Content related to Zero-Waste or Reduced-Waste tips and trials
Happy first anniversary! This post is the fifty-third on the blog, marking one year of Radical Moderate. In honor of the traditional “paper” anniversary, that’s what we will be looking at this week: the resources needed, the pollution generated, how much actually gets recycled (despite our best attempts), and what you can do to reduce the quantity bound for the landfill.
In honor of the vacation we are currently enjoying, this post is about an amazing invention that is pretty standard across Japan and almost absent in America: the bidet. These devices are touted as more resource-friendly and bum-friendly than toilet paper, but the topic still seems to be avoided in polite conversation. And that’s what I’m here for – to do research and mention unmentionables.
‘Tis the season for decorations, cookies, and warm greetings extended around the globe. What is the most environmentally responsible way to share those warm wishes? Is going paperless really the best option or should we switch over to electronic communications? It’s time for some holiday SWAGs (Scientific Wild-Ass Guesses) to give us a sense of our holiday card options and their related impacts.
A few years ago, a friend told me she was trying a “no-shampoo” challenge because shampoo can strip your hair and scalp of the natural oils that keep it healthy. While the idea may be unpleasant to some, I’ve been slowly cutting back on my shampoo use for a couple years and thought it was time to examine the merits of this challenge.
I spend a good bit of time in my garden, weeding more than anything else. A year or so ago, Christian suggested that I use a weed barrier so I wouldn’t have to work as hard. I never knew of any weed barrier options other than plastic sheeting, so I didn’t consider weed barrier a viable option until a coworker mentioned her grandmother’s method.
When the weather gets hot, you need to stay hydrated, but how do you do that if you’ve pledged a Plastic-Free July? Sports drinks come in plastic bottles, and are further secured on flats in layers of plastic film. This summer I turned to an old recipe that predated plastic (and probably the Roman Empire) to help me through the heat and my zero-plastic challenge.
Everything is connected on this blog, and this week’s topics are no exception. In order to maintain my pollinator garden cheaply and sustainably, I wanted to set up a greywater reclamation system to use wastewater from my laundry, and in order to ensure that only plant-safe compounds were winding up in my garden, I had to do some research on biodegradable laundry detergents.
I recently came across a link for “Plastic-Free July” in my Facebook feed. As the name would suggest, the mission is to reduce or eliminate plastic use during the month of July. I have kept up with a lot of my habits from my zero-waste Lent this past spring, but, I thought this new challenge was worth a look.
About three years ago I could no longer stand the thought of sending a full grocery bag of used kitty litter to the landfill every week or so. At that point, I started researching how to compost pet waste in order to offset our kitties’ carbon footprint. It is possible to do it as long as you do your research and follow some very specific guidelines.
Several months ago I saw an article posted on a sustainability website that suggested upcycling your Christmas tree to make beer. As the article correctly states, there is a precedent for using tree components in brewing. However, the article incorrectly implies that using your Christmas tree is the best way to go about making something drinkable.