100 billion pounds of food waste are discarded every year, that is almost 25% of all our food. Additional waste is created at processing plants and farms. Rotting food creates methane, a terrible greenhouse gas. Someday trash dumps will recover all this gas.  Right now, you can turn food scraps into useful matter by composting. Most local recycling programs do not support composting. Most are located in California. If your local sanitation department does not have a composting program, you can do it yourself.

What is Composting?

Composting is utilizing mother nature in turning food scraps and yard trimmings into super nutrient rich soil. It helps reduce waste and produces the best growing soil around.  Backyard composting is good for gardeners and those who have lots of yard trimmings and some produce scraps.

You know composting is going mainstream when you see Costco is selling several composters. Even Amazon has a bunch of low-cost composters.

How to compost?

Here is a good guide to composting.  We find it a great way to reduce the amount of trash put out and a great way to make some valuable rocket soil for growing plants.

We put a container by the sink to collect compostables and later move them to our compost bin.

What to compost?

You can easily compost food scraps, vegetable and fruits. Also consider composting coffee grounds, tea bags, and the like.

• Bones, bread, grains, pasta
• Dairy products
• Eggshells, fish, shellfish
• Meat, Poultry
• Paperbags, paper cups, paper cups, paper napkins, paper plates,Pizza box containers
• Paper fast food burger containers, paper takeout boxes
• wine corks
• paper coffee cups
• Yard clippings including branches, brush, flowers, lawn clippings, leaves, and weeds

Our local trash company, Recology finally got with the program in 2011 and is now composting food scraps. Line the inside with newspaper or biodegradable bags.  Do not use plastic bags. Sprinkle baking soda if it begins to smell. Flies can be prevented with essential oils such as citrus, eucalyptus, lavender, or lemongrass dripped on the inside lid.

What Not to Compost

• Aluminum or Metal
• Animal waste
• Construction waste including concrete, asphalt, stones, bricks, wood
• Cooking Oil
• Condiment packets such as ketchup, mustard
• Diapers
• Garbage
• Glass or ceramics
• Hazardous waste including chemicals, cleaners, batteries
• Juice, soy milk, or soup boxes with foil liners
• Liquids or ice
• Plastics or plastic bags
• Sod, dirt
• Any Styrofoam

Here is our big compost bin.  It works but is not built very well.  The plastic parts come apart forcing us to relatch it every couple months.

This compost is the final result of our efforts.

Why Compost?

Composting allows us to turn organic trash into super soil. Although composting requires a lot of effort and time, the benefits far outweigh additional trash in a landfill.

CNBC’s Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage helped remind us that garbage is everyone’s problem and needs us to be more responsible. New York City garbage gets hauled several states away to get dumped!

Compostable Cups at Everything Coca Cola

It is good to see that even Coca Cola is getting green. They are using 100% compostable cups in their beverage showroom.

The stores in the Grand Canyon are also using ‘Green’ bags. Did not really want this bag but figured we’d take a picture of one. The clerks were shocked that we did not want a bag.

Discount Compost Bins

Composting is utilizing mother nature in turning food scraps and yard trimmings into super nutrient rich soil. It helps reduce waste and produces the best growing soil around. Backyard composting is good for gardeners and those who have lots of yard trimmings and some produce scraps.

Alameda County Residents: StopWaste.org has $129 Smith & Hawken Biostack compost bins for only $44 plus Sales Tax $4.29 + Shipping $19.

San Mateo County Residents: Recycleworks has discounts on Biostack and Wriggly Wranch compost bins for residents.

Seattle Residents: Seattle Public Utilities has discounts too.

If you are handy, build your own composting bin.

It comes with a manual on how to do composting. I like composting because it helps reduce all the trash we throw away. Compost is like super soil that helps produce some awesome plants.

Check with your local recycling program provider to see if they have similar programs. Costco and Amazon have sales on composters from time to time.

If you live in a city, consider an electronic composter.

NatureMill Automatic Composter

NatureMill makes the new NatureMill Automatic composter that takes the pain out of composting. Composting takes kitchen scrapes and yard waste and turns them into super fertilizer, helping to divert waste from the trash pile. This product is ideal for apartments and non-gardeners.

Traditionally, you take your scraps to a compost box outside and mix them with grass, leaves, and other yard waste.  You need to balance green items and brown items and wait several months for results.

This new appliance does it all for you.  Just add food waste and it does the rest.  No need to collect waste, hike out to the backyard, rotate stuff. In two weeks you have compost.  It only uses 5 kwh of power a month, approximately $0.50 per month. This device is made recycled and recyclable materials and starts at $299.99 from amazon.  Review

CNBC’s Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage helped remind us that garbage is everyone’s problem and needs us to be more responsible.

Disposable Diaper Composting Service

Earth-Baby.com is a new service that composts disposable baby diapers and wipes. Finally a green solution to a long time problem. They say their high temperature composting process uses only a tiny fraction of the energy required to launder diapers.

The down sides. Their monthly service fee is $29.99 and includes delivery, pickup, and professional processing. You need to use their diapers as they need to control their waste stream. (And profits) Diapers are $11.79 per pack (22-44 diapers depending upon the size) and wipes are $3.59 per pack of 70. Their service is available in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check your local area for similar diaper composting services.

gDiapers makes hybrid diapers whose biodegradable gRefills can be home composted, flushed, or thrown away.

Knowaste recycles diapers, nappies, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene products (AHPS).

Slightly over 2% of trash is diapers, so construction debris, food scraps, and other items are far more important to address.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature Environmentally Friendly – Eco Friendly cleaner made from environmentally friendly ingredients that are biodegradable and biorenewable. Plant based formula, made from bio-renewable resources.  No Phosphates or dyes, cruelty free, natural fragrance.  Costco Connection has an article on this product in Costco Magazine page 55.

Kirkland Signature Environmentally Friendly fabric softener is also available. It uses biodegradable softening agents.

Costco Kirkland Signature Eco Friendly Cleaner Ingredients

Costco lists all active agreements. Coconut and palm oils ingredients as well as natural plant oils are used.  MSDS documents are tough to get. Calling Costco at 800-774-2678 lead to a recommendation to call their supplier for these products, Huish detergents – Sun Products, at 800-776-6702.  You can call them and ask for the MSDS documents.

Costco follows the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) requirement of cleaning agent degrading. Biodegrades 70% in 28 days after functioning.

Costco has stated that “Palm and coconut products are purchased only from certified-sustainable plantations where deforestation and irreversible damage to the ecosystem are forbidden.”

Per the MSDS documents, the Multi Purpose Cleaner has Cocamide DEA (From coconut oil, toxicity) and d-limonene (major component of the oil extracted from citrus rind). They do not indicate how much is present.

The Liquid Dish Detergent has Ethanol. (On the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders)

Liquid Laundry Detergent did not list items on its MSDS.

Digging into a product takes a while but can produce some interesting results.  At least Costco is moving in the right direction.  Using these products rather than old fashion ‘regular’ cleaners is a step in the right direction.

Don’t forget to wash your clothes in cold water.

Clorox Green Works Laundry Detergent

Clorox Green Works openly list their ingredients open on their packaging, unlike most other Clorox products:

Water, plant-based cleaning agents (methyl ester sulfonate, alkyl polyglucoside, cocodimethyl amine oxide), glycerine, water softener (sodium citrate), plant-derived soap (oleic acid), enzyme stabilizer (boric acid), natural enzymes, alkalinity builder (sodium hydroxide), fragrance with essential oils, salt, calcium chloride, biodegradable preservative, blue & yellow colorant. Contains no phosphate or bleach.

Their MSDS (Material Safety Document Sheet) document shows several hazardous ingredients and petroleum-derived ingredients.  Clorox Green Works products are not perfect, but a step in the green, eco friendly direction.  Clorox has wide distribution so they will allow more mainstream customers to access greener cleaning products. We prefer the slightly more green Method ultra concentrated or Seventh Generation products ourselves as they do not  have petroleum derived products. What exactly is a natural cleaning product?

Alternative Eco Friendly, Green Cleaning products

An easier route we take is buying Planet, Seventh Generation, or Method product from a local grocery store or Amazon.  Free shipping and low prices make it easy. These vendors clearly declare ingredients used in their products. No need to lug the heavy items too!

The Costco Effect is defined by the Devil’s Dictionary as “..consumer enter a store planning to buy toilet paper, and end up charging $1500 on their AMEX card.” CNBC ran a program entitled “Costco Effect” which describes the loyalty many shoppers have to this store.

The Wall Street Journal even had an article on this. “Michael Norton, a Harvard University marketing professor, co-authored a yet-to-be-published paper that found people buy more than they intend at Costco because they perceive that prices are better. He believes people end up throwing out food as a result.”

Knowing many Costco regulars or “addicts”, I can agree with the articles.  You visit the store to buy more household items like detergent, paper towels, bread, milk but end up with books, electronics, beef jerky, clothes, and much more in your shopping cart. Shoppers assume they are getting great deals and buy until their garages are overstocked.

This overbuying problem presents itself at other warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and even to holders of Store credit card with rewards or loyalty program like a Target Credit Card or Amazon Credit Card.  You end up buying extra, often unnecessary items because of a discount, cash back, or sales goal.

We have no problem buying in bulk to save money, but when you add in a bunch of impulse items, you do not save money, you spend more.  Many items are only sold in bulk, so we had first hand experience buying items, eating some, then tossing the rest.  Not very eco friendly and no savings of money.

Try to restrain yourself at Costco or any other store.

Do you really need this item?  Will I really finish this 12 pack?

Never shop when you are hungry!  That sample tasted good, should I buy some?  Eat before shopping.

Also remember that you can return anything to Costco at ANY time, even partially consumed. (Some electronics have a 90 day return period.)

Comparison Shopping Online Saves Energy

Comparison Shopping Online Saves Energy according to a report from Carnegie Mellon’s Green Design Institute. They looked at a major E-tailer buy.com and evaluated logistics specifically for electronics products. They took in to account many factors including transportation, data centers, warehouses, energy use in Homes, etc. Some findings when comparing online stores to brick and mortar retail operations:

• E-commerce uses 30% less energy
• Online commerce results in 30% fewer CO2 emissions

More online stores are carrying a wide variety items from Electronics to groceries to books, making it a convenient one stop shop. No need to waste gas driving to several different stores. We buy many items from Amazon (Support the site by using our links)