So-called biodegradable or compostable flatware come with their own problems, an L.A. Times article pointed out yesterday. Since most of these only biodegrade in industrial composting facilities that get things really hot -- and since few cities have such facilities, let alone city-wide collection programs for these newfangled disposables, most of the allegedly greener food containers and utensils go to landfills, just like non-recyclable goods.
But if you live in Santa Monica and have a green bin, you're in luck. The city of Santa Monica's green bins now accept compostable food containers and utensils, in addition to yard waste and food scraps. To make sure all the compostable containers break down properly, the collected waste's then taken up to an industrial composting facility in Sun Valley.
Although the city's already trucking all the green bin waste to Sun Valley, public outreach about the program hasn't yet begun -- which, according to Wes Thompson, solid waste supervisor for the city of Santa Monica, means the program hasn't officially launched. "Our fliers are at the graphic designers," Thompson says.
Santa Monica residents don't have to wait for the fliers to hit their mailboxes, however. Start putting their compostable containers and food scraps into your green bins now!
Of course, if you live in an apartment like I do, you don't yet have your own green container. "We're working on that," says Thompson, who says multifamily housing units in Santa Monica tend to be landscaped more -- and thus produce more yard waste -- than similar units in other cities. "If we're going to get to zero waste, [expanding the green bin program] will be the only way."
 Getting a city-wide green bin program in place for multifamily housing units, however, will likely take a couple years, says Thompson. In the meantime, Santa Monica will get a smaller program: Green bins where people can drop off their compostables will be placed in a couple spots around the city. Thompson doesn't have the spots picked out yet, but said the bins will definitely be in place by the end of the summer.
If you don't live in Santa Monica, this green bin program sadly does NOT apply to you. The city of L.A., for example, cannot handle compostable food containers in its green bins -- though vegan food scraps are allowed. You can try to push the city to go the Santa Monica route -- or just get into the habit of using your own, non-disposable utensils.
Top photo by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times; bottom photo courtesy of reusablebags.com
Your eco-questions answered:
Question: Do you have any sources on recycling in Orange County? We live in an apartment [in Yorba Linda], where there isn't (apparently) recycling available. (Management says that the trash stream gets recycled separately, but I'm way skeptical.) I used to live in Seattle, and I can't get used to not recycling stuff. — Greg
Answer: Your management is actually telling the truth. The city of Yorba Linda contracts with Taormina Industries for trash and recycling services. While homeowners get 3 bins (one for yard waste, one for mixed recyclables, and one for everything else) in Yorba Linda, commercial and apartment trash all goes into one bin, which then gets sorted to fish out the recyclables.
As I mentioned before, this unsorted recycling process (a.k.a. dirty MRF-ing) tends to have lower recovery rates than pre-sorted recycling -- so pushing your local government for apartment recycling bins could still be a good idea.
In the meantime, use Earth911.org to quickly locate the recycling center nearest you.
Photos by concrete cornfields via Flickr
>> Venice boardwalk got 12 new recycling bins! Purchased with proceeds from a tax on private trash haulers, the bins will be emptied and maintained by homeless people working for a local non-profit agency called Chrysalis Enterprises. The recycling program will pay for itself by selling the collected materials to recycling companies. Above is L.A. Council member Bill Rosendahl at the bins' "unveiling" on Thursday.
>> Buy, sell and trade children's clothes at eco-store Eden’s Green Closet, 1423 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice. (via Ideal Bite)
>> Chat about "staycations" -- and the potential half-cent sales tax for L.A. County transit projects and other transportation -- with Metro Board Chair Pam O'Connor tomorrow at noon.
>> Respected eco-blog WorldChanging bans "skeptical" comments on climate change. "We will delete comments which deny the absolutely overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, just as we would delete comments which questioned the reality of the Holocaust or the equal mental capacities and worth of human beings of different ethnic groups."
>> State Republicans are trying to roll back policies that address climate change, such as curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and regulations banning some diesel engines. "None of those laws has any direct connection to the state budget; changing them will do nothing to close California's $15.2-billion deficit."
>> Read an interview with Jane Goodall, best known for her work with chimps. Now, Goodall's working on saving the environment -- and encourages you to do the same.
Wine drinkers: You can now up-cycle your corks! In addition to the juice pouches and cookie wrappers and other detritus from our grab-n-go culture, the eco-company TerraCycle's now accepting wine corks -- both natural and synthetic -- which the company will turn "into cool products that will be available nationally at major retailers."
It's unclear what exactly these products will be, but the illustration provided on TerraCycle's Web page looks like a doormat will be one of the goods produced.
Best part of this dealio: While other TerraCycle programs require you to sign up and are really geared towards groups and organizations, this wine cork program makes up-cycling easy for mere individuals. If you've got fewer than 100 corks, all you have to do is mail them in to TerraCycle, ATTN: Cork Brigade, 121 New York Ave., Trenton, NJ 08638.
Got more than 100 corks? Then go ahead and sign up with TerraCycle to get prepaid return shipping labels.
Image courtesy of TerraCycle
Although Best Buy's recycling page doesn't mention it, you can indeed recycle CDs and DVDs at Best Buy stores!
I first read about this recycling opportunity in Best Buy press release about its new trial e-waste recycling program. So yesterday, I stopped by a Best Buy store for the first time in years -- and found that a three-section recycling bin at the front of the store takes not just the usual cellphones and ink jet cartridges, but CDs and DVDs too.
 So I duly dropped off a big stack of CDs into the bin. The sign on the bin says "drop off or mail" -- but the mail-in option only exists for the cellphones. To get rid of your CDs, you will need to go to your nearest Best Buy.
Find recycling this stuff a hassle? Just keep a little box in your closet or under your bed, and throw in your cartridges, small gadgets, and rechargeable batteries as they become obsolete. Let them collect -- it's not as if the stuff's organic garbage that'll go bad -- and make a recycling trip once or twice a year.
Photo by Siel
 I've covered some very unexpected recycling programs on this blog, ranging from "upcycling" juice pouches to "artcycling" produce stickers. Now here comes another recycling opportunity that'll be beloved by anyone who switched to a Brita filter to reduce plastic waste from all those one-use water bottles. The Take Back the Filter campaign wants your old Brita filters!
The filters won't actually be recycled into new filters or other new products. Instead, they will be used as a visual showcase of sorts in order to persuade Clorox, owner of the Brita Products Co. in the U.S., to provide a recycling option for consumers who use their products. After all, Europeans are able to recycle their filters. According to the Take Back the Filter campaign website, "the original European Brita GmbH company has created a take-back recycling program for its filter cartridges."
 So far, the campaign's attracted many supporters -- including the Bay area chapter of Sierra Club, which wrote a letter to Clorox (PDF) urging a filter recycling program. Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish, who initiated the campaign, even dressed up as a Brita filter to participate in the popular Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco.
There is actually a way for you to reuse at least part of your Brita filter, as this Instructables article -- "How to refill a 'disposable' Brita brand water pitcher filter with activated carbon" -- points out. The process isn't exactly easy, however. "All that you will need is an old cartridge, some activated carbon, a polyethylene plug, a sharp utility knife or Xacto knife," reads the beginning of the article, as if most households have activated carbon laying around. Excepting the old cartridge, I have none of those things, much less the optional 1/2" drill motor and 1/2" drill bit.
So for now, I'll be sending my used Brita filters to the Take Back the Filter campaign. You can mail them to Take Back The Filter, 5245 College Avenue, Box #815, Oakland, CA 94618.
And if you feel so moved, sign the "Take Back the Filter" petition -- and maybe even write a letter to Clorox executives. Filter buyers are, after all, Clorox's repeat customers. Let your consumer demands be known.
Image and photo courtesy of Take Back the Filter
 Recycling odd, small items brings out two camps: The "Why're you wasting time with small meaningless things when we've got big problems" crowd, and the "Finally -- a solution for my mini quandary" crowd. This post's for the people in the latter granola group.
And I mean "granola group" literally, as in people who enjoy eating granola. Sign up for The Energy Bar Wrapper Brigade to get 2 cents per used granola bar wrapper and the peace of mind that those trashy things'll get upcycled into backpacks, purses, and other more permanent products.
That program's sponsored by CLIF bar, which has teamed up with the worm-poop eco-fertilizer company TerraCycle to create this upcycling project. CLIF isn't alone; companies ranging from the Stonyfield Farms yogurt company to the rather biz-as-usual Nabisco are also sponsoring TerraCycle projects. Got a Chips Ahoy or Oreo addiction? Pack your kids Capri Suns every day? Save the trash, earn money, and feel saintly green.
Of course, some die-hard environmentalists will argue that the real problem is not the disposal of the packaging but our addiction to single-serving convenience foods -- especially unhealthy, processed stuff like Oreos. I hear that, but still eat the occasional CLIF and Maya bar. I also get the local Redwood Hill Farm's yogurt sometimes, and once, I bought organic oreos.
The companies selling the food products are the ones paying for the projects, from the shipping costs of the materials to the 2-5 cent incentives. This allows TerraCycle to obtain zero-cost materials. "We don’t make a profit from the funds that [the sponsor companies] provide us with," says James Artis of TerraCycle. "We simply use those funds for operating expenses. Where we as a company look to turn a profit is the affordable eco-friendly products that we make from the garbage."
Unfortunately, unless you know of or have signed up an organization you're involved in with the upcycling program, disposing of all this packaging in an eco-manner still isn't easy. TerraCycle's website puts the recycling program info upfront, but the sponsoring companies' websites don't have anything about the programs in a place where consumers could easily find out about it. In addition, while many organizations have signed up with the program, those organizations aren't listed in any kind of public database that would let would-be upcyclers drop wrappers off at a nearby location.
My guess is that too much publicity -- like installing collection bins at every major supermarket -- might overwhelm TerraCycle's resources. Already, TerraCycle's taking a break from adding "brigades" for energy bar wrappers, yogurt containers or soda bottles.
Still, if your school or other group wants to participate, signing up is pretty easy -- and free. Plus the money collected could be used toward fundraisers. I'm wondering if my favorite grocery store, Co-opportunity, can be talked into getting a collection box.
 A friend asked me if I was going to the National Train Day festivities at Union Station on Saturday, and I rather grumpily said no. What's the point, when I never get to take rail? One day, when the Subway to the Sea finally gets built out to Santa Monica, THEN I'll celebrate trains.
For Santa Monica residents and others feeling similarly left out by our rail-less-ness on the Westside, there's an eco-ish festival for us on Saturday too! Take the bus or bike over to the "Revel with a Cause" Santa Monica Festival to see and hear world music and dance on solar powered stages, participate in art workshops using pre-loved materials, shop from eco-friendly vendors, and sample international cuisine served with biodegradable foodware.
When: Saturday, May 10, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Where: Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica
Cost: Free!
The recycled art workshops sound like they'll be the most fun:
- re:Fashion Workshop: Turn newspapers into wearable fashions, then model it on the re:Fashion Catwalk.
- Scratch Art & Spin Art: Learn to DJ with Scratch Academy -- then turn vintage vinyl into art.
- The Nutty Recycler's Amazing Trash Puppetry Factory: Turn trash into puppets!
- People, Cats, Dogs and Whatever Else: Turn old materials from past Santa Monica Museum of Art programs into a collage about you and your pet.
If you don't want to commit to an entire workshop, you can browse the Eco Zone -- booths with eco orgs and vendors eager to help you reduce your carbon footprint. You can also bring old cellphones and other small electronics to drop off for reuse and recycling.
Throughout the day, there'll be performances from a diverse group of musical acts, from L.A.-based 1960s Cambodian pop band Dengue Fever to Romanian folk music group Fishtank Ensemble.
Cyclists will be able to valet park their bikes; bus riders can hop on the Big Blue Bus #8 to be dropped off right at Clover Park. But if you really enjoy fighting traffic and scrambling for a parking spot, take advantage of the free (but never hassle-free) parking.
 >> Wondering why food prices are so high? The Washington Post has put together a series on the Global Food Crisis -- a more apt name for which would be a Global Food PRICE crisis, as Michael Tobis points out. For a shorter primer, read Tom Philpott's quick rundown in Grist.
>> "Factory farms pose unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and animal welfare," according to a two-year study released by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production.
>> Should organic standards for food serve as the organic standards for shampoos and lotions too? That, essentially, is the debate over which Organic Consumers Assn. and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps have sued a whole bunch of personal-care product companies. The OCA and Dr. Bronner's feel only products that meet USDA's organic food regulations should be able to use the word "organic" on their packaging. Other companies argue personal-care products shouldn't be held to the same standards as food.
>> U-See-LA Without a Car: UCLA students get a de-car-ing map! (PDF) It's a 6-page guide to popular L.A. destinations, from the Rose Bowl to the Santa Monica Pier. Thanks to reader April for the tip.
>> You know about MillionTreesLA -- and the many critiques surrounding it -- but did you know New York had a similar program? MillionTreesNYC also gives away trees, but the standards appear to be stricter than ours: "individuals and families are limited to adopting one tree per household and required to register their new tree at milliontreesnyc.org."
>> ReShirt Cutting Contest: Revamp your old T-shirt to win a 30-minute style consultation with Barbra Horowitz and a $300 Greenloop Gift Certificate. Unleash your imagination within very strict eco-friendly guidelines. Not only must you reuse a T-shirt you already own, the redesign process must be limited to cutting and tying. No dyeing, silkscreening or sewing.
Photo by Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
I love the handcrafted, one-of-a-kind goods made with recycled materials on Etsy, but to find the good stuff, you usually have to slog through all the crunchy-looking duds. But at Reform School, a cute little eco-store in Silver Lake, the owners have doe the hand-selection for you, collecting together all the artsy, whimsical, pretty eco gems that don't look like the product of a sad home ec project.
Plush pillows are made of everything from organic cotton to reused car seat belts. Journals, calendars, and cards are made with recycled paper -- and look pretty too. Shoes made of recycled materials are all the rage -- including cute teensy shoes for tots.
Find all sorts of green books, from Slow Food Nation to Myspace / Our Planet. Reform School also seems to have a soft spot for recent TED prize winner Dave Eggers' press McSweeney's; you can pick up the latest edition of The Believer or artsy tomes by David Byrne.
You'll find lots of DIY books too, to instruct you on guerilla gardening, guerilla art, and pretty much any type of eco-related guerilla activity.
Reform School's also a one-stop-shop for chic home decorations. Eco-friendly candlesticks, paintings, drawings, and mobiles are all ready for you to take home and get compliments about at your next house party.
I got myself a mousepad, made by Remarkable from a recycled car tire! My mouse feels v. eco atop it now.
Reform School. 4014 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles. (323) 906-8660.
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Getting a city-wide green bin program in place for multifamily housing units, however, will likely take a couple years, says Thompson. In the meantime, Santa Monica will get a smaller program: Green bins where people can drop off their compostables will be placed in a couple spots around the city. Thompson doesn't have the spots picked out yet, but said the bins will definitely be in place by the end of the summer. 
Emerald City calendar