Eco Club is on its way!! :)

Just a quickie note to say YAY I'm still alive & we've started the local ECO CLUB, YAY!! :)

I've got some tips from experienced non-profit people too, not too sure about things yet, we'll see how it goes!!

Yes, it was stressful and miserable at times, and we're still only at the start basically, but it's all very exciting too!!

Still need to educate many people here first, even the ones excited about the eco club... :)

We still don't have a name and officially don't exist yet :) and we have random places to meet.. It seems like a lotta work sometimes, it's very cool when you see glimpses of inspiration in what other people or non profits did though!! :)

And there's some SNOW again today too!! YAY!! :)

Relaxation, Mosquito Nets and Re-evaluation of It All..

It's been a while since I last posted, again. /sigh/ What can I say, it's the summer? :)
Meanwhile, Slovenia beat Algeria, almost beat the USA and well - the UK won the other day! (It was too depressing to watch the bad game so I talked to the beekeeper neighbour instead! He told me some cool things!:)
Mind you, I am NOT a football fan, but if Sis and Granny both watched-?? It was a great game, 1st half od SLO:USA game, then I just lost interest lol!
Lots of bees came to drink from a barrel at our house, it was quite interesting.. The neighbour said he thinks bees know if something is toxic and avoid it, I'm not so sure myself..?

We didn't have the eco stand then after all - the event was 'double booked', some kids that would like to partake had a concert on the same day and couldn't, some were not so very much into eco things (or would need to be inspired more!) It was the end of the year...?

Apparently the shop took off the posters we had on the 1st eco stand when cleaning and they disappeared :( we also didn't have any good promo materials anymore (hopefully we'd manage to get or make more during the autumn/winter!) - and I got ill..

No surprise, since everything was quite hectic!
The potatoes needed de-weeding, and as I'm not such a fast expert (yet?) it took a while, basically the whole week, just at the time when we could practise with the kids! - It's not easy to be a wanna-be farmer and eco activist at the same time, sometimes!! I was hugely disappointed with myself! (for not setting it all up better, or earlier on, or getting other people on board to help before!) All the teachers and kindergarten teachers I know were busy with things this time of year too!!(I had no idea I wouldn't have time either!!)

It's all volunteering and goodwill at this time, so basically, who cares?
I do not wonder anymore why the government hasn't done something like that yet - grassroots campaigns etc, raising awareness at local levels - it seems to take talking to a lot of people and well, it's much easier to just build something than do these things!

Still, partly it was a success - creating together with two not-so-eco moms opened up opportunity for discussing eco things (without preaching!) and we had fun too! (One has written an eco song, she sings beautifully! I hope I'll get her to finish it and record it!) And some kids WERE interested! (I just didn't have enough reliable ones to carry the show!) It rained on the day, anyway! (The event still went ahead, but I hear there were not many people/visitors...) So, hopefully we'll create something later on! It would be GREAT to have a team of people who could jump in instead of me if I'm too busy or ill or something...

Partly, I feel burnt out... Part of me just wanted to jump on a plane and go to a totally different part of the world, maybe that is just escapism?
It's very annoying that some people I talked to (and a book by an eco biz expert!) all said that it's better to do things for free/without outside money at first, and later on (maybe next year) apply for EU funding or such.

It's annoying to know a lot of people (and non-profits) do get huge amounts of money for way worse projects than these!! And since I was warned project theft occurs, it's difficult to know who to trust... and to what degree.. (And since we renovated, where are some e-mail addresses I apparently misplaced??)
I think I lost some of the drive and motivation, or maybe it's just the summer? I do hope to get them back!!

My family want me to start earning money with the eco things asap!! Or at least to not lose money with these things! Dad is quite against the eco projects as he sees it as 'nagging' and 'obstruction' and 'slowing things down' - probably does not fancy women butting into men's domains like building and renovation??

I see it as perfect opportunity to educate, inform and inspire suppliers, merchants and manufacturers too.. I have shocked a few sales people when I asked what the window shutters and anti-mosquito nets are made of and if they can be fully recycled lol!!

Dad and Sis just want it done 'as soon as possible'! And I admit for a week it was too hot to research and then I got ill, oh dear.. Better already, hope it all clears soon.. Was wondering whether to try to get a (home) office away from home though, to minimize distraction... I'm officially ill so this minimizes distraction, still the renovations or farm/garden work are somewhat unpredictable.. And I still hate housekeeping, both cooking and dishwashing.. I tried my best last year, but then Dad just asked 'Why are you trying to be a good housekeeper?' (when I was trying to go zero waste) and he didn't appreciate it at all!! (He wants me to get a hotshot job/career and get married and give him grandkids!)
Granny thinks Dad may have onset of Alzheimers too (?) I thought maybe ADD/ADHD.. He didn't know the other day what a gardening concept meant that he taught us!! It hasn't been easy... :( He's behaving now that I was ill but I don't want to have peace only when I'm ill-??

So, I'm still figuring out my options, and hopefully I'll hear about some short-term funding opportunities soon too?
I wrote up some good eco programs/plans, and they could probably get funding too.. And now people just want me to do it all for free? hmm?
It seems I got pulled up too much into the pro bono/volunteer stuff and forgot to work on the profit centers/moneymaking.. I understand my parents too, it seems difficult to clone myself and do two or three different things at a time..

While resting, I read some good books ordered from Bookdepository, on time management and organizing etc.. Some things were quite helpful. I may do some reviews later on.

I did take some pics of the balcony, not sure how wise it is to put it online, color is very specific and I'd prefer to stay a bit incognito? We'll see.. :) Still have 2 balcony windows to paint, it was raining meanwhile and the wood needs to be dry for painting with tung oil too..

Tung Oil, Milkpaint and Farm Work Pending

Sorry I've neglected this blog a bit. Again, lol.

Meanwhile, I've painted the newly glazed balcony with tung oil, after previously painting it with milkpaint (that the neighbour mixed from wallpaint pigment and - you guessed it, milk!) Apparently the Chinese used tung oil to protect their boats 2000 years ago (?) so I hope it would protect the balcony well too - and that it's the 'good' kind! (slightly nutty smell... brings out the beauty of the wood indeed, ideally we'd take this into account when making the balcony, some wood does not have so much beauty, lol! It's mixed with linseed oil, so not sure how 'waterproof' it is, we'll see.. Probably more eco than some other variants though..)

I've also been on a trip with beekeepers and talked to people about starting an eco non-profit locally.. We'll see how it goes..
The balcony and the terrace now have roofs, there's still lots of stuff to do though..
Dad wanted windows and stuff ordered 'now now now' it annoyed me to no end though - when else is there a better opportunity to ask businesses how green their products are than when well, shopping??
Still to call for some window protection - PVC or aluminum? Aluminum is costlier (so Dad says noo!) I really dislike PVC though, so still to find if it's PVC or some less toxic plastics? And apparently aluminom comes with foam added inbetween?? Can this still be recycled then?
I was too cross at Dad to call the company today and find out, sigh.
Dad hates my eco projects and thinks they're a 'hassle' (slowing things down and bloody interfering, sigh). What else can you expect from someone who worked in chemical industry almost all his life??

The 2nd eco stand was planned to be in 2 weeks, we don't have local talent or content available yet, and not sure if we'll get it ready by then??
Why was it planned on the same day the kiddies have a concert already?? Bloody lack of coordination and stuff!!

I've been distracted with this balcony work and now with farm work (ugh! I wish Dad informed us sooner than the night before!) It's very difficult to plan any meetings or phone calls or anything this way!!
Off to de-weed some potatoes, sigh!!!

Eco Stand - DONE!!

So, not sure what to write here? The eco stand was DONE!! The 1st day we were sort of lost a bit, the 2nd day was much better!
It was 2 different locations at the same time, and a bit of rain inbetween, so the logistics of that were a bit tricky - I feel quite confident we could do it again, and might do it again in June or so, with one stand only (we've already been sort-of invited). Not sure what to offer instead of cloth bags though? (We gave away all of them!:) At least leaflets I guess...
I was frazzled for 2 weeks, yet I want to do it again LOL!!

There were things we could do better next time, and we'll have a debriefing after Easter. I've learnt A LOT from both the eco teacher and the scouts... At first I was afraid no one would want to take part, then there was suddenly too many people! lol! (And then some didn't show up, so it was just right!:)
Ideally we'd have experts to help with the expertise part of the info offered there etc.

Luckily, the renovations are mostly over! Much relief here. There's work in the garden both here and at Uncle's farm, though. And some loud neighbours (chainsaws etc). And still not sure about the bees - will I have 'em or not? (And how to have 'em in the most eco way?)

And with all I do, it seems all Dad wants is for me to do the dishes, or sweep the stairs...? (Which I don't mind doing if I'm not dead tired.. I had insomnia half of last week lol!) He just doesn't seem to understand the need for loftier purposes? Or to relax? To help inspire others to be more eco? He just seems to see the current practical things-to-do, and well, wants me to do them. (Or get married and give him grandkids! /sigh/) It seems like he's even jealous of my eco projects?? Or just guilty cause he's stuffed the bin full of something again??

Like Sooz, part of me wants to move away and have peace. Grandma's at our house again, she's had eye surgery, getting well.. Been attacked by giant spider in middle of the night so Sis and I are roommates now. Holidays are stressful at our house too.

For a few days, I was exhilerated and really happy. Now have started to worry over things again - eg how will the priest react? (Will he give us good photos for the article? He was pretending to be disinterested, and then went & took photos! hmm?) Do I ask the girl/boy-scouts for other eco projects, or are they too busy with other stuff? They said they could do something like the eco stand maybe 1x a year.
Mom said she and maybe another woman from the charity could help at the eco party, to point people to recycle right and maybe even wash/rinse the plastic plates so they can be recycled. Would compostable plates be better? (Have people to call on that one too!) How many (recycling) bins and volunteers does one need at an open-air party with 250-500 people?

So, a lot of questions...
Working on some other eco projects too.. Involving beekeepers and bees... Ideally, we'd start a successful 'Save the bees' campaign here in Slovenia too! :)

Update April 7th, 2010: The priest was real busy with Easter etc, so I and the eco teacher sent off the photos we had, we'll see what gets published! :) No idea why I was fretting so much over this, possibly cause it was pre-Easter time and I knew the priest would be busy and didn't want to bother him! :)
The eco party will be a 'mini party' and only one set of bins will be utilized, said the organizers - so it could be simple and doable!
The catering said styrofoam plates would be used - ack!! (Since there would be no tables, they said plastic plates would be too hot! Gotta check if there's a way to have any tables? Mom said there must at least be benches to sit down - still gotta check this, lol!!:)
I learnt it's useless to fret over things that one telephone call may easily clear! Lol!!

YAY! The Priest Likes my Eco Ideas! :)

Or better said, he likes your ideas! :)

He really liked the idea of 'Eco Fair' inspired by the fabulous Danda!

I talked how scouts could maybe hand out cloth bags in front of supermarkets, and take part in other actions, together with the charity group, maybe at a '2nd hand fair'...
He wasn't so sure how people would react to 2nd hand clothing or products (this is a very small town, almost a village!) but he said, 'We could have other stalls too' and I said, 'Of course!'
He had the idea to hand out or sell discounted lightbulbs that save energy etc! So he got quite excited about the idea!

He was real busy (and I was a little late) so we only had 15 minutes or so. But he liked the ideas presented!! :)

He gave me the contact for Earth Day scouts' coordinator (a girl I know!:)
And told me how ideas are discussed monthly by the scout leaders and accepted if they are found appropriate for the kiddies. The scouts are primarily to learn about Nature and establish a deep connection with it, inspiring others is secondary!
I'm to send him other ideas typed up, links to films the scouts could perhaps watch..

If you have any other ideas or suggestions, or links for further tips or good eco films for kiddies, please tell!! :)

Also, a friend of mine who is starting a design small business asked me for 'consulting'! /faints/ And for writing a few cheerful eco articles for their website!
She and her man are awesome and very eco too and I hope I'll be able to help them some! :)

European Minimize Waste Week! How to Green a Charity and a Church?

It's the European MINIMIZE waste week, and since it's my not-so-eco sister's birthday this week and she said 'Noo, no zero waste week, it's my birthday!!' I decided to work on the community efforts. So far I've:

- been to a really cool charity concert and afterparty and nagged everyone about collecting plastic bottles separately afterwards, when cleaning up ('It's the European minimize waste week!' lol - people were nodding, one said her son gathered 30 kg of tins/Coca Cola cans and then got only 3 Euro for it! Which really is a crying shame! She said her husband makes them recycle, and I was very happy to hear it! Some others were not-so-green, and too much plastic and aluminum foil was used for leftover cookies and meats and such, stuff for stars and everyone to carry home etc - hope by next year we'll find better options? I mean, some boxes people brought cookies in remained empty - why not use those again?)

- got a bag and collected some plastic bottles separately (there were two big bags with mixed waste aready!) It was a 'they can't stop me' moment lol! Best way to do something like this is to just do it.
I was a bit shy at first, and shocked everything was in mixed bags, as they have 'being eco' in their 'legislation', and since there are mostly older women there, but well, the European minimize waste week gave me the extra energy needed! :)
Next year ideally I or Mum would be there before anyone started, and would put big labels on bags or boxes: PAPER, PLASTIC BOTTLES, organic stuff for compost, etc.
- fished some plastic bottles out of other bags
- saved some pretty little glass bottles of fate worse than the worst (there has been a really COOL suggestion of using them for art workshops for kiddies, to paint as vases, as they were prettily shaped; & ultimately they were taken by a lady to be filled with yummy tomato sauce!!)
- came to clean up next day and the bags were gone! (some are too hardworking! Yikes!)
- found the bags, set them aside to pick up with the car later - then they were gone again! At least our intentions were good, next year I must put them in the car before anyone can do anything evil with them!

- avoided the polka dancing
- talked to a major Slovenian pop star (YAY he's cute live!)
(didn't dare to talk about trash as there wasn't enough time, maybe next year?;)
I realized too late that the minimize trash week could be advertised on stage!

- inspected the priest's compost (apparently he has one!)
But why is trash NOT collected separately in the church coffee club, and old veggies are put in with the rest??
- talked to the priest about when to talk (next week!:)
Our priest is great and is head of the scouts who are very eco, but he likes Coca Cola and sweets like my sister!! :( So, I'm not sure how it will all go?
I hope at least the scouts would be interested in some eco actions? :)
Like giving cloth bags to people in front of supermarkets... Any good ideas for other eco actions?

- suggested cloth diapers to a local women's shelter boss lady (okay, Mum did! She brought it up herself, after I talked to her about it in the spring!)
The boss lady was somewhat shocked, and said other things were more important at the time, we're not taking it as a final no and are going to look for cloth diapers online! (Then if the moms want to buy own plastic diapers they can buy them with own money, or they can use the cloth for free? At least that was the idea.)

- networked with some really cool people (and got invited to sing at a local choir - am still contemplating it!:)
- sort of managed to change my biorhythm and get up EARLY!
Was online VERY little or not at all in the past two days, so saving electricity!:)

- checked out a local sweet shop and saw some ways they could minimize waste!
(shocked the sales assistant by not wanting ANY packaging - neither paper wrapping or paper bag - 'I'll eat it here', I said and grabbed it! Shocking, I know!;)

So, small, tiny things.. hope it'll snowball into something bigger!! :)
And I'd love to have a zero waste presentation for the charity in forseeable future! (They're keen to get supporters and want to get more young people 'in' soo...? ;)

Falling Leaves for Yummy Compost! :)

Sorry I wasn't posting last week - had a bunch of posts planned, and still need to get some pics (of 'final products' he he..) and was kinda busy... (and my SD card is full /sigh/ Not sure if it's very eco to buy a new one? Or how to store and back up pics and little films safely in a zero waste way?)

So, let's see.

On Monday Dad and I took a neighbour's leaves off her grass - we need the leaves for our compost and she's had a hand injury! (Beware chemicals-sprayed thorns in your hand!! She's had 2 operations already and it's still not good! Her neighbours sprayed a fruit tree that's close to her roses, and apparently it then all got infected badly?)
It's good to have a big mouth (sometimes) though.

On Tuesday we got more leaves, as another neighbour I spoke to while handling the leaves (she gave us an odd look!) told a guy who didn't know what to do with them that our Dad might take them. So Sis and Dad went off and got a big load from a local sometimes-marketplace.
(Dad brought the guy a beer and was happy to chat about all evils of modern world afterwards too.)

On Wednesday I finally got to bring the 'zero waste reusable plastic containers' to a lady who makes the yummiest cheese ever!! (With walnuts or dragonwort or other yummy spices!) She was in town for a mini-event: November 11th is St Martin's Day and widely celebrated in Slovenia with new wine and ducks or geese!
Mom bought some cheese in a plastic foil ('Do you have the containers with? Do you want me to unwrap the foil?' the lady asked with concern - Mum shook her head and took two and phoned me and sent me to town with containers for future exchange. That involves a castle and a friendly pub owner. We'll see how it goes! :)
/We had to first empty some old cottage cheese plastic tubs from raspberries and such. This year almost 90% of our freezer stuff was in reusable boxes!:)/

On the way home, I caught the sub-mayor's wife handling the leaves!!

You can guess what followed. :)

Next day, Dad and I took the leaves. (There weren't many but I was furious at their pretty bags full of leaves and grass and other compost stuff whole year! I think a sub-mayor oughtta be an example, no?)
She was quite happy to give 'em to us, and told me she 'didn't know what to do with them'! /sigh/
My Dad had been embarassed to ask sub-mayor, his pal, and so I was at first a bit shy about it too.. Seeing how the other neighbour gave us leaves gladly, I decided to approach Mother Sub-Mayor directly - and, yup, sometimes women can be wiser!!:)

I was also in contact with some guys from another town, reading and listening to some stuff.. (That I wish I didn't know perhaps! /sigh/)

I still feel quite guilty for not doing more, you know!

At least we saved some bags of leaves from the incinerator!!
Any organic matter or plastics is BAD in an incinerator, as toxic dioxins and other poisons may be formed! And of course, when it's all mixed together with other trash, it can't be really usable, can it?

If composted, it'll make yummy compost for our garden!

Oh, and we made some YUMMY zero-sugar pear marmalade!! (That I'm now quite addicted to! /sigh/)
Previous years, often Uncle's pears just got thrown away to the compost (at least the compost got 'em!:) this year when apples are scarce, I thought it would be wise to get all the pears we can!
And yup, Uncle deserves at least a small jar! :)

I talked trash to Mother Sub-Mayor, one of the local girl scouts (they might be interested to hand out cloth bags!! Keep your fingers crossed!) and today, surprisingly even to my not-very-eco cousin! (He had good info on what it's like in Austria!)

November is a good month to sort and start again your compost, if you don't have one already? :)

What do you do with your organic waste, is it collected separately where you live? (Here it isn't, yet. Many people have compost, but not everyone. I was happy to see at least one new BIG compost heap (made of leaves mostly) - maybe result of my talk and articles? I'd love to think so!:)

And remember, November 21st-29th is European minimizing waste week!! What will you do to celebrate it? ;)

Thanks to the lovely Danda's blog for the info - apparently in Slovenia there is no official organizer? :( They just want to build incinerators??
I did see the 2nd biggest Slovenian city put up a notice for getting funding from EU for an incinerator there? :(

So, this week was full of ups and downs, of good news and bad.. I got invited to help film a documentary, it was sort of short notice though.. Got some cool new info though..
And today I just saw a local MP and almost invited myself to a meeting...? ;)
Probably better to get my act together and know what to say though!:) Any suggestions? ;)

NaNoWriMo 2009! Eco Romance in Writing!

I resisted for years, but somehow this year I signed up!

Okay, we all know sitting behind a computer isn't too eco, so why choose to do something like this?

Using so much paper isn't exactly eco either, at least I managed to buy ECF paper (elemental-chlorine free) locally and saved some one-side printed paper from burning today! Let's hope we'll find even more eco paper!

Why I first got involved in this zero waste thing is through my first novel (SF romance) I started writing a couple of years ago. I couldn't just 'do nothing', my characters kicked my ass into 'doing something'!!

I've always wanted to be a writer, since I was a little girl and read Heidi and Tom Sawyer! (And Astrid Lindgren!)
I fully believe books can change people's views and lives. (And sometimes create future.)
And they are cheapest and probably most eco means of travel to far-off locations (and universes).

Do you know how they say, 'A pen is stronger than a sword'?

In Slovenia, when Slovenian people had zero political power (like in 19th century or earlier) most education and 'enlightenment' and even political 'togetherness' came through literature, the written word.

When black people in USA were slaves, they still had the blues.

And no one could take that away from them.

When direct political speech was prohibited, fairytales and folksy songs were still okay, and passed the eyes of censors.

I thought about this muchly, and wondered, what to do. Then, I thought if one simple book could inspire me so much, maybe it could inspire others too? Empower and encourage people who'd otherwise just 'walk away' or think 'nothing can be done'?
Imagine if all people worldwide could be inspired to go more eco and do their best to go zero waste.. Or even just start making even the smallest changes!

My friends got inspired to really be more eco after I read them the Eco Cabaret and asked them to star in it! :)
(It's not finished yet and they're busy with other things now, we still hope to make it happen! And I told them they must set an example for others, so they're doing some awesome eco things already described!)

If everyone does just a little, together, we can do A LOT!!

If everyone on Earth would recycle just one can more - that would be A LOT of cans!!

I've learnt so much about zero waste inbetween that I can't possibly fill it all in the 1st book, especially as it's 3/4 written already! (and happening in Outer Space!)

So a few months ago I started writing a new eco romance, and then just run out of gas mid-book. I got this fun new idea for characters and conflict a few days ago and thought, 'Why not do NaNo'?

Check out my novel synopsis and please give me ideas, cause I almost ran out of what to write already! :)

Of course it's going to be an eco romance! :)

Do tell if you've signed up too, and friend me up! (I'm EcoLayla there!)
Oh, and do post your bodycount, oops wordcount!

Did I tell you I was slightly competitive? ;)

And YAY my first checque for the eco articles just arrived!! :)
It's not so big, but it's not so small either, so now I'm encouraged to write more articles! :)

Oh, and I had the brilliant idea to explore what it would be like to start an eco NGO or an eco biz (because a friend was telling me to do either or both!) - so what better way to do it than through a book? ;)

And there definitely aren't enough fun books with sassy sexy eco heroines!
There are films like Erin Brockovich or Princess Mononoke, but books? Do tell me if you know of any!

Do you read books? What kind of issues or questions would you like to see explored? What kind of heroines and heros would you like to see?
Any names for good guys or bad guys that you must see? ;)

Zero Waste Flower Arrangement! :)

I really hate November 1st!

Not just because an INSANE amount of candles in plastic cases (sometimes - often - it's the toxic PVC plastic!) and also 'plastic' flowers or iffy flower arrangements are bought (but mostly because of that!)

We don't have Haloween as such in Slovenia (well it's been imported!;) but there is the tradition of honoring the dead by visiting graves and bringing candles and flowers, plus you get to meet some of your relatives you haven't met for a year!

My Mum is a DIY gal when it comes to flowers and flower arrangements!

We mostly had homegrown flowers - but her heart was in plastic 'foam' to stick them in! For years and years... /yuck!/
We had arguments over this previous years..

Some relatives made totally DIY arrangements, and they were kinda pretty too! (And *free*!;)

So this year I started some November 1st conversations earlier on in the week, and as a result we're splitting the 4-stop-one-day crazy schedule for easier-going 3 separate days with different cemeteries and relatives.. (We'll see how this goes, I'd prefer 2-days of frenzy only..)

I said the totally DIY arrangements were 'pretty' (and didn't dare to look at Mum's face!) and then, how we saw some awesome moss on our hike the other Sunday, and Dad volunteered info of another place where it grows and suddenly - it was doable!

I like the flowers that continue to grow too (in fact, I think they're more stylish than most flower arrangements I've seen! and more eco) but this year we haven't got any at home, we'd have to buy them (they're affordable though, 5 Euro at a supermarket! But I hate supermarkets, mostly) and well, it's always a BIG question how 'eco' the bought flowers are, what they have been sprayed with and fertilized with, etc!

So Mum and Dad went to gather moss (at first my coming along was a requirement, then they 'forgot' me?! /sigh/ That's how chaotic our family can be, lol! Well, I had other things to do anyway..)
...and Mum made the flower arrangements..

My Mum ROCKS!

And guess what? The flowers are even prettier than last year!!
Mum said it was easy to make/'stick 'em in' too!! - And it can all be totally compostable, 100%!

I hoped to make an eco zero waste candle too (with natural beeswax) - maybe next year?!

Zero waste pizza possible? In a students' dorm?

I visited my cousin at the students' dorm, & while also meeting many great people interested in zero waste & a better world :D (which is always a good thing!:)
my cousin fed me order-pizza!!

hmm!! It was YUMMY!! but-

could the boxes be made compostable? (or can they be composted as they are?)
why did they add sweets in plastic foil (to throw away)?
& salad in 2 recyclable #6 containers? (that I doubt my coz will wash - forgot to remind her!) They could've brought that in one container - it was one big pizza!!
(Could even those containers be reusable? Are there any already, anywhere in the world?)

If I ever visit her again, I will probably have to insist on another option!!
(or maybe we can just cook some pasta? I saw a student use Barilla carton packaged pasta - but the box wound up in the mixed-waste bin!! Together with some bread etc!! ugh!!)

I didn't see them throw that in! Or I would've said something!!

Students are notoriously 'bad' when it comes to recycling & such!!
/I did fish out a newspaper my coz's roommate threw in their bin though!/
Newspapers can be recycled most easily!! (as opposed to bad glossy magazines!!)

need to research more what is available to them to sort the 'garbage' in!

Feels like the day we started sorting the trash at home - from scratch!

Ooh, there's more work to be done!! :)

Zero Waste Report #7: Got the flu?

Mum & I went potato-weeding the other day last week, & Mum got the fever.. 39°C & more! at first we thought it was just the sun.. but Sis was down with the fever too...!

So we were quite scared..

We were joking around with the pig flu over at MyZerowaste the other day, but let me tell you, if your family has 39°C + fever, you don't exactly laugh about it!

(& Mum *DID* hug an American last week!)

What to do?

I looked online & got scared - they had all the 'official' signs (almost) - though surprisingly, those were 'just flu' signs too!!

& then I read 'just flu' had killed more people than 'pig flu' & that Rumsfeld (?) was in charge of the Tamiflu company (conspiracy theories etc) - & how Tamiflu had killed 14 kids in Japan or something?

I printed out some of the info & didn't know what to do...

Mum said defiantly she would have no Tamiflu anyway!!

Cousin (another one) said potatoes on the head & on palms of hands can reduce temperature... So we tried this..
Mum drank beetroot juice...
Still, she had 39°8C at night, & that is no joke!!

So she & Sis took the 'official' get-the-fever-down/anti-pain drugs... (see pic above)

They are over-the-counter & readily available in pharmacies.. but still.. there's no recycling sign on the packaging, so...?
Mum did ask if at least the aluminum-only packaging of probiotics (far right) can be recycled?

Also, a by-product of the flu (or whatever it was) was a lot of - TRASH!


You can't deny ill people their hearts' desires, can you?
(& traditional cures for.. stomach trouble!)


Sis & Mum insisted on 'overbaked bread' & butter cookies!
(Sis also wanted unhealthier things & didn't get 'em!!)

I got the more expensive 'overbaked bread' labelled with PP #5 recyclable plastics sign.. (who knows, is it really recyclable & does it get recycled?!)
One could get 2 cheapie ones (non-recyclable) for the price! (& they wished for 'plain one' - didn't complain over what I got 'em though! so I guess it was 'plain enough'!:))
Probably the see-through cellophane-like inner wrappings are - cellophane? (& non-recyclable?)
The cookies are not labelled recyclable in any way!!
/Mum seems slightly addicted to them though!)

I also cooked them a lot of thyme tea & blueberry tea & such.. & eventually they did get much better - I think yesterday Mum had more energy than I did!

So:


So now we have quite a lot in the bin! (Remember, this is Week 6 though! - Oops, week 7!! WOW!!:)
we did let it slip a bit, so hopefully next week we'll get back on track & start anew!
/There is some small trash in the bathroom bin too, including some not-so-pleasant stuff! What can I say? Sis can't be persuaded to go for cloth pads or a mooncup or such! She still swears by plastic throwawayables! /sigh/)

I was bashed & trashed at a Slovenian forum, how unhygienic cloth pads are etc - but I was the healthiest one at home at the time?! (Dad had a bit of a cough/cold/flu before Mum & Sis did! He was quickly over it though!)

& now I can say - flu, indeed (any kind) *IS* creating a lot of rubbish!!

& we all need an 'emergency plan' for zero-waste policy when anyone goes ill!!
/not sure exactly how that plan would look, I am envisioning zero waste overbaked bread - & cookies! - somehow! :)/

But could I (or anyone?) make 'em like they are in da supermarkets?
& how would they keep? (would one freeze them? or eat every week/month?)

Mum & sis are much better, still it's better if they don't go shopping & such.. Dad is not to be trusted to go shopping alone though!!

Today he brought home this (& chicken breast not-in-a-container! /sigh/):

Old non-eco non-fairtrade bananas in a plastic bag WITH HOLES!! - cause they were on DISCOUNT! (cheaper)
Why on earth do they need to be in a plastic bag WITH HOLES?
Doesn't this defeat the purpose? (if they got rotten, the bag would leak.. & they'd still get rotten sooner, cause they were put in a bag-?!)

Ah well!!

I've never seen this done before, usually you'd just take 'em - the packaging industry must really be going crazy - ugh?!!

Which brings us to the point: is it better to be ill with the flu - or - packaging crazy? hmm!!
(Not sure if there is a cure for that!)

Sub-Mayor Is Slightly Interested! :)

So yesterday I managed to grab the sub-mayor by the button. So to speak.

Actually, he was fixing a garden gnome, or something like that.

I was tired & hungry, but thought, 'What the heck?' How often do you get a sub-mayor basically on his knees before you?;) So I inspected the gnome & then ASKED! :)

It seems there *IS* political will for a reuse station in our little town, and maybe for making people more aware how to recycle & minimize trash too!! :)

Will it be a simple reuse station like already existing in Slovenia? (Please take a look & comment - the yellow board on the wall announces a reuse station corner - simply some shelves by the wall.. easy to make & very doable.. I was told that mostly they have furniture & not electronic stuff.. It looks a bit, hmm.. uninspiring, though..)

With other options, finding financing (& a space for a mini-store!) might be a challenge.. Two more superstores have expressed interest to come to our little town, sigh!! (& those are a hefty competition for council land!)
'Tourists & visitors come to our beautiful town to see nature, not supermarkets!!' I pointed out, & sub-mayor agreed, & said how supermarkets & building companies also bring jobs & eg sponsored playground (mostly plastic! sigh!) & some money.. (& more trash, I thought..)

I'm welcome to see the sub-mayor again about this (he did have to repair the gnome!) & hopefully we'll talk more with other parties involved in this too..

Ideally it would be a 'real' small shop like these in the USA offering awesome stuff cheaply - just furniture, sins, doors, garden ornaments etc... crockery, art supplies, old candles.. It's 'creative reuse', not just a thrift store..!! :)

Or something like what they have in Nova Scotia, Canada: a longer film on waste management shows a VERY cute store with furniture & other stuff for house renovation (after 19:10) selling bathroom articles, some things like old doors are creatively re-styled into other furniture like kitchen cabinets etc..

One of my favorite ones was this shop in Burlington, Vermont, USA (film also available with more videos about communities worldwide going zero waste on AmericanHealthStudies.org - Prof. Paul Connet's website it seems)
Recycle North is a non-profit that takes even old PCs & fridges, repairs them if necessary, & sells again for a small price (tax-deducted!), low-income families get coupons to get stuff for free..

At the same time it's a job training center for people who'd find it difficult to get a job otherwise.. Now if we could just figure out a way to fund something like this?!! :)
/Both neighbour & I sought for an old computer mouse one can't get anywhere else.. :)/

Apparently The RecycleNorth main shop is being renovated, a ReStore selling artsy crafts is still working! (now that sounds lovely too! :)

Our sub-mayor actually thought a reuse station was quite a nifty idea, & now I have both the local charity, the local waste company & a country-wide electronic-waste collecting company slightly interested. :)

Yes, I made some phone calls this week!! :)

If only one could get some easily available EU or country-wide resources..? hmm?
/More phone-calls & e-mails to write next week!/

Apparently the computers on grass (under trees) were due to a change in system of collecting the old computers & TVs etc.
I agree that the old system wasn't good - old TVs were shoved into big containers & apparently a lot of them broke.. so the electronic-waste collecting company now switched to a different system, but apparently was overflown with demand & they didn't have enough of new-style collecting plateaus, so...?

They promised to bring the plateaus this week, we'll see if that's true..

I also talked to a wonderful friend of mine who's now almost-married off to another town & has a big chunk of potential eco-farm (belonging to her new hubby-to-be relatives!) to work on with her man! She gave me lots of useful ideas & recipes! & even some names of eco-aware people in our hometown to contact next! (& I did offer my services!:)

Interesting, how great minds think alike, the synchronicity of it all.. Mrs Green & her guest blogger Sophie blogged about 'non-monetary' work, land & crop exchange this week.. & JustGai was Grow Zoned!
I was thinking lately too, how land & food can be exchanged with no monetary investment!! We got some sausages & some wood from our relatives just cause Dad helped at their farm! & this friend got wonderful workable rested land to use & work on for free! (from her man's relatives!)
Mum & I planted beans & pumpkins at Uncle's farm (even the ones with non-peel seeds!) 'Free food' again! :)

Oh, & I quarrelled with our neighbour on whether tetrapaks can or cannot be recycled!
Overall, quite a productive day & week! :)

Sub-mayor seemed slightly interested on how we managed to reduce our waste after zero waste week too!! /& glanced uneasily at his big bag of waste!;)/

Do you have a reuse station in your town? What is it like? What do they have there? Just furniture or also other stuff like clothes or electronic gear? How has it been financed & set up? Just curious!! Do tell!!

What do you think about the different options for reuse stations presented here?