|
|
The Reduce/Reuse/Recycle Issue
|
|
|
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3)
And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:12)
|
|
From the Editors
There is debate about the exact origin of the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle”, but it is generally agreed that it was coined during the 1970’s when the nation became aware of our growing problem with consumer waste. We have lived with this admonishment for almost 50 years, yet many of us still struggle with its requirements. Our culture of consumption seems to present more and more challenges. Think of the amount of packaging that surrounds a simple purchase such a razor; think of the astounding increase in Amazon orders. Yet we persist in trying to do the right thing. We are concerned for the future of our children as well as the health of all of earth’s creatures. Here are some voices from our community. What motivates you to push against the consumer tide?
In this issue:
Speaking of Faith: John Tallmadge on the method of Nature
Walking the Talk: Josef Schneider shares brain compost; Deb Carle recounts an apartment dilemma; Yana Keck describes recycling in the pandemic; John Wegener & Seth Currier pursue a suite of solutions; Earl Apel remembers yard sales
Take Action Now: Bill Stiver on MAPC’s recycling fests; Pam Bach takes the plastics challenge; Kathy Downey puts restaurants on notice
Kids Corner: How to make Recycled Crayons
Readers’ Corner: Julie Malkin on stewardship as spiritual practice
Learn More: Hamilton County and Cincinnati Recycle
|
|
The Method of Nature: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as a Spiritual Practice
|
Sure, it’s a good idea. But where does religion come in? Do we really need faith in God to make us cut back, consume less, get the most value from whatever we use or purchase, and then clean up after ourselves? What could possibly be spiritual about garbage, not to mention bags, wrappers, cans and bottles, old magazines and all the other throwaways that define a good life in these United States? |
Biologists tell us that no organism can survive in an excess of its own waste products, but excess is what America is all about, and waste is whatever we can’t use, don’t want to use, or would prefer not to deal with. For a while, exporting our refuse to poorer states or countries seemed to work, but now we realize that the planet is a closed system. We have to start taking responsibility for our own actions.
Fortunately, the biosphere has solved this problem and provides an abundance of models. In nature, everything gets rationed, repurposed, or recycled. One creature’s trash is another one’s treasure. Instead of accumulating inertly, waste gets transformed, so that energy, nutrients, and information are kept circulating within the system for the ultimate good of all. This, in a word, is sustainability.
Take housing. If you’re a hermit crab, why expend energy to grow your own shell when you can reuse an empty whelk? If you’re an owl or a wood duck, look for a woodpecker hole in a dead tree rather than excavating your own. If you’re a trout, a beaver pond can be safe and cozy. As for food, the landscape itself limits your consumption to what biologists call its “carrying capacity.” Without such natural restraints, it would be all too easy to eat yourself out of house and home.
The key thing, however, is that it takes other species to do the work. Few organisms can recycle their own waste. But humans can, and indeed must. For inflicting our waste upon others is a form of violence. It’s morally wrong. We have to learn to form among ourselves the kinds of symbiotic partnerships that allow organisms in natural ecosystems to maintain healthy limits while they reuse, recycle, and flourish. For us, sustainability is therefore a matter of justice, and even love.
|
|
|
|
When John D. Rockefeller was asked how much money was enough, he answered, “Just a little bit more.” But Henry D. Thoreau had a different view. To him a man was rich in proportion what he could afford to let alone. Thoreau urged his readers to “Simplify, simplify!” and built his cabin using second-hand bricks and lumber. There’s no record of his producing trash, but we know that he recycled in a literary sense, repurposing his walks, observations, and reading into a classic bestseller. |
|
We can’t all be like Thoreau. But whenever I take my bottles and papers out to the recycling bin, I like to think I’m making a small gesture in the same direction. For a moment, I feel aligned with the natural processes of transformation that underlie the green and growing world upon which we all depend. |
|
Brain Compost
Josef Schneider writes:
In addressing consumption a useful point of departure is ‘waste not, want not.’ Do I really need another pair of blue jeans, shirt, shoes, whatever? Patsy & I live in half of a duplex (not much square footage), and one of our house rules is that if we acquire a new piece of furniture, something has to go, to friends or St. Vincent or wherever. The nice dress shirts that I wear to church get recycled into painting clothes & eventually wind up in the ragbag. Vegetable waste gets composted, eventually going into garden soil to grow more vegetables. Often, we get through a week producing no more than one kitchen garbage bag of food waste (unfortunately, our cats are somewhat more productive).
Some of our thrift reflects accidentally acquired knowledge. Once, my child bride, a friend, and I bought a 50-lb. bag of onions that was only hours away from its use-by date. Soon our kitchen was redolent with the sweet aroma of fermenting onions, which made me wonder if by any chance there was some class of bizarre onion liqueur.
|
|
|
|
On another Findlay Market outing I purchased 5 lbs. of kale, one of my favourite vegetables, but experience soon taught me that absent the assistance of a large ruminant, a couple would be hard pressed to consume 5 lbs. of any leafy greens before their expiration. Therefore, I advise that you DO NOT grocery shop while hungry, or by price alone! |
|
It is always wise to exercise prudence, not only when buying vegetables but particularly when purchasing animal–based protein. Garbagologists have done corings in municipal landfills and found they could determine when there were gluts in beef production & sales by counting the number of steaks they encountered. Although there are large pockets of food insecurity in this country, American rats are eating very well because of the ingenious invention of the garbage disposal or rat Cuisinart.
As evidenced by the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Gyre, plastic waste is also a major ecological problem. Some municipalities have begun to outlaw single-use plastic bags. Until that becomes standard practice, your best strategy is probably just to politely demur. ”No plastic bags please, I’ve got a bag,” or, in a takeout situation, “ No straws or plastic cutlery please.” Patronizing farmer’s markets or co-ops, where produce is generally sold loose, will help you avoid the overpackaging rampant in large supermarkets, while cutting out several tiers of middlemen. Much of the packaging in current use—resealable plastic bags, takeout containers with snapon lids—is perfectly reusable for packing lunch or storing leftovers.
Fortunately, more responsibly-produced paper products are coming on market that use bamboo or hemp, both fast-growing plants that help conserve boreal forests for carbon sequestration. One company with the enviable brand name ‘Who Gives a Crap” makes good quality TP from bamboo. Cardboard cartons & old newspapers can be recycled into garden mulch. Fresh-cut Christmas trees can also be chipped into mulch for pathways or gardens; left whole, they can also be reused for hillside retention or weighted and sunk for fish cover in lakes & streams.
That’s all folks—my musings & finished brain-compost on the relationship between us and our detritus!
|
|
Apartment Life
Deb Carle writes:
I’m sure you’ve heard that expression about the best laid plans of mice and men. Well that’s how it is when you live in an apartment above a beauty salon with three other neighbors and you’re trying to recycle. We have a recycling can that’s emptied every other week, and for the most part people follow the recycling rules. But as one week turns into two, the bin often gets contaminated.
I can monitor my own recycling and make an effort to do so. But I remember one time when it looked like we finally had a full recycling can, and I was excited to think that we’d accomplished our goal. However, when I checked on the last morning, I found that a beautician had dumped a whole bunch of purple dye and used rollers in the recycling bin instead of in the trash!
So it’s not easy being green when you live in an apartment building. Thank goodness for other recycling opportunities provided by MAPC as well as
Hamilton County, local businesses, and other community organizations. Thank you so much for all you do!
|
|
Recycling in the Pandemic
Yana Keck writes:
For the last three years or so, I have been helping the Earth Care Team with the recycling collections for our church. My responsibility has been to collect styrofoam egg cartons and plastic plant containers. The plant containers go to Shroyer Nursery on Winton Road, and the egg cartons usually go to a booth at Findlay Market where they are reused to package more eggs.
Awhile ago, one of our Earth Care members asked me if I found it more difficult to recycle, for myself or the church, during this pandemic. The answer is “yes”. Recently, I encountered a couple of hardships. The first involved trying to recycle the egg cartons at the Findlay Market. The young man at the counter of the booth where I normally take them informed me that they were no longer accepting the egg cartons due to the pandemic. This was disappointing to say the least. I tried again about a month later, and he cheerfully accepted them, but the last time I made an attempt, they again refused. I guess it depends on the mood of the employee! Or, perhaps, the pandemic had eased a bit by the second time. Whatever the reason, I will continue to do my best to get them recycled somewhere – somehow!
The second hardship concerns plastic bags, which I always recycle at either Kroger or Remke’s. Recently, I have been shopping more at Remke’s, and several weeks ago as I entered and began dutifully stuff my plastic bags into their big, brown recycling container, an employee ran up and said, “You know we don’t recycle these anymore, don’t you?” I looked up astonished. “We just throw them away now,“ she explained. “I think Kroger may still take them.”
I haven’t checked at Kroger, but hopefully they will accept them. If not, I will have a kitchen cabinet full of plastic bags until after the pandemic!
|
|
A Suite of Solutions
John Wegener & Seth Currier write:
Dear Friends and Family at Mt. Auburn,
It's that time of year to look back and recount our earth care practices. Seth and I have tried our best to work with what we have available and are blessed in many ways.
We happen to own a house that has many passive solar qualities. Most of the large glass windows face south, so in the fall, winter, and Spring we are blessed with warmth. The house is heated by the sun on days when the outside temperature is between 50 and 55 degrees. There is shade from trees on the
East and West. In 2018 the house was painted with a glass particle paint that comes with a 25-year warranty. The glass particles help reflect the sun's direct heat and this has helped lower our energy bills in summer. Solar panels will not be a consideration until the roof is replaced in about 5 years. A lot will depend on the reworking of the electrical service as the main electric panel is located on an outside wall and not in the basement.
The property also comes with its own 4 cavity jet aeration sewage disposal system. The cleaned water discharges into a swale and soaks into the earth. (There are no sewers in our area.) It is very low cost to operate, however, repairs can be expensive. We were told a new one would cost between 35 and 50 thousand dollars. The County licenses it yearly and we keep our fingers crossed. So we do not contribute to the Metropolitan Sewer District's treatment facilities.
We recycle what we can through Rumpke. We do not put food waste down the disposal and choose to throw the waste and inedible leftovers over the fence into the woods, to be appreciated by the raccoons, ground hogs, wild turkeys and other forest inhabitants. The turkeys raid the bird feeders, but they are God's creatures too, and beautiful birds. Just to let you into a secret: turkeys really can fly!
|
|
This summer we planted some cone flowers, bulbs, tomatoes and herbs. They attract beneficial butterflies and insects. Deer, on the other hand, are a great nuisance. The local herd has grown from two to seven in the time we have lived here. The red foxes and the coyotes are being pushed out due to the development of the old Deer-Run Golf Course. So we have to try things the deer will leave alone.
Other items of note. We are keeping a used battery jar for the MAPC recycling drive, using energy efficient light bulbs in all but the antique lamps and have a mulching blade on the lawn tractor. The Prius averages about 48 MPG.
So there you have it, our current contribution to the earth. Hope you all have had a blessed holiday season and hopefully we can get together when the Corona Virus is gotten under control!
|
|
Recycling Then and Now
Earl Apel writes:
My first memories of recycling go back to when I was growing up during the 1960’s.
In those times my Grandma Angie and Great Uncle John raised a large vegetable garden in Eastern Kentucky. Each summer my grandma canned corn, green beans, tomatoes, kraut (cabbage), and beets for use in the winter. This required many glass jars (Mason jars), but Grandma did not have to buy them every year; rather she washed out the empties and stored them away to use the next year. My parents and I were the beneficiaries of the canned goods, and my mom would clean the jars and return them to Grandma. As with any type of recycling this required giving thought to storage and the process of getting the jars back into the loop.
My mom for her part practiced what was a more fun type of recycling. She enjoyed having garage sales. I helped her with a couple in more recent years, which involved quite a bit of work as Mom sought to make her sale seem more like shopping in a store. We placed a price tag on every item and made sure it was neatly displayed. I also provided a few items of my own.
The garage sale was very much a social event as people who stopped by liked to visit with Mom and with other customers. I remember the fun in hearing a lady get excited over a large pot that I no longer needed. She said that it would be perfect for cooking a large amount of green beans, and I was glad to know it would have a good home.
My own recycling practice as an adult was slow in the beginning. For many years I lived in apartment complexes, which only provided large trash bins that were serviced by independent companies. But in 1996 I bought a house where I still live today. I was excited when I got my first recycling bin, which I could carry out and place alongside the garbage each week. Later the city provided large wheeled bins and began picking up recycling items every other week.
|
|
This required a little more planning on my part. I find that it works well to place bottles and plastics in the large recycling bin each day. But I keep separate smaller items such as paper, magazines, and cardboard within my house in separate containers. On the day before pickup by the city I place everything in the large bin. Then I cut up larger cardboard boxes and place them on top of everything else in the bin. (On a side note: with the pandemic I have made more use of mail order which results in having to deal with a larger quantity of cardboard boxes.)
In my recycling experience I continue to think of actions I need to take for improvement. Inspired by my mom, who passed two years ago, I have decided to have a garage sale of my own in the future once the pandemic winds down. I have a large quantity of items in my basement that originally belonged to her such as nice dishes and decorative collectibles for the house. Having a garage sale will be a nice opportunity to see someone else buy items of my mom to enjoy. I can also take time to determine what I want to keep for more sentimental reasons.
Another action that I will take this spring is establish a compost bin in my yard. I do grow a great deal of flowers each year, both perennials and annuals, and part of the work includes pruning during the summer and cutting down dead plants in the fall. Normally I place plant debris in large paper bags which the city picks up and sends to a composting facility. But I also have certain food waste that currently goes into the trash and ends up in a landfill. With my own compost bin, I will take a more proactive approach in managing plant and food waste. And there will be the benefit of adding good organic matter to the soil in my own garden.
|
|
Mt. Auburn’s Recycling Program |
Bill Stiver writes:
Our church began its recycling program in 2017 aiming to expand beyond the materials recycled by Rumpke. It is actually a program that not only recycles some materials but also reuses others. The program reuses plastic plant pots, styrofoam packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and styrofoam egg cartons. It recycles small electronic devices, bulk styrofoam, dry-cell batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, medicine containers, plastic lids, natural corks, eyeglasses, and defective Christmas light strands.
Regarding the reused materials, packing noodles and bubble wrap are taken to a Colerain UPS store, plant pots are taken to Shroyer Nursery in Finneytown, and egg cartons are taken to a store in Findlay Market. You may find other locations that also reuse these items.
Regarding recyclable materials, the electronics are taken to the Cohen plant in Norwood, batteries are taken to Oil Express (an oil change garage) near TriCounty, compact fluorescent light bulbs are taken to the Colerain Home Depot, bulk Styrofoam is taken to Eco Development in Mason, medicine containers are taken to Matthew 25 Ministries in Blue Ash, plastic lids are taken to Hohn Parker Elementary School in Madisonville, eyeglasses are taken to the Northgate Lens Crafters, corks are taken to the Dep’s wine shop in Covington, and Christmas lights are taken to the Great Parks office in Winton Woods.
If you have been saving these materials and can drop them off at the locations yourself, that would be very helpful!
And now for some details behind the stories. The reason we do not collect TVs and other video screens is because TV tubes contain lead and flat screens contain mercury. Both must be recycled carefully, and places like Best Buy and Cohen charge a $25 fee to take them. Fluorescent light tubes also contain mercury and are recycled for a fee. However, compact fluorescent light bulbs containing mercury are recycled for free. The difference is probably due to the fact that the tubes are larger and more fragile.
The eyeglasses we donate to Lens Crafters are not reused, but are passed on to One Sight, which sells the components to recyclers and uses the proceeds to pay for eye exams and new glasses for underserved people around the world. The wine corks we give to Dep’s wine shop are in turn donated to Recork, which turns them into soles for shoes donated to underserved people in Africa. Matthew 25 Ministries uses prescription medicine containers with the labels removed and refills them with medicines used in their international programs. Containers with labels are sold to a recycler. Miscellaneous plastic lids donated to Hohn Parker Elementary School are used by an Indiana company to make benches for school yards.
The Earth Care Team is contacting other groups in the Cincinnati area to coordinate our future recycling efforts, which should accelerate once Covid 19 has receded. Since 2017, we have held one or two recycling drives each year including two in 2020. Our next drive will be on Saturday, January 9 from 9AM until noon. All of the materials mentioned in this article will be collected. Help start off the new year on the right foot by joining this recycling effort!
The Plastic Challenge
|
|
Pam Bach writes:
It’s 2021, and single use plastic bags in grocery stores and restaurants are no more in Cincinnati! There are other signs of reducing food-related plastic as well. Target has a small section of environmentally-friendly alternative food wraps and containers, although they occupy only 20% of shelving space compared to the ziplock and plastic wrap options. Trader Joe’s now uses compostable produce bags. We are moving forward!
In the past year, I made a personal pledge to replace the ziplocks, plastic wraps and trash bags in our household. Below are some alternatives that I’ve been using:
- Silicone food storage bags that are designed like a ziplock and are especially great for freezing foods
- Beeswax food wraps
- Foil and wax paper sheets that have multiple uses, such as wrapping a sandwich or covering a container going into the fridge
- Glass containers versus plastic ones
- Compostable trash bags
The silicone storage bags and beeswax wraps are expensive but were given as gifts, so keep this in mind when purchasing a present.
|
|
Dear Restaurant Manager
Kathy Downey writes:
I’ve long been troubled by the widespread use of foam packaging and plastic utensils by take-out restaurants. But how do you address the problem without making a scene, given how restaurants are struggling in this time of COVID. One idea I came up with was a brief note that could be slipped in with my payment. It felt constructive, and it might even work. Feel free to try it yourself!
“Dear Restaurant Manager,
“I very much enjoy your food and would like to continue to patronize your establishment. But I am very concerned about the welfare of our planet and wonder how committed you are to environmentally healthy practices.
1) Did you know that Styrofoam plates and cups remain in landfills forever? They break down into small particles but never go away. They pollute our land and our waterways forever. Approximately 1400 tons of Styrofoam are buried each day in U.S. landfills. When burned, carbon black and carbon monoxide are released into the air.
2) Plastic bags and plates are also not biodegradable. Animals and birds become tangled in the trash and can suffocate or become permanently harmed.
3) Plastic silverware is considered one of the most harmful items to oceanic sea life. It breaks into small sharp pieces that clog the stomachs of birds, fish and other animals.
4) Plastic straws break down into ever smaller particles releasing chemicals into the soil, air and water that are harmful to people and wildlife.
“I would ask that you consider the following:
1) Use paper bags instead of plastic bags.
2) Use paper or cardboard plates and cups instead of plastic or Styrofoam
3) Do not dispense straws or else consider using only biodegradable straws.
4) Do not dispense plastic cutlery unless the consumer asks for it. Consider biodegradable cutlery.
5) Use cardboard clamshells instead of Styrofoam or wrap food in aluminum foil.
“As I said, my family and I love your food. Thanks for taking the above considerations into account.”
“Yours sincerely etc.”
|
|
How to Make Recycled Crayons
Julie Malkin writes:
|
|
Supplies
• crayons (old or new)
• metal or silicon muffin tin
1. Start by peeling off all of the paper labels. Then break the crayons into small pieces.
2. Evenly divide the broken crayons into the muffin tin cups; fill about half way
3. Bake in 230 degree (F) oven for 15-20 minutes. Watch them closely and pull out of oven as soon as they are melted.
4. Allow the pan to cool completely. The crayons may be easier to remove if the pan is refrigerated for a bit.
|
|
|
Julie Malkin suggests:
The Sacredness of Earth Day: Stewardship as Spiritual Practice
I have found that when my sustainable habits are imbued with spiritual awareness, I am much more likely to make and maintain the necessary lifestyle changes required to respond to the ecological crisis. (Gail Straub)
Gail Straub, co-founder of the Empowerment Institute, whose mission is to create sustainable change (https://www.empowermentinstitute.net/) published an essay on recycling as a spiritual practice in Huffpost in 2011. It is a short read that offers an inspirational approach to difficult behavior change.
|
|
On recycling throughout Hamilton County, check out their website:
There are also food scrap drop off options in Hamilton County for people who can’t compost on their own property.
Note also that as Jan 1, 2021, the City of Cincinnati will accept some new items for curbside recycling, including plastic food tubs (yogurt, butter, sour cream, fruit cups). Yay! For further information about recycling plastic tubs if you are a Cincinnati resident, click here.
|
|
Upcoming Issues:
February: Ancient Ohio
March: Gardens
April: Birds
May: Flowers
June: Walking
|
|
Thanks to all our contributors for this issue! If you’d like to write for us, please contact your faithful editors, Julie Malkin ([email protected]) and John Tallmadge ([email protected]).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
