Aluminum is 100% recyclable and can be reused indefinitely without degrading its quality. Before putting it in the recycling bin why not wash it with soap and water and reuse for some leftovers first. Wash it with the rest of your dishes and let it dry, then store it away until your next cooking adventure.

Fun fact: Americans toss out enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet, according to the Aluminum Association.

Today’s post is not about going green. I know, bad blogger, but this is an important topic as well, one that touches my very core. St. Jude Children’s Hospital is having a radio-thon to raise money to help find a cure for cancer. If you want to become a Partner in  Hope then click on the link and donate now. As a Partner In Hope, you will become part of the most loyal group of St. Jude supporters. Partners In Hope give to St. Jude on a monthly basis, ensuring no child is ever turned away because of a family’s inability to pay.

All morning the radio has been playing different stories about these kids, some have survived and in remission others were not as fortunate. I really should not have worn mascara this morning. It took everything I had not to pull the car over and start bawling right there on the side of the highway. Of course the country station I was listening to played every sad song ever written in between stories. I can’t even imagine what these children are going through let alone their parents. I have become a Partner in Hope and I challenge you to do the same.

stop being a lazy recycler. If the recycle bin is full then I just head on over to the trash can instead of emptying the recycling bin outside. I know, shame on me. *wince* I go through so many recyclable packages a day too. I am counting on all of you to remind me of this little resolution later.

I wonder how long I can go without breaking this resolution? Last year my resolution was to not get a speeding ticket, I did it too. No tickets, not one, nope, na da

Don't be a grinch

I am that crazy lady at Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries who saves all the boxes and tissue paper. My husband thinks it’s a problem and that I am crazy but I am just being green. I tell him “just looking out for the environment, honey” he goes along with it anyway. I am glad I have that quirk, I have not had to buy a single box or tissue paper this year for Christmas presents. All of those boxes and tissue paper would have ended up in the landfill anyway. I even had enough wrapping paper from last year to last through this year too. No, I didn’t collect everyones wrapping paper, not a bad idea though. Hear are a few ideas on how to make Christmas even greener:

1.) Save the boxes and tissue paper for next time so it doesn’t end up in the trash

2.) Do you have left over fabric from a craft project you were working on? if so turn it into a pretty wrapping. Like Martha. . .

3.) Friendly fillers: packing peanuts and bubble wrap are a recyclers worst nightmare. Instead use items like, shredded old wrapping paper, unsalted peanuts in their shells or a pine bough.

I would love to see pictures of your green presents or hear more ideas on how to make Christmas greener.

I have added some things finally to the blog. What do you think? Like I said it’s been neglected. Now there is a picture of me, don’t tell me what you think about that. I have added a subscripition button and a RSS feed link if you are a dedicated follower. Come out, come out wherever you are.

I think my New Year’s resolution will be too blog more. We’ll see…

  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32857083&ref=sr_gallery_15&&ga_search_query=swiffer&ga_search_type=tag_title&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title#

I hate knowing that I have used a whole box of those swiffer cloths to mop up my house and then disposing of them. Why not use a fabric that can be reused over and over again? I have even used an old sock before, just slip it on and mop away. Let me what your ideas are for reusable swiffer cloths.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/recycle-packing-peanuts-460909

Here is the list of the 8 weirdest ways to go green, I am sure there are plenty more and if you want to add to the list please do. I am all for trying new ways to be green but some these products or ideas are really out there.

8.) Don’t Wave Flags: German Football Fans Score Own Goal for Environment

When German football fans fixed  flags over their cars for the Euro 2008 Football season, the Austrian auto club said it was bad for the planet. Having a waving flag on the back of your car lowers the fuel economy of your car. So in order to be green do not attach a flag to the rear of your car. So all you footballs fans out their on your way to the game you may want to think twice before putting up that Bucs flag. You are draining the world’s remaining oil reserves in the process.

7.) Commuting, Getting fit and looking dumb for people in a hurry

Introducing The Human-powered Gym designed by Mitchell Joachim. Why not workout and float around Manhattan at the same time? All the energy exerted from your workout will power the gym along the river.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/23/the-floating-human-powered-gym/

6.) Tasty Tasty Weeds

Start foraging around your house and you can have a great salad. When I was young I ate dirt so why not now as an adult. You better be sure you get the right plant before you put it in your mouth though.

5.) Skimpies your man will love (if his phone powers out)

Introducing the solar powered bikini…so many things wrong with that statement.

4.) A green war

Now we are thinking of new ways to bomb people and being green at the same time. Now there is the low-fallout, low pollution eco-bomb, because why shouldn’t the military be green too.

3.) Energy from Motion (the other kind)

Sintex turns what we have too much of (poop) into something we don’t have enough of (energy). That’s right – you can now fuel your home with your own poop and other organic wastes. Now you know where all your dirty diapers can go.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/329/turning-poop-into-fuel.html

2.) A golden future for our environment

You’ve heard of a golden shower right? Well, there is now the Pee Outside Movement and they believe that instead of using the toilet, pee in the garden and save the 3 gallons of water used every time the toilet flushes.

1.) The slime’s where all the flavor is

The French have dined on these slimy, rubbery, creatures for thousands of years. You guessed it, snails! I love Escargo, who knew I was already being green. Next time you are in your garden and see a snail eating away at your crops make him an appetizer, just like this grandmother did.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5149149/Unwanted-garden-snails-cooked-by-gardener.html

There you have it, 8 weird ways to be green. I would love to hear other weird ways we can all be green and if you have done any of the things on this list.

Trash bags are not recyclable because they are designed to store waste which is not recyclable in a landfill.  There are some trash bags being promoted to be recyclable.  This is misleading because you can put them in your curbside recycle bin, but the contents must also be recyclable.  They would only be useful, if your weekly recycled products will not fit in your curbside recycle bin or if you need to carry recycled material to a drop off center.

The best solution is to purchase biodegradable trash bags and to reduce your landfill waste. You can buy biodegradable trash bags on-line.  I found the best biodegradable trash bag to be Biobag.  It can be purchased from multiple websites from the following link http://www.biobagusa.com/Consumer.htm#order.  The cost is a little more than regular plastic trash bags, but if you are properly reducing landfill waste then the cost may be less and you are saving the environment.  Trash bag companies are continually improving plastic trash bags by adding deodorizers, flexible strength, draw strings and making them larger and thicker.  None of these new improvements are helping to solve rpoblem.  It only makes it worse because they are selling more plastic bags to go in our landfill.  The trash bag companies are not going to convert to biodegradable trash bags until there is a big enough demand.  We need to spread the word.  Today, the best solution is to reduce your landfill waste and start using biodegradable trash bags.

It seems ironic that the waste service companies provide very large curbside trash containers and small recycle bins.  If you are recycling, buying products in recyclable packaging and composting, you should have more recyclable waste and less landfill waste.  Below are three simple tips to reducing landfill waste and trash bag usage:

1. Use your plastic trash and kitchen bags multiple times.
2. Purchase biodegradable
3. Recycle, buy products in recyclable packaging and compost your kitchen and yard waste

From what I can see, it is going to be up to the home owner to solve this trash bag problem.  At least with grocery bags, you can recycle them back to the grocery store plus there is a big push for you to bring your own green bag to the grocery store to eliminate the plastic grocery bag. Manufacturers of trash bags are promoting larger and stronger trash bags and there is no incentive for the waste service companies to alter their pick up service.  Actually, many service providers require you to bag your yard waste.

The best solution is to educate the public on Going Green to reduce the waste in the landfills.

If you come across any new ideas or products to help with this problem, please let me know about them.  If you would like to learn more about Going Green in your home, you need to read my eBook “Going Green in your Home” at http://www.gogreeninhome.com to learn more about recycling, saving energy, composting and more.

Michael Taylor

www.gogreeninhome.com

mike@gogreeninhome.com