Take Out The Papers and the Trash.... (Less Often)

February 9th, 2013

 

Back in the ” old days” (really not so long ago), garbage bins weren’t plastic, but steel and the garbage truck had a couple of guys hanging off the back who would empty the bins.

Today, garbage collection is a much more sterile affair in many parts of Australia. There are no “garbos”; just the driver. Various sensors and hydraulic equipment on the trucks pick up the bin, dump the contents into the truck’s garbage bay and places it back down. It’s every efficient – in some respects.

One of the benefits I’ve experienced in my green journey is I’m generating less waste and it takes weeks to fill a bin. But being a creature of habit, I was still dragging my bin to the kerb each week even though it wasn’t full.

On a recent bin day, I was watching as the truck approached and marvelling at how big these things are with all their whizz-bang gadgetry. Then it dawned on me that making this metallic monster stop for what is often a small bag of garbage was pretty dumb and not at all green.

The modern garbage truck weighs anything between 13 and 25 tonnes, without trash. Each time it stops, picks up a bin and moves away again, a lot of energy is required to do so. That energy is supplied by fossil fuels.

Nowadays, I wait until my bin is full before putting it out for collection. This means instead of 50 stops a year, the truck will only have to stop at my place 8 to 10 times a year. Families may not be able to reduce pickups to this level, but even if they can shave off a few stops a year; it all helps.

I was talking to someone about this action recently and they expressed concern about the smell of garbage piling up over weeks. As part of living a greener life that includes actions such reducing food waste, composting veggie scraps or using them in a worm farm, it means garbage becomes “cleaner”, so smell isn’t a problem.

How much fuel, emissions and wear and tear this saves I have no idea and while this is certainly not going to save the world, it’s just another example of simple green actions that collectively can help significantly reduce our personal environmental impact.

Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com

Coming to a town near you! From the Norfolk Times

Norfolk Continues to Turn Green

The new solar array built atop the capped landfill off Medway Branch RD. is the latest solar project to go online in Norfolk. Already, the sun’s rays are being harvested into clean energy at MCI Norfolk and Massachusetts Audubon Stony Brook. The town is becoming a full participant in the green energy movement and is one of several Massachusetts municipalities turning capped landfills into energy producing facilities. “This project has turned an old landfill into a producer of clean, domestic electricity,” says Norfolk Selectman Rob Garrity. “We're not using energy derived from foreign natural gas or coal supplies.”
The new solar array went online June 20th and is the result of a partnership between the town and Constellation New England. In this arrangement, the town is the landlord and purchaser of power, while Constellation develops and operates the solar array. Other towns to enter similar arrangements include Canton, Scituate, Easton Duxbury and Holbrook. One of the key factors driving this trend is the positive impact local leaders hope it will have on budgets.
This is true in Norfolk’s case. “The panels will provide the town with a benefit of $230-250,000 per year, at very little upfront cost to the town,” Garrity explains. “We were responsible for clearing and grading some of the land, but we didn't have to front a large amount of money."
The town’s investment was less than $100,000. “We had to invest, $70,000 to clear those trees to prepare the land,” says Town Administrator Jack Hathaway.
The town also had to set aside some additional land to protect the habitats of native Eastern Box Turtles.
The investment has the potential for long term savings. If energy prices go up, the savings could be greater than the projected $230,000 to $250,000. The town has a fixed price for energy purchase from Constellation that goes up slightly over the next 20 years.
The Norfolk solar array project faced typical difficulties but according to Garrity nothing major. “For Norfolk the difficulties were similar to the difficulties any time you do something for the first time,” he explained.
The main issues the town faced dealt with procurement policies, understanding the necessary permits needed, and crafting the request for proposal that would attract the company that would develop, own and operate the solar arrays. One issue Garrity feared never materialized. “It wasn't as hard a sell at Town Meeting as I thought it would be,” he says. “There have been so many very supportive people in town. Folks like Jack [Hathaway], Bob Bullock, Bob MacGhee, the Advisory Board, the other two selectmen, and particularly the Energy Committee which bird-dogged the project throughout the process.”
Now that the project has moved from a concept to reality, town officials are happy with the results. “I am thoroughly pleased with the project,” Garrity says. “On a personal level it's so fulfilling to be able to do something, to see something through to completion, particularly something that will benefit the town.”

Natural and helps everyone

Ever though of raising your own honey bees?  From what I'm told it's an interesting hobby that also provides you with delicious honey.

There are a few of my clients that raise bees and the honey from those hives is nothing like what you purchase in the stores.  Raw and unfiltered it has a clean fresh flaver that's great on anything...including just a spoon.  In fact I'm thinking of starting my own hives once I learn more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2pQ4YklToc

Are You Going Green Yet?

An interesting article from Constructech..change is slow but coming

Buyers Want Green Homes

Homebuyers want energy-efficient homes. More precisely, nine out of 10 buyers prefer to purchase a home with green features, according to a survey released last week from the NAHB (National Assn. of Homebuilders), www.nahb.org, Washington, D.C. Technology in the home, such as energy monitors and controls, can provide buyers with an eco-friendly home.

The survey from NAHB, “What Home Buyers Really Want,” unveils top concerns and priorities among homebuyers today, one of which is the desire to have energy-efficient homes. This is partly due to the fact these homes have permanently lower utility bills.

Home-automation technology can help by providing homebuyers with controls to better monitor and manage energy consumption. These days, homebuilders are more often including technology in homes to meet the desires of homebuyers.

In response to the survey, Destiny Homes, www.destiny-homes.com, Deephaven, Minn., also identifies a wish list of features home renovators and buyers are typically looking for in homes today. One of the top five is the desire to have wireless home security systems and whole-house electronics features offering entertainment, ease, and enjoyment.

These types of home-automation systems can also provide green features. For example, with space heating eating up roughly 45% of a homeowner’s utility bills, home energy controls can help save energy and reduce utility costs. More homebuilders, such as Destiny Homes, are offering technology such as this as a value-added, energy-efficient feature in the home.

Destiny Homes also suggests daylighting—or the practice of using natural light rather than internal lighting—as a way to reduce energy consumption in a home as well. While homes can be designed to take advantage of daylighting by placing windows in optimal positions, home controls can also assist by sensing lighting and then automatically turning lights on or off.

As more homebuyers want green features in homes, home-automation technology will inevitably find its way into more residences as a way to provide owners with controls to manage energy consumption throughout the home

Just an idea

Could you do something like this?

Did you know that 1" of rain puts about 600 gallons of water atop a 1,000 square foot house? That's a lot of rainwater to capture and a cistern can do the trick.

Captured directly from a downspout, or rain chain, a cistern will have your garden water ready.

These cisterns collect rainwater from a nearby roof and when the tanks are full water is dispersed through a gravity-fed drip system that irrigates crops.

Eco Ice Melt

Looking for some eco-friendly ways to fight the inevitable ice on your driveweays and footpaths?  Here are a couple of products you may have on hand already.

Bagged sand:  Some sands capture the sun’s rays and allow it to help melt the ice.  Just be careful walking on hardwood floors after stepping on sand.  Some feel that the use of sand increases pollution by runoff into streams and ponds. 

Cat litter:  There is a chemical reaction that takes place when kitty litter is used on sand that helps melt the ice.  Cost is very inexpensive and as the ice melts the litter absorbs the excess water

Another interesting article

Arctic Sea Ice Larger Than U.S. Melted This Year

By Associated PressNov. 28, 20120

• (DOHA, Qatar) — An area of Arctic sea ice bigger than the United States melted this year, according the U.N. weather agency, which said the dramatic decline illustrates that climate change is happening “before our eyes.”
  
  In a report released at U.N. climate talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, the World Meteorological Organization said the Arctic ice melt was one of a myriad of extreme and record-breaking weather events to hit the planet in 2012. Droughts devastated nearly two-thirds of the United States as well western Russia and southern Europe. Floods swamped west Africa and heat waves left much of the Northern Hemisphere sweltering.

But it was the ice melt that seemed to dominate the annual climate report, with the U.N. concluding ice cover had reached “a new record low” in the area around the North Pole and that the loss from March to September was a staggering 11.83 million square kilometers (4.57 million square miles) — an area bigger than the United States

Read more: http://science.time.com/2012/11/28/arctic-sea-ice-larger-than-u-s-melted-this-year/#ixzz2Dp9LzCPc