Did you know? Recycling 101

Betty learned something this week at our Tuesday event at Cityspace at the Better Business Challenge Lunch n' Learn: TRIM YOUR WASTE! Me and my colleague and friend Anne Bedarf from GreenBlue's Sustainable Packaging Coalition talked about the 4 R's. That's right 4: re-thinking, reducing, reusing, and recycling!

This has inspired me to talk less trash on my blog ;-) so I'll be rolling out a series of Recycling 101 blogs. Stay tuned. They will be quick, simple ways to "do the right thing" with your trash in Cville. Over the past month, I've been talking to a lot of folks about how we can increase our diversion (waste away from landfill) and recycling!

I'm starting basic: plastic. Did you hear about the woman who tried to not touch plastic for an entire day? She couldn't do it -- one of the first things she grabbed was her plastic toothbrush. We really cannot avoid plastic entirely, but we can RECYCLE it properly. Did you know that you can recycle the following plastics in the GROCERY BAG RECYCLING container outside most area grocery stores?!

*newspaper bags
• dry cleaning bags
• bread bags
• produce bags
• toilet paper, napkin, and paper towel wraps
• furniture wrap
• electronic wrap
• plastic retail bags (hard plastic and string handles removed)
• grocery bag
• plastic food storage bags (clean and dry) – (e.g. Ziploc® Bags)
• plastic cereal box liners (if it tears like paper do not include)
• Tyvek(no glue, labels, other material)
• diaper wrap (packaging)
• plastic shipping envelopes (no bubble wrap/remove labels)
• case wrap (e.g., snacks, water bottles)
• All clean, dry bags labeled #2 or #4.

Check out: www.plasticbagrecyclinginfo.org
I'm so excited!
Best,
Betty

Lower Your Cookprint with These Tips...

Cool kitchen: Tools of the trade

My mother is right, again! She’s always telling me, “Use the Crock Pot.” She knows Betty is too busy saving the planet and doesn't have the energy to cook after work. Turns out, she’s the Betty. Crock pot cooking is eco-smart cooking!

This month’s recipe is for energy-efficient cooking.

Woks, electric frypans, slow cookers, and pressure cookers are all more energy-efficient than stovetop burners. Actually, modern pressure cookers use one-third of the energy!

Put a lid on it!

Lids on pots and pans reduce energy use and time for boiling/cooking by 50 percent. (EPA)

Also, pots and pans should be about 1” larger in diameter than the range burner, so you’re not heating the air around it. A 6” pot or pan on an 8” element can waste nearly 40 percent of its heat.

Did you know that using glass and ceramic pans will retain heat more fully than metals, allowing you to turn the oven temperature down by 25 degrees? (Food Service Technology Center and APS)

Respect the convection

Convection ovens, which use fans to circulate air, are about 23 percent more energy efficient than conventional ovens. (DOE) Using a combo microwave/convection is even more efficient. Do you use the self-cleaning feature? It may be convenient but it’s really energy-intensive. Could you opt for a little elbow grease instead?

Hope that helps lower your cookprint!
BWB

The next generation Betty: Welcome these tips from local teenager!

Teresa approached me several months ago wanting to help serve the community Betty-style so I suggested some guest blogs. Here's the first installment. Enjoy and thanks for making a difference, Teresa!

Hi! My name is Teresa and I am a 9th grader at Albemarle High School. I am interested in environmental issues because I am very concerned about the impact that global warming will have on our future. I’m volunteering with Better World Betty because I would love to help make people more aware that global warming is a problem and that we need to reduce our carbon footprint.



I recently read an article (http://news.cnet.com/Earths-temperature-at-400-year-high/2100-11395_3-6087108.html) that stated that the temperature on the Earth is higher than it has been for the past 400 years! In the past century, the Earth’s temperature has risen 1 degree Fahrenheit. However, the rate of temperature increase will accelerate due to retreating glaciers. Ice reflects the sun, so as more glaciers melt, the Earth will absorb more heat.

Most people do not think a 1 degree rise in temperature is much at all (I definitely did not), but it turns out that even small changes in temperature can have a huge impact on Earth. A predicted 5 to 8 degree temperature rise in the next 100 years could cause sea levels to rise half a meter, put some island nations underwater, and wreak havoc in many areas of the world.

But I think the most surprising fact in the article is that 6 to 10 degrees is the difference between today and the deepest ice age!

Most of the recent increase in temperature is caused by human activity, so we definitely need to make it a priority to take action now to slow down global warming.

Here are a few small things my family does to reduce our carbon footprint:

1. We unplug electronics when not in use. Leaving items like laptops, cable boxes, and game units plugged in all the time can waste a lot of energy.
2. We take short showers.
3. We bring our own reusable bags when we grocery shop and our own reusable containers for restaurant leftovers.
4. With the holidays approaching, we will avoid excessive use of wrapping paper by using reusable gift bags, recycled wrapping paper or even the comics from the newspaper.
5. We go to the Better World Betty website for more recipes for green living!

Hopes this helps!
T

Time for a Pantry Raid

Pantry raid
(Find this article here or in newsstands at www.c-ville.com/Abode

Take a moment and consider how much coffee, chocolate, and flour you go through every week. Unfortunately, from farm to cup and bean to bar, chocolate and coffee (along with other staples) both involve an intense process to reach our mouths. This new year, green-raid your pantry and replace accordingly!

Coffee
Fair-trade, shade-grown, organic. It’s hard to keep track, and it’s about to get harder with the recent split between certifying organizations Fair Trade USA and Fairtrade International. For now, these labels are the best way to protect against land loss, help smaller producers have access to resources, promote sustainable practices, and ensure a fair wage. Significant acreage of rainforest is lost every year due to cheap, monoculturally-grown coffee. Bird- and forest-lovers (isn’t that all of us?), look for the Smithsonian Bird-Friendly and Rainforest Alliance labels. The good news: Locally roasted coffee is readily available.

Chocolate
Again, fair-trade organic chocolate is best. Divine Chocolate is 45 percent owned by the Ghanaian farmers who supply its cocoa beans.

Sugar
I recommend agave nectar, honey, stevia, or organic varieties like Florida Crystals.

Flour
Virginia has its own mill: Wade’s Mill, sold at local markets!
Tea and spice
The same designations are important here. What better time to make the switch? The new Spice Diva at Main Street Market is offering a 30 percent discount to folks who bring in their spices to exchange.

Want to know more about specific brands or other food producers? I love these two websites: www.localharvest.org and www.greenamerica.org. Find local sources of sustainably grown food in your area along with green brands and companies.

6 ways to shop local

6 ways to shop local! Check out this article here, in newsstands or online at Abode

This season, Betty helps you think outside the gift box. Don’t fall into the Amazon trap; instead, give the gift of patronizing local businesses!

1. Couch shoppers, head to a cool new online gift shop created by Kate Bennis, Redbud Gifts, which offers local gifts, goodies, and experiences as well as charitable giving opportunities. Purchase a massage or language class, or have a local filmmaker “make your movie.” Everything in the shop originates within 100 miles of Charlottesville. See redbudgifts.com.

2. Visit the Craftacular, a favorite venue of mine for unique hand-made gifts featuring local artists and designers, held this year at Cityspace on December 10 and 11, 10am-6pm.

3. Check out the great selection of upcycled clothing at Firefish Gallery, on Second St. NW just off the Mall.

4. Choose a book written by Virginia authors at Crozet’s Over the Moon Bookstore and Gallery or at one of the many used bookstores in town.

5. Support the local live-performance scene with tickets to a show at the Jefferson Theater, The Southern, Paramount or Live Arts.

6. Bring your holiday host a fine Virginia wine, or Red Rocker Candy (I’m addicted) made in Troy.

Happy Holidays! Betty

Find this story online at Cville Weekly or in local newsstands!

This month, Betty highlights two local artists/creative recyclers, sure to bring out the green giver in you!

Bill Hess, a glass sculptor/artist, and Andy Faith, a mixed media artist, are both archaeologists of sorts with a love of found objects. Both have been known to “dumpster dive” as well as scour junkyards in search of treasures. With all the wonderful materials, textures, colors, and “stuff” available for free,who needs to go out and buy new?

Hess, who is also an engineer, loves reclaiming bits of glass (I once took him a broken vase) and embracing the design challenge of transforming it into something useable like counter tops, tiles,houses, and lamps. Hess’s latest project actually combines recycled glass and activism via a glass greenhouse in Mongolia.

Faith is a woman after my own heart –a collector of ALL things. The City thought she took it a bit too far a few years ago, telling her to clean up her backyard of “future art” (scrap metal) or serve jail time!

She says that “Street trash just isn’t what it used to be,” so she’s thankful that people keep giving her “junk”— broken jewelry, Brillo pads, you name it. Her specialty and a popular holiday gift item are her infamous “overaccessorized” objects. People bring her shoes, chairs, anything really, to have her add recycled/found flair to it. Remember the Barbie Christmas tree at the Consignment House? That was Faith’s. She likes to tell stories with her art–the tragedy and comedy of life and sometimes social commentary–while enjoying the play and the process.

Hess’s work can be found at Vivian’s Art to Wear, Muses, and Etsy, and Faith’s can be found at McGuffey Art Center. Other great places to access local, hand-made art are Cville art, Bozart, and other local art galleries, as well as Etsy shops, where you can search by “recycled materials.”

Go on now, green givers and support the local art scene...

BWB

Do everyone a party favor... go zero-waste!

Fall is here, which means a parade of various holiday events is about to begin. This time, can you strive for a no-waste party? I gleaned some tips from VMDO architects, who host a large fall office party every year and pride themselves on being low-waste and locally-focused.

Think reuse, not single-use when it comes to party planning.

First, invitations. Going digital is the obvious greenest option, but VMDO created an invitation/keepsake for guests, making invitations on cards with slots so guests could build card houses.

Do you already have decorations that would work? Can you borrow? Can you scout local consignment shops or Craigslist instead of buying new? Fill vases with recycled paper bouquets or create an art centerpiece which can be taken home by guests. A potted plant would work. Balloons are festive, but so are greener alternatives like recycled-paper streamers. VMDO decided no more flowers from overseas, so they asked everyone to look in their yard and bring flowers, turning it into a flower-arranging bonding affair for the office.

For food, think “100-mile diet” and “farm-fresh produce.” Don’t want to cook yourself? Call Gus and his crew at Harvest Moon Catering, a sustainable and local-minded food operation. They can supply dinnerware and composting with the help of the folks at Timbercreek Organics.

Ask guests to BYOF (bring your own flatware), or you can offer finger foods to avoid the need altogether.

Reusable linens rather than the single-cloth plastic or vinyl is a greener choice. Want someone else to handle that? Virginia Linens has a sustainability focus in the cleaning of their linens.

One more idea: Can you offer a special party perk for your carpooling guests?

In-joy,
BWB