Archive for the ‘Recycle’ Category

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Columbia Falls Library Association: used book store sale

Wednesday, June 15th, 2016

By Catherine Haug, June 15, 2016, updated June 19. 2016

The following is from C. Wyman  in CFalls. He contributed photos of cobb projects for ESP’s Repurposing video, and also an article for our website, Preparing for Disaster or Prolonged Power Outage.

After his original information about the store (see below), he learned that the building that houses the store just got a huge increase in rent which they cannot afford. They will be holding a ‘bag sale’ need to reduce their inventory. All you can cram into a bag, for $4 through August 15, 2016.

They are looking for a new location to own to prevent this from happening again. Read on for the original posting, to learn more about the association and their store. (more…)

Posted in Community, Recycle | No Comments »

CFL and LED bulbs: how to dispose/recycle them

Wednesday, October 21st, 2015
Incandescent, CFL and LED hanging bulbs

Incandescent, CFL and LED hanging bulbs

By Catherine Haug, Oct 21, 2015 (Photo, right, from Recycle Nation (4))

We’ve all been encouraged to use CFL(compact fluorescent light) bulbs because they save on energy consumption. But CFLs contain mercury, the most toxic substance known to man, which means you should not put them in your trash. Also, you cannot put them with your regular recyclables, so what do you do when they burn out?

Is there a better alternative?
(more…)

Posted in Ecology, Energy, Recycle | No Comments »

Storing and disposal of paint thinner

Monday, July 6th, 2015

By Catherine Haug, July 6, 2015

[OOPS, please forgive the typo in the original title: ‘pant thinner.’ I have corrected it and I hope that it gave you a chuckle.]

I have a plastic gallon container about half-full of paint thinner in my cool basement. Today when I went to the basement I could smell the fumes. It wasn’t strong, but it was there. Considering all the heat we’ve had and can probably expect for the rest of the summer, and the flammability of paint thinner, I was concerned. So I looked it up on the web to learn what to do and thought I’d share my learnings with you. (more…)

Posted in Home & Ranch, Recycle | No Comments »

NYC 4th grader’s video about school lunches

Saturday, June 27th, 2015
Red Apple

Red Apple

by Catherine Haug, June 27, 2015 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

I don’t pretend to be an expert on our national school lunch program, nor even what is served at our own local Bigfork Schools today. I do remember what was served when I was in school.

It seems that in New York City, things are much worse than what I experienced in 1950s-60s Bigfork Schools’ lunch room. Check out this entertaining 20 minute video by 4th grader Zachary Maxwell. (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Recycle, Schools | No Comments »

Recycling plastics may soon be futile

Sunday, March 1st, 2015
BPA-Free Plastics

BPA-Free Plastics

By Catherine Haug, Mar 21, 2015 (Photo, right, from NPR (2)

As a community working towards sustainability, ESPers are, for the most part, avid recyclers. Recycling of many substances just makes sense: glass, paper, and metals. We also put plastic items in the recycle bins, but are they really recycled?

They are certainly sorted and bundled for shipment to recycling companies. But there are very few plastic recycling companies in the US, so most plastics have been shipped to China for recycling. However, China’s new “Green Fence” policy has put a stop to accepting plastic types 3 – 7, as these are the difficult and expensive to recycle. These plastics, which include PVC (#3), LDPE (#4, which includes bags in the produce section), polypropylene (#5), polystyrene (#6), and ‘Other’ (#7) will just go to the local landfills unless American companies step up to the plate. (1)

OR… (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Home & Ranch, Recycle | Comments Closed

The problem of plastics pollution

Saturday, January 18th, 2014

Recent Studies State Chemical In Plastic Liquid Containers Contain ToxBy Catherine Haug, Jan 18, 2014

(photo of plastic pop bottles, right, from npr.org (3))

This month (Jan 30, 2014), Citizens for a Better Flathead and Waste Not Project are hosting a movie night/panel discussion on recycling more in the Flathead (see Event Notice: Movie Night on Recycling More in the Flathead, Jan 30. 2014). Attendees are encouraged to bring questions and solution ideas to the panel, and a documentary film: Unwasted: The Future of Business on Planet Earth, available on YouTube (1) may give you some ideas to bring to the event, or inspire you to action in your community. The film was produced in 2011 by Seattle-based, green facility maintenance firm Sage Environmental Services2 in partnership with PorterWorks,3 a sustainable solutions company.

High on the list of things that are difficult to recycle here are plastics. We can currently recycle milk jugs and plastic pop bottles, but that’s about it.Yet plastics pose a great threat to the future of our planet.

From Dr. Mercola’s article on this film and topic (2): (more…)

Posted in Community, Ecology, Recycle, Repurpose | Comments Closed

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