LWV discussion: How Can Government Safeguard Our Children and Future Generations from Toxic Chemicals

Thanks to EcoParent Ellen H. for the heads-up on an important discussion in our n'hood, hosted by the League of Women Voters.

WHAT: How Can Government Safeguard Our Children and Future Generations from Toxic Chemicals

WHEN: Thursday, March 5 - 7:00pm-9:00pm

WHERE: Lake Harriet United Methodist Church, 4901 Chowen Ave S, Mpls

WHO: Mayor R.T. Rybeck, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, Rep. Karen Clark, Rep. Paul Thissen, Mpls City Councilor Scott Benson, Ann Kelly M.D., M.P.H, Lindsay Dahl, Policy and Media Coordinator for the Healthy Legacy Coalition and Carolyn Raffensberger, Executive Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network

Hope you can make it. And don't forget to mark your calendar for the next EcoParents meeting on March 24, 6:30-8:30 at the Linden Hills Park building. The topic will be PLASTICS - what's the real scoop and what to do?(i.e. BPA & Phalates)

Junk Mail - wasted time, energy, paper, resources, etc...

We all know the hassle and wasted time of dealing with unwanted junk mail, but have you thought about the additional resources wasted by junk mail? Did you know that:

• An average household receives 100 pounds of junk mail annually - that's approx 39 lbs per person?!
• One day's supply of junk mail nationally contains the energy to heat 250,000 homes?
• 100 million trees are used to produce one year's worth of junk mail?
• Nearly 6 billion credit card solications were sent to consumers in 2005?
  
• Over half of all junk mail is not recycled, but instead ends up in the garbage?

Not to mention the wasted money and gas resources used to produce, deliver, and dispose of this UNWANTED mail!! So, here are some resources to help you 'HOLD THE MAIL':

• Direct Marketing Association represents thousands of companies. Create an account and opt-out of mailings - either by category or company-specific. (http://www.dmachoice.org/)
• Catalog Choice allows you to decide which catalogs you get and in some cases, how often. Have the mailing labels from current catalogs handy so you can enter your customer number to make removal most effective. (http://www.catalogchoice.org/)
• Credit offers through the mail can put you at risk for identity theft, as well as the hassle of junk mail. Opt-out of those here. (http://www.optoutprescreen.com)
• ValPak - those blue envelopes with local coupons. Like some of the coupons? Many of them are available through ValPak's website. (http://www,valpak.com/ - click on contact us)
• Valassis Direct Mail sends coupon flyers (Red Plum, Mailbox Values, and ShopWi$e) (http://www.advo.com/consumersupport.html)
  
• Money Mailer is another national advertiser that sends mostly ads and coupons through the mail. You'll have to do this one through email though.

Other tips for reducing mail:

• Sign up for online bill pay and request e-statements where possible.
• Always make sure you check 'do not add me to mailing list' and 'do not sell/share my information' whenever you sign up for ANYTHING. If there isn't a spot on the form, write it in.
• Contact local organizations from whom you receive mailings and ask to be removed. Call, email, or send a postcard directly, as they are unlikely to be part of the national clearinghouses listed above.
• Opt out of receiving telephone books (who uses them anyway!) Click here for more info about phone books from a recent post. Do this first, as the deadline is rapidly approaching to prevent spring delivery!
  

It may take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for the changes to take effect. But, you should notice a decrease...eventually!

Don't have the time to opt-out of everything? Two organizations will do it for you, for a fee:

• 41 Pounds charges $41 for 5 years, but they donate $15 to a nonprofit of your choice.
• Green Dimes charges $20 per year, and they plant 5 trees.

Both organizations will get you off the lists/catalogs you request and will monitor those lists to make sure you get off and stay off (for as long as you pay the fee)! Also, you can buy 'gift cards' for their services. Can you think of a better 'green gift' than that??

For even more ideas and information, check out the flyer from Hennepin County.

Finally, don't forget to RECYCLE what junk mail you do receive! Shred mailings with sensitive information (e.g., credit offers) and put shredded paper in a stapled paper bag with your other recyclables.

Sources: Hennepin County, MN Pollution Control Agency

Meeting TONIGHT, 6:30-8:30 pm, LH Park

Tonight's topic is REDUCING WASTE: Packaging reduction, purchasing decisions, junk mail & catalog reduction! Sandra Nussbaum from Hennepin County will again be our guest speaker and give us lots of information and ideas about things to think about as we shop...

6:30-8:30 pm
Linden Hills Park Building

The Linden Hills Natural Home has donated two sets of BYO reusable produce bags to be given away to 2 lucky attendees tonight, as well as generous coupons for buying from the bulk bins at the Co-op!

Hope to see you there! And check back later this week for a recap and links to resources.

Recycle Yogurt Containers at Linden Hills Co-op!!

There is now a "Gimme 5" collection spot at the Linden Hills Co-op, in addition to Whole Foods Markets! Simply bring your CLEAN #5 plastics (e.g., yogurt containers) and drop in the bin marked with the Gimme 5 logo and they will be recycled into household products by the Preserve company.

How simple and fantastic is that??

And thanks again to Linden Hills Natural Home for their generosity and wonderful support of Linden Hills EcoParents!!

Green Remodeling

Do you have some remodeling plans in your future? Check out www.greenremodeling.org - a site run by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry to find resources for consumers, including NARI member contractors. Their 'articles' page has a lot of useful information as well.

A great local resource for DIY green remodeling is Natural Built Home, located at 4020 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis. Check it out before heading to the big box home improvement stores, for jobs big and small! Natural Built Home also offers workshops.

Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act effective yesterday

A new federal law intended to protect children from dangerous levels of lead and phthalates goes into effect yesterday - the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act. The law was passed by Congress last August and established the following regulations for certain chemicals in children's products.

• Phthalates: Children's products (including toys, pacifiers, sippy cups, and mattresses) cannot contain more than 0.1% of certain phthalates, which are chemicals that make vinyl and other plastics soft and flexible.
• Lead: Consumer products intended for children 12 and younger may not have more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part.

While the intent of this law is to protect children from exposure, there is much confusion about its implementation and enforcement. The law mandates testing of most children's products, but many small retailers and small manufacturers (including craft-type products) argue that the testing provisions are prohibitively expensive. Retailers are unclear about what they are supposed to do at this point. Another point of confusion is for second-hand and thrift stores...

I suspect it will be some time before it's all sorted out. So, even though the law is technically in effect as of yesterday, that is no guarantee that there aren't still lots of products out there with levels or lead and/or phthalates that exceed the levels recommended.

The official government website for the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act is available here, but it contains a lot of official language that is hard to wade through. An brief overview article is available at WebMD (note: this article served as a resource for this post).

Gimme 5 (#5 plastics, that is) collection at Whole Foods

You may recall a recent post here about recycled (and recyclable) toothbrushes by Preserve, and their "Gimme 5" collection program. At the time of the original post, there were no collection sites in Minnesota. But, Preserve's "Gimme 5" collection program has started at the Whole Foods at Calhoun Commons (and the St. Paul store as well, though I haven't been there)! At the Minneapolis Whole Foods, the collection bin is located inside the main doors near the exit.

The Gimme 5 program collects #5 plastics - which are 'tub' plastics like yogurt containers - to be recycled into household products such as toothbrushes and razors! These types of plastics currently are not accepted by the city of Minneapolis as part of their curbside recycling program. Simply rinse out your #5 plastics and drop them off in the collection bin at the store. It's that easy!

Preserve products can also be dropped off in the bin, as well as Brita filters. Click here for instructions on how to prepare the Brita filters for recycling.

For the original post about Preserve toothbrushes, click here.

Upcoming EcoParents Dates

Mark your calendars for upcoming EcoParents meeting dates:

• Wed, February 25: Reducing Waste - purchasing options, packaging, junk mail reduction, magazine management

• Tuesday, March 17: PLASTICS - what's the real scoop and what to do?(i.e. BPA & Phalates)

• Monday, April 27: Green Parties (at Linden Hills UCC, 42nd & Upton)

All meetings are 6:30-8:30 pm and are held at the Linden Hills Park Building (43rd & Xerxes), unless specified otherwise.

Hope to see you there!

DIY Valentines with recycled or reused paper!

Need to have Valentine's Day cards for your kid's class? Instead of buying the el-cheapo stuff that everyone else has, try a little DIY Valentines, for no more money! Making your own cards allows you to choose the type of materials utilized.

Magazines have great pages that can be used to cut out little hearts that your kids (of any age) can glue onto a square of recycled cardstock. An ad with a cute dress, or a plain background, or even a NASCAR photo have lots of colors that make cute hearts...

Not a DIY kind of person? Check out Three Wheel Designs. They have designs that you can buy online for $3 - which buys you a PDF file with a super-cute Valentine's Day message that you can print out on your own paper (preferably post-consumer content recycled paper)! All you have to do it print out and cut! You can print out as many as you want for that $3!

It's Important to Laugh too!

Lest we all take ourselves too seriously, here's a link to a Saturday Night Live 'fake commercial' for an environmentally friendly diaper.

While it's important for us all to do what we can, this is a bit much. :-)

Opt Out of Phone Book Deliveries

When was the last time that you actually flipped open a paper phone book to look up a number or an address? If you, like most folks, use online directories, then opt-out of receiving phone books this year.

You may have seen the article in today's Star-Tribune about 'opting out' of receiving phone books. This is a simple way to reduce the amount of needless paper waste, resources used in producing phone books. According to the article, 75% of phone books are simply thrown in the trash, even though they are recyclable! Yikes.

The online comments to the Strib article indicate that signing up to opt out is not always successful, but it's worth a try! Plus, think of the drawer/shelf space you'll free up by not having to store the phone books. Regardless of whether you opt-out of receiving new phone books, don't forget to recycle your current phone books when they are out-of-date. If you live in Minneapolis, simply place them on top of your recycling bin on your regular recycling day and the city of Minneapolis will pick them up. (Check with your recycling hauler or city if you live elsewhere.)

There are multiple publishers of phone directories. Click here to opt-out of Dex directories. For other directories, you'll have to call to opt-out. For Yellowbook, call 1-800-YB-YELLO. For Verizon Yellow Pages (Idearc), call 1-800-888-8448.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) - the ultimate in buy local!

Consider becoming part of the "Community Supported Agriculture" movement by becoming a member of a local farm. Each 'subscription' varies, but generally speaking, you buy a 'share' in a farm and in return, the farm provides a weekly share of its bounty to a local drop-site throughout the summer (length of delivery season varies).

You benefit by receiving FRESH seasonal produce, by knowing where (and how) your produce was grown, and by supporting local, most often organic, farms. You also develop a closer connection with your food and a heightened sense of seasonality...although it may require you to develop some new recipes and learn to work with new foods!

Each CSA membership is slightly different, so be sure to check out the farms (most have websites these days). A Minnesota CSA Directory is available online through the Land Stewardship Project, including a map with farms and drop-sites.

We have been part of a CSA for 4 years or so, and have really enjoyed it. There are farms with drop sites in/around Linden Hills (as well as all over the metro area), but shares are limited. I believe that most (all?) are accepting subscriptions now. A word of caution: a single share is A LOT of food, so consider splitting a share with a friend or going for a half-share (offered by some farms), to avoid wasting food. Be sure to read carefully the description of how much food is usually delivered to help you decide whether a full share or half-share is appropriate. We have always split a share and have PLENTY of produce. Some even offer fruit, cheese, or coffee shares as well though partnerships with other farms.

Have you participated in a CSA in the past? What are your experiences? Thoughts? Suggestions? Make a comment and share with us!