Valentines!!! - Efficiency Equals Reduction

:) :) Happy Valentines Day Everyone !!! :) :)

-- Quote of the Day--

“…Find your core essence, find what brings you joy. …We so often take care of other people, so come back to yourself, take care of yourself, love yourself, appreciate yourself – respect yourself.”
~ Traci Slatton 05/09/08

Today's quote was taken from an interview that aired on May 9th, 2008 on the Conscious Discussions talk radio show. During this interview, Traci & I were discussing the trend in today's society for finding one's self in mid-life. Simply click on the hyper-linked show title, or look to the right for the link to the website. From there look for the archives according to the month in which they aired.

-- Authors Read --

Brian McClellan is the author of 2 books - The Real Bling: How to Get the Only Thing You Need, a powerful guide to personal and professional development. -- The book we will hear him read from today is: A Love Letter to Black People - Audaciously Hopeful Thoughts on Race and Success. Authors Read airs live at 9 AM (pacific) - all shows are archived and available at any time of the day. Simply click on the hyper-linked show title here, or look to the right for a link to the Authors Read radio show.

-- Efficiency Equals Reduction --

Imagine that if at the grocery store the person bagging your purchases left empty, unused spaces in each bag causing you to carry 10 instead of 5 bags out to your car then into your home. You would be investing some extra time, energy and space when it was unnecessary. Now transfer that thought to the waste and recycling industry. Instead of filling a trash bag or bin with large empty spaces, we can all do some simple acts to help keep transportation costs down while reducing fossil fuel consumption and saving ourselves some time and money.

The flattening of boxes greatly increases space efficiency in a bin. This does not just apply to cardboard boxes, but also includes any paperboard (cereal or pet food) ones as well. Crushing cans before recycling is much more easily done if it is possible to remove both the top and bottom lids first. Foil products are easily flattened by hand.

Periodically crush your garbage bag down to its true size – you will find that it does not need to be placed on the curb as often. Fewer trips to the dump means less fossil fuel consumed and reduced curbside idling – idling is known to be terribly inefficient and more polluting than vehicles on the move. Garbage collection fees are more easily maintained by the company due to reduced costs per bag, and some companies even offer a discount for those who produce less waste. Also worth noting is that the household will go through fewer plastic garbage bags.

Some kitchen waste disposal units tend to put unnecessary pressure on overtaxed sewage plants. A much better option is to practice composting or vermiculture methods instead. Composting organic waste reduces household trash by approximately 30%. Go one step further by reusing various plastic bags to isolate smelly meat, bones and pet waste. By controlling odors in the garbage, the bag will not have to be put out on the curb as often.

So, imagine that if your waste and recycling was now half the size that it typically was before. That means in theory the waste pickup service would decrease costs by 50%, the landfill would be receiving half of what it used to, fewer trips to the recycling depot, less pollution…

Well you get the picture. It is easy to make a difference and we can all start at home. Right where we are.

Find Dave & Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio shows & free resources & articles at www.brummet.ca