Many of the homes in my neighborhood are hitting the 10 year mark. As such, a lot of renovations are going on. The last time I put out a Styrofoam request, I received four big boxes worth of material from two bathroom renovation projects! Another neighbor needed to have her sink replaced and kindly asked…
I’ve received enough questions about pet waste that I feel I should address it. According to multiple sources, about 4% of residential waste is generated by our pets. Pet waste of any kind may not go in the City of Austin green compost carts. The City of Austin’s curbside compost contractor Organics by Gosh will…
If you read any zero waste blog, one of the items that inevitably comes up is razors. The blogs recommend you get laser hair removal, waxed, or use a straight or safety razor. All these actions cut down on the disposable razors and replaceable heads, and the plastic used in “disposables.” My leg hair is…
Austin Resource Recovery confirmed lotion tubes CAN be recycled, in addition to lotion bottles, in the City of Austin blue recycling carts. Please try to make sure all or as much as possible of the product is squeezed out. There are metal springs in the pump, so please trash that part of the lotion bottle.…
Eyeglasses and Contact Lens Recycling Eyeglasses A super common but often overlooked item that can be reused/recycled are eyeglasses. Everyone has old eyeglasses laying around, some of you may even have old childhood pairs or pairs from before your surgery. There are several places to take eyeglasses so they can be reused and provided to…
Maine just passed the U.S.’ first state ban on foam food packaging Foam to-go containers, egg cartons, and meat trays are recyclable! At least they are in Austin and New Braunfels! Round Rock will accept egg cartons. To-Go containers can recycled at the Austin Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center and the New Braunfels’ City Recycle…
There is research showing that not eating meat can be “greener” for the Earth. I respect that argument but I am not addressing that here. If you need to and/or want to eat meat as a source of protein, I want to make sure you are doing what you can to effectively dispose of the…
Zero waste coffee isn’t as time consuming at you may think. It also tastes better in my opinion since it’s fresh. If you use coffee capsules, such as Keurig, and don’t want to change to a more zero waste option, please consider offsetting the single use disposable item by purchasing a Coffee Capsules – Zero…
My neighborhood has an annual Egg Scramble every April. We always ask for donations of eggs with prizes inside. This year we did remember to collect as many empty eggs as we could at the event, but many eggs go home to be opened and played with later. I put out a collection bucket to…
The following is my opinion on the three commonly available compost bags. So you all know by now that I’m a bit of a zero waste nerd. I did a comparison of the three most commonly available to me kitchen compost collector bags, the approximately 3 gallon size. EcoSafe is my favorite. It has give…