Green Things Part 1

Here are some Green Things I'm currently trying:

Composting

Cambridge, MA just seems to rock when it comes to embracing efforts to protect the environment. They allow recycling of almost all of the plastic that we buy (#1-6). If it weren't the Gerber food that we buy for occasional supplementing of Thora's diet, I'm not sure what plastic we'd have to throw away. (As it is, though, I compulsively re-use the Gerber plastic food containers, so few have gone to the landfill.)

And this spring the City of Cambridge instituted a pilot program for composting. While I've been collecting our scraps, I've yet to take them to the drop-off location. This is clearly one of the annoyances that will plague this effort in environmentalism. For now, there are limited opportunities to drop off one's compost. And it's a bit of hike. Will I be able to carry my compost (right now in a double-layer paper grocery bag) the mile or so with the stroller? Compost can get heavy, as the water in the food sinks to the bottom. So we'll see. My plan is to try this tomorrow, during their drop-off time in the early evening. Otherwise, I'll need to go, with Sean, in the car on Saturday.

Regardless of the hassle, I'm feeling motivated about composting. As the city's website says: "By recycling food, we reduce methane emissions at landfills that result from decaying organic matter. Methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide! Our goal is to divert at least 400 pounds/week, avoiding about 20,000 pounds of CO2 per year." (DPW) So it appears that composting is better for the environment than using a garbage disposal--something on first thought I figured was just as earth-friendly. And additionally, we've never recycled things like paper towels. I'm hoping that composting proves, if not as easy as recycling, not too troublesome. I'd really like to see the pilot program succeed.