Yesterday, in my list of non-recyclables, I posted that aerosols are not recyclable. But that’s based on my experience. I’ve had a heck of a time with centers in a few of the towns I’ve lived in.

So then, Peter, left this comment, “You are wrong! Aerosols are currently easily recycled – in the UK 95% of local councils accept them in the recycling scheme. Incidentally most aerosols contain around 25% of material that is recycled.”

Which of brings me back to my point that I personally have had aerosols turned away by recycling centers. I usually just don’t buy them. Still, Peter’s comment, was good because it got me thinking. I haven’t looked up aerosol laws in a while. So I did. However, I only looked up U.S. laws.

The Consumer Aerosol Products Council has an entire page about recycling aerosol products. Of course, they would, it’s to their benefit. Still, they’re claiming that almost all aerosol items are recyclable. They also note that not all centers do take them but that, “You can help by encouraging your community to accept empty aerosol cans along with other metal containers.” Which is a good point,. In the places I’ve lived that won’t accept certain items, if enough people made a fuss, the centers would have to eventually give in to consumer pressure.

If your local center won’t take your aerosol cans try this locater form to find a center that will. The Steel Recycling Institute notes that many aerosol can end up as rejects because they remain partially full, or they’re outdated. There’s pressure on recycling centers to empty cans and attempt to recycle anyway. The EPA offers scattered info on aerosol cans noting that household cans should be recycled but not all centers accept them. They also have a good section on cans that contain pesticides, noting:

“Recycling of aerosol containers is increasing dramatically and represents a significant potential recycled resource given the large numbers of units produced each year (approximately 3,000,000,000 aerosol containers of which 10% hold pesticides). Aerosol pesticide containers, however, are not now recycled to any appreciable extent because of the nature of the current safety and label instructions that require disposal of these containers. Failure to follow label statements for registered pesticides is a violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Changing these label instructions to permit recycling of aerosol pesticide containers would allow such recycling programs to operate and reap significant environmental and economic benefits.”

So, it sounds like people are working on the aerosol issues – but we have a way to go.

For kids:

Roscoe’s Recycle Room is a site just for kids from the The Steel Recycling Institute. Perfect for kids who want to learn more about recycling steel products.

Flip & Tumble is a new item that the company Flip & Tumble recently sent me some information about. They make an eco-friendly reusable bag; which in itself is not so unique. However, the Flip & Tumble bag has a slight twist.

Here’s the bag – looks pretty handy, right?

But, what about when you forget your bag at home. Then you’re stuck using paper or plastic – while your reusable bag just sits at home. Bummer.

The flip & tumble 24-7 bag solves this annoying problem. Their bag can be easily rolled into a little peach-sized ball – a ball so tidy, it even fits in your car cup holder, the palm of your hand, your purse, your pocket (ok, a big pocket, but still).

When unrolled, the bag is strong enough to hold 20 lbs worth of goodies. And yes, it’s easy…

Available in teal, neon lime, brown, and black. Check out Flip & Tumble; and never be without your reusable bag again.

If you’re looking for a great guide on organic foods, then Organic Guide is perfect for you. I like Organic Guide because of the clean layout and design. It’s really easy to navigate.

Organic Guide was originally a print publication. Back in 1987 it was a simple newsletter with information about organic gardening. By 2005, the original publication had long since ceased and a team of individuals decided to bring the information online. However, they don’t just cover gardening anymore.

What you’ll find at Organic Guide:

• Articles
• A blog
• Label sections – this part is really cool. They cover the basics organic labeling, markets, and organic links for Canada, the U.S., Australia, the UK and Ireland, and New Zealand. Just click on the tabs at the top of the homepage. It’s really the nicest line up of organic sources I’ve seen.
• Community, Lifestyle, Family, Gardening, Food & Drink, and Health & Beauty are the topics their website covers – and always with an organic slant.

I’d pay them a visit if I were you. Lots of neat organic news you can use.

This week’s audit is trash control. Knowing how much trash you have and how to have less.

Yesterday we looked at items you should not find in your trash; items you can recycle. Today let’s look at what cannot be recycled.

Aerosol cans made from combined plastics and metals.

Squeezable plastics – in the past none of the squeezable plastics were recyclable (think mustard bottle). However, I’ve seen news that some are now. It’s still sort of iffy though.

Depending on where you take them, and what area you live in, the following may not be recyclable: Light bulbs, crystal, plastic silverware, foam, window glass, pottery (like old clay pots), carbon papers, plastic bags, and more. You need to check with your local recycling center to get the whole run-down. To find your local centers visit Earth 911 – they have a form you can fill in and it will locate you a center.

Juice boxes – some are not. Some are made from recycled materials and some can be recycled. However, if you’ve got a juice box that’s a mix, such as one made with plastic, foil, and cardboard, it may end up not being recycled. Once you mix materials it becomes tough to sort them out again.

Tomorrow’s tip; what to do instead of throwing items like these in the trash.

Today we have a special guest post from Fast Growing Trees Nursery!

According to The Department of Environmental Protection, evergreen windbreaks are the most effective component in cutting winter heat loss. Research indicates that heat energy savings of up to 40 percent are possible resulting from diminished wind velocity and reduced air infiltration into your home. Considering the U.S. average, that could mean a savings of as much as $400 per winter!

Location is the most important factor in effectively planting a windbreak. The evergreens should be planted north and northwest of your home. That will place them perpendicular to the strongest and coldest winter winds. Plant the trees in a “U” or “L” shape to block the wind most effectively. The best zone of wind protection occurs from 2 to 7 times the height of the trees you plant. For example, if the mature height of the evergreens you’re planting is 20 feet, then the zone of maximum protection will occur 40 to 140 feet downwind. Keep this zone in mind when figuring out how close to a structure you’ll need to plant your trees for the greatest effect. Finally, decide how far apart to plant your trees. Plant them more closely to have them grow together quickly. Or plant them farther apart to save money but wait a little longer for them to fill in.

Keep a few things in mind as you plant your evergreen trees. Evergreens like full to partial sun and just about any soil conditions. Dig a hole slightly shallower and about twice the diameter of the root system. Use your shovel to scrape the walls of the planting hole so the roots can easily penetrate the soil as they grow. Then, set each tree in the planting hole and spread out the roots. The bottom of the hole should be firm enough to keep the tree from sinking after it’s planted. The top of the root ball should be about an inch above the surrounding soil. Then make sure the tree is straight up and down in the hole. A level is very helpful for accuracy.

Finally, apply water as you backfill the hole with soil to remove any air pockets. Break up dirt clods and remove any grass, stones or other debris. After the transplant is complete, water each tree again well. To keep the soil moist, it is recommended that you mulch around the tree. Use enough mulch to reach a depth of 2 to 3 inches. This will keep the moisture in and slow down the growth of weeds and grass.

For more detailed info on how to plant evergreen trees, visit Fast-Growing-Trees.com and check out their planting information.

This week’s audit is trash control. Knowing how much trash you have and how to have less.

Today’s tip is a rundown of what’s recyclable. Almost everything is somewhat recyclable. Of course, some things more than others.

As you audit your trash this week, here are some items you should not see in the garbage can. All of these items have the potential to be recycled. Later this week we’ll look at how.

Paper: This one is obvious. Don’t throw paper in the garbage can. That means – basic white paper, notebooks, sticky notes, index cards, newspaper, junk mail, magazines, food packaging, old homework assignments, books, toilet paper and paper towel rolls, and more. If it’s paper-like at all, there’s a good chance it’s recyclable.

Plastics: There’s limited recycling possibilities here. Plastics, because of their properties, are very hard to recycle. Still, you should not have plastic soda, juice, or milk jugs in the trash. If you’re seeing a lot of plastic in the trash, your best bet is to quit buying items that come in plastic.

Glass: Highly recyclable. Glass is easily melted down and reformed. For every ton of recycled crushed glass we can produce we save around 30 gallons of oil – it takes less energy to recycle glass into new forms than to make new glass out of sand (glass is mostly sand).

Metals:  Tin foil, soup cans, soda cans; really almost anything made of tin, steel, and aluminum can be broken down and re-made into something useful. Make sure you don’t have this in your trash.

Misc garbage:  Batteries, clothing, old paint, solvents, tires, some food, and old cds are some misc things you can recycle.

So far, we’ve eliminated almost all trash items. If you do a real trash audit this week – a complete audit – you should be down to almost no trash. Some of this involves extra steps though. Later this week we’ll look at more solutions.

Now, how is your trash looking?

In the previous post I mentioned the new Weekly Green Audit Challenge series. Each Sunday, I’ll post a new room or space we can look at during the week. Mon-Fri, I’ll post a new daily tip about how to meet your goals when it comes to this specific audit. Make sense? Hopefully. If not it will.

If you aren’t sure what a green audit means you’ll want to read Green Audit 101.

This week’s green audit focus will be on your…. Trash. Woo hoo, trash. Did you know you can run a green audit on your trash? Well, you can. It’s not pretty, but it sure is useful.  Also, this is an audit the kids might enjoy.

How to run a basic trash audit:

A trash audit is pretty simple. This week you’re going to need to take a look at your trash. There are two ways to go about this.

1. Write a big old note to yourself (and the family). The note should say, “STOP! Before you throw that ________ out, jot down what it is.” Of course the second part of this option is to have a notepad (recycled if possible) next to the trash can. Before you throw something away write down what it is.
2. You second option is to skip the above option all together, wait for the end of the week, get a pair of gloves, and sort through the trash.

I don’t know about you, but I like option one better.

The point of this audit is to see what you and your family is tossing each week and to see if any of it can be recycled. Believe me, something, you’re tossing can be recycled. There’s even stuff I can work on this week.  To be really useful, you should do this for all the garbage cans in your home. However, being the understanding blogger that I am, and also being a believer of small steps, let’s just focus on our kitchen garbage can this week.

Look for a new tip, daily, Mon-Fri that relates to this trash audit. Hopefully, we can get more of your trash recycled, and less of it in that outside bin.

So, in the previous post I mentioned me being gone this weekend. I was sick. Not bad. I just had/have one of those annoying colds that makes everything a chore. In any case, I was thinking about this blog over the weekend, and decided we should have a few changes.

One of these changes is a surprise – hopefully I can tell you about it soon. But it should be great.

The rest of the changes are going to go as follows:

I’m going to have Saturday be a kids day from now on. This blog was originally meant to be for kids and adults. However, it feels way more balanced on the adult side to me. Thus, on Saturdays from now on all the posts will cover green ideas, websites, activities, and other posts that relate to kids. Not that I still won’t try to include kids during the week, but I think they should have a special day here.

The next change is our audits. Which have been random. I’ve decided to put each audit on a schedule. This should make it easier for you to look at what you can be doing in your own home. On each Sunday I’ll post one audit (of a room in your house, your car, school, etc.) then on Mon-Fri, I’ll post a daily audit tip about that same space.

Lastly, I think I’m going to add a news round-up. Probably on Sundays. I follow a bunch of eco-living related news, and I thought it would be a nice addition here. Just some extra links for green-minded families to check out.

Is there anything you’d like to see happen here at Tree Hugging Family?

Well, I’ve been absent all weekend – which I will explain in the next post. But first the answer the tree quiz (that I promised the other day – bad me).

The answer to this tree hug quiz is Tea Tree.

I use tea tree oil a lot. The other day I was thinking, so… “Is there really a tea tree?” I looked it up, thinking I’d find a shrub or small plant, but there is a tea tree. It’s native to Australia and while the tree resembles a shrub, it’s a tree.

Tea tree essential oil is a great all-purpose oil. You can use it for tons of stuff and it’s *safe for the whole family. Tea tree has properties that allow it to work as an antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral application. It can be used to treat acne, sunburns, athlete’s foot, toothache, colds, and more.

Here’s one basic use:

If you have the flu or a bad cold a mixture of 5-6 drops tea tree essential oil, 3 drops lavender, and 2 drops thyme in a nice warm bath can help. Alternatively you can add the mixture to a very wet loofa or washcloth and use in the shower. This mix helps to sooth achy muscles, clear sinuses, and relax your body. I like to use organic essential oils but you can use basic oils – they do go through more processing though.

To learn more about tea tree and it’s uses, take a look at the following resources:

The many uses of tea tree. This site has some nice recipes too.

About the tree.

Purchase organic tea tree oil at Florame.

*Please note that I’m not a licensed aromatherapist. If you decide to use essential oils, make sure you know a little something about essential oils, and how to use them safely. Always do a little dab test before applying oil to large parts of your body. If you don’t know what a dab test is, don’t use essential oils until you get yourself a good essential oil use book or talk to a professional holistic health care professional. I suggest this book as a good way to start learning about essential oils.

So, yesterday we looked at location based solutions to emissions, traffic, and the other eco-problems that cars present. Today another solution.

Bikes:

Bikes are an obvious solution to many of the problems that cars create. On the pro-side, bikes are a healthy, low-cost, and quick way to move through traffic. The downside; if you live in the U.S. you also live in a fairly un-bike-friendly area. The U.S. has only a handful of cities with extensive bike paths.

If you live in some U.S. areas, people don’t “get” bikes and would sooner run you down than allow you on the road. This is two-sided. I’ve seen bikers who don’t follow the rules of the road – like they cut cars off or cross on red lights, and that just makes all bikers look bad. Another downside is suburban sprawl. It can be tough to bike miles and miles to work.

In How to Make the World A Better Place by Jeffery Hollender, it’s noted that places like the Netherlands, West Germany, and Japan are great places to be a biker. The Netherlands offers more than 9,000 miles worth of bike paths, and according to Hollender, “In some Dutch cities, half of all trips are made by bikes…. [and] the city of Kasukabe now has a twelve-story structure that uses cranes to park more than 1,500 bicycles.” That’s very different from the U.S.

The best way to start biking is to consider safety first, and push for change at a city and national level – i.e. encourage the government to add more bike paths, biking laws, and programs that support bikes as a viable transportation method.

Some great resources:

How to Not Get Hit by Cars – sounds scary, but really, it’s a great article for bikers. Has pictures too.

National Center for Bicycling & Walking

Bicycle Clubs in the U.S.: Actually not just clubs, but just about every bike link you’ll ever need is included here.

Later today the answer to this tree question.

Do you bike?