» composting

Nantucket, Massachusetts Going Zero Waste

Krystal Persaud — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:35:12 +0000

My friend Colleen sent me this article from the New York Times >> Nudging Recycling from Less Waste to None. Really, really interesting stuff. Nantucket, MA is running out of landfill space fairly quickly. The island takes more actions to recycle and reduce landfill waste by adopting “zero waste” ideals.

I inserted some of the photos from the article below:

Kiddies recycling.

What mixed recycling looks like before it is sorted into different types (plastic, aluminum, glass, etc)

Nantucket claims that composting is HUGE factor in how they are decreasing the volume of their landfills. Look at this huge room just for compost!

WALL-E anyone?

A Lazy Discovery

Krystal Persaud — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:29:19 +0000

Yes, I am lazy. Especially when it comes to washing dishes. I tend to collect food on plates… gross, I know. Watch this video to see how this habit helps me compost in the winter.

Composting 101

Krystal Persaud — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:28:31 +0000

My sister recently told me about how composting meat can be tricky because bacteria that grows faster than than the meat composts. Maybe thats why my composting bin smells so rancid right now? I have put small pieces of chicken and fish in there that were left overs on my plate. A possibility… I also had half of a container of ground beef that was sitting in my fridge for a week that I wasn’t able to eat.. and it started to smell A LOT. I just stuck it in the freezer because I don’t know what to do with it! I think I froze the stank out of it. But thats just a temporary fix… research on what to do with meats is to come…

I also need to buy an airtight container to properly compost my organic waste. I think an IKEA trip is in order.

Here is a long list of composting material I found: http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

A lot of stuff that I didn’t think could be composted.. can apparently. Like Jello? I’m kind of skeptical about that one. I feel like there are weird chemicals in Jello that shouldnt go in soil.. we’ll see…

Why?

Krystal Persaud — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:06:07 +0000

So, there are a couple reasons why I chose to design and conduct this experiment.

1: Break this idea of “containment”! If something is not visible, it does not exist. Is this true? Obviously not, we have all played hide and seek and sat there with our hands covering our eyes thinking no one could see us. Or at least I did. But if you take the trash out every Friday, it is like it just disappears out of your life. It does not disappear really.. it is just hidden in a different area polluting the earth. Just because we don’t see it.. it is out of our minds. Since things will eventually collect in my apartment, I won’t be able to ignore the garbage.

2: Get inspired. I am researching ways to make living a sustainable lifestyle easier. Specifically, in the home. So what better way than to do it myself? Since “home is where the heart is”, I think some people really need a change of heart when it comes to preserving the environment. Affect people where they are most comfortable and make them step out of their comfort zone! That’s where the magic happens.

3: Inspire others. you can do it too! Hopefully people read this blog and really think about what is going on.