The deal is that these “businesses” bring these materials in and resell them at tremendous discounts.  I saw raw materials such as lumber and tiles to nice finished old windows and full sets of kitchen cabinets.  There were even old washers and driers, some of which were coin operated, and at $25 a machine, wow what a great way to save a ton of money and put something back in use.

The Green part is for a couple of reasons.  Use of these products eliminates dumping the material in the landfills.  Repurposing products also requires us to spend less energy creating more items, reducing energy consumption and byproducts, such as greenhouse gases.

So, go out and look for your local community reclamation or salvage shop and put an old product into a new life.  This also allows us to help reduce the impact on the environment and keep a Green outlook for the future.

Have fun shopping,

Greenist.

The goal is for each of us to explore how we can improve our own little micro-world by being more deliberate with the choices we make when it comes to energy consumption, material use and finally waste creation.  The energy has many avenues with current exploration and research, including solar, wind, geothermal and even hydro.

I watched a “green” station show about harnessing the tidal currents, flow and streams of both deep and shallow water, such as the Gulf of Mexico or or the Hudson River in New York State.  The ultimate objective is to use the energy available in non-destructive forms and convert this to useful forms, such as electric and thermal.

I am currently researching sub-assemblies for solar and wind to supplement or replace energy use at my home in a residential neighborhood.  I will keep the progress updated on the blog as soon as I c an get a project locked in and, like the poop composter, which is working great, I will blog about the adventure.

The current candidates are A small wind turbine, a set of improved efficiency solar panels and a Water capture system.  It is not a matter of which, but rather when, as I will strive to do them all.

Best Regards,

Greenist

Nevertheless, it takes decades, I have read estimates at over 100 years, for plastic bottles to decompose back into the earth.  Wow, that is a great many bottles for a long time. Let’s assume that each person in an area, say 50,000 residents, consume one bottle of water every day and starts with a new bottle in the morning.  Just 350,000 bottles a week and 18,250,000 bottles per year.

Assume that a bottle is 8-inches long and and just over 2-inches wide, of course I had to measure it, that is about 0.02 cubic feet of space.  Now we can crush each one and assume it is 25% of the original size, reducing the landfill to only need just under 85,000 cubic feet of space.  That is like a house that is 100’x100’ with 8-foot ceilings being filled every yea r.  It would stink to be the designated house for 2010.

So what is the point.  take your bottles home each day during the week.  Be sure to wash them out with soap each night and then fill them with your favorite refreshment.  This has two benefits, first we are reducing the amount of plastic in the landfills by about 85%, and only need a new “Bottle House” every 7 years.

Better still is the fact that you can make your favorite drink, even water, using a filter system, like Britta or PUR, using your own Eco Friendly Bottle which will guarantee that your water is filtered.  There are some rumors that maybe not all bottled water is exactly what we think it is.  This approach is also much cheaper than buying the bottles.

“Health Advocates recommend not reusing bottles made from plastic #1 (polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET or PETE), including most disposable water, soda and juice bottles. According to The Green Guide, such bottles may be safe for one-time use, but re-use should be avoided because studies indicate they may leach DEHP—another probable human carcinogen—when they are in less-than-perfect condition.”

My final thought is to use a cool custom container that expresses your personality .  There are many great choices and designs that will keep liquid hot or cold and you are much less likely to lose or “misplace” it into a garbage can.  If this all feels too constraining, at least use the recycle bins, that way the plastic has a real chance of being reconditioned for another use.

Greenist.

As we have gardens, we are paying for water to keep the flora moist.  This is now truly irritating since I could have not spent another dime for the rest of the summer had I done my homework, researched the project and put in the water capture system.

A passive water capture system will be the next Green project. 

I will blog about progress, much as I did the Puppy Poop Composter, which is doing great.

Greenist.

I am not surprised by the action.  Most people are on autopilot when it comes to drinks and the containers in which they are delivered.  Recycling is one of the steps we can take to be more environmentally concious and help to reduce the trash in the land fills.

I suggested to my peer that the recycle bin was just outside in the hall and that the building manager has made it easier to be more green with just a few steps.  The response suggested they were too busy to put the bottle in the recycle container, but I was welcome to do it if so inclined.  I took the bottle out of the garbage and put it into the recycle bin, after a quick rinse in the water fountain to get rid of the sugar and keep bugs away.

As I suggested, one small green step a day to help keep the greener side of life happy.

Greenist