Am I a hoarder?

When Does Reuse Become Hoarding?

Whether it's brilliant ways to reuse your books, or an easy way to reuse wine corks, TreeHugger has seen plenty of craftsy, DIY examples of reuse as a creative way to greener living. But I've been thinking lately that good intentions can lead to bad decisions—more specifically, I've been wondering at what point reuse becomes hoarding.


I should be clear that I am a huge fan of reuse. I think it makes total sense to save your waste jars, bottles, corks and whatever else and try to find creative, fun things to do with them rather than throw them in the trash. But the key is to actually find things to do with them—if they end up sitting in your closet taking up space, then they are not a help but a hindrance.


We've all been there. I have friends who are into canning who can't stand to see a jar get recycled. I have homebrewing friends who have more bottles saved up than they could possibly use in a lifetime. (In my experience, homebrewers tend to create empty bottles almost as fast as they create full ones.) And I have gardening friends whose potting sheds are almost unusable because of the backlog of plant pots, containers, and random nicknacks that might just come in useful one day. I've also had friends who got so into the admittedly awesome Freecycle that they ended up snapping up any and every offer, whether or not they would ever find a use for the item in question.


The problem is not just that these items are in limbo, sitting in storage when they could be put to good use by someone else. I would actually argue that unless an item is actually going to get used, you'd be better off throwing it away - even if that means landfill (as a last resort!) - than let it sit in your cupboards taking up space. Too much stuff weighs us down, it clouds our thinking, and it takes up space that could be used to live a more orderly, efficient, simpler life.


Yes we need to learn to love our stuff, but sometimes love means letting go.

But those little jelly jars are great for the dried herbs from the garden. Those beer bottles - I like the look. Those bottle caps...
Okasy, I'll try to be more selective.

Yeah Connecticut!

Image via Wikipedia

Connecticut Becomes 24th State to Put e-Waste Recycling Into Law

Thankfully, we've seen a rush of states adding new e-waste regulations and laws to their books, most recently with New York and hot on the heals of that news comes word that Connecticut will be the 24th US state to put enact an electronics recycling law, starting this fall. Gadget manufacturers will have to take note -- Connecticut will require manufacturers to front the cost of transport and recycling of the equipment. As it becomes more expensive for manufacturers to see their devices through to end of life, will this lead to products that have a longer life span or are easier to recycle?

The new law, however, is only for consumer and household gadgets. It doesn't include e-waste from government, business or commercial entities because they're subject to federal and state hazardous waste disposal regulations.

According to the Environmental Leader, "The regulations establish collection points throughout the state, which will help recycle potentially hazardous materials such as mercury and leaded glass. Consumers will be able to recycle old televisions, computers, printers, and monitors among other devices. The state has been considering the program since 2007."

Finally!

Growlers! Yum!

NRDC Evaluates Beer Containers: Growlers Win

An $8-ish investment in a growler is one of the best recommendations I can make for any beer drinker with an eco-conscience: it will mean you can fill up with some pretty delicious beer, and it will reduce the carbon footprint of your drinking habits by at least a room full of light bulbs every time.


The production of six aluminum cans (for any beer snobs out there, don't be thinking you shouldn't bother with cans—great beer can come in a can) consumes the same amount of energy that is used to power a 50-watt light bulb. (Less so when cans are made from recycled aluminum rather than virgin materials—bauxite mining is an environmentally-destructive and energy-intensive process, but it's hard to know which you're getting when you're at the store.)


Even less energy-intensive, however, is the option that can be reused rather than recycled. NRDC says: "Using a growler means you won't need to purchase more bottles or cans, which don't have be manufactured and won't need to melted back for reuse. If growlers are unavailable, choose a keg if there are enough people around to drain the tap."


Growlers are gaining popularity by the day, it seems, so it should be easier to find them for purchase even if you don't live near a store like Bierkraft. Once you have one, if you do live near a store like Bierkraft, you can fill up there, but you can also try your favorite bars, which will often fill up straight from the tap. Bonus: growlers will save you some cash, too.


If you must go with individual servings, opt for cans or glass bottles over brown plastic bottles, which are the least recyclable and are the most polluting to produce in the first place.


Bottom line, again from NRDC: "Whichever option you choose, be sure to reuse whenever possible and when reuse isn't an option, always recycle." Words to live by with all products we use—not just beer.

Just finished a growler of...

Worth keeping the growler in spite of the $1.50 bottle deposit. Have to pick up another one for next weekend.