This article originally appeared in the October 2019 edition of the Front Porch Flyer. Holidays can offer an exercise in creativity and reuse, and an opportunity to connect with neighbors. Here are some ideas to “green” your Halloween: Candy/Treats Try to find boxed/paper candy that can be recycled/composted: Nerds, Dots, Milk Duds, Junior Mints, fake…
Instead of buying a new piece of furniture, consider giving your current furniture a facelift. Slipcovers, pillow covers, decorative pillows, blankets artistically draped, paint, new hardware, new accents, all these things can be used to give a new life to pieces you already own. Here are some examples of a quick color change. My couch’s…
There’s been some confusion with the Amazon mailers so I’m going to clarify how to handle each one. This is Amazon’s first mailer. It’s a yellow paper envelope lined in clear plastic bubble wrap. It’s a composite/mixed material and difficult to separate. It goes in the trash. This is Amazon’s second mailer, the “environmentally friendly…
More environmentally friendly kitchen scrub options Most kitchen sponges or scrubbing items are made of oddly shaped plastic, a combination of soft and hard plastics, or a combination of different materials which make them difficult to separate and/or recycle. Unless you are going to purchase the TerraCycle Kitchen Separation Zero Waste Box most of these…
The question of what to do with egg cartons comes up a lot so I wanted to address it here. Paper egg cartons without egg goo are “best and highest use” in recycling carts. “Best and highest use” will give the carton several future lives as additional paper products until the paper fibers become so…
Do you need a new car seat or an upgrade for your child or grandkid? September 3 – 13, 2019 is this fall’s Target Car Seat Trade-in event! Quoting from Target’s website, “Guests who trade in their old car seats will receive a 20 % off coupon toward a new car seat, stroller or select…
This article addresses composting in Austin. I’ve included information for apartments and curbside residents. Don’t forget to check out my previous posts on composting:– https://alittlemore.green/2019/04/25/compost-bags-comparison/ – https://alittlemore.green/2019/03/29/top-5-compost-contaminants-in-austin/ – https://alittlemore.green/2019/03/30/fur-and-feet/ – https://muellerneighborhood.org/city-austin-composting-comes-mueller/ Apartments– City of Austin apartment and condominium composting and recycling information is located at here.-The Texas Farmers Market at Mueller (Saturday only composts), and…
This month Earth 911 posted an article titled, “Everything Your Child Needs for a Waste-Free School Year” and “Be Prepared: Your Complete Back-to-School Guide” These articles point out some new “green” school and office supplies that are more environmentally friendly than traditional supplies. However; while I appreciate their intent, and yes compostable materials and recycled…
One of Austin’s zero wasters posted about an incredible new lending library she is creating for dishes! You can check out her post on the Dish Lending Library here; it’s so good I’m not going to repeat it! I would love to see this used at the block parties in my neighborhood! Libraries aren’t just…
These are the questions you submitted for clarification on curbside recycling in Austin. We have the contacts and the resources to recycle a ton of items in Austin (we’re so lucky!) we just need to read the material to Recycle Right! Recycling Numbers:The often misidentified “recycling number” inside the little triangle on materials is actually…