catering to negligence

I've mentioned my disappointment with the fact that the Netherlands isn't as forward thinking about recycling as it is about other hot topics. I've managed to set a no excuses standard in this house that we recycle every piece of paper and glass that we can but when it comes to aluminum and plastic, there's nothing more that I can do. I've contacted the local garbage people to find out if there is a location for bringing these types of items, but haven't found anything promising. With that in mind, I have tried to minimize the food items that I purchase that are in those materials, such as plastic trays for pre-chopped veg and I choose glass jars of food product instead of aluminum.

I think, that if the Netherlands doesn't see that it is feasible to recycle across the board then at least they could make small changes in how their products are sold. For example, in the US there is a national supermarket chain called Whole Foods which specializes is selling natural products and organic foods from companies which package their goods using recycled materials. Today, I came across a blog post on the Sustainable is Good site which discusses how Whole Foods has made a move to eliminate unnecessary packaging waste often created by in-store bakeries. They've sought to solve this waste issue by using a product called Renew-a-Pakthat is manufactured by Biosphere Industries which is made from 100% renewable materials that allows them to bake in the package, sell it in the same package, where is can then be used at home in the oven or microwave and when the consumer finally disposes of it, it is 100% compostable. That's a pretty impressive zero waste concept.

If supermarket chains here made small changes in their mentality on packaging, much of the waste that we create would not end up sitting in a landfill in a million years. I'd like to know why the initiative hasn't been taken and why people here seem undaunted by that fact. That's food for thought, that is.

flip & tumble

There are a few things that I do enjoy in life, and if the recipe is right, I like it even more. In this case, the recipe is equal parts: affordability, style, innovation, practicality

flip and tumble have designed these super cool reusable and well designed bags that come in a lot of colors and patterns (style)

they are quite affordable at 9 USD for 1 to 3 bags, 8 USD if you buy 3 to 6, and 7 USD for 7 or more (this earns them high scores for being affordable but ALSO for great marketing)

the detail that ultimately sold me, is the fact that they fold up into a peach sized ball in a matter of seconds (holy crap practical!) So you never have an excuse for leaving it at home.

watch me (I'm serious, watch it, it's the innovative part)

Unless you're in Norway or Japan, you'll have to make your purchase online. In the US, you can get up to 7 bags for a flat shipping rate of 4 USD. International purchasers have to go through the order process before they can find out how much it will cost.

for boys too!

flip & tumble

huh?

Amsterdam won't separate plastic waste

Tuesday 07 April 2009

Amsterdam city council is refusing to cooperate with government plans to collect plastic waste separately, the Parool reported on Monday afternoon.

Environment minister Jacqueline Cramer wants to introduce separate plastics collection from January 1, 2010. But Amsterdam says it plans to continue incinerating plastic waste because that is better for the environment.

The city council will present a report on the environmental effect of separating plastic waste later this year, the paper says.

In addition, the city council says that experiments in smaller local authority areas show few people are actually prepared to separate their waste.

DutchNews.nl

mulch it!

I love this header for the NYC Dept of Parks & Recreation website. Mulchfest, held on Jan 10th and 11th, offers around 100 locations city-wide for people to repurpose their Christmas trees into mulch. The mulch is then used throughout the vast collection of city green spaces in planting and keeping the grounds. You may also take a bag of mulch with you for your own garden at home.

I've always been saddened by our wasteful society. We kill so many trees every year so that they may sit in our homes and make them pretty.. sometimes only for a matter of days. Afterward, the streets are littered with these trees, cast out onto dirty snowbanks and garbage piles... now somebody else's problem.

Long ago I swore to never own a real tree again, however, for those who enjoy the tradition, being responsible and repurposing your tree so that other green spaces will thrive seems the right way to close the book on the previous year and start anew.

"Beam me up Scotty" - C. Kirk

I'm thinking about how to solve the recycling issue here in the Netherlands. It all came to me suddenly as I recalled "Earthships". How these buildings haven't caught on world wide is beyond me. Basically, they're constructed of dirt and old tires and built right into the earth. They are designed to re-use rainwater, and filter well water throughout the home based on a tier system of usage from drinking water, to sinks showers, toilets, and finally garden water.

The options for toilet waste are flexible depending on your abilities to be open minded, and if you're REALLY proactive, you can even have a dry compost toilet. Wouldn't you sleep better at night knowing that ALL of your waste is being put to good use?

Earthships are completely custom designed, so the homeowner can decide how the interior and exterior will look. I'd imagine that anyone could take the basic philosophy behind Earthships and go in many directions. You could have a hobbit house or a Barcelona Pavilion . Personally, I'd like to build an Earthship that looks like the Wheatsheaf House. :D

it doesn't add up

I've traveled a bit over the past few years, living in Belgium, NYC, and now the Netherlands. Every culture is so different, and of course you have to adjust and learn the laws of the land in each place that you live or visit. For example, in Belgium I was amazed at their recycling program. Color coded garbage bags replaced the Glad and Hefty bags at the supermarket. Garbage collection was strict, and I was warned more than once that a violation would mean that they would go through my garbage in an attempt to find out who I was and fine me. In our house we recycled everything except cat litter and food items.

In NYC our household was dedicated to recycling everything possible. The building where we lived had all of the containers labeled, and there was really NO excuse not to participate as they were on every floor, so you had to walk past them to leave.

Here in the Netherlands I would expect the same thing. I'm constantly reading about their innovations and forward thinking designs. I read an article a few days ago about how an old coal mine has been re-purposed to harvest geothermal energy from water sources in abandoned shafts. This resource powers 350 homes and businesses in the area. That sounds SO exciting to me! I read the article, I loved the idea, the fact that it was realized, and the finished design is even a huge winner... BUT, here's the big FAT BUT... there is no recycling of household plastics and metals in the country, or as far as I have been able to discover. I called the local recycling center, I asked a friend in a neighboring town, I did online research. Apparently it is not happening. On a day to day basis I'm left feeling like a polluter of the earth as I'm forced to discard my plastic and metal containers with the rest of the trash. Over and over I've asked people, "How can this be?" My friend suggested, "Well, this is a small country and they don't have anywhere to put it." This makes no sense of course, because by not recycling there is more garbage destined for the landfill, and that requires more space.

So, my friends, I am pretty disappointed in the Dutchies for not prioritizing something so basic that is in place in so many places across the world, and that makes a HUGE difference.

image via scribalterror