Alternative to plastic bags

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Simple Changes

I have a confession to make. Even though I wrote about reducing the number of plastic bags we use, I have struggled with what to do when it comes to my dog. It’s very convenient to throw a plastic bag in my pocket when we go for a walk so I have something handy to pick up his poop.

I realized there had to be a better way to do this and was determined to find a solution.

I heard that our city had supplied biodegradable bags in the off leash areas, I started looking around to see if I could find similar bags for sale commercially. I did.

Community Natural Foods in Calgary sells ECOSAFE biodegradable bags for doggie litter, kitchen garbage and trash bags (www.degradableplastics.com).

Regular plastic bags take decades to break down. When you consider the number of bags you throw away in a year and multiply that times the number of people in your community (and beyond), it is a huge problem for landfills. Biodegradable bags, on the other hand, totally degrade and turn into a food source for microorganisms.

I will be using up all the plastic bags I have (reuse and recycle) and will do my best to eliminate as many plastic bags as possible (reduce) by using either paper bags or reusable bags I keep in the trunk of my car.

Originally posted in the Airdrie Echo September 19, 2007

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The ‘No Bag’ Resolution

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Simple Changes

Garbage day in our household has us rushing around the house collecting garbage from various rooms in order to get it out on the street before the garbage truck comes by. Only this past week was different.

After our usual running around collecting, my husband called out from the garage that there just wasn’t enough garbage to put it out on the street. We typically have 1 large green garbage bag of garbage each week but this week we had the equivalent of 2 small kitchen bags which only took up about a third of a large green garbage bag.

We actually reduced the amount of garbage in our household to the point where we didn’t have enough to put out on the street. We, by the way, are 2 adults, 1 teenager and a dog.

Here’s how we did it:

Shopping friendly

  • buying items that have minimal or no packaging
  • using cloth bags at all stores (except where raw meat is concerned – I’m a bit nervous about that one)
  • use whatever plastic bag we do collect for picking up dog waste

Recycling – everything and anything that can be recycled goes into cardboard boxes in our pantry and eventually to the Recycle Depot. That includes:

  • all paper products including cardboard, newspaper, advertising, stationary and packaging
  • all acceptable plastics and any lid
  • metal cans, lids and aluminum pie plates
  • all glass jars and bottles
  • other stuff such as egg cartons and batteries

HINT: For a handy list of what is accepted contact your local Recycle Depot

3. Composting

  • all vegetable, fruit and egg shell waste goes into a small closed bucket under our sink
  • once a week that waste goes into our composter in the back yard (more on composting soon)

One of our New Year’s resolutions this year is to find ways to have more and more “no bag” garbage days in our household. I challenge everyone to find it in their hearts to do the same this year. What a gift to the environment that would be!

Originally posted in the Airdrie Echo January 9, 2008

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