This week we received the latest newsletter from the manufacturer of our water filters. They report excellent sales despite the current economy. It would appear that consumers are making the choice to stop buying expensive bottled water and make the cheaper choice to install home water filtration systems. This is good news for the environment - Less plastic, fantastic!!

Our range of water-filters were amongst the ones featured on Dr Oz recently so check them out and see if there is one that suits your needs. www.itsecotime.com/water-filters

At this time of year it is an excellent time to start thinking about setting up that rain barrel, or barrels, to capture the Spring rains.  Rain is free, and shortage of water a growing global concern, so it makes sense to make recycling rainwater as much part of your recycling programme as bottles, cans and newspapers.  It can take as little as 1/4″ of rainfall to fill a 60 gallon rain barrel. Capturing rainwater as it falls will help reduce your domestic water needs and is another great way to green up your lifestyle.

Our Governments maintain they are committed to developing green industries and projects over the next few years.  This is certainly good news! However, I feel that the most efficient and effective way to make a difference in the short term is for us to take individual responsibility for day to day actions and develop individual green programmes for our home and family. For instance, recycling programs are a patchwork of different rules and regulations for each city, town or district. Neighboring areas do not collect the same articles in the same way, and we often hear reports of a build up of recycled material having to be used for landfill as there are no buyers for it. Individually we can help be trying to reduce the NEED to recycle. Just because containers and packaging can be recycled does not make it the greenest option.  We should be looking for reusable items or reduced packaging. Composting is another way we can make a big difference.  It is estimated that food and garden waste make up around 30% of the waste stream in the US, so reducing this would have a marked impact on landfills.  Energy saving in the home not only has an environmental impact but is cost effective as well. Installing programmable thermostats,  LEDs and energy saving power strips will not only reduce your energy comsumption but your utility bill as well. There is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from managing your own lifestyle and developing green practices that work for you and your family.

With Thanksgiving this week and the Christmas holidays approaching fast remember that all those food scraps, veggie peelings etc can be turned into rich compost. Studies have shown that home composting significantly reduces the amount of waste that becomes landfill each year.

There are 3 components necessary for successful composting:
Aeration - this means turning the compost regularly. Most composting bins make this process very simple process.
Moisture - Ideally the compost should be just slightly damp, too much moisture will hinder the aeration process and also cause the compost to smell.
Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio - Carbon is generally referred to as “brown” material and Nitrogen as “green” material. Ideally you should aim for a ratio of 30 parts brown:1 part green.

Examples of Green waste: grass cuttings, tea bags, leaves, fruit and vegetables, bread, cooked pasta and rice.
Examples of Brown waste: egg shells, dry leaves, newspaper (shredded), coffee filters, brown paper bags (shredded), cardboard.

Unsuitable Materials: Bones, cheese or other dairy products, fish, meat, rhubarb leaves, fats (oil, grease etc), treated paper.

Although you can simply create a composting pile in your yard, this could attract rodents so purchasing a closed composting bin is probably the best option and there are plenty of different ones on the market.

With food waste and yard clippings making up 30% of the waste in the US composting can make a significant impact on the environment.

In these economically challenging times we should be looking at ways to reduce the need to recycle. 

Recycling involves processing used materials into new products to reduce the need to use dwindling natural resources.

The Question is:  Is recycling as economically efficient and environmentally friendly as we are led to believe?Do we know what ultimately happens to recycled material? Does it end up being used as landfill rather than being reprocessed? How costly is the sorting of the recycled material? 

So why not become even more efficient and reduce your need to recycle

Here are some ideas to consider:Buying rechargeable batteries is more environmentally friendly than recycling traditional batteries, which, because of their toxicity, make recycling costs extremely high.Using home water filtration systems to produce safe water for your household requirements removes the need to recycle plastic bottles from bottled water. Food, garden waste and newspapers can all be composted to reduce the cost of recycling. The key is: Just because the packaging/container can be recycled this doesn’t make it the greenest option!