Before recycling toner/ink cartridges

Just because the indicator on your printer or copier says "low toner/ink" doesn't mean it is time to put in a new cartridge.  My workplace sent out an email out to the staff today explaining what this is about and how it works.  I have included it below with permission.  Thanks, David!

ink cartridges (source)

This environmental tip is the best kind.  It not only helps to reduce waste and strain on the environment, it saves the company money!

 It’s time to talk about printer/copier toner/ink and when is it REALLY time to recycle it and when can you squeeze a little more life out of it.

 This question usually revolves around that “helpful” little indicator that tells you that it’s time to change your cartridge. Sometimes that indicator is a little warning light, sometimes it’s an annoying pop-up every time you print.  Although it may seem helpful, the only person that indicator is really helping is the manufacturer.

 The truth is, the ‘low toner/ink’ indicator is actually a VERY rough guide.  Your printer/copier has no accurate way of telling how much toner/ink is left in your cartridge and is only going off your page print count. So – if you print pages with not much ink on them – or even those pages that print accidentally that come out blank – they all count towards the page count of the life of your toner/ink cartridge.  Once a set number of pages has been printed, the warning indicator will fire off and encourage you to change toner/ink although you could still have a ¾ full cartridge.

 The ONLY thing that’s a good indicator of a low toner is fading and/or streaking on the page. Even when you start to get streaking, you can take the toner out and rock it from side to side and STILL get dozens if not hundreds of pages from that toner.

 So – please consider ignoring the little indicator next time it goes off.  Now you’ll know when you’re running out and you can help save the company some money and save the planet at the same time.

Green highlights:

• use less toner/ink cartridges 
• save money (those cartridges are expensive!)
• less waste

Will you use your toner/ink cartridges to the max?

-TJ

It's tax time!

I stumbled on an unexpected way to have zero waste.  I was getting ready to do my taxes, but didn't have the program yet to do it on my computer.  I took a look online to see what store had the best price for the program I use and came across a download version that is exactly the same as the one I purchase at the store each year.  The great thing about the online version is that there is no box, no CD and no sleeve.  Which also means no clutter and zero waste! 

last year's tax program waste

This is a great way to consider the environment.  There are no emissions to manufacture the CD's and packaging, no emissions to transport the product to stores, no emissions to go to the store to buy the product and nothing will end up in the landfill.  It was easy to do and the email with the download link was in my inbox by the time I finished the purchase.

Here are links to some websites where you can download a tax program for yourself.

• Costco download to purchase  
• Staples download to purchase
• StudioTax free download

Green Highlights:

• no emissions
• zero waste
• nothing will go to the landfill

Will you try a download instead of purchasing a CD?

-TJ

Zero waste at Bulk Barn

I've been thinking more about zero waste since my daughter sent me this article Bulk Barn Has Embraced the Zero Waste Movement.  This is exciting!!! Starting February 24th, 2017, Bulk Barn now allows you to bring in your clean, reusable containers at all their stores across Canada.  I have been looking at their website to see what products I can buy there in bulk so I can use my own containers instead of buying prepackaged and then throwing out the package.

 

This past weekend, I went on an adventure with my daughter to Bulk Barn for our first zero waste shopping trip.  I took along an assortment of jar sizes and packed them in a cardboard box that has handles cut in the sides.  The box was just the right size to fit in the shopping cart.

• 1 cup x 6
• 2 cup x 6
• 4 cup x 3
• 6 cup x 1

Knowing how many cups each jar holds was helpful so I had an idea of how much I was buying.  I am very particular about the chocolate chips I buy for baking and only buy one brand.  I would prefer to buy them without packaging, so I bought just enough to make a batch of cookies and I will have a taste test.  I also took along the Tupperware container I keep my oats in and bought just the amount I wanted.  

I took along some empty jam jars to reuse.  Because they had some glue on the outside from the labels, I was unable to refill them.  I like that they are uniform and all weigh the same which should make shopping easier, so I'll have to get the glue off for my next trip.

  

I was surprised at what all you could buy bulk.  They even had Epsom salts!  Buying bulk could even help with your weight.  If you enjoy having chips for a treat, you could buy a small jar full of corn chips, cheese sticks or cheese cruncheez for just one portion instead of buying a whole bag which will inevitably get eaten.

Let's support this great initiative and hopefully more stores will go zero waste too.  It's time to rethink how we shop.  

Green highlights:

•  reusing containers
• reducing the amount of garbage going to landfills
• reducing emissions from manufacturing

-TJ

Cream ready to expire

I came across an almost full container of half and half cream in someone's fridge that was about to expire.  They were not going to be able to use it up, so instead of leaving it there to be dumped down the drain, I said I would bring it home and make ice cream.  Since it will be frozen, it will keep past the expiry date.

Home made ice cream

I already had a full day planned for today, so I wanted to make this quick and easy.  I used a no cook vanilla ice cream recipe and added cocoa powder to make it chocolate.  Here's the adapted version of the recipe I used.  

Chocolate Ice Cream

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
almost 1 litre half and half cream (10%)
add enough milk to cream make 2 4 cups
2 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and cream-coloured.  Add cocoa and mix in slowly.  Add cream milk mixture and vanilla.  Mix well.  Follow directions on your ice cream maker.

 Green highlights

• reduce waste

Do you look for ways to use something up instead of throwing it away?

-TJ

 

My first LED light bulb

I bought my very first LED bulb, which was for a nightlight, quite a while ago not realizing there had been  change in light bulb technology.  We keep a nightlight on at night near the bedrooms so that if someone gets up, they don't bump into walls.  The light bulbs I used were about 6 or 7 watts.  When I went to buy replacement bulbs I found some that were LED  and only used 0.6 watts so I decided to give them a try.  LED's also have a long lifespan, which will mean less waste going to the landfill.  

low energy LED light bulb

It wasn't until recently, when I was talking with a coworker, that I discovered that a low energy light bulb had come on the market that was better the CFL curly fluorescent bulbs.  I bought some CFL's when they first come out but I found them to be expensive, they didn't always last as long as advertised and some brands gave off a dim light.  For these reasons, I went back to buying incandescent bulbs.

Now there is a whole array of low energy, long lasting LED bulbs and I am in the process of converting my light fixtures to LED.  The LED equivalent of a regular 60w light bulb uses around 9 watts.  I even saw LED replacements for fluorescent tubes.  I am not going to throw away perfectly good light bulbs, even if they are incandescent,  so as my incandescent bulbs burn out, I am replacing them with LED's.  I can also give some of my incandescents to my children who are living in apartments.  They don't pay for electricity and since these LED bulbs aren't cheap, why spend the money to leave them behind when you move out?  For money saving coupons, go to Save On Energy.

Green Highlights:

• reducing energy consumption
• sending less to the landfill

Have you started switching your light bulbs to LED?

-TJ   

Take-out extras

When we get take-out, there are extras that are put in the bag like ketchup, salt, sugar, napkins, coffee cup lids and so on.  How often do we get more of these extras than we need or even some that we don't use at all?  These unneeded or unwanted extras will most likely end up in the garbage which is such a waste.  

When placing your order, why not take a proactive approach.  When I order Chinese take-out, we always have over half a container of sweet and sour sauce left over that gets thrown out.  Now I ask them for a smaller container.  They also include packets of soy sauce which we never use, so I am going to start asking them not to include the soy sauce.

Tim Horton's has a Take 12 coffee that you can order.  It is a large container of coffee that comes with cups, lids, stir sticks, cream and sugar.  If you know your group will not be using any of these extras, why not mention it when you place your order?  I did some tidying up in an organization's kitchen the other day and found a stack of these lids that had never been used.  They went in the recycle bin, but it would have been even better if they had not been included with the order in the first place.

unused coffee lids

  If we start speaking up and asking for only the extras that we need, we can make a difference.  Maybe the restaurant industry will take the hint and start asking customers if they would like any of these extras included with their order.  The restaurant will save money and there will be less going to the landfill.

Green highlights:

• reducing waste
• sending less to the landfill

Are you proactive when you order take-out?

-TJ         

Timed just right!

Houses look so pretty this time of year decorated with Christmas lights.

(source)

 But what I am also noticing is that some homes leave their Christmas lights on all night and some even all day too.  Why not use an outdoor timer and have them come on when it is starting to get dark and them have them turn back off later?  That way, you don't have to think about it turning them on and off and it is one less thing to think about at this busy time of year.  I like to set the timer so my Christmas lights come on around 5:00 in the evening and then turn off at 11:00.  That's plenty of time to enjoy them without excessive use of electricity and it will cost less.

Green Highlights:

• use less electricity
• save on your electricity bill

Do you have your outdoor Christmas lights on a timer?

-TJ

Turn down your wattage

It isn't always necessary to have a room fully lit.  Here are some ways you can lower electricity usage.

Dining Room
I enjoy being in my dining room, so sometimes I bring my laptop in and work on it there, like I am right now.  My dining room has a lovely brass and glass light fixture with 6 light bulbs hanging over the dining table.  Every now and then, I take off the glass shades and wash them.  This allows better light and it looks nice when they are sparkling clean.

The first option I have to use less electricity is a dimmer switch.  We dim the lights when we do not need the full brightness, which is most of the time.

The second option is a little lamp I put in the corner that has a 13w curly fluorescent bulb in it.  I have had this lamp for years and it was sitting on a shelf in the storage room with no lamp shade because it had gotten old and fell apart.  I was at a garage sale where they were selling a brand new, still in the wrapper lamp shade that fit this little lamp perfectly.  I only paid 50 cents for it!  It ads a nice ambiance and works well when not a lot of light is needed.

Family Room
The television is in our basement family room.  We can light this room by turning on 4 wall sconces or using a lamp.  When I am watching a movie, sometimes I will use the lamp which has a curly 13w bulb.  Other times I will use no electricity at all to light the room.  Instead, I light a scented candle.  There is really no need for more light than that.  I can enjoy my candle and save electricity.

Not only am I saving money using dimmer switches, less light bulbs, lower wattage bulbs and candles, I was also able to make use of something that another person did not need.

Green Highlights:

• use less electricity by using dimmer switches
• use less electricity by using lower wattage bulbs
• use less electricity by using less light bulbs
• use candles for light
• shop at garage sales

Have you lowered your energy usage by using less lighting when you don't need a fully lit room?

-TJ

Think before you print

How often do we print out of habit or because we just don't think about it?  It's so easy to hit a button and out comes a printed sheet of paper.  If you really do need to print a hard copy of something, consider printing double-sided if there is more than one page.  In an office setting, often documents are printed for a paper trail (think accounting).  Since these are rarely looked at again, they can be printed double-sided.  Not only will it save paper, but also filing cabinet and storage space.  I also find it easier to handle double sided copies than single sheets and staples make files bulky and awkward. An even better solution is to not print it at all. Can it be saved as a PDF and not use any paper or ink?

I see so much unnecessary paper that it would be nice if we made more of an effort to think of these 3 thing before we print:

1. do we really need a paper copy?
2. can we print double-sided or duplex?
3. can we save it as a PDF or other computer file?

   

   (source)

Green Highlights:

• reduce paper usage
• reduce ink/toner usage
• save money by using less paper and ink/toner 

Do you print double-sided whenever possible?

-TJ

Easy green window cleaning

How would you like to clean your windows without using window cleaner and paper towels?

Someone was telling about this washable and reusable cleaning cloth that cleans windows with just water and doesn't leave any streaks.  I thought it sounded like a great idea, but my first thought was, if I buy one of these, then I have to clean my windows.  A friend of mine tried one and really liked it, so I bought one for myself and a couple more to give away.  I tried it out when I got home and I love it!  It was quick and easy.  My front and back door windows had been in need of cleaning for quite some time, but not now.  I had always used rags and a bucket of water in the past, but this is so much quicker and easier.  It will be great for car windows too because they are awkward to clean.

All you have to do is wet the cloth, wring out the excess water and wipe the window.  When you are done, throw it in the washing machine with your other laundry.  Just make sure you don't use fabric softener.  If you do use fabric softener by mistake, wash the cloth a  few times to get out the residue.  Since it is already wet and wrung out when it comes out of the washing machine, you could do a bit more cleaning if you want.

Think of how much time and money you can save.  And even better, think of all the window cleaner and the chemicals it contains, and all the paper towels that you no longer need.


Green Highlights:

• do not need to use window cleaner
• do not need paper towels
• saves money

Do you clean your windows without chemicals and paper towels?

contact information on the package is Garry 519-641-2343 garrydes@rogers.com

-TJ