FACTS, TIPS, REFERENCES
Want more unwanted help from people who "think" they know something?! Why the hell not!
We are definitely not the end-all and be-all of all things Zero Waste & Sustainable. We do not know everything —that's not possible. And we do not want you to take anything we say, post, or the like as the end-all be-all. We will get things wrong.
What we do expect from you is to take what we post and say and compare it to other sources. And if you think we are missing something, got something wrong, or have a question, comment, or anything in-between... challenge the info and drop us a line via our contact page!
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BIODYNAMIC FARMING:
• https://www.demeter-usa.org/
CERTIFIED NATURALLY GROWN:
• https://www.naturallygrown.org/
COMPOSTABLE / BIODEGRADABLE:
• We are not professional composters/biodegraders. We do have experience, but that experience is limited and you 100% should read deeply into this subject and ask questions from multiple experienced professionals for your own situation, as all situations are different, and so many people say so many slightly different things.
But a very broad and general starting point is this:
1. For anything, all items stating any variations of the above, ask for certification (BPI). Question it if they do not have it.
2. All food is compostable, but certain situations and items might draw hungry animals (meat, cooked items), and take a long time to degrade (onion peels, bones). Look up the item before you put it into your compost. As your situation (Apartment, House, farm, etc.) will influence what you can and should compost.
3. (In really, really general terms) The difference between Compostable and Biodegradable is: time, moisture, heat, and the environment where it's being composted / biodegraded.
4. Home composting isn't the same as Commercial / Industrial Composting. Commercial is specifically designed to break things down in a speedy time frame, where as at home it is a natural process.
5. Simply because it is compostable or biodegradable, does not mean you can litter it. It will still cause problems. All items have a specific best practices route for it's end of life which we all need to follow.
6. By certification standards, a stick (like a piece of wood) would not be compostable, but biodegradable. As it would need a special situation for it to break down fast, or else it will jsut sit in your compost. Causing no harm...but it will be there for a very long time.
7. If something is (certified) biodegradable, you could toss it in your compost (like a toothbrush with castor oil bristles). But, this will just sit there for a very long time unless you break it up into small pieces. Plus, depending on your goal with your compost, it could throw your compost mixture off.
8. There are numerous ways to compost. Search the web for "Different Methods of Composting" to find the basics, the best for you, and what to avoid.
9. Do not send your compostables/biodegradeables to the landfill. Sending food and certified (BPI) items to the landfill will create methane. A gas far worse then CO2. In some cases and situations, it might be better to buy plastics and toss them, then to throw compostables/biodegradables into the trash.
"CURB ALERT"
• When giving away inside items for free, such as furniture, do not put them outside on the curb until a pick up in planned. Otherwise as soon as it rains those perfectly useful items are now, more than likely, trashed. Would you want a couch, or dresser drawr that was sitting in the rain?
DONATE GOODS
• There are oh so many places to donate all sorts of goods. Nothing used and usable should be put to the curb. And a lot of them will come pick the items up. But do a bit of research, as not all places that you might think are good, are actually good.
• Construction Junction is the place to take (almost) anything from your home, business, garage, farm, barn, shack, school, and all places in-between (you can also purchase these things there). They also have a list of resources to donate items they do not take: https://cjreuse.org/donate/materials/
• Pittsburgh Center For Creative Reuse (PCCR) is a great place to donate (and purchase) anything creative; art supplies, office supplies, useful and oddball items. Besides the store itself, they have a list of resources on their website for things they do not take: https://pccr.org/donate/elsewhere-2/
LINEN:
• Linen is NOT Cotton.
• Linen is Flax, from the Flax (oil seed) plant.
• If you see the word "Linen" with anything else besides "Flax"... you are being lied to.
ORGANIC INTEGRITY DATABASE (USDA):
• https://organic.ams.usda.gov/integrity/
PLASTIC (GENERAL):
• "Plastic is a word that originally meant “pliable and easily shaped.” It only recently became a name for a category of materials called polymers. The word polymer means “of many parts,” and polymers are made of long chains of molecules. Polymers abound in nature. Cellulose, the material that makes up the cell walls of plants, is a very common natural polymer..." Read more: https://sciencehistory.org/education/classroom-activities/role-playing-games/case-of-plastics/history-and-future-of-plastics/
• Even though we throw plastic away as if it is harmless, plastic is not a disposable item. No matter what the companies who produce it market it to you as. It is a fantastically durable and versatile material that can be used to make almost anything, but it will never truly go back to it's original components. It just breaks down into smaller pieces creating an environmental catastrophe.
• Plastics of all kinds are used in almost all aspects of our lives. You cannot live in today's world without interacting with some form of plastic.
• Plastics, of all variations and all sizes, from whole pieces to nano particles, are found in every corner of our planet. From bottled water, to the very bottoms of the oceans, to the tops of mountains, inside our food, and inside us.
• While plastics are toxic, the full extent of damage that they are causing to our world is yet unknown.
• People all over the world are currently working to make "Plastics" sustainable as we cannot currently live without them.
PLASTIC (RECYCLED):
• Instead of recycling plastic, don't use it in the first place. Or, reuse it until you no longer can. Plastic isn't disposable, despite what is said. It's a durable good that is made to last, but is also toxic to the environment, and us.
• Beware of things made from recycled plastic... such as; roads, bags, clothing, hydroblox, anything that gets washed, is outdoors, is in water, gets put in soil, and the like. These are not sustainable ways of using recycled plastic, despite the hype. Why? All of these items will degrade, and are guaranteed to release micro and nano plastic particles into the environment causing more harm than good.
• Look for recycled plastic items that are not exposed to the elements where they can degrade and make a bigger mess than if they had just been thrown into the landfill in the first place.
POLY VINYL ALCOHOL (PVA):
• Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVC) is a plastic / polymer. It does not matter if it says it is based on something else (like coconut).
• PVA is FDA approved for coatings in the pharmaceutical industry. These, and derivatives, are used in other instances such as Laundry Sheets and Pods.
• PVA states that it will biodegrade. But this is misleading. It biodegrades... in the right conditions. It also does not separate into it's original parts. It simply continues to break down into smaller and smaller micro and nano pieces.
• If an item, particularly Laundry Detergent sheets and Laundry Pods, says "PVA", it 100% contains plastic. Or else it would not say PVA. Avoid laundry sheets / laundry pods until PVA is no longer in the mix.
• There are alternatives in the works for PVA. One example is seaweed. Keep searching.
REAL ORGANIC PROJECT
• https://www.realorganicproject.org/
RECYCLING:
• Allegheny County Recycling Resource: https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Services/Health-Department/Waste-and-Water-Related-Programs/Recycling
• Construction Junction has a list of resources: https://cjreuse.org/recyclingservices/
• Pittsburgh Center For Creative Reuse (PCCR) has a list of resources: https://pccr.org/donate/elsewhere-2/
RECYCLING (PROBLEMS):
• Everyone should Recycle as much as they can, but it should not be used as an excuse to continue to over-consume and waste.
• Recycling is not an answer, it's a last resort. It's 1 step above trash, and sometimes... more times than you think... it becomes trash. Reduction and reuse are the answer.
• There is no universal system where everyone has easy access to sources that collect recyclables and send it off to the proper channels.
• Every place you go has slightly different recycling programs (or no program at all).
• Multi-stream is a superior recycling system to the current single stream most use / have available to them. Multi keeps each type separate so that contamination is limited and the end profits are higher, and the total amount that actually gets recycled is higher.
THE RODALE INSTITUTE
• https://rodaleinstitute.org/
TOILET TISSUE:
• Your toilet tissue is (most likely) a major cause of alarm. The paper is being pulled from forests that are being deforested for your butthole by faceless corporations. Never use toilet tissue that is not 100% recycled, or... confirmed to be non-tree and more sustainable. Check out The Issue With Tissue to see a full breakdown of the best, and the worst, tissue options for your nether regions.
VEGAN:
• Eating a more vegan diet (and living a more vegan life) is the way to go. But, being a strict "vegan" and not taking into account ALL of the aspects of your choices in life, doesn't equal sustainability. All of the typical wasteful and unsustainable things are still present if you simply go vegan without taking everything into account: over-consumption, land destruction, plastic waste, transportation, discrimination, personal health, and on and on. Make the most sustainable choices taking everything into account by not putting yourself into a box. If the most sustainable option to a situation is not vegan, then go that route. Then look for a better, vegan and sustainable option for next time.