Zero Waste Lifestyle: time and money consuming?

Soon after the New York Times article came out about our lifestyle, I received comments on the blog about time and financial concerns related to the Zero Waste Lifestyle.

"I wonder exactly how much time/money you put into the effort?" wrote Julie K.

Not that I particularly choose to pick on you, Julie K, quite the contrary. I completely understand your concerns and feel that they represent those of many readers. I started out just like you (running an average household that filled a number of trash bags a week), and a few years back, I would have raised the same objections to the Zero Waste lifestyle. I would have let those concerns stop me from making waste reducing changes, stunted by the picture of a lifestyle that seemed so unattainable. But here is what I found out thru the course of our metamorphosis (the quotes all belong to Julie K):

TIME:

"Making of balms, cleaners, etc. and sorting through the trash, etc are very time-consuming for many people who work 1-2 jobs":

- The 1^st step of going Zero Waste is SIMPLIFYING (a bonus if you do work 1-2 jobs and can benefit from any simplification at all), which is figuring out those items that you do need and those that you can live without (remember the 80-20 rule?), and narrowing it down to your personal staples. At one point I made cheese, and then found out that it was not worth the amount of time and money involved when I can just get it from the store straight into my jar. Simplify! You might not need that balm like I do and I am clearly not saying that you should make balm or mustard if you don't need them! More power to you, if you do not need them!

- Zero Waste is also an ever changing journey, where one can adapt according to the also ever-changing market and/or family tastes. A couple of weeks ago, a new store opened and I found yogurt in bulk... Do you know what that means? I don't make yogurt anymore. Also, my son grew out of his taste for soy milk... Do you know what that means? I don't make soy milk anymore either.

- "Sorting through the trash": I don't have any to sort. That's the point of all of this. If you stop it before it comes into your home, it does not even need to be addressed.

- Did I ever mention that I work 4 part-time jobs? If I can do it, you can too... all you need is "to care" to get started.

"Many of your readers with little extra time may see some of these changes not as a fun hobby, but rather as a chore"

- Caring for the environment is neither a chore nor a hobby, but rather a citizen's duty. Look around, and get informed. Educate yourself about the impact of our society's wasteful habits, it will soon become clear to you that we can't keep on doing things the way we've done them for generations. If you don't want to do it for yourself, then at least have some compassion for those that will succeed you.

So, how much time do I really spend working on our Zero Waste?

A couple of hours a week, Friday afternoons...That's when I grocery shop and run errands that might take me to a store. While dinner is cooking, I might squeeze oranges for OJ or once in a blue moon make mustard.

And this blog helps you access information that took me a couple of years to figure out. Now, that's a time saver!

MONEY:

"Many specialty shops like Whole Foods are quite pricey"

- Whole Foods, you already know, is not my favorite store (see a "Letter to Whole foods" or "Difficult trip to Whole Foods" article). But it is the largest bulk vendor in my town, and many others. So, while I try to shop as locally as possible, I consider it our main option (I have not been to Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco for three months). If you have a better (and more ethical) option than Whole Foods, please go for it!

-In Whole Foods defense though, it is hardly "Whole Paycheck", if you stay away from the prepared foods and cut down your meat consumption. In the past 2 years, we've seen our grocery bill significantly decrease. About a 1/3 less than what it used to be (How did we ever think that packaging was free? Did it ever occur to you that it is included in the products price?)

"In the past few years I've also noticed a huge rise in the prices at the farmers' market"

- Inflation hits not just the supermarket, but every business, and that includes the farmers' market. As for organic, I believe that they are worth the upfront investment: the more you buy organic, the more likely we'll see those prices drop. It's a simple economic rule.

- Quality veggies and food, like anything else of quality, does not come cheap. In the long run, it is better for you than "Top Ramen" and is worth it, but you know that already.

-That said, the best time to shop the Farmer's market is at closing time, when farmers slash prices. They rather sell their produce for less than pack it to take it home!

"The glass and stainless canisters you use are expensive when compared to the (free) plastic bags at the store"

-One does not have to purchase a glass canister to reduce their waste, on the contrary. Please reuse those that you have... That empty pickle jar would be perfect for buying olives in bulk. Many other options also abound in thrift shops. No excuses. I personally have been collecting the french jars mainly from thrift stores for 7 years and have loved their versatility (waterproof, durable, heatproof, freezer compatible, universal and interchangeable tops, and available in many different sizes). But no need to comply: Find what works best for you and your budget.

- Our stainless canteens are one of our best buys. And so you will hear from those who have made the same investment. Canteens pay for themselves in only a few months from what you saved on water bottles! (Not to mention that bottled water is essentially tap, and that you eliminate plastic leaching into your drinking water.)

- As for the "free plastic bags": Nothing in life is free... find out what the real cost of free plastic bags is! (http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=2)

"All the things you do are admirable, but maybe not possible for the average person to take on (at least not all of them at once.)" That last bit in parenthesis is one thing I could not agree more with! Bit by bit is surely the way to do it.

Besides the environmental benefits, is it all worth it? Just for the sake of our health (knowing the outcome of packaged/junk food, and the effects of plastic packaging on our health ;), I would do it all over again. And while I thank you, Julie K, for your valuable comment, I do hope that you too will take steps to reduce your waste... You'll be amazed at what you'll find out about yourself.

Update-y

Obviously I didn't get to see Bad Loo at Coachella. No Delphic or Cribs (Johnny Marr), either. The festival was otherwise wonderful - I never thought I'd get to see Public Image Limited live. Devo, Little Boots, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, Aeroplane, and Gorillaz were other highlights for me.

I've got three DJ gigs in the next eight days - one of them in another state. Work on Recycle continues, however. Just to recap what's coming up:

- Atmosphere '88 reconceptualized as a live EP

- Substance documentaries produced by Radio 1 in 1988 covering both bands

- Substance live - recorded front-to-back in Irvine, September 1987

- "Factory Extras" discs covering non-album/single material 1980-1990

California's top energy, air quality, & recycling agencies support AB222

Environmentalists must stop letting the perfect become the enemy of the possible.- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger For three years I have been writing about the frustrated attempts to get legislation passed through Sacramento that would enable the state's municipalities and utilities to permit diversion of municipal solid waste post-recyclables to conversion technologies that would recover energy,

This week was spring break. And while I plan on posting an article on the Zero Waste Closet next week, I would gladly welcome your suggestions for future articles in the meantime... What aspect of the zero waste lifestyle would you like me to write about?

Bad Loo

Hey kids,

I'd hoped to get Atmosphere '88 online this week but I'm heading for Indio bright and early in the morning to attend Coachella (where I'll get to see Bad Lieutenant). I'll return next week.

Woo!

Zero Waste Kids

Overdue... I agree.

I confess (yet again): I am a lucky mom of two fantastic boys.

Our home could not be Zero Waste (and this blog would not exist) if it wasn't for the whole family's combined effort, including that of my two supportive and conscientious kids.

It's funny that our waste-reduction efforts did not even phase them until last year, when I realized that they had not taken notice of our package-free pantry. Because our transition was unplanned and progressive (we did not simply decide one day to go Zero Waste), the kids never asked questions about our lifestyle, and I had assumed they knew what those 200 Le Parfait jars were doing in our kitchen. It's only when I went on a school field trip with my younger son to Whole Foods, where he could not answer the simple question: "Why is it a good idea to buy in bulk?" that it dawned on me that an explanation was in order. That night, we taught the kids the concept of Zero Waste and we received their full blessing and cooperation. An easy conversion (considering their growing environmental knowledge) that would surprisingly, and dramatically reduce our waste. It's amazing how much their “street junk” added to our weekly garbage tally (plastic bits, tennis balls, electronic bits, etc)...

Refuse has been their most essential assignment since that point. But it does not go without its challenges, in a society where kids (especially shy ones, like my eldest) feel ostracized when acting different than expected. Refusing party favors from school or birthday parties is difficult, but manageable if you teach your kids that actions have consequences, that examples must be set for others and that every effort can make a difference.

Sometimes I feel bad, providing my kids with an alternative lifestyle, deprived of tortillas, oreos, and chips, but books like the one I just read (“Slow Death by Rubber Duck”) quickly straighten my volatile mind. From what we know of the effects of plastics on our health, and the waste of resources that packaging generates, I believe that our lifestyle educates them, is better for their health and ultimately gives them a better future. As parents, “it is our responsibility to do what we can to ensure that they have a brighter, cleaner, healthier world to live in.” (smartparenting.com), and it is our duty to educate them about environmental issues so they too can make the right decisions when we're gone.

After all, our children are the future of a better planet. And it starts with your 8 year old commenting aloud when a cashier hands out a plastic bag, “Oh my gosh, a plastic bag, mom!”.

Here are some of the things we are doing with our kids:

Party:
That your child is invited to:
- Talk to the host parent and request no party favor for your child. You can talk to them about your zero waste efforts, or more quickly, you can let them know that you are working on de-cluttering your home. Plus, that's one less tantrum that you'll have to comfort, when the cheap Chinese toxic plastic toy breaks after just one use.
- Bring a present that you would be happy to receive for your own child: Scout the thrift shop for an interesting book or give the gift of new experiences. My 10 year old recently gave his best friend the gift of going out to lunch on their own (Their 1st time in a restaurant without parental supervision). Priceless.
That you are hosting:
- Remember the good old cake served on a ceramic plate with stainless forks? Forget about disposable plates, forks, glasses, napkins and cupcake wrappers.
- Request zero waste presents: For his recent birthday, my son received a gift certificate to the local gelato parlor, an afternoon of indoor climbing, and a ski trip. An ideal Zero Waste birthday! I pointed out to my son, that these great birthday presents are not only kinder on the environment but they also made his birthday last longer. It did not just stop at the unwrapping of a toy.
- Bypass the party favors: Who really wants them anyways?

Grocery Shopping:
- Shop together: It goes without saying that grocery shopping is easier without kids. But when they do come with me, I take the opportunity to teach them about eco-shopping (like choosing local products), I let them pick the meat and fish of the week (within financial reason), and treat them to their favorite sweet from the bulk section. That's when the organic gummy bears make it into my pantry.
- Get them involved: Our kids go to the ice cream store on their own with a jar, which they can fill with their chosen flavor.

Entertainment:
- Visit the library: We do not watch TV, but the kids get to choose the movie of their choice from the children's library every week. They also get all their books here.
- Watch movies!: Kids can absorb so much from movies and "Wall-E", "Earth" and "Home" are great options. We look forward to “Oceans” releasing soon!
- Propose inspiring books: Both “Land of curiosities” and the “Little House on the Prairie” series are good examples.
- Connect with nature. Our weekly hikes are a great way to learn about nature. We get to spend time together, I teach them about botany and they see what they are fighting for with a Zero Waste lifestyle. Saving nature is ultimately what Zero Waste is all about.
- Play games: To get closer and not waste valuable together time watching TV.
- Focus on togetherness: Too many soccer matches, baseball games, over scheduled weekends all take away from simple family quality time. Hiking, volunteering, biking, beach going, everyday dinners, all make us closer and in agreement for Zero Waste.

School:
- Request less paper from your teacher/school at the beginning of the year: Our teachers have been more than cooperative about paper reduction, they know to only send necessary papers home with our kids.
- Simplify and reuse lunch containers: We are very lucky to have an organic lunch service that supports our school PTA, but the setup is not yet Zero Waste (working on it though). So, I send my kids to school with a fork and a napkin on the days that they do use the hot lunch program. Otherwise, I make them a sandwich, put a cookie and fruit in a small Le Parfait jar and wrap the whole thing in a kitchen towel, furoshiki style – I told you I was an addicted furoshikier!:). The towel serves 4 purposes: it is a protective padding, a carrying handle, a place mat, and a napkin all in one. No need for lunch boxes, lunch baggies, specialized lunch containers, or paper napkin. Although, a stainless steel container would be useful to little ones or those wanting to lighten their load.

Anarchy In The UK

RIP Malcolm McLaren.

JD Recycle 7: She's Lost Control

Zip File (63 MB)

She's Lost Control
Factory Records US Facus 2
Produced by Martin Hannett
August 1980

Tracklisting:

01 She's Lost Control (12" Version)
02 Atmosphere
03 Twenty Four Hours (Live from the High Hall, Birmingham 2 May 1980)
04 She's Lost Control (Full Mix)
05 These Days (Live from the Lyceum, London 29 February 1980)
06 Sister Ray (Live from the Moonlight Club, London 2 April 1980)

1, 2 from Nippon Columbia Japan CD Substance COCY-9332
3 from Factory Records LP Still FACT 40, original 1981 pressing
4 from Factory Records CD Martin Factory FACD325
5 a blend of a previously unreleased soundboard recording and Duncan Haysom's audience master recording
6 a blend of the Still version (same as 1-2) and a low-generation audience recording

Thanks to Mr. Anonymous for his unparalleled talents in creating the matrix mixes for tracks 5 and 6, without whom...

Here are the notes from Mr. A.L., who is doing the mastering:

This was the most fun of all the Joy Division Recycle bundles to put together, and it's my favorite to listen to as well.

Since I know you're all reading the tracklist, I want to immediately step in to head off any further sourcing questions. First, no, we don't have the Birmingham recording of Twenty Four Hours in any other source than the original vinyl. Second, These Days is the only track we have - that is usable in any fashion - from the previously-unknown soundboard recording. Third, we do not have any idea if other soundboard tracks exist anywhere for the Moonlight gig from which Sister Ray was taken.

There is no further information known or that can be divulged about the soundboard source for the Lyceum track.

Onward.

Perhaps only the late Tony Wilson knows why Factory asked the band, already at Strawberry Studios, Stockport in March 1980 to re-record Love Will Tear Us Apart, to also record a new version of their already-a-classic She's Lost Control. The story goes that it was intended to launch the band in the US dance clubs, and while we'll never know if it would have worked due to intervening events, it did give the world a new, fresh interpretation of the track. And the story also goes that Martin Hannett used this track to audition some new production techniques he'd been working on.

Two distinct variants (due either to perversity or poor master reel labeling, nobody knows for certain) eventually were issued. The original, what we are calling the 12" Version, is what was released August 1980 in the US and one month later in the UK as FACUS2. The alternate Full Mix - and it's definitely a different mix, more in a moment - first appeared on UK copies of 1988's Substance, while US copies retained the earlier 12" Version. The Full Mix also appeared on 1991's Martin compilation, issued by Factory to memorialize the late Martin Hannett, which is where I sourced the version presented here. 1997's Heart And Soul featured the Full MIx as well, though several other compilation or soundtrack records post-1997 featured the earlier version.

They are definitely different mixes: the 12" Version is more claustrophobic and dense than the Full Mix, it has a longer keyboard/synth part (essentially, it comes in earlier in the mix), and the entire track fades out prematurely. The Full Mix has a different mix of acoustic/electric guitars, as well as some of the underlying electronic sounds/effects.

Finally, all known releases up to now of the 12" Version suffered from tape dropouts during the first 0:20 of the song. These have all now been repaired.

Twenty Four Hours was taken from a mint 1981 UK pressing of the Still LP (though not from the Hessian bound version). Professionally cleaned up and mastered for this release, you will not find a better sounding version unless you're sitting on the soundboard 1/4" master reel. It's a shame this track hasn't been restored and released officially, because it's as good a performance as you'll find of this song, and in this "get it all out" day and age there have been plenty of opportunities for Warners to do so.

These Days from the Lyceum, London 29 February 1980 is from a never-before-heard soundboard recording, artfully blended with Duncan Haysom's audience master recording of the same gig. We commissioned the "matrix" mix because the soundboard recording was too sterile, lacking of any energy or emotion, or depth. It's as raw a soundboard recording as you will ever find for this band, and it, in and of itself, was not appropriate for release. Believe us when we say the version here is leaps and bounds better, in all ways, than the raw soundboard version.

Sister Ray from the Moonlight Club, West Hampstead, London 2 April 1980 was blended with a low-generation audience recording of the same gig, for the same reasons as These Days. It betters, in all ways, the version found on Still.

As a side note, in the mastering of this package it was discovered that (as you've probably by now come to expect) both versions of She's Lost Control were mastered at the incorrect pitch. This time it's a bit flat (slow), so watch The Power Of Independent Trucking for the repitched variants.

I really didn't know about New Order's previous incarnation as Joy Division until Substance was released in 1988 - now I suddenly had an entirely new catalog to explore. I picked up an import copy of the cassette because I never went anywhere without my Walkman and I liked that the artwork was different to the US version - the printing was richer, and the typography was laid out differently. Actually, I can put it down to one tiny element that I preferred - I was a graphic design student at University at the time, and I loved that the barcode was centered on the spine of the UK cassette. That was a design detail I would borrow for years after when I was designing packages for local bands. Anyway, the cassette was my portable version, but I also bought the US edition of the CD to listen to at home. Years later it finally occurred to me that I'd been listening to two different mixes of She's Lost Control, but at the time it was more of a sub-subconscious thing, like "doesn't this song fade at the end?" I could never quite put a finger on it, but I must have started to associate that odd sensation with the song in general because it made a lasting impression. It's just about my favorite Joy Division song - but only this re-recording. I don't actually like the version on Unknown Pleasures (heresy! LOL).