Modular Solution

I often find myself annoyed by the poor quality of many types of products on the market, especially small consumer electronics that are sold (and made) for very low prices.  The problem is that the lifespan of these cheap products tends to be pretty short, and once an item is damaged there is very little chance that it can be repaired.

Recently, I ran across a company that is taking a different approach with one of these common products.  Acoustic Forge is working to produce a modular earbud system - one with individual components that can be switched in the event of damage.  This is the kind of product that I can see myself purchasing.  I have worn out several sets of earbuds over the past few years and would gladly pay a little more for a set that I could repair and continue to use.

 Products designed to be repaired offer plenty of benefits for both the companies producing them and the consumers purchasing them, including less waste.  As consumers, we have the ability to reward companies for ideas that we like, and we can use this influence to help reduce the impact of products that we use.  So if you find a product or idea that you like be sure to tell your friends about it and support them with your business.  It's one simple for each of us to improve the world around us.

Gotta Keep 'Em Separated

Recyclable materials are collected in a number of different ways. In some places, you (the consumer) have to haul your recyclables to a centralized location where you place them into separate bins. Some areas have deposits on certain items, like aluminum cans, that allow you to get a small refund when you return said item to a retailer. Other places allow you to set out your recyclables at the curb where they get picked up and hauled away. There are other services like Recyclebank and Terracycle that use an incentive model for recycling.

Where I live we have a curb-side recycle pickup service - as part of our trash service, our recyclables get hauled away once every two weeks. And this service allows us to keep all of our recyclables mixed together - the reason they can do this is because of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).

The only way that a recyclable has any value is if it can be grouped together with similar materials to provide a clean source of material for a company that can convert it into something else. While co-mingled recycling (or single-stream as it is sometimes called) can lead to increased rates of recycling, it also requires additional effort to sort and group the materials so that they can be reused (whether this is an efficient use of resources vs. reuse is another discussion). I've linked to a video here that gives you a good overview of how MRFs sort recyclable materials for later use. The video does a great job of showing how MRFs work - I know because I had the opportunity to visit one recently thanks to my day job. Seeing the sorting technology in action was very impressive, though I am sure that a lot of people wouldn't find this kind of work much fun.

As a reminder, recycling is still a better option than disposing of something in a landfill. regardless of what the item is, aluminum can, glass bottle, plastic cup or newspaper, a lot of energy (and sometimes water) and money went into making that item. To throw all of that away by tossing it into a hole in the ground just doesn't make sense (or cents). Please take time to sort out your recyclables and put them back to use at home and at work/school.

Homegrown goodness

Each year I attempt to grow a variety of veggies in my little backyard garden plot.  In most cases I succeed, but so far I've stuck with the usual suspects - green beans, zucchini, cucumbers - the easy stuff (at least for me).  Earlier this year, my neighbor gave me a few basil starts.  I thanked him, stuck them in the ground, and promptly forgot about them.

Last week I was out weeding and came upon the basil plants, and all I can say is WOW!  The sweet aroma was intoxicating, and I just sat there for a minute relishing the amazing aroma.  I picked some leaves tonight and made a homemade pesto - delicious!

Obviously, I have never actually had basil before.  Sure I've had dried basil from the supermarket, or basil mixed in with some kind of pasta...but it's not the same as fresh.  And that's the main point in terms of local food.  When you can get your produce straight from the source and bypass the storage and the processing you can experience some amazing flavors.  Same with purchasing heirloom varieties and getting away from the "standard" veggie or fruit.

So do yourself a favor and visit your local farmer's market or roadside veggie stand or u-pick orchard.  Or get your hands dirty and start a backyard or container garden.  Trust me on this one - you can reduce your impact one delicious veggie at a time!