Brummet's Conscious Blog

 -- Plastic Bottles - Another Useful Construction Material -- Have you seen plastic bottle houses before?  Building with bottles as a construction and wall decoration material is not such a new idea - we’ve seen reports and articles over the last 2 dozen years in magazines and online where people have used glass and plastic bottles in their adobe and cob design houses in the US, and here in the Kootenays we have a small highway tourist stop – a house made entirely of glass bottles. I've also seen color bottles used in hallway walls and bathroom walls that allow light in the room without compromising privacy issues.  . ..However, when I read of a new project in Nigeria where they are utilizing plastic bottles to build economic homes I was really intrigued. Apparently the bottles are first filled with sand, capped, and melded together with mud and concrete to build 2 bedroom homes for people – costing less than $13,000 – I felt like celebrating when re...

-- Interview -- I had such a wonderful time appearing as a special guest on the Thin, Healthy, Happy podcast - managed by the host: Alicia Cramer - who asked some interesting questions and made the hour long discussion pass by as if it was only a few minutes!  Please do drop in to hear the full discussion - on business plans, marketing plans, the world of writing and more! -  via the link below: http://wausauhypnotherapy.podbean.com/2011/11/22/lillian-brummet-interview-on-writing-and-conscious-marketing/  -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Yesterday's programing had us doing another World of Writing segment... one of the many genre-segments that appear on the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio Show . Drop in to hear the latest installment and learn more about writing as a career via the link below: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/11/22/world-of-writing Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books,...

 -- Energy News -- Ever wonder how much of your energy dollars are spent in different areas of your home or office: According to ForticeBC.com... 55.8 % of the energy costs in the average home goes to heating the house 21.5% goes to heating the water 16.3% goes to powering the computers, appliances, phantom lights and entertainment systems 6% goes to lighting and... 4% goes to air conditioning * Look for energy saving tips in our books, on our radio show, and in previous posts on this blog. Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blog, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, or visiting the Brummet's Store - every sale raises funds for charity as well!  

-- Referral Corner -- Its time for another bout of recommended resources for you to check out when you have time: Material Resource Center ( Materialresourcecenter.org )  This site offers links, info on resources for craft workshops, school art projects… involving reuse and repurpose of "waste" prior to sending to the recycling system. Learn how to save money and get creative in your life. Community Action Network ( www.can-online.org.uk ): This organization supports social enterprises and charities to scale up their businesses and maximize their social impact. Social enterprises reinvest profits back into the communities that they serve, creating a business solution to the problems they see. British Trust of Conservation Volunteers ( www.btcv.org.uk ): Operating now for 5 decades, offering a hands-on approach to conservation activities. Their aim is to create a more sustainable future by inspiring people and improving communities around the wor...

-- Celebrating Conscious Business -- I read some information recently about some very conscious business inovations, two companies highlighted today - who have collaborated to reduce waste. Over the past two years, Tim Hortons has been working with Scotia Recycling Limited to collect cups at all 156 traditional Tim Hortons restaurants across Nova Scotia and deliver them to Hantsport-based paper product manufacturer CKF Inc. Initially cups were blended with other waste papers and made into a variety of paper products, helping divert Tim Hortons cups from municipal landfills across the province. Now , Tim Hortons and CKF have established a process that converts the cups into take-out trays used at Tim Hortons restaurants and other products, effectively closing the loop on the company's hot beverage cup recycling process in Nova Scotia. The Cup-to-Tray program has the capacity to recycle 100 per cent of Tim Hortons' annual Nova Scotia cup inventory… more...

-- Quote of the Day -- "You must leave your excuses at the door. They don't belong in the house! Whatever you go through in life—whether it is your fault or not—own it, and move on. The victory is in the battle and the reward is after the battle."  ~ Chikota Webb Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blog, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, or visiting the Brummet's Store - every sale raises funds for charity as well!

-- Plastics --   In a an article published back in October via: Plastics News ( www.plasticsnews.com ), it was reported that Canada’s top five grocery chains have announced that they will require suppliers to shift to PET for clamshell thermoformed packaging in a move designed to simplify the product stream and increase recycling.    “ Right now, there are 5.8 billion pounds of [thermoformed] packaging going into landfills in North America each year. Our goal is to facilitate the recycling of that material ,” said Guy McGuffin, VP of sustainable packaging for Wal-Mart Canada.    “ The idea is to move away from materials that are not easily recycled and into materials that are more easily recycled. If we work together, we believe we can recover that 5.8 billion pounds, which would be a fantastic result .”   Pushing for PET and eliminating, as much as possible, “look-alike” plastics which complicate recovery (and discourage both ...