how old is that apple core?

One of our favourite sites - Ideal Bite - has a tip on taking a load off our landfills.

Did you know that regular plastic bags not only take ages to decompose, but that they actually PRESERVE what's inside?

Ideal Bite advocates the switch to biodegradable bags, which cost a little more, but are just as strong, and biodegrade in as little as 10 days -- finally allowing those food scraps to decompose!

For all you Canadians, Grassroots sells BioBag kitchen bags on their site, which are certified 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable bags made from corn.

bio-plates still trash, in the trash

Have you switched to biodegradable options for disposable plate ware and utensils? Great move, but make sure your composting them at the end - most stuff doesn't decompose easily in landfills.

Why not? And how long is trash, trash anyway? Get answers to these questions and more at our new favourite site Ideal Bite

Paper Underwear Anyone?

Disposable versus cloth (reusable) diapers have been hot competitors since astronauts first took to the heavens sporting their chic new pee-absorbing invention. I don't think any sane person can argue against the fact that disposable diapers are a pretty bad idea in terms of annual household garbage production (a whole tonne by the time baby is potty trained), yet this product still has a serious foothold in the baby-product marketplace. An estimated 95% of Canadian families wrap their little people in disposable poop collectors.
Anyone who has actually changed a stinky diaper can tell you why. In the moment, convenience is far more important than environmental preservation when your ten pound bundle of joy just became a slightly lighter bundle of stench. It's an easy argument. And what about all that water that gets polluted when cloth diapers are washed? Is that any better than heaps of indigestible landfill?
Well the whole cloth diaper movement has become pretty much state-of-the-art these days. From rash and bacteria control to ideal scrotal temperatures, not to mention low water usage in the wash cycle, modern cloth diapers services are a viable option. Even if you only do it for the first few months, by using cloth diapers you will be sending a lot less crap to the dump. This is a good thing considering we are running out of space to hide all our unwanted crap.

http://www.bearbottoms.ca/benefits.php
http://www.wastenotvi.ca/The_Problem.htm
http://www.ecobaby.com/cloth.htm