10 Ways to Be Less Wasteful. By Lisa, on April 22nd, 2013 It has been gradual, but over the last couple years we’ve been making small changes toward reducing waste – inspired by the Zero Waste Family and the fact that after an entire year they only produced one mason jar full of trash (if you can believe that!). I am the first to admit that we will likely never even come close to such an accomplishment, but I immediately recognized that we could do much better than a big trash bag full of garbage every few days.
We’ve all heard that we should Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, but my favorite “R” is actually one I just learned about recently and that is to REFUSE. Say “no, thank you” to the free pen at the trade show or hotel, stop entering those raffle contests, and don’t buy any more cheap plastic toys that you know your child will forget about in 2.4 seconds! So in light of this new motto (and Earth Day today!) Cloth Napkins.Ditching paper napkins was something I considered for a long time before I actually did it. TIPS. Here are my Top 10 tips in eight categories to help you lower your waste at home. Each section is a condensed version of a posting on the subject, so please follow title links for more information on each section.
For product recommendations, please visit the store or follow the links. Before you start: Twist - Cooking Bag by Nick Burrows. Environmental Twist Witnessing first-hand the incredible amount of plastic waste he and his coworkers were using every day for their packed lunches, designer Nick Burrows was inspired to take matters into his own hands and develop an alternative solution that doesn’t just reduce plastic waste but eliminates it altogether. Twist allows you to seal/unseal your meal, microwave, and eat your meal, all with one piece of reusable silicone. Major props because, after all- prevention is the most environmentally preferable means of reducing any kind of waste. Designer: Nick Burrows. Lose the Excuse, Get Your Eco-Project Done. Stay Green in 2013: Crazy DIYs to Try. Eco-Friendly DIY: Holiday Tin Succulent Garden. 1 Million Spiders Make Golden Silk for Rare Cloth | Wired Science.
A rare textile made from the silk of more than a million wild spiders goes on display today at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. To produce this unique golden cloth, 70 people spent four years collecting golden orb spiders from telephone poles in Madagascar, while another dozen workers carefully extracted about 80 feet of silk filament from each of the arachnids. The resulting 11-foot by 4-foot textile is the only large piece of cloth made from natural spider silk existing in the world today. “Spider silk is very elastic, and it has a tensile strength that is incredibly strong compared to steel or Kevlar,” said textile expert Simon Peers, who co-led the project. “There’s scientific research going on all over the world right now trying to replicate the tensile properties of spider silk and apply it to all sorts of areas in medicine and industry, but no one up until now has succeeded in replicating 100 percent of the properties of natural spider silk.” See Also:
Shop for Everything Reusable - Eliminate Disposables from Your Life - reuseit.com. See something you like on this page? Click on it to shop! Join our movement and make it one of your goals to waste less this year. To help, we've highlighted 10 simple, effective ways to cut down on use-and-toss items - and, we're giving you the tools to do it!
We chose these products based on their impact and practicality to help you consume less (and save money). Check it out! Try an ultra-compact shopping bag made with recycled materials. 10 Waste-Free New Year’s Resolutions.