawmakers and pivotal figures to drive for change at a local level to address some issues that I have encountered. I will be divulging these ideas soon in more blog posts. Thank you for reading. |
Awesome post! You've inspired me to take on a similar challenge of my own! Thanks for being an inspiration. :)
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