So … What’s Wrong with Plastic?

First it’s important to understand that not all plastics are created equal.  Some plastics contain harmful chemicals that can leach out into our bodies, with a host of negative side effects.  Understanding which plastics are safe, and for what uses, is no small feat.

Here’s a little rhyme I heard to keep in mind when shopping.  5 and 4, 1 and 2 – all the rest are bad for you.  So check for the number inside the little recycling triangle on the bottom of your stuff and avoid the 3’s, 6’s and 7’s.   Just to be on the safe side, you’ll likely want to go easy on the 1’s as well.

What’s the problem?  Well, plastics contain a whole host of toxic substances that are put in there to make them strong, clear and flexible.  From phthalates, to BisPhenol A, to antimony, these chemicals are accumulating in the environment and in our bodies, causing reproductive challenges and cancers to name but a few issues.  And no one knows for sure how much is okay, which makes it very difficult to regulate and protect the public.

One of the best guides that I’ve seen to plastics is on the healthy child website http://healthychild.org/5steps/5_steps_5/?gclid=CIjg5df6s5wCFSMSagodPRuwnQ

This guide walks you through each of the various types, gives you some examples, and tells you about the challenges.

So what can you do with your lunches?

1. Avoid plastic – there are other options available, including stainless steel and glass.  Where its feasible, consider switching out.

2. Use only the “safe ones”.  Since an all stainless steel lunch can weigh several pounds, it may not be a great choice for the little ones, but particularly for your food containers, choose the safe options only.

3. Never, never, EVER heat food in plastics.  Heating increases the rate of leaching, and puts it directly into your body.

4. Be extra careful with babies.  Glass bottles are not much more expensive, and are a much safer option.

5. Limit use of cling wraps and baggies – these plastics can be less stable, not to mention less environmentally friendly.

It sounds daunting, but a little knowledge can help you significantly reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals in plastic.

Cottaging is one of the great pleasures in life, but as more and more of us head north to enjoy the great outdoors, the stress on the lakes can be more than they can bear. Here are a just a few tips on how you can minimize the impact of your cottage on the lake that you love.

1) Always choose biodegradable – Although there are no universal standards around what biodegradable means, in a nutshell it says that a product will break down into substances that are naturally occurring in a short period of time once it is used. For things like soaps, shampoos and cleaners that you’ll be using up at the cottage, this is critically important. Conventional products can literally take years to break down, which is very harmful to everything in the lake.

2) Think of your septic system – Bacteria are necessary for the effective functioning of your septic – they do the majority of the work breaking down your waste. You can imagine the problems created when you put things like antibacterial soap or toxic chemicals into your septic system which kill off all of the good bacteria. Choosing green products make a big difference when your wastewater goes directly into the environment.

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Last year David Suzuki published an article about a woman in Spokane, Washington who would drive to a neighbouring state to buy a phosphate-containing product to clean her dishes, as she believed the phosphate component was essential for good results.

Suzuki uses the story to illustrate the impact of choices we make concerning dishwashing, that impact the environment and the health of our families. He challenges us to consider the total life cycle of the products we use.

Phosphates have been used for years as very powerful detergents that cut grease and facilitate the cleansing process. But the trade-off for phosphates is large in the impact they have from wastewater on rivers, streams and lakes. The problem is that they cause large algae blooms in fresh water lakes and rivers, starve the water of oxygen and kill wildlife and plants. Canada became the first country to ban phosphorus from laundry detergents in 2008.   Canada also was first to require that phosphorus be removed from municipal sewage discharged into the Great Lakes. Many of the American states bordering the Great Lakes then followed Canada’s lead but it is only in 2010 that bans on dishwasher products in the US are being implemented.

At Green Cricket we offer a choice of phosphate free dishwasher products. Next month (April 2010) we are giving a free package of Greener Choice dishwasher tablets with every order. Try them – they work AND they are good for the environment.

Now is the time for you to choose to make a difference, one dish at a time!

[written by Trevor Smith]

‘Tis the season when we look back on the year and make some commitments on going forward.  This year, why not include a little greening into your resolutions.  If you’re looking for suggestions, here are a few to get you started:

1) Ditch the plastic waterbottles.  If you are going to do just one thing to improve your ecological footprint, your best bang for your buck is to kick the bottled water habit.  Not only are you paying a ridiculous mark up on water, but you’re contributing billions of bottles to the planet, and all the associated greenhouse gases that come with them. Stainless steel waterbottles are reasonably priced and easy to find, and tap water is cheaper.  Save some money and the planet!

2) Go litterless at lunch.  Whether for you or the kids, its really no extra work to pack a few reusable containers instead of using plastic wrap or baggies.  One day, not a big day – 320 work days in a year – well that’s a lot of baggies in the landfill.  Consider a lunch kit – it makes packing kids lunches much easier.

3) Go green when you clean.  Our health tends to be the focus of most of our new year’s resolutions, so this is a good time to remember how closely the environment is tied to our health.  When we choosegreen cleaners for example, its not only better for the planet to choose a green cleaner, it’s also much healthier for you and your family.  Same goes for personal care products – the very same things that make a shampoo green make it easier on the body.

4) Drive lightly on the planet - We’ll explore how to save money on gas later - but you can get started simply by going lighter on the gas pedal.  Every 10 kilometres over the speed limit that you drive, costs you 10% more fuel to drive the same distance.  The two minutes that you save by speeding cost the planet and your pocketbook more than you think.

** Add your resolutions below – and check out the resolutions from my fellow Green Cricketers.

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In the aftermath of the UN’s conference on Climate change in Copenhagen last month and what seems, atfirst glance, to be the lack real progress from countries for plans and commitments to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions, we are tempted to say “Why bother?”

The magazine The Economist comments: “Faced with the undoubted grandeur of climate change, a grand response seems in order. But, to the immediate disappointment to most of those participating and watching, the much anticipated UN climate conference held in Copenhagen in December led to no such thing…” [The Economist (Leader) Dec 30, 2009]

The article goes on to comment that two positive outcomes may have been on some agreement for a process for international monitoring and also the recognition of new political structures to enable progress across developing and developed countries.

While this international debate is raging should we, the public, the consumer, the homeowner…really care?

I feel we must – individuals can make a difference - we must all strive to learn more about our environment, our lifestyle, the products we use and impact on climate change, pollution, depletion of natural resources as well as the health impacts of products we use every day.

The Green Cricket Blog can provide a forum for sharing thoughts, ideas and actions. What do you think? Do you think you can make a difference to what often seems to be a hugh issue and out of your hands? And why should we care?

In the coming weeks we shall talk more about the Copenhagen Accord, but also discuss the 5 criteria for selecting Green Cricket products that we feel support the move towards achieving a Green Lifestyle and a more sustainable world. We also want to hear from you - to understand what you think, what governs your buying and lifestyle decision choices. Post your comments!

(Trevor Smith, Editor)

As a Canadian living in America, I have learned many things about the differences in our cultures. There are many. Americans say that Canadians have so many more long weekends. I count 12 if you include Family Day in three provinces. In fact, Americans are correct – there are nine official holidays in America. With Civic Day and Labour Day right around the corner, you need an appropriate host(ess) gift, right?

Long weekends in Canada are precious. They usually involve family, friends, and travelling. And Canadian summers can seem so short sometimes. So when you receive the invitation to your friend’s cottage, a visit to your kid’s camp, a brunch on the beach, baby shower, wedding, or a barbeque on the back deck in the city, you want to bring a gift for the host(ess). And you know you want to make a difference and make your gift “green”. Here are my top picks from www.greencricket.ca.

1. Check out the Cottage Weekender Gift Basket. This is a perfect gift for your host(ess). Tea, reusable water bottles, chocolate, a cookbook, and Green Cricket hand lotion, hand soap and dish soap.

2. A selection of coffee and tea. Everyone needs a jolt after a big barbeque, a soothing cup of tea after a long swim or hot tub. And as the dew dries on the lawn in the early morning sunlight, nothing beats a hot cup of joe. Sweet nectar of the morning!

3. Summer brings out two nasty things – our desire for a tan (usually ends up as a burn), and bugs. Chances are that your host(ess) has a collection of preventative balms and lotions, but they may not be totally “green”. Green Cricket has screened them all. A bit of sunscreen and bug repellent will make you and your host(ess) very happy.

Have a safe and happy long weekend!

(written by David Greene)

It seems like summer will never come – but let’s hope August will be better! Make your day in the country special AND GREEN. Choose from Green Cricket’s selection of green picnic-friendly items that reflect the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. (We often instinctively go to the recycle option when reuse may in fact be the better choice.)

Start by grabbing one of our tote bags, a blanket, steel water bottle and reusable cutlery and plastic plates that don’t break and are not like paper plates that bend and drop your salad on the ground!

Brew yourself a mug of organic coffee or tea at home to take with you in the insulated “not a paper cup” mug complete with non-spill cover. Napkins made from recycled fibres are always handy too. Select your picnic food but don’t forget the snacks: mints, organic chocolate and gummy bears!

Outside means you will need sunscreen and insect repellent and it wouldn’t hurt to pack a hoodie, just in case the bugs get really bad!

And finally choose a fun book, like “Sleeping Naked is Green”, to take with you that will show you the homourous side of becoming green one step, or one picnic, at a time.

…Enjoy!

The following individuals deserve a special place in every greenie’s heart. All are compelling figures whose work and works have the ability to delight and inspire those of us who count stewardship for the earth among our key values.

Bob Hunter (Canadian) The first President of Greenpeace, Bob was a long-time campaigner for environmental causes. He lead the first on-sea anti-whaling campaigns in the world, and campaigned against nuclear testing, the Canadian seal hunt and later, climate change.

Al Gore (American)  In 2007, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Gore also starred in the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which made climate change a household concern in the United States.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (American) An outspoken activist and mesmerizing speaker on behalf of the environment, Kennedy founded The Waterkeeper Alliance, which connects and supports local waterkeeper groups. Today there are 191 waterkeeper programs worldwide.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (American) Republican politician who signed a bill creating North America’s first cap on greenhouse gas emissions and signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state’s greenhouse gas emission standards.

Frances Moore Lappé (American) Her book Diet for a Small Planet argued that world hunger is caused not by the lack of food but rather by the inability of hungry people to gain access to the abundant amount of food that exists in the world and/or food-producing resources because they are simply too poor.

Farley Mowat (Canadian) is a fabled conservationist and one of Canada’s most widely-read authors. Many of his most popular works have been memoirs of his childhood, his war service, and his work as a naturalist.

E.F. Shumacher (German) His book Small is Beautiful, a collection of essays, brought his ideas to a wider audience. One of his main arguments in Small is Beautiful is that we cannot consider the problem of technological production solved if it requires that we recklessly erode our finite natural capital and deprive future generations of its benefits. Schumacher’s work coincided with the growth of ecological concerns and  he became a hero to many in the environmental movement.

Wangari Matthai (Kenyan) in the 1970s, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights. In 2004 she became the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Petra Kelly (German)  Kelly was instrumental in founding Die Grünen, the German Green Party in 1979. Between 1983 and 1990, she was a member of the Bundestag (German Parliament). Kelly received the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1982 “…for forging and implementing a new vision uniting ecological concerns with disarmament, social justice, and human rights.”

Paul Hawken (American) author of The Ecology of Commerce, dedicated his life to changing the relationship between business and the environment, and between human and living systems in order to create a more just and sustainable world. His work includes starting and running ecological businesses, writing and teaching about the impact of commerce upon the environment.

It is getting complicated as we steward resources used for carrying groceries and for garbage!

Waste management programs around the GTA have been in effect for some time aimed at reducing landfill burdens. We are now getting used to sorting our waste into separate containers for recyclables, compostable organics, garden waste and any remaining miscellaneous garbage. It is only the latter garbage, we are told, ends up in landfill. The Green Bin program for organic waste has received good press in The New York Times.  However with the praise comes a note of caution: The Toronto Star claims that not all authorities around Toronto are ideally set up to sort non-compostable plastic bags that are often mixed with much of the Green Bin material. As Toronto stores in June 2009 start charging customers a fee for every plastic bag used, our thoughts go again to using reusable bags or bins for our groceries. But even then, there might be a hitch. A May 2009 National Post article cites potential health risks from reusable cloth bags that touch food - so an argument is made for staying with plastic!

What should the environmental and health conscious consumer do? Here are some thoughts:

* Make full use of waste segregation available in your municipality

* Minimize plastic bags used in your Green Bin

* If required, use biodegradable plastic bags in the Green Bin for odour control

* Be aware that often there is not a perfect solution even with biodegradable plastics [see Blog (C) by Niagara College students].

Perhaps that best advice is to minimize all garbage and extra packaging in the first place.  There’s some food for thought!

Well, the devil is always in the details, but it’s sure a good start. Ontario’s proposed new Green Energy Act is hoping to make a few key changes in the way that we manage energy in the province:

• It sets strict conservation targets. Conservation is always the most cost-effective to start, so this is a good angle.
• It introduces real cost pricing of energy. Right now we’re subsidizing consumption – which is NOT an effective way to foster conservation.
• It weans us off of coal once and for all by 2014. Coal is neither clean nor renewable, so this is an absolutely necessary step.
• Incentives for clean and green technology development, not status quo. We’ve been subsidizing the wrong technologies in past, so this makes amends.
• Streamlined approvals for renewable projects so that we don’t create additional costs for already expensive development projects.
• It creates mandatory requirements and priority spots for renewable energy on Ontario’s Electricity Grid. This means guaranteed consumers for energy projects and that will lower the risk for new development.
• New technology for energy storage. One of the challenges of renewable energy is that it’s not always windy or sunny when you need energy. Better storage means that we don’t need to fire up the coal plant as backup.

You’ve probably also heard a lot about the green jobs that the new Act will create. This part is a little harder to judge, given that we really haven’t seen a plan that details how the proposed 50,000 jobs will be created. Canada is not exactly a hub of green manufacturing – so we’re not likely to be building many large-scale turbine or solar panel plants to compete with Europe. Sustainability includes being able to meet our own needs locally, though, so we’ll need to get started.

Clearly Ontario doesn’t have a long track record of environmental success, but on paper, this is a very strong leadership move. In the words of the Premier, Dalton McGuinty, “Because of our Green Energy Act, our province would be greener, stronger, and in a better position to compete and win against the rest of the world. We’re going to seize this opportunity to build a better Ontario — better for jobs, better for our children, better for our planet.”

Here’s hoping that’s the case…

Check out the details of the act  http://www.greenenergyact.ca/

[written by Katie Altoft]

Editor’s Note:    At Green Cricket we are keen to raise awareness to environmental issues. We want to help our customers make intelligent choices with products they can purchase, that make best use of the earth’s precious resources. Our “Green Quality Criteria” designation is an easy way to access product specific information about how items are made and sourced, as well as their distance to market.