With the New Year approaching rapidly, people may be thinking about resolution ideas, some of which may be to do something positive for the planet. The majority of us know the basics of carpooling, recycling and using CFL bulbs. Here are a few more from our good friend Chris Whitney of Royal LePage.

Single Serving Kettle

Try the new single serve kettle models that boil water for a single cup. If you need to heat water for yourself for a cup of coffee, tea, or soup, these models save energy. It uses the same technology that makes hot water in a drip cofeemaker.

Solar Powered Roof Ventilator

Install solar-powered fans in the attic which remove the hot air that builds up in the attic. This will keep the home cooler in the summer months and reduce your air-conditioning bill and save energy at the same time.

Biodegradable Party Plates and Cutlery

If you are throwing a party, consider biodegradable cutlery that is compostable. Since they are made from organic materials such as corn and not plastic, they can also be used in the microwave. When you are done with them, simply throw them in the compost bin. If you can't have a compost, it may be a good time to start using compost pick up services; Cherry Hill Coffee has a partnership with a local company that does weekly compost pickup.

 

According to Stats Canada, there are approximately 3.5 million dogs in Canada and that equates to alot of doggie poop. The biggest carbon footprint from our best friend is their daily business. The plastic bags used in the cleanup afterwards will be around alot longer then the dogs themselves.

San Francisco, with 120,000 dogs (more than children), collects 6,500 tonnes of doggie waste. A waste management company Norcal, collects the dog poop and converts it into energy using an aerobic digester that converts it to methane gas. The remains from the "digestion process" is used as compost for agriculture and the methane gas can be burned to produce electricity.

What can we do if we don't have an aerobic digester? For starters, we can stop using plastic bags; they will sit in the landfill for the next million years. If you use newspaper or paper bags, they will decompose and you can supplement the paper with the Skooperbox which is completely biodegradable.

There's also the Doggie Dooley compost system. It's a miniature septic tank that is easy to install and you just need to add water and digester powder. They are available at most larger pet stores.

If you want to build your own composting system, City Farmer has step-by-step photos and video instructions. You just have to teach Fido to use the composter directly.

Source: Article in Green Living Online titled "Greening the Doggie Do"

Sysco volunteers to keep the garbage heap small

During a May 14th Food show at Prospera Place, Sysco took the initiative on a green approach for waste removal. The Regional Waste Reduction Office along with volunteers and Lindsay Keller of Tigress Ventures sorted the garbage destined for the landfill into 3 piles: compost, recycling and landfill.

Here are some of the results of the sorting:

• 800 lbs of compostable food waste and biodegradable plates and cutlery were collected by Russ's Recycle and Compost Removal Services
• 500 litres of recyclables were diverted
• alot more cardboard was kept out of the garbage than at previous shows

As you can see, if the volunteers didn't take the initiative, the garbage heap would be alot larger today. We should do our part in helping the environment by simply sorting the thrash before dumping in the garbage bin.

Source: Kelowna Capital News Article titled "Sysco food festival joins recycling spirit"

Receive 5 bonus Air Miles

Rona has new "eco" brand products that are "eco-friendly, non-toxic and efficient"; From biodegradable bags to cleaning products for glass and fabric.

They are currently promoting their recycled bags, where partial proceeds from sales go to the Canadian Olympic team athletes.

They also carry CIL Eco-Colour paint which has no solvents and is virtually odourless.