Written by: Megan Thiessen, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The best part of living a sustainable life is that there is always something new to work with. That's what I find most fascinating about the Eco-friendly life. There is just always something new to try. Something better to work with, something more suitable for your current lifestyle.
As a mum. I’m constantly growing with my son's forever changes. From doing everything for him. To move the water station, to an area where he can get it himself. Now he pours the water himself. And I’m still trying to find more suitable ways to fit his independence, without succumbing to the plastic cup. While not financially tossing money away on glass and higher-quality cups. Fully knowing that… it's not gonna last. All hail the epic kid's water bottle. Slap some stickers on it and pants pajamas.
Our cub's water bottle is from the company Polar Bottle. They are, in my opinion, the best quality for the price. It’s BPA-free (better than drinking plastic) technology to keep the water cooler longer. I also love that they came up with two sizes. So the kid could have one that fits in his hands and backpack. As for us adults, we use the Stanley line, they're big, hold hot and cold, and tough. They can be in the $40.00 range but you can find them on sale. It’s worth it for items that can survive our active lifestyle.
You see… plastic does have its place. And there's better plastic than others. Single-use plastic; That's the kind that you can’t recycle is normally found at a price that you can't resist. The problem... It's not recyclable, and plastics contain harmful chemicals you dont want ingested.
And often most of us just end up tossing it. Whatever into the recycling bin (or garbage) without thinking about where it goes.
So where does it go
I had the absolute honor of writing cannabis blogs for a company in California four years ago. I went on an amazing journey of discovering some major gray areas in cannabis education. What I was amazed at was not only how cannabis education has been very vacant for far too long;
but things like knowing how to properly recycle and where our garbage goes were not being discussed at all either.
I went down the rabbit hole
I made it my mission to see who knew where our cannabis containers/ recycling went. So I asked people. More than I wanted to hear, “I toss it out in the garbage” was the normal answer. Same with “I dont pay attention to that stuff.”
What you need to know is
Where our garbage/recycling is going
How to properly recycle
Ways to improve your recycling
Where is it going
It's a mixed answer with that one… honestly depending on whom you are asking. That's only because it just goes a little bit everywhere. We have landfills that are trying to do their “ best” to reduce the toxic waste that seeps through the underbelly. When I say “trying their best” I mean... they can only do so much on their end.
It's like donating your clothes to a second-hand shop. They would love it if you made sure it was clean and didn't have any holes in it. Not everyone follows the request… but they can't make it a rule. So it's a “ we try our best to sort through all the clothes”
We have treatment centers. It gets sent to plants that just ship the recycling/recycling in large cargo containers. Either to other companies to buy or “trade”. I have read about an infamous landfill island. A heap of garbage floating somewhere in the ocean. Tied together so it stays together… that's nice at least…
Depending on where you live and what your provincial rules are. It typically looks something like this.
The garbage/recycling man comes and picks up the garbage/ recycling
Heads to your garbage/recycling plant
Plant workers typically sort through garbage/recycling
The plant ships the garbage/recycling sorts to its proper places
There are a few very important parts to this. On our end at least
The how to sort your garbage. Is the perfect place to start. Because we dont truly know.
Exactly where our “sorted” garbage/recycling is going. We need to do our part to make sure that we aren't tossing things like batteries. Into our garbage bin under the sink. Why? Batteries have acid and heavy metals that escape into the environment. That seems like a pretty easy concept to most of us. Well… Even most of us have tossed batteries into the garbage bin under the sink. Oops...
Everyone should look up their municipality’s guidelines for sorting your waste.
To sum it up. It starts with creating a system. You need a couple of bins to start with. Set them right beside each other and keep them in an easy place. So if your garbage bin is under the sink then let it be under the sink. Keep it simple.
Start by sorting your garbage. Plastic. Garbage in the other bin. When you are ready add the third bin. I dont know bin. In this bin, you’ll place all the things. That you have no idea about. When it gets full you will go through it and research the item.
What doesn't go in the recycling
Clothes hangers
Garden hose
Plastic bags & wraps
Glass
Light bulbs
Wait this is the sustainable kitchen why are we talking about recycling…
We aren't but in a way yes we are. Sustainability goes right along with recycling. Because that three-bin system goes with the sustainable kitchen. That I dont know bin. Also in my house called the, “I'll get to it bin”. Is full of items that need to go – to the proper places. To get put back into their proper places.
Or, do I need to figure out how to reuse them? Can I find a better product to use?
The sustainable kitchen is all about slow sustainability
Gotta give it a few tries. A little of this, a little of that. Have a few happy accidents. Three things to get used to.
Your plan/idea won't always work
Getting frustrated will always happen
Slow results. It's going to take some time.
We started in a house with a huge yard. Then moved to our small two-bedroom apartment with three windows. We rerouted our entire sustainable system to fit our small home. Things like. No composting. We worked at buying things that came in easily recyclable packaging. Like the bamboo toothbrushes from our sustainable bathroom. Instead of a garden, we relied on the farmer's markets. We used our ultimate lighting for house plants. We leaned into supporting small businesses. We made friends with the owners and found many wonderful connections to farms from the local markets. It worked in our favor. After a while. We started getting thank-you gifts and even emails asking if we needed anything like extra packing.
What are your favorite sustainable hacks?
Enjoyed this read? Stay tuned then! This is a series. And im so excited to share it with you. For more information on our herbal sustainable lifestyle. Follow our herbal farm account on Instagram. @tinfamilygrows. Find our herbal care products on our website.
Tinyfamilygrows.com. Stay tuned for more educational sustainable reads.
Megan Thiessen is a renaissance woman. She works in Wellness, Self Development & farming. Living on a sustainable herbal farm with her husband and son, Megan always chooses a more self-sustained lifestyle for her and her family. She strives to educate and empower others to seek a more purpose-filled life. Email Tinyfamilygrows@gmail.com for more educational information.
Megan Thiessen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Megan Thiessen is a renaissance woman. She works in Wellness, Self Development & farming. Living on a sustainable herbal farm with her husband and son, Megan always chooses a more self-sustained lifestyle for her and her family. She strives to educate and empower others to seek a more purpose-filled life, guiding Yoga and health for adults. She also empowers the youth; by hosting dance classes & art classes at her local Arts Station and at Live local events working with the Chamber of Commerce and Wapiti Music Festival.
