Lilac & Ivy

I thought this infographic was incredibly interesting. It’s actually showing Great Britain, a country that does a better job at recycling than the US.

Here in Charlotte we just started being able to recycle plastic #3-#5 and #7 on top of #1 and #2. They also added in things like aerosol cans and wax coated OJ cartons. When I first moved here it was so odd to throw away tons of things because when I lived in Arizona I’d been recycling nearly everything since elementary school.

What about where you live, how’s the recycling system?

Infographic by Recycle – Don’t bin it, recycle it

This is a really interesting infographic about bottled water. I like that it address how clean water, a necessity and human right (in my opinion), is becoming a commodity. It’s also interesting to see what a marketing scam markets have pulled with the claim that it’s cleaner than tap. (If needed, click the link to make it larger.)

Instead of bottled water, I fill up my BPA free Camelbak, stick it in the fridge overnight and refill multiple times a day.

As I’m sure most of you know, I try and live a sustainable life. I use reusable bags, buy local and organic when possible, use green cleaning products etc. I’m by no means perfect and could do so much more, but I do what I can.

Anyway, through my company (which is going to have a big announcement soon!) I’ve become connected to two “green” networks here in Charlotte. So, in order to help promote what I learn through them, I thought I’d start a new thing here on Fridays where I introduce you to a new product, new website or just share an interesting article. I’ll call it Sustainable Friday and hope you enjoy it!

What would the world look like if everyone consumed like me? Pretty interesting to think about, huh?

As we all know, American’s are pretty into consumerism. I certainly like new to me things. (I say that because I do love vintage home shopping and get super excited about vintage scores on Ebay.) Anyway, this quick, fun interactive quiz was put together by American Public Media and is really interesting. I learned tons about both the way I’m living and my habits in general. I hope you’ll do the same. And, don’t forget to let me know what you think!

{My AIGA Charlotte Chapter tour group after we literally drove on top of the BFI landfill. Pictures of the actual landfill are not aloud so instead we snapped this in the nature preserve that’s right next to it.}

RECAP:
When I was preparing to tour BFI Landfill, I had this vision in my head of what it would look like.

The picture was a huge hole in the ground, carved out of the side of a mountain and bigger than several football fields. In my head, it was filled with anything and everything. I saw bikes, tires, plastic bottles, bags, food scraps and packaging material. I saw recyclables too. I’m quite certain this preconceived notion and fear was brought to life in my mind because of the unregulated dump that existed in my hometown during the 1980s. But boy, I was wrong. Instead, I left the landfill feeling educated and informed about my waste.

First a little economics lesson as surprisingly, trash and economics go hand-in-hand. Recycling came to be in the Northeast because they were running out of space for landfills. States were paying lots of money to ship their garbage to the Midwest and South. Here in Charlotte things were different. We didn’t have the space limitations and so, recycling had not been an economic necessity. Instead, it has come along because of environmental rather than economic concerns. But times are changing the larger Charlotte becomes.

So lets get into the nitty gritty. BFI is located near Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord. In fact, the speedway is built on top of an older filled landfill as are the camping grounds. Cool Fact: Because of the methane gas that’s constantly emitted, ground fires are not allowed on the grounds. Another Cool Fact: Within the area surrounding the speedway, there are five separate landfills, with one, BFI, in active use.

BFI Landfill is a 300-something acre site that handles all of Mecklenburg County’s residential waste. It does not handle construction/demolition waste, yard clippings, hazardous or medical waste. Daily, BFI disposes of approximately 4,000 tons of Charlotte’s waste. At the current rate the landfill is expected to meet capacity within 15 years.

What exactly is a landfill? What goes into creating one? Since the early-1990s(which doesn’t sound all that long ago) all landfills, including BFI, have a synthetic liner and several feet thick layer of clay designed to prevent leaching and treat leaching. It also has a method to capture methane gas and turn it into energy. When you fill your trash can, the dump truck picks it up along with hundred of your neighbors. At the end of the day the truck driver goes to the landfill, drives to the top of the mountain and dumps his truck. There is no sorting. So if you throw something away that’s bad for the environment it’s in there. The trash goes into a compactor, and is then mixed with dirt, layered and pushed in place by a bulldozer. As Brad Green, Manager of BFI Landfill said, “a landfill is breathing and living in the sense that it’s always changing.” It’s constantly settling and is monitored on multiple levels. Once the landfill is full, it’s covered with an impermeable layer several feet thick to protect from water entering. Then it’s covered with several feet of dirt and typically used for some type of non-intrusive use. For example, a golf course or a park with no trees as the roots could impact the integrity of the liner. Because it’s settling, landfills are not suitable for heavy weight building so no homes or shopping plazas are allowed. Post closure care and monitoring take place for decades.

One of the most surprising things I learned was that because of current federal restrictions, the chances of getting a new landfill approved in Charlotte are slim to none. Also, it didn’t smell as bad as I thought it would… although I think residents who live nearby would disagree but then when you purchase next to a landfill (which was there before the houses) what can you expect?!

The fact of the matter is, trash will never go away. Seeing the landfill was fascinating. It’s massive. If we want to reduce our waste increasing what we can recycle is a step in the right direction. But ultimately, mindful consumption and reduction of what we need to throw away is the surest way.

P.S. THIS IS NOT THE BFI LANDFILL. But, it’s pretty much what it looks like as your waste is being placed.

I find this to be so fascinating. Let’s get away from bottled water America!

It’s no secret that I love Target. I could spend hours browsing the aisles and finding all sorts of goodies I didn’t know I needed. So when I read about their new green initiatives I fell in love with them a little bit more. Check these out:

- Get 5 cents off your total purchase for every reusable bag you use.
- Target is now partnering with NextWorth to offer recycling of used electronics. Send in your old device and get a Target gift card in return. How rad is that?!
- Every Target store now offers the convenience of recycling everything from plastic bags to plastic bottles and everything in between.
- Recycling 5 Target plastic bags = $1 toward a reusable one.
- On April 18 you get a free reusable bag with any purchase.

AND… they have a whole slew of initiatives they’re implementing to reduce their carbon footprint, reduce waste and conserve water. You can read about them here.

I seriously love Target so much.