Paper or Plastic?

I found this on Yahoo's news page and I thought it was perfect to put on our blog. The first part is the question and then someones opinion. Feel free to add your opinion.

Which is really better for the environment - paper or plastic bags?
Keep in mind that the logging industry uses huge amounts of gasoline/oil cutting and transporting logs to the paper mills, which are among the worst air and water polluters, and that due to the difference in weight and volume, it takes many more trucks to deliver the same amount of paper bags to the stores than it does plastic. And of course, plastic has its own drawbacks.

**Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
I just want to say a couple of things here. Biodegradable paper? - show me! Prove it. OK, you let a tree limb sit it the forest long enough it will be either burned up, be eaten by termites, blown away, but there is NO microscopic organism that eats cellulose - Believe me, there isn't!
And another thing, processed paper is even less likely to be "eaten" by termites, because it's been bleached, and treated - we've essentially taken all the good food out of paper by processing it.
I saw a story on PBS about this guy that dug into a 30 year old landfill and the first thing he found was a phone book - still readable - no clothes - no plastic - just paper, newpapers, letters, and glass of course.
I'm not saying plastic is better than natural paper for the environment I just wanted the facts to be clear.**

I can't say which is better, but I don't think either is good. As we are trying to recycle all plastic bags and replace them with cloth bags, the obstacle I was faced with was what do I line the garbage can with if I no longer collect plastic bags from stores. Well, it didn't take me long before I found a few brands of biodegradable plastic bags at Capers. The brand I chose was Ecosafe who makes large and small size bags. The small kitchen size bags are strong and fit perfectly in our garbage can. They weren't too expensive either, in store about $6.50 for 30 bags, but on-line buy them for $3.99. The company is in Vancouver so we're still able to keep up with buying locally. A good purchase and alternative all around.

Check out the Ecosafe link under A Little Education on Great Products.

Water Bottles

Message from Leigh - East Coast Challenger

This is part of an e-mail that I received which raises concerns over the proposed Ontario Water Act.

Although eliminating the diversion of water from the Great Lakes Basin is a major concern for water activists, the SSOWA allows water in containers under 20 litres to be exempt from prohibitions on diversion. This includes most of the bottled water that is being extracted from the Great Lakes Basin in Ontario by Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé, and Aquafarms 93 (which bottles for other retail outlets including Wal-Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Loblaws). This industry is growing annually by 18% in Canada, and bottled water is transported outside the province and outside of Canada.

I recently made the conversion from purchasing plastic water bottles to carrying a 750 mL lexan, leak proof, FDA approved (no harmful toxins leaking into your water from the container), and break proof water bottle that I got for about 5 bucks at Canadian Tire. I couldn't be happier with it. This simple step will help the earth in a number of ways , not just the obvious of less disposable plastic bottles. Brita or other such water filters instead of bottled water are also awesome ways to avoid more waste.

Our Challenge for April

Our challenge for April is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

When you become aware of the 3 R's you will find many ways to help save our Earth. Here are some suggestions to help you get you started on this month's challenge. If you have any other ideas...please send us an email, or comment on our post and let's find ways to help our dying planet.

Reduce:
*reduce energy by turning off lights and unplugging electronics and appliances
*reduce water by turning off the tap when you are brushing your teeth, by taking shorter showers and being water conscience when washing dishes
*reduce paper cups by taking your own mugs to coffee shops or making your own coffee
*reduce emissions by not idling your car
*reduce garbage by recycling and starting a compost for fruits and vegetables
*reduce emissions by walking to work, taking the bus, biking or carpooling

Reuse:
*reuse containers from home (replace plastics with glass)
*reuse ziploc bags and other plastic bags
*reuse items in your home by lending (see lendlist.org)

Recycle:
*take the time to wash out containers and put them in the blue box
*recycle newspapers and magazines by bringing them to work for friends to enjoy
*recycle items such as toilet paper rolls, buttons etc. by donating them to a local school for art projects
*become aware of our recycling program and the Numbers associated with containers
*return bottles and containers to the Bottle Depot

Good luck on this challenge!

Check out Lendlist.org

A Vancouver based Web-designer sent us a great resource for us to use called Lendlist.org. All you do is create a profile for yourself and all of the belongings in your house that you would lend out to other challengers, family, friends and neighbours. The more people you share this resource with, the more items there are to borrow!

In Jordan Klassen's own words, "Lendlist.org is a rebellion against materialism and consumerism. We rebel by lending. We think lending is good. We think it is a better way to live. The lender gets more use out of their items, reduces their attachment to their material possessions, and helps out the borrower. The borrower saves money and the environment by not buying something they don't need to buy."

We started our own community on Lendlist.org, obviously called Consumerism Challenge. Once you've created a profile, type in "Challengers" at the top of the page and it will take you to our community link. I (Amanda) have started to put together my profile with goods I would love to lend to others. You will see me as ASC, which are my initials. The sooner people place their profiles, the sooner we can start to borrow from each other!

This is a great way for us to connect with each other... to share by reducing, reusing and recycling the materials that we own and to get better mileage out of the many items we buy.

Find the link to Lendlist.org under the heading Use Your Voice.

Happy Borrowing!!