An Idea Comes to Life

My big idea last week was suggesting to some people that they make a video starring plastic bottles.

As odd as that idea might seem, the Sustainability Club at the University of South Dakota (USD) used it to create a cool video raising awareness about proper recycling habits at the university. Check it out below:

Face Your Waste from Vermy Green on Vimeo.

The video addresses a problem the university has had with trash being thrown in recycling bins. Obviously, trash contaminates recycling programs. Another common problem at USD has been people throwing recyclables in the trash, creating unnecessary waste.

The Sustainability Club came up with the plan of putting eyes and arms on plastic bottles that held signs encouraging people to recycle. As a faculty consultant to the club, my suggestion was to introduce the bottle characters through a video. That's pretty much all the credit I can claim though. The club took the idea and ran with it, bringing to life the bottles as well as a renewed emphasis on recycling at the university.

Without a doubt, plastic bottles as stars in recycling initiatives is an idea whose time has come at USD.

Raising the Bar

The trouble with bottled soap is that it comes in bottles, many of which have pumps that can't be recycled.

I can't remember when bottled soap took over my life, but within the last year, I have started making the move back to bar soap. Most of the plastic bottles can be recycled, but making and recycling them still requires resources and energy. Then, there are those pumps and bottle caps that can't be recycled. For these reasons, I began looking for ways to keep bottled soaps out of my life.

To work on eliminating the bottles, I turned to the W.S. Badger Company. I have been using Badger sunscreen and lip balm for two years, and I really like them, so when the company reintroduced its line of soaps, I thought about buying some. However, I waited until my hand soap bottle neared its end and then asked Badger if its body soaps could be used as hand soaps. The representative said the soap made a good hand soap as long as it was placed on a dish that drained (when the soap sits in water it loses its firmness).

I bought the unscented Badger soap and began using it two months ago. It cleans hands well and is gentler on them than the bottled soap I had been using. Also, although it is officially unscented, it does have a bit of that bar soap smell. When I caught a little of that scent, it reminded me how much I liked the smell of bar soap, and by doing so, it brought back some memories.

So far, the experiment with bar soap has been a success. In the future, I may choose to replace my body wash with Badger soap as well.

You can check out the Badger Web site by clicking here. Many of the company's products are certified organic, and Badger does not test its products on animals.

To a T

Earlier this week, I saw a person wearing a T-shirt that read, "I Play Green." The words intrigued me, so I committed them to memory with the intention of looking them up online later.

First, I discovered that I Play Green is a program from the Green Education Foundation. I Play Green focuses on making participation in sports more environmentally sustainable by recruiting athletes, coaches, and teams for the purpose of reducing waste from plastic bottles, instituting eco-friendly field management policies, and lowering the carbon footprint of travel associated with sporting events.

In and of itself, this sounded pretty cool, combining sports and the environment, both of which I enjoy. Then, I found that I Play Green was only part of a larger effort by the Green Education Foundation, which advocates for sustainability in education and the teaching of skills that will help children think critically about environmental issues. The foundation provides programs, resources, and curriculum geared toward fulfilling these ideals.

A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

Last week, I came to the end of a 12-ounce bottle of body wash. Now, in itself, that's not a very big thing. (I'm guessing it happens quite a bit around the world.) What made it significant to me was that before it finally ran out, that bottle served me for 23 weeks.

I don't have any official way of proving this, but I am pretty sure 23 weeks is a record for me with that size of bottle.

Stretching out the contents for that amount of time took a degree of adherence to the "pea rule," which suggests applying an amount of body wash the size of a pea to a washcloth or pouf and working it into a lather. I must admit, the actual amount I used at a time was probably a little bigger than a pea, and I usually used three of these applications per shower, but the rule of thumb helped me a lot.

It's great to know I made it nearly a half of a year before I had to open a new bottle. That saves resources and cuts down on the number of plastic bottles I have to recycle.

With my next bottle, I'm going to see if I can set a new personal record. Maybe I'll reach 26 weeks one day.

How far can you go with one bottle?

Bottled Up

One great thing you can do to limit the things you have to buy, cut down on the resources you use, help the planet, and limit your exposure to chemicals is to buy a stainless steel water bottle.

I have used Klean Kanteen water bottles for two years, and I recommend them.
Note: Do not buy the Sport Cap 2.0. The company is recalling them because some have broken apart. If you have purchased one, call Klean Kanteen at (877) 546-9063. They do have other caps from which to choose.

Update: Klean Kanteen now has the High Impact Sport Cap 2.0. This is supposed to address the issue of the previous Sport Cap 2.0 breaking apart. I got my high impact caps as part of Klean Kanteen's recall program.

How they help:

1. Using them instead of buying bottled water cuts down on the amount of plastic we use.
a. This will help prevent more islands of plastic from forming in the ocean. (Indeed, they are out there.)
b. It also cuts down on the resources needed for production and recycling. (Yes, recycling is good when necessary, but not having to use in the first place is even better.)
c. It also cuts down on our need for oil. (That's right, although new resources such as corn are being used to produce plastic bottles, most bottles are still made from plastic derived from oil.)

2. They are better for you.
a. Stainless steel is easy to keep clean.
b. Also, stainless steel does not contain chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA), the reputation of which has been clouded by questions about their impact on human health.

3. They are sturdy, so you will get a great deal of use out of them.

You can visit the Klean Kanteen Web site by clicking here.

You can buy the bottles at Amazon.com.