Wrap it up! Sustainably, of course.

Ah, the holiday season is upon us, filled with final exams, strong eggnog and Christmas cheer. And if you're like me, the gift shopping isn't finished but there is still plenty of time. Right?! But I was able to pick up a couple of small items for dear friends. But how should I wrap the presents, making sure to keep sustainability and prettiness in mind?

Newspaper! Newspaper was my first thought and I quickly charged ahead, wrapping the gifts in a Willamette Week paper that was lying around. To try to resemble more a present, I picked up a couple of white cards, green yarn and crayons from SCRAP to decorate. Tapping into my younger self, I colored (more like scribbled) a pine tree and a snowman - voila! Christmas cards are done. A little yarn tied around the package and I'm good to go!

And you can be oh so much more creative than I! Try using a colored or pictured part of a newspaper - I know some of them have holiday sections that could work great. Or any other paper material you have lying around the house. Maybe an old, discarded map or a piece of cloth that you won't use anymore. I found a couple sources for more ideas - check them out!

Sustainable Ways to Gift Wrap - a blog describing just that - and they have way more creative ideas!

Unpredictable Food Gifts - still looking for gifts? Here's an article for five more ideas of food gifts that you can create and assemble yourself - instructions included.

We'll be back soon, but in case I don't see you for awhile, the Trash for Peace team would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season! :)

Rent-A-Christmas-Tree?

It's mornings like these that I love waking up in the Pacific Northwest. There is a layer of dew on the windows, the sun is peeking out and the air is crisp and rich with pine trees, reminding everybody that the holidays are near. And also reminding us that its time to get a Christmas tree!

What is your choice this year? Dust off the artificial tree from the attic or go out to the tree lot to chop down or pick your own? Well, the TfP team just recently found another option for you!

The Original Living Christmas Tree Company is an environmentally-friendly business that rents out potted pine trees for the holidays! They grow the trees specifically for the Christmas season, dig 'em up when ordered, pot them and deliver them directly to your door. Right after New Years, The Original Living Christmas Tree Company will pick them up and replant them in a park or watershed area for them to grow and flourish for the rest of their lives. A very neat idea indeed!

They have several different types of trees, including Douglas Fir, Scotch Pine and many more, that come in array of sizes so it is sure to be a custom fit for your home.

Just another option to add to your holiday traditions. For more details, check out their website here.

Recreart: The Art of Reusing

Trash for Peace is getting the whole reusing thing down to a science. And of course, we've had much help along the way! The Monday before Thanksgiving, a group of Portland State University students came together to celebrate reusing through art. It was collaboration between TfP, PSU's Sustainability Leadership Center (SLC) and the Public Administration Student Association of PSU (PASA).

The students combined their painting, lacquering, assembling, drilling and many other skills to build two ottoman tables, one bin and a cork board for the Ondine Residency Halls. In just three hours, nonetheless! As well as our partners, we would also like to thank Jason Evjen for his superb photography skills so we could document the event!

Recycled Leaves

As much as we try to hold on to autumn's changing colors, winter is charging in with its blustery cold (and rain, in the case of the Pacific Northwest). Trees have shed their unused leaves where they lie in our yards, becoming mushy piles of debris. Portlanders tend to allow their leaves to decompose where they have fallen, but many other people in different parts of the country tend to rake these leaves into plastic bags to leave at the curb. Since plastic is our game, we at Trash for Peace just wanted to share suggestions on how to clean your yard, the eco-friendly way.

Portland is an exception in that the city provides composting bins to their residents. Considering this may be the only city in the nation that does this, I did some research to find out how other cities tackle this problem. There are city websites out there specifically asking residents to not put leaves in plastic bags and tells them why. Click here and here for a couple examples.

But what about everybody else? Here are a couple ideas to spread:

1. Leave your leaves: You can either leave them where they fall or rake them and put them into your own compost. Letting your leaves compost is Mother Nature's way of recycling the valuable nutrients back into the earth. Why compost?
- It's free! No need to purchase mulch for your garden or landscaping.
- It adds organic nutrients to the soil, decreasing the need for fertilizers.
- It reduces soil erosion and water run-off by allowing plants to gain a stronger hold to the soil.
- It restricts growing weeds from popping up.

2. Invest in biodegradable bags: You can find paper or biodegradable bags at almost every hardware store. Once the city picks up your yard waste, they run the leaf-full bags through a shredder turning everything into a mulch, that is also eventually used as compost material.

Let Mother Nature do your recycling! (At least in the case of fallen leaves).

Switch to Sustainable Living

Just four days away, Nov. 15 marks a holiday near and dear to our mission, National America Recycles Day. Although we much prefer to reduce or reuse our waste, our third goal of recycling is much better than nothing! It is said that single-use plastics, such as plastic water bottles and plastic bags that people take home from the grocery, are hardly ever recycled. In fact, only 10% of these items are recycled. 10%! Imagine the amount that is going straight to our landfills, filling them up quite quickly and taking centuries to break down. Read more about this in an article from The Green Economy Post, Facing the Dirty Truth About Recyclable Plastics.

Portland is one of the very few places in America that has taken the initiative to ban plastic bags at all grocery stores. (Yay Portland!) But what about those rolls of tear-off plastic bags near all produce sections. They are stamped with a green recycle sign but how many actually get recycled? Unfortunately, I couldn't find this answer but it mostly likely is similar to the 10% number above. Shocking, isn't it! And we are all guilty of separating our fresh veggies in these bags when we don't want them rolling around it the cart.

In the spirit of America Recycles Day, I went out searching for an alternative sustainable option. And it was easy to find.

Fred Meyer carries reusable mesh bags perfect for your veggies. I picked up a pack for $1.99 for three bags. Two bucks! And you are set. Just throw them in your reusable cloth tote that you normally take to the grocery store and you'll be sure to never forget them.

This Thursday, celebrate America Recycles Day with Trash for Peace by making eco-friendly choices. Then share it with us! We would love to feature you and share any and all switches to sustainable living. Check out more ideas at AmericaRecyclesDay.org.

Say Cheese!

Okay, okay so we didn't necessarily tell our bins to smile during their photoshoot, but we sure did have fun! The TfP team recently realized that we needed some good, clean photos of our bins for informational and promotional reasons. As much as we love all our photos of children building and recycle fans adoring our homemade bins, we just thought we could use a couple solo bin photos. So a photoshoot was planned!

We found a perfect place near Laura's home consisting of a concrete wall, low-hanging branches and fall leaves strewn about. We used the partly cloudy skies to illuminate the bins and highlight their best features. The photos turned out great and TfP couldn't be happier for our bin family.

Check out our newest bin! It is comprised of four cabinet doors with bottle shapes cut off, thanks to our fabulous carpenter, John. We will be getting this one up on our website soon.

You can take a look at all of our designs on our website here!

Get your helmuffs! Yes, Helmuffs.

Yes, I did say helmuffs. And we discovered them just in time for the cooler weather! They are cozy earmuffs to wear with your bike helmet during the winter months. TfP team member, Kendra Chatburn was at the scene with creator and designer, Gigi.

Gigi started making helmuffs in 2008 when she recognized a need for ear-warmers geared to bicyclists. What started out as making them for friends and her husband's co-workers soon turned into a full-fledged business.

Gigi upcycles cloth from old wool sweaters found at local thrift shops. There are some pretty sweet designs and patterns on old wool sweaters, so why waste money on new ones? These are 100% wool sweaters that she "felts"; a process to make them machine-washable and non-shrinkable to customers. And wool is a great fabric for Portland - it resists rain and odor - perfect for sweaty cyclists!

The helmuffs shield from wind cutting across ears and can be enhanced with reflective adorments to enhance visibility for all you nighttime riders. So ride warm! And be trendy while reusing materials! You can take a look at more designs on Gigi's website, gigishandywork.com or at Bikeasaurus and Pedal Bike Tours bike shops. We support upcycling!

Trashion Exhibit: Awareness through Art

Junk to Funk, a local company dedicated to trash fashion, has recently set up an installation in the heart of downtown Portland. When I heard the theme of the exhibition, Single Use Disposables: Convenience or Conundrum, my inner TfP soul just had to learn more! The display focuses on three of the most thrown away packaging products in the world: plastic bags, coffee cups and plastic beverage bottles. I decided to finally check it out on my lunch break today and it is stunning! If you are any bit interested in fashion, recycling, costumes, upcycling, art installations or curbing wastefulness, this is the exhibit for you. Here's a sneak peak:

Please go check it out! You can see more outfits, how they made the costumes and the facts on the wastefulness of the three products. The show will be displayed through October on the corner of SW 9th and Morrison. Take a look for yourself!

You can find more info here. And JunktoFunk's website here.

A Solid Dose of Science

In late 2009, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality released a Life Cycle Assessment of Drinking Water Systems: Bottled Water, Tap Water, and Home/Office Delivery Water. The report is 500 pages of pure, awesome, straight-up science. I was recently introduced to this study in a workshop called Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Zero Waste Strategies to Improve Your Bottom Line through the University of Oregon’s Sustainability Leadership Program. It was taught by none other than Dorothy Atwood, an Associate at Zero Waste Alliance. Dorothy and her friends at the Zero Waste Alliance beautified the results of DEQ’s study and transformed them into pretty, easy-to-decipher graphs. These graphs illustrate the different impacts determined by your choice between drinking out of a disposable plastic water bottle or a reusable drinking container.

This first graph shows a very minimal difference in impacts between recycling a one-time use plastic water bottle and throwing it away. This is not an anti-recycling graph - this is a realistic look at plastic recycling in Oregon.

This graph clearly shows the best possible choice: tap water in a reusable drinking container.

This graph is a big part of why I do what I do at Trash for Peace. Recycling is not the answer. Recycling is a last resort; implemented when good planning and design are absent. Tap water is the way to go, and reusable containers solve some significant problems. Unfortunately, making the best choice in terms of negative impacts will get a little harder.

This controversial local story (Portland Votes to Add Fluoride) was echoed nationally (HuffPost reports) as Portland surrenders its title as the biggest U.S. city to not fluoridate its water.

Fluoridated tap water has the potential to justify one's decision to choose bottled water - despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that reusable containers and tap water are superior. Protect your ability to make informed choices at: Don't Fluoridate Portland's Drinking Water.

- Andrew Judkins

Gear Up! Sustainably, of course.

School has started and schedules have changed but it's never too late to make your routine a bit more sustainable! The TfP team has gathered resources for you to make the switch easier. So cross off plastic sandwich bags and plastic water bottles from your shopping list and let's go green!

First up: Reusable Sandwich Bags

These can be found very easily online by typing reusable sandwich bags into your search for multitudes of sites for reusable food bags with different features. But if you are interested in staying local for all you Portlanders, we found handmade bags by Kim at Simply Practical at etsy.com. The bags come in awesome fabric patterns, perfect for individual personality. Check out more of her creatives here.






Next up: Reusable Water Bottles

These can also be found very easily! They are at every grocery store and super store, they are at sporting and recreational equipment stores, and they are in even in any type specialty shops featuring foods, drinks or sustainable products, literally everywhere. There is no excuse! And we all know that tap water is just as good and even more regulated than the water that is poured into plastic bottles. So get yourself one! HuffPost Green breaks down different reusable water bottle brands here.



And lastly, if you are still looking for some last-minute school supplies, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice has created a Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies. Learn about PVC and why you should shop for PVC-free items, such as bookbags, binders and lunchboxes. You can find the PDF document here.

Reasons to celebrate: friends, family and summer!

Ah summer days in Portland just fly by way too quickly. The TfP team recently took a short hiatus to enjoy the sunshine, go play outside and relax on patios with friends. Feeling refreshed and energized, the team is back together and ready to get back in action, this time with our recently tanned faces. We couldn't resist soaking up more sun time by planning a small fundraiser potluck with our closest friends and family. We truly have an amazing set of volunteers who are supported by some pretty awesome people and just wanted to say thank you. So THANK YOU all for your support! We sure do appreciate it. :) Check out some photos from the lovely afternoon.

Our fabulous creatives, Kendra and Caitlin converted our bins to tables for our products and room for plates and drinks.

Delicious food was tasted and drinks were poured (including Caitlyn's famous horchata, yum!), and cornhole was set up in the backyard.

What awesome friends we have.

And awesome family!

A beautiful summer day.

The Art of Recycling

As I explored the city of Seattle for the first time ever (and saw way too many duck buses), I noticed to my right a few young adults stringing plants from three trees along a median. Very nice. Oh wait, those little plants are in plastic jugs! Ah, the mere thought of upcycling plastic bottles excites me. So I quickly urged my friends to cross the street to get the inside scoop.

Three students from the Art Institute of Seattle were working on a project (this homework is too easy!) focusing on sustainability! All the plants were edible, consisting of lettuce, herb and veggie varieties. The students said the point was to exemplify how simple it is to recycle and garden all at the same time in an urban setting. And so simple it is!

The students rigged up a portable irrigation system by turning a big water container upside in a tree, where the water drips through rubber tubing along a rope.

Just a couple rows of herbs, lettuces and other edible plants.

Now I may be a bit biased but Portland has got to have more homemade, sustainable solutions throughout the neighborhoods. Please send in your sightings and we'll post about them!

A Street Fair of Fun

Thousands of people flocked to Mississippi Ave's Street Fair last Saturday to enjoy the strong sunshine, the everlasting line of arts & craft booths and of course, bin building with Trash for Peace! We first want to give an enormous thank you to mr.greenbeans, a small DIY shop with big ideas, for inviting us to come and set up in front of their shop. We had numbers of people stop by and couldn't have done it without mr.greenbeans!

We couldn't have asked for a better day and a better response to TfP. A steady flow of kids, followed by their parents, curiously entered the booth to see what they could get involved in. At last! A craft they could touch and play with. (Don't worry parents, we clean all of our plastic bottles).

The children loved picking out the right bottle or can, stringing them with twine and sliding the bottles to fit snugly on the bin. The kids would get so involved in the project it was finally the parents encouraging them to keep walking through the festival.

While showing students how to build the bins, I kept overhearing tidbits on recycling plastic bottles and drinking from reusable water bottles. The TfP team just can't forget sneaking in our educational component!

 Check out our Facebook for more photos and mr.greenbeans web site for more DIY ideas!

Bins, bottles and crafts, oh my!

Cloudy skies and the occasional drizzle didn't deter hundreds of kids and families from checking out Kids' Day at Lake Oswego's Festival of the Arts last Friday. The day included a whirlwind of  face-painting, games, music, bingo, crafts and more! Just enough entertainment to engage childrens' short attention span for hours. Kids, ranging in age from Preschool to Jr. High, ran around the park soaking up as much fun as they could possibly take in. And luckily for Trash for Peace, kids LOVED our activities! We had a steady stream of children eager to get their hands on our games! So much that it was difficult to stop and take photos but we managed snap a few.

Children stepped right up to get their hands messy and paint egg-carton flowers or toilet paper roll owls and creatures.

Older kids thought our recycling bins made out of recycled materials were so cool and excited to learn how to build one! And helped finish TWO bins in the first hour!

And can't forget our cornhole set for any kid to test out their tossing skills with homemade, bottle cap-filled bags.

Not only did kids like our activities, but the TfP team shared some great conversations with parents and community members discussing TfP's mission of spreading awareness of reducing our global waste. It truly was a heart-warming day for Trash for Peace.

A Camp Fire Collaboration

 Last Thursday, the TfP team had an awesome afternoon hanging out with middle-school students in the local after-school Camp Fire chapter. And I can't lie to you, it was all fun and games! Over two separate sessions, we implemented our Trash for Peace curriculum that incorporates fun icebreakers and discussions to illustrate the importance of reducing, reusing, and then recycling. The students then had a month to prepare a design for the painting and construction of two recycle bins out of "trash;" one large bin made out of plastic bottles and a mini-bin made with bottle caps!

The students making holes in the bottle caps for the mini-bin.

Excitement filled the goggle-protected eyes of students as they used the power tools.

But we found out the best part during our 2nd session; the students had conducted surveys and gathered more information to create a display in the hallway of their school to show the importance of taking care of the environment in regards to waste. We were absolutely thrilled!

Be sure to check out our facebook for more photos of painting and assembling the bin and of course, the finished bin! Trash for Peace couldn't have had such a successful event without the partnership of NGO Long Way Home and Camp Fire Columbia, so a grand thank you to them! We're excited to work with these organizations in the future and more schools.

Forever Young

You're never too old to play with paint (and recycled materials)! And that is exactly what we learned last Wednesday evening from our guests at the Recycled Crafts night for Lake Oswego's Sustainability Action Month. Our creativity soared while we rolled up our sleeves, cut cardboard, envisioned, painted, glued and sipped on soda (from aluminum cans, of course!) as the projects dried. These ladies taught the TfP team a thing or two as we chatted about the paint colors, where to glue a jewel and how great these crafts would also be for kids. Take a look at our craft fun!

Caught in a moment of concentration, these ladies are creating their vision.

Choosing a nice, bright color scheme of teal, pink and green flowers.

She created a 3-D sunflower bookmark! Complete with coffee bean seeds.

Learn more about Lake Oswego's Sustainability Action Month events here.

Why is bottled water bad?

We found this awesome infographic breaking down the negatives of bottled water. And these are just the basic numbers. It is astonishing (and appalling!) to find out how much we, as Americans, spend on bottled water when large amounts of oil use and waste created far outweigh the benefits of a bottle of water. Spread the word and remember your reusable water bottle! Find a larger version of the infograhic at http://www.onlineeducation.net/bottled_water.

Earth Week 2012: Trashy Fashion

Whew, what a crazy Earth Week it was! The TfP team kept busy with bin-building events throughout the week, always keeping Laura's trunk full of recycled cabinets, nails, bike tire tubing, drill bits and of course loads of empty plastic bottles. We constructed bins with students and the Sustainability Leadership board members on PSU campus on Wed. and Fri. afternoons in between classes. TfP members also braved the wet, chilly weather Saturday morning at PCC for yet another bin build. Look for our photos on facebook!

But we must highlight another event at PSU's campus on Friday afternoon, the Trashion Show, where students designed, created and sewed fabulous dresses from trash! Here is the lovely Laura modeling a strappy, summer dress made completely of Chinook book coupons. Just in time for the sunshine!

Now, who doesn't think upcycling is sexy?!

What does your trash can look like today?

Happy Earth Week! It's only the beginning of a week-long celebration of TfP's favorite holiday, Earth Day. Not only does this day represent our appreciation for our Earth's natural beauty but also a chance to spread our mission by encouraging others to reduce waste and think about environmental concerns. Now I have to admit, just these past couple of months of working with TfP have increased my awareness of waste in general and trash bins in particular. Yes, I do look at trash and recycle bins throughout my day. And I know the other TfP team members do too!

I was exploring last week and came across the restaurant, Little Big Burger, set up like a fast-food burger place with a Portland twist. I noticed that all the food came wrapped in brown paper or compostable cups AND that no trash can existed in the place. Here's proof:

And I promise the fourth bin says compost too! Could I really have asked a person to move from my photo of compost bins?

Now I do understand that there still a lot (and I mean, A LOT) of compostable material still being produced, processed and thrown into these bins. Without going further into those complications, I just want to say how interesting of a concept that it to not have a trash can in a restaurant. How bizarre! So let's all pretend that trash cans don't exist this week. (And longer!) What would you do with that granola bar wrapper? Or plastic bag that veggies were in?

It's quite the concept. Share your ideas with us on how you are reducing your carbon footprint this Earth week.

The no-plastic Easter

Happy Easter everyone! It's a meaningful holiday in our lives but also a holiday full of plastics and non-sustainable practices. TfP wants to share our ideas on how to easily change Easter into a green celebration.

1. We can make our own cardboard eggs! Just cut the top off of a cardboard egg carton. Cut the bottom part into 6 sections, each containing two egg cups. Decorate the outsides with marker, paint, crayons or whatever you desire. Fill one side with candies. Fold the second side over to close and attach with a twist-tie or tape. Volia! Recyclable eggs. And ones that can be easily hidden for children to find.

2. Instead of buying a plastic basket, invest in a wicker basket. These can be found inexpensively at flea markets or vintage shops and can be found in unique shapes! If these baskets are discarded, they break down much easier than plastic.

3. Layer the basket with fabric, a cloth napkin, rafia, tissue paper, torn newspaper...the possibilities are endless! Just please don't buy plastic grass when there are so many other options available.

4. Fill with goodies! Instead of commercial candy, try a local chocolate shop for homemade treats that aren't packaged in plastic. You could also add items such as craft projects, books, gardening gloves and seeds, bathing suits for fast-approaching summer.

We also want to hear your creative ideas! Share with us what you are doing for this sustainable Easter.

Spring cleaning: vinegar is in the air!

Ahh, Spring at last! The birds are chirping, the sun is staying out longer and the flowers are starting to bloom. But there is still that layer of dark winter looming around the house. Instead of using toxic chemicals to do your spring cleaning, make your own eco-friendly products. You can lighten, brighten and freshen up your home with three simple products: vinegar, baking soda and lemon.

Vinegar

• Mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water to make an all-purpose cleaner for kitchen counters, bathroom tops and tile floors.
• Pour vinegar around the rim of the toilet bowl and scrub to remove rings
• Add a couple teaspoons to a spray bottle for a great window cleaner

Baking soda:

• Sprinkle a little baking soda and water on dirt, mildew, grease and rust stains. Scrub to form a paste and quickly remove the grime!
• Shake baking soda on the carpet before vacuuming to deodorize smells.

Lemon:

• Pour lemon juice on white linens and clothes and dry in the sun to bleach away stains
• Cut a lemon in half, sprinke with salt and use to clean and shine brass and copper fixtures

Mix it up, our favorite!

• Add lemon juice to vinegar and/or baking soda for a super trifecta all-purpose cleaner!
• Add a 1/2 cup of vinegar or 1/2 cup of baking soda to the rinse cycle instead of a fabric softener
• Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down drain, followed by 1/2 cup white vinegar and close drain. Wait 15 min. then pour 1 gallon of hot water down drain to remove buildup.

So open up the windows, grab an old tshirt to use as a rag and get to mixing up your very own cleaning concoction!

Pink is the new green

St. Patrick's Day kickstarts the spring season with its bright, grass-green colors abound...just as refreshing to see as that green beer tasted yesterday. But out with the green and in with pink! (Okay, so we could never really get rid of green but pink is good too!) Spring blooms in front of our faces as pink flowers blossom on trees, brightening the sky and our moods. Let's celebrate by making art with plastic bottles! It's super easy, super cute and uses plastic bottles as a medium. Now this is our kind of craft project.

Check out this site for how-to instructions. Get your paintings ready for National Cherry Blossom Festival on March 20th!

What do you do to reduce waste?

Students at PSU's Take Back the Tap event responded! And responded with clever and witty answers for that matter:

Let us know what you do too! We would love to hear your ideas!

Practice makes perfect

After collecting our treasures from the Rebuilding Center a few weeks ago, the TfP team put our minds together to visualize and construct new bin prototypes. After a couple of tries that were not up to par with our classy trash standards, we finally hit success! We have a lovely, new, smaller-version bin complete with bottles, tire tubing and cabinet doors, perfect for the indoors! Order one for yourself today. We would love to build ya one.

Bin creations in Bulgaria

TfP is excited to see bins being built in Bularia! And by children too. Our collaborator, Andrew, has been coordinating workshops with students to build recycle bins out of plastic bottles and they are loving it! And so are we. Here are a few photos of the action:

More stories to come! But for now, check out more awesome photos of the events here and here.