On the delicate matter of toilet paper

As I mentioned on day #11, I have not included toilet paper in the list of items to avoid as part of my disposable waste reduction efforts. This particular disposable product serves a civilized purpose for which I am endlessly grateful. None the less, I've considered whether the brand I've been using is more or less harmful to the environment.

Seven or eight years ago, I found a great deal: $3.99 for a roll of six from Trader Joe's. It's made with 100% recycled material (80% post-consumer), so it's cheap -- and 'green', according to the Natural Resources Defense Council's Environmental Ratings of Household Tissue Paper Products. It's one of seventeen brands of toilet paper that meet the following criteria:

• Made with 100% total recycled content (or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified virgin fiber under an endangered forests policy)
• Contains at least 30% post-consumer content
• Not chlorine bleached
• Not made using a pulping caustic produced by a chlor-alkali plant that uses mercury

These are important criteria. According to the New York Times article, Mr. Whipple Left It Out: Soft is Rough on Forests, 50-75% of the pulp used to make toilet paper: 

"...comes mostly from old, second-growth forests that serve as important absorbers of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming. In addition, some of the pulp comes from the last virgin North American forests, which are an irreplaceable habitat for a variety of endangered species.

[Additionally] turning a tree to paper requires more water than turning paper back into fiber, and many brands that use tree pulp use polluting chlorine-based bleach for greater whiteness." 

I was feeling pretty happy with myself for having found the Trader Joe's brand, until it dawned on me that this brand comes in a plastic wrap that is designed to be thrown away after the six rolls are gone.

The Trader Joe's bag has the #4 LDPE code which is recyclable. The problem is that the wrap is likely made of virgin plastic (it would be labeled as having recycled content if it actually did), and this likely-virgin plastic is disposed of after one use. Even if I recycle these plastic wrappers, they'll still end up in landfill after being down-cycled to a point of low utility (see day #19). 

Recycling plastic is also in itself labor- and resource-intensive. The Environmental Protection Agency describes the process:

Plastics...are usually collected from curbside recycling bins or drop-off sites. Then, they go to a material recovery facility, where the materials are sorted by plastic type, baled, and sent to a reclaiming facility. At the facility, any trash or dirt is sorted out, then the plastic is washed and ground into small flakes. A flotation tank may be used to further separate contaminants, based on their different densities. Flakes are then dried, melted, filtered, and formed into pellets. The pellets are shipped to product manufacturing plants, where they are made into new plastic products.

Perhaps worse, most plastic is just thrown away. In the U.S., "only 9% of plastic is recycled", according to a 2012 Environmental Protection Agency report (see Day #7).  

Naturally, I started researching options to see if I could find recycled toilet paper, packaged in recycled, non-plastic, materials. Alas, few manufacturers sell toilet paper without the plastic wrap. 

Of the seventeen Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) 'green' options, 365 Everyday Value, April Soft, CSV Earth Essentials, Earth First, Earth Friendly, Fiesta, Green Forest, Natural Value (unless purchased in bulk), Nature's Choice and the Trader Joe's brand are sold wrapped in plastic. 

Ambiance and Best Value were hard to find. In contrast, Marcal was everywhere. The brand is sold in plastic, and appears to be tied to three other brands that are included on the NRDC 'green' list:

• Searching for Pert brought up toilet paper sold in cardboard packaging in bulk at K-Mart under the name Marcal (no sheet/roll count provided)
• Small Steps also seems tied to Marcal, and is either sold in plastic, or in bulk on Amazon, although it's not clear if it comes in plastic or not (regardless, 335 sheets/roll means one gets less for one's money) 
• Sofpac also appears to be a Marcal brand, sold in plastic

Ultimately, I short-listed three brands: two that I can get at the co-op where I usually shop for food, plus Trader Joe's for comparison:

Green2 isn't on the NRDC list, although it is sold at my local food co-op. It can be purchased one roll at a time (paper wrapped), or in multi-roll packaging (plastic wrapped). Green2 toilet paper materials are harvested from sugar cane with supplemental bamboo (both which must be shipped long distances for use in the U.S.). It isn't Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified) because it doesn't use materials from forests. My co-op was out of the individually-wrapped stock the day I was checking out my options.

Seventh Generation is on the NRDC list and can also be purchased one roll at a time (in paper) and in multi-roll packages (in plastic) from my co-op. Another blogger, of My Plastic Free Life, highlights the option to buy this brand from Amazon in bulk. It appears (from the picture) that the packaging is cardboard.

I tried an individual roll this week. Before considering buying this in bulk, it seemed prudent to ensure that it doesn't feel like sandpaper.

So far, so good...and it seems to be lasting longer with the additional 150 sheets per roll than the Trader Joe's brand. (Another blogger I found, of Cheap Like Me, analyzed cost per sheet. Some people take this quite seriously!)

Mercola suggests that no toilet paper is healthy and suggests getting a bidet, although the author acknowledges: "When you use a bidet you still need a sheet or two of toilet paper to dry yourself...."  

Which brings us back to the delicate choice of toilet paper...


 

Landfill spotting

I'd rarely thought about where my garbage goes before doing this challenge. In the past, purging unwanted things in time for garbage and recycling pick-up day, or accumulating things for a St. Vinnie's donation drop-off, was quite gratifying. 

Now, twenty days into the second month of what has become an ongoing challenge, I'm curious about the afterlife of the things I purge, and more cautious about acquiring them in the first place if the plan later is to discard them. 

This weekend, curiosity meant pulling over unexpectedly and compelling the friend who was with me to traipse across an unmown field to check out what I suspected was an old landfill.

The telltale signs of a garbage cemetery, as far as I can tell, include an elevated mound covered with conventional and prairie grasses and one or more tower flares.  

Unfortunately, while I could see a faint ripple of burning gas, my camera didn't capture it. Perhaps the visual effect was lessened due to the clear sky...or perhaps there was simply less methane burning at that moment. Up close though, I could hear the sound: a never-ceasing torch wind.

I realized that the landfill I was standing on had been converted into a golf course when I heard a loud THWACK! nearby, followed by the good-natured ribbing of a group of guys trying to play.

The mound wasn't as high as I expected, but as Adam suggested during my tour of the landfill on day #20, collected garbage tends to lose volume over time as it settles.  It doesn't decompose as fast as we think it might though. According to Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.:

"Trash put in a landfill will stay there for a very long time. Inside a landfill, there is little oxygen and little moisture. Under these conditions, trash does not break down very rapidly. In fact, when old landfills have been excavated or sampled, 40-year-old newspapers have been found with easily readable print. Landfills are not designed to break down trash, merely to bury it. When a landfill closes, the site, especially the groundwater, must be monitored and maintained for up to 30 years!" (Retrieved from How Stuff Works)

Indeed, the task of managing a landfill doesn't end for a long time, even after the land has been re-purposed. The extraction of gasses and collection of leachate (see day #20) are ongoing responsibilities 24 hours a day, 7 days a year until these are no longer a threat. I asked Adam how long it takes to burn all of the landfill gasses. 

"[It] depends on the size of the landfill and the type of waste buried in [the] landfill. In our case, the mathematical model shows that we will be able to extract landfill gasses 80 years into the future. Even then, there might be traces of gasses needing to be flared."

That's a long time to wait before garbage is no longer a threat!

My city has at least six 'finished' landfills in addition to the ones that are currently open. The finished landfills are home to the one golf course, two public parks, and three multi-use spaces (including public parks and off-leash dog parks). I've heard that there are other, much older landfills on which buildings have been built. I assume these aren't listed on public sites because they no longer require maintenance. (Still working on confirming that.)

In any case, Freudenrich suggests that since 1960, we've doubled the volume of garbage we've disposed of in landfills. 

What happens when a city runs out of room to bury its trash?

While searching references to 'disposable lives', I discovered a video about how New York City manages its waste since running out of landfill space in 2001. The video is called Our Disposable Lives: The Landfill and is well worth the 6:22 minutes to watch. 

The host asked one of the garbage collectors what they see most. Sadly:

"A lot of one-time use stuff." 

When a city like New York runs out of space, they pay a lot of money to ship it away to other states that will take it. 

According to Hobart and William Smith Colleges: Landfills: Where Does Our Trash Go?, shipping garbage far away isn't uncommon:

"The number of landfills in the US has declined in the past few decades from over 7,300 in 1989 to fewer than 1,800 in 2007. New Jersey has to ship 50% of its solid wastes, or 11 million tons per year to nearby states. In March 2001, New York City closed its Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. This one facility was the largest landfill in the world, accepting over 12,000 tons of trash each day from 50% of the 8.36 million people in New York City. Today, NYC exports 20% of its trash to other parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other states. Toronto outsources up to 40% of its refuse, some of it to the United States."

And when we we run out of places to ship it away?

Maybe it would be better to avoid having to find out. Here are two things we can do:

1. Recycle paper. When I visited the landfill, Adam told me that 20% of our landfill's total garbage is paper, which is a shame when it could have been recycled. This probably includes paper towel and napkin waste (see day #8) and junk mail waste (see day #14). The article, Paper Recycling: The Gift that Could Give Much More suggests closer to 30% of paper ends up in landfills, and offers additional perspective on the scope of the problem and why the way we're handling it is ineffectual. 
2. Reduce and reuse before recycling. On day #7, I learned why recycling lulls us into a false sense of living sustainably. This article, Are big blue bins bad for recycling?, offers a city-by-city comparison of recycling rates (Boston's to San Francisco's), and the conclusion is the same: 

"'You can’t give people a recycling bin and expect a light bulb to go on,' says consultant Amy Perlmutter. Maybe, she says, the best way to increase recycling is to move beyond recycling. 'We need to change consumption habits, change products, and shift public behavior away from disposable items,' says Randi Mail, director of recycling for Cambridge. 'That doesn’t necessarily mean sacrifice, it just means change.'”

I'm not sure I agree that there isn't sacrifice. Until regulation changes, which would enable restaurants, for example, to let me take carry-out in my own stainless steel or glass containers, I have largely given up on carry-out. That's a small sacrifice, but it has a benefit: I eat on the run way less than I used to. Maybe that's what Mail means by change.

Throwing energy away is not cool

Although I've been focusing mainly on disposable waste, I also think about energy consumption and waste. This post is a detour into the world of refrigeration.

The refrigerator that I inherited when I moved into my house was huge: nearly 22 cubic feet. Rarely could I keep it full which meant that I've been using more electricity than necessary, even with water-filled yogurt tubs taking up space to maximize efficiency. A friend has a 14-cubic foot refrigerator in his house -- perfect for my needs -- so I started looking for one of my own. 

The first thing I discovered is that few retailers stock small refrigerators on their display floors. Smaller sizes apparently don't sell frequently enough to warrant using the space. If I wanted one, I'd have to get one by special order. So I began researching options online.

How surprising to discover that a 14-cubic foot refrigerator is less efficient than an 18-cubic foot one of the same style and from the same manufacturer.

I wonder if this is a supply-and-demand issue. In the United States, the average fridge size is larger than elsewhere in the world.  

"Most Americans are used to living with a refrigerator measuring anywhere from 20 to 26 cubic feet. When Americans visit European homes, however, they are often startled to discover that most Europeans are happy with refrigerators that are only half as big." (Retrieved from Green Building Advisor)

It wasn't always this way. In 1947, the average size of a fridge in the U.S. was only 8.2 cubic feet. The 2008 average of 21.4 cubic feet represents a cumulative increase of 159%.

Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/ebm/www/Publications/MITEI-1-a-2010.pdf

 
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, energy use for 'appliances, electronics and lighting' is increasing.  

Given these two trends, it's not surprising that we in the U.S. use 3.4 times more electricity per person per year than the world average. 

Retrieved from http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/average-household-electricity-consumption

Our refrigerators alone consume more electricity than the overall electricity use of many others in the world: 

All said, my refrigerator purchase was starting to feel like a significant consideration. 

The author of the Green Building Advisor article on the topic of refrigeration suggests that his family of four has enjoyed a 10-cubic foot Sun Frost refrigerator for twenty years. Unfortunately, that model costs around $3000.

After carefully considering available options, I chose an 18-cubic foot, CEE Tier 3 model that I found online at Sears. CEE stands for the Consortium for Energy Efficiency. Tier levels were adopted in 1997, according to the CEE timeline. 

"The first tier contains products that are 20 percent above standards set by the government. The second tier contains products 25 percent above those standards. The third tier contains products that are 30 percent above those standards." (Retrieved from http://houseware.answers.com/appliances/what-is-the-cee-tier-rating)

Most Energy Star-rated appliances, according to the CEE, fall in Tier 1.

My CEE Tier 3 model meets the Green Building Advisor recommendations for maximum efficiency: 

• Small (14 to 18 cubic feet)
• Freezer on top (side-by-side models are energy hogs)
• No 'through-the-door' ice dispenser
• Labeled with a yellow EnergyGuide that shows 350 kWh/year or lower

Where did my old fridge go? My friend, Richard (mentioned day #5 of the challenge), picked it up for use during his barn dances. The fridge is a 1998 model and still efficient compared to pre-1993 standards, so it's worth using for those 'some-time' events. It's so big that it will be perfect for storing beer and food for the potluck. It will also be unplugged when not in use. 

Richard's older, smaller fridge will go to Focus on Energy for a $40 rebate. Collecting old refrigerators helps the Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA) to perform energy consumption tests.  Sending the old fridge for the rebate also prevents e-waste in the landfill (see day #20).

I think that's cool. 

Color me happy

Earlier today, I colored my hair with henna. In the process, I made a giant mess, but I'd forgotten how much I like the smell of powdered henna. It reminds me of the sweet smell of clean straw in a barn...which I realize may be a major turn-off for many women. 

(Full disclosure: this forum about the smell of henna is just one example, albeit a comedic one, of the frustration that some women experience.) 
 
There are many things that I appreciate about using henna, and which make the messiness of using it instead of chemical colorants worth it. I like that I can get it in bulk using my own jars.

I like that it doesn't burn my scalp, or make me wonder how much toxicity my brain is absorbing. Henna comes from a plant: 

"The word henna has its origin in the Arabic word Al-Hinna. In botanical terms if is Lawsonia Enermis, a plant which grows to be 4-8 feet high in hot climates... The leaves, flowers and the twigs of the plant are ground into fine powder containing natural dying properties called tannins; the powder is then mixed with hot water.

It is very unusual for anyone to have an adverse reaction to natural henna...."  -Retrieved from http://www.mtoni.com/mrembo/henna.pdf

(The one exception I found is for people with Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.)

I also like that using henna costs less than $10.00, and that I can apply it at home and leave it on while getting other stuff done.

Preparing it requires the avoidance of metal mixing bowls or spoons, which in turn helps to avoid getting unexpected colors on one's head. I use a wooden spoon, an 'oven safe' glass bowl, and a glass kettle (for boiling the water) which I found at my local hardware store a few years ago.

I'm not sure if the glass kettle is a requirement. In any case, the plastic handle makes using it possible without injury. Plastic has many benefits, and in no way would I vouch for eliminating plastics entirely. The difference between this kettle and a plastic fork, however, is that I'll use this kettle for a lifetime.

Speaking of lifetimes, I've had this plastic comb since high school, which is a little weird perhaps, but it's always served a purpose (such as de-tangling wet hair) so I never got rid of it. Today, I used it to pull the henna (which gets caked as it sets) through my hair during rinsing. A wooden comb used like this would probably rot over time.
 

The instructions for applying henna say to use plastic gloves but this isn't really necessary. Henna takes time to set, so hand-washing right after application is adequate. (It's the same for rinsing the gloppy mess from the surface of the tub...I didn't have to do it right away, but if I'd waited too long, it would have stained the porcelain.)

Last but not least, the shower cap that I used to cover and keep my head warm while the henna sets is technically disposable, but I got it from a hotel a few years ago and use it over and over for this kind of thing.

All in all, pretty green. Except the hair color itself, thank goodness.


  

On this Independence Day

The Ocean Conservancy suggests a simple pledge:

Declare your independence from unnecessary plastic.

Not taking a straw, carrying a reusable mug, keeping canvas bags in one's car for grocery shopping, using silverware instead of plastic utensils, etc. is not so hard. I've been doing these things and have found that while it requires some planning, it's not a huge inconvenience.

None the less, a colleague who participated in the challenge while at work said last week that she often still 'forgets' when she gets lunch and realizes she's taken a plastic utensil, despite the fact that she keeps silverware in her office. I asked why. She explained:  

"It's just so easy to take disposable things."

She suggested that, "We need to make it harder to use them."  At least in reference to plastic bags, some cities, states and countries are doing just that.

"An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year - 380 billion of those in the U.S. - and governments have been slow-moving at best to do anything about them. ...but things are finally starting to pick up."  -Rachel Cemansky

In the meantime, what else can a person do? The student colleague (whom I mentioned in post #1) said that seeing the damage we're causing (via the documentary we saw) is what compelled him to change his habits. 

The following film, just 3:54 minutes, made by Chris Jordan with the support of many people via Kickstarter, is one of the more visually-compelling and heartbreaking things I've seen:

Midway

 
One person in my city countered: "Our trash doesn't go any where near the ocean. It goes in a large pile south east of town."  Sadly, it's not 'just' in our oceans, caused by people who live near the world's coastlines. Trash is in our Great Lakes, and in lakes, streams and watersheds all over the world. We all generate trash.

All of us can also make a difference, regardless of where we are...one straw, one plastic fork, one plastic bag at a time.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, 

committed citizens can change the world. 

Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. 

- Margaret Mead

The challenge isn't really over...

Today, I encountered many opportunities to go back to the way I'd been living before the challenge: grab a paper towel (or two...or three); get coffee in a throw-away container with a plastic lid and a cardboard sleeve; eat plastic-packaged food, with a plastic fork (it's just one fork, after all); put it all in a plastic bag to go....

  
Initially, I felt relief: the challenge is over. I can lighten up! 

Relief is short-lived.   

In no other period of human history have we had access to fossil fuels like we do today -- and in no other period have we created so much waste. According to Archeology: The International History Project:

Many of the objects left behind by past human societies are not present in the archaeological record because they have disintegrated over time. For the most part, the only things that survive are durable items such as potsherds (small fragments of pottery), tools or buildings of stone, bones, and teeth (which survive because they are covered with hard enamel).
 
...Garbage is the modern equivalent of the remains found in the archaeological record.

We now have plastiglomerate (see day #10) because it has no where else to go. Someone at work joked today about shipping our garbage to outer space. The only reason we haven't already done this is cost. (And, in fact, we've already littered the atmosphere with our space travel.)

This waste habit is a giant experiment. 

No one knows how it will end, but I bet it will smell badly if we don't course-correct.

What would our modern world look like in which everything we consume has a sustained purpose?

Can you imagine a world in which using disposables - especially plastic disposables - is as socially unacceptable as smoking is in many places today?

Quitting disposables is hard. Engaging in this challenge is definitely a lifestyle change, not a 20-day tour. 

Going forward, I won't post every day, although I'll keep sharing here. Thanks for reading, and for sharing your own ideas with others.