This week, I’d like to talk to you about computers and other electronics. On my mind today: that pile of computer monitors behind the dumpster in the Morris/Murdock building parking lot. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but our community seems to believe that the dumpster is a communal dumpster. They also seem to believe that their mother works here, because they leave their trash piled up around the dumpster, instead of actually throwing it away.

But I digress. That pile of computer monitors isn’t just ugly. It’s hazardous waste! Computer monitors (the old boxy ones), are full of nasties, particularly lead—the screen’s glass contains a bunch of it to protect you from radiation.

Those monitors will probably go to the landfill eventually and leach lead into our soil. But now, at least, you know that you shouldn’t throw away your old computer in any old dumpster. (Or, at least, nearby any old dumpster.)

We’ll chat more about it tomorrow.

Hello friends,

We’ve been talking this week about how some materials—glass and metal, for example—are more recyclable than others, like plastics.

But when we talk about recycling, we often leave out the two most important parts of the process. You’ve surely heard the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Well, there’s a reason “recycle” is the last word in the phrase—it’s supposed to be your last resort.

Yes indeed, I am telling you that recycling alone isn’t good enough. You have to actively reduce the amount of waste you produce: buy items with less packaging, buy in bulk, only use a bag if you need it, and don’t buy “disposable” anything, if you can help it. Next, reuse what you already have: old plastic bags, plastic sour cream containers, etc. I’m sure you know someone—a grandparent or parent—who lived through the Depression and had to make everything last as long as it could. Following our elders’ example is one of the most Earth-friendly things we can do.

Viva the old people!

Love, The Green Fairy

The reason we can’t throw glass in with all of our other recyclables is pretty basic. Glass breaks, and once it does, it is difficult to separate from the cans and paper in your bin. Most of our recycling is still sorted by hand, and the workers can’t pull the tiny shards out of the waste stream.

In addition, glass must be sorted by color to be recycled. One green bottle can ruin an entire bin of brown ones. Again, this is tough to do if the glass is broken, so the recyclers rely on us to do the sorting.

Luckily, recycling glass is kind of cathartic. You get to throw bottles into a big metal bin, breaking as many as you want. It’s a good stress reliever.

There are a couple of places to recycle glass; the closest one is on 900 East, just south of I-80, at the Forest Dale Golf Course parking lot. You can also visit utahrecycles.org to find recycling locations near you.

Have a good day! Love, The Green Fairy

• Glass—I know, it’s an unexpected pick. But it’s fully recyclable, and we’ve been using it for centuries to hold our food, and I’m pretty sure it’s not leaching anything into our food. So it’s what I choose, when I have an option.
• Metal—steel, tin and aluminum are all 100% recyclable. You can turn an aluminum can back into new aluminum can. My only concern: most cans are lined with plastic, which leaches BPA, that nasty chemical you saw all over the news a few months ago. So far, Eden Organics is the only brand that doesn’t use that type of plastic liner.
• #2 plastics—old-school plastics, like your mom’s old Tupperware. The white opaque stuff. AKA high-density polyethylene. This stuff doesn’t leach nasties into your food, and it can be “recycled” in more ways than any other type of plastic.
• #1 and #4 plastics—Less recyclable than #2, but still not the worst. I think #1 leaches ickies into your food, though, and I wouldn’t trust #4, either.
• #3, #6 and #7 plastics—the least recyclable plastics. Also, #3, AKA pvc or vinyl, is really toxic in its production, so you should really try to avoid it altogether.

There you have it. That’s my list. It’s not written in stone; it’s just my own personal buying preference. I hope it helps you when you’re making your buying choices!

Love, The Green Fairy

Have you ever stood in the grocery aisle, trying to decide between two very similar products? They both have the same volume, the same price, the same ingredients—which do you choose?

I’m going to offer one more criterion you should consider when buying anything: packaging. Which one has less packaging overall? Sometimes—say, when you’re buying cookies—they’ll come packaged in a box, but inside the box they’re contained within little plastic trays. Or sometimes, they’ll even be individually wrapped.

You might say “Yeah, but all that packaging can be recycled, Green Fairy!” Ah, there’s the catch. Plastic recycling is unlike aluminum recycling or steel recycling. You can’t turn an old plastic bag into a new plastic bag. You can turn it into a park bench, but what do you do when the park bench breaks? It goes into the landfill.

This cycle is called “downcycling,” and it’s what happens when you put plastics in the recycling bin.

So when you’re deciding between two products, and one is swathed in more plastic than the other, the choice should be simple!

Love, The Green Fairy

(Remember, as we’ve discussed, keeping your tires properly inflated is a good way to up your gas mileage. If you don’t believe me, try bicycling with underinflated tires, and then with fully inflated ones. It’s a lot more work the first way.)

Anyway, Heidi pointed out that it’s tough to know exactly how high your tire pressure should be. There’s a number listed on the inside of the drivers’ side door, but there’s also a number on the tire itself. Which is correct?

Always go by the number on the tire itself. That’s the number the tire manufacturer has determined will provide optimum performance. The number on the car door is put there by the car’s manufacturer. And the car’s manufacturer’s number will almost always be lower than the tire manufacturer’s, because less-inflated tires give you a cushier ride. And the car manufacturers think you want comfort over efficiency.

That’s so 1990s.

Have a good day! Love, The Green Fairy

Anyway, we’re wratpping up a week of discussing water conservation, and I promised to give you the secret to knowing when your lawn needs water. It’s pretty easy: just walk across the grass. If it springs back immediately, don’t water. If you can look back across the lawn and see where you walked, it’s time to turn on the sprinklers.

A few more yard-related water conservation tips:

• Always water at night (after 6 p.m.) or in the morning (before 10 p.m.). When you water during the heat of the day, a significant portion of the moisture is lost to evaporation.
• Don’t use your hose to wash down your sidewalks and driveway. A broom will do the same job with perhaps hundreds of gallons in savings.
• Don’t forget to deeply water your trees. The Green Fairy sees lots of yards across the valley that are landscaped for low water use, and their trees are suffering. Better to use some gallons of water on the tree (which provides shade and helps reduce evaporation from your yard) than to lose it.

Have a good dry weekend!

• We all hang out in the shower for an extra minute or two sometimes, but keep in mind that most showers spray 2.5 gallons per minute.
• Speaking of showers, you might try shutting it off while you shave your legs, or while you’re lathering up. (This is easier to do now, when it’s warm outside, and the Green Fairy understands).
• If you have an older model toilet, fill up a two-liter bottle with water, and put it in the tank. It’ll save you two liters every time you flush, with no change in performance. (The Green Fairy managed to fit three liters in hers.)
• It should be common sense, but make sure you turn off the water while you brush your teeth.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the yard, and I’ll give you the secret to knowing if your lawn needs water.

Love, The Green Fairy

With that in mind, here are some more tips for saving water, this time in the kitchen:

• When you boil something—say, potatoes—in a big pot of water, save the water when you drain the potatoes. Let it cool, then use it to water dry spots on your lawn or flower garden. This is called “graywater,” and it means using un-drinkable water for other means. (Note: don’t do this if you’ve put oil or butter in the water.)
• Same goes for if you blanch the vegetables—save the ice bath and dump it in the garden.
• Leaky faucets can lose 20 gallons of water daily. Enough said.
• In one of the great green triumphs of all time, it’s more water-efficient to run the dishwasher than it is to hand-wash. Yee-haw! Just make sure you’re running full loads—if you run the whole thing for five dishes, that’s not very efficient.

Tomorrow, we’ll move on to the bathroom!

Much love, The Green Fairy