Hidden Waste Challenge

Last week's challenge revealed the waste we physically placed in the garbage can. This week, our goal is to reveal our "hidden" waste: the products we use on a daily basis that are eventually thrown out. This includes shampoo, milk jugs, ketchup, face cleanser etc. This will be a challenging challenge, but it will help us brainstorm alternatives to these disposable products.

Wish us luck!

Under A Tree

aka Hannah and Marie-Claire

Our Waste Is Pasted Verdict

This week's challenge was eye opening! At the beginning of the week, it felt like we weren't throwing much away. But as spring break accelerated, so did our production of waste. It's amazing how much garbage one take-out/fast food meal can produce! For us, it has become a physical and emotional pain to throw things away. When you start thinking about what you throw in the can, it really puts into context the amount of garbage we as humans produce; garbage that will sit in our landfills for a much longer time than it takes to unwrap a chocolate bar.

Here they are, the much anticipated results:

Hannah's Week of Waste

Monday: 2 tissues
               Dental floss
               Candy wrapper
Recycling: 1st page of my garbage diary
                 Toilet paper roll
Tuesday: Craisin's package
               2 tissues
               Paper towel
               Dental floss
Wednesday: 8 tissues
                  Kinder surprise wrapper
                  Paper towel
                  Dental floss
 Recycling: Ginger ale can
                  Bus ticket
Thursday: Blenz cup and lid
                2 candy wrappers
                Dental floss
Friday: A&W -cup, lid, straw, chicken strips container, fries container, 2 napkins
           1 tissue
           Dental floss
Recycling: Random advertisement in the A&W bag
                Straw wrapper
                A&W bag
Saturday: 2 tissues
                Dental floss
Recycling: Hot sauce bottle
                Dip container
                Paper
Sunday: 3 plastic bags
             Dental floss
             Granola bar wrapper
Recycling: Happy Planet bottle

Marie-Claire's Week Of Waste

Monday: 1 tissue
              White Spot- burger wrapper, plastic drink cup, fries container, plastic coleslaw container, straw
Tuesday: 3 tissues
Wednesday: 4 tissues
                    Dental Floss
Thursday: 3 tissues
                1 napkin
                Plastic wrap on sandwich
Friday: 1 napkin
            1 sticker
            4 tissues
Saturday: 2 tissues
               1 napkin
               2 plastic wraps for cheese
               Pringles lid
Recycling: Pringles container
Sunday: 5 tissues
            
Wow!

Yuck! 

That's gross!

We challenge you to do better than us!

Until next time,

Under A Tree

aka Marie-Claire and Hannah


          
               

                
              

Paste Your Waste Challenge!

This week's challenge involves diaries, feelings, emotions, sentiments and waste. We are going to track the amount of garbage we produce by writing it in a journal. This includes every item thrown into a garbage or recycling bin, but does not include compost and toilet paper . At the end of the week, we will review our diaries..awww...and reflect! By doing so we hope to find ways that we can cut back or minimize the amount of waste we produce.

Until next time,

Under A Tree
aka Marie-Claire and Hannah

Ghost Power Verdict!

This past week's challenge proved to be...well...a challenge. There were certain inconveniences that came with unplugging regularly used appliances. For example, Hannah's family had to turn their heads to look at the clock, instead of reading the microwave's time. On a more serious note, it's hard to change the routine of, not only yourself, but your entire family. We found that the following were the easiest to keep up with:
1) CD player
2) alarm clock
3) cell phone charger
4) toaster (oven)
5) computers/ televisions/ DVD players/ VCR players that are not used regularly

Bottom line is, take inventory of what you use often and finds ways to UNPLUG the rest!

Until next time,

Under A Tree
aka Marie-Claire and Hannah

Phantom Power Challenge!

This weeks's challenge is to unplug all those silly electronics who are pulling power from our outlits 24 hours a day. Certain electronics and appliances use electricity even when they're switched to "standby" or powered off. The best way to stop this waste of energy is to unplug after use.

This week ( March 14th to 20th) we will unplug the following between each use:
1) Alarm Clocks- Hannah's spare room, Marie-Claire's room
2) Washing Machines- Both Hannah's and Marie-Claire's house  

3) Computers- Hannah's basement and Marie-Claire's computer

4) Microwaves-Hannah radioactive ovens

5) Computer Speakers- Marie-Claire's computer

6) Video game units- Marie-Claire's Wii and X-box

7) Televisions-Hannah's basement and upstairs (everything will be unplugged except satellite)

                    - Marie-Claire's television

8) Cell phone chargers- we already unplug these, but its worth mentioning.
9) Toaster Oven- Hannah's kitchen
10) CD player-Hannah's bedroom

Not only do we challenge you to take this initiative and save large amounts of wasted energy, we challenge you to tell everyone you know! Why? Because according to BC Hydro, Ghost power can account for 10% of the average home's annual energy consumption....and thats pretty spooky.

Until next time,

Under A Tree

aka Marie-Claire and Hannah

Taste Your Paste Verdict

SUCCESS!

After a week of brushing our teeth- morning and night- with our homemade toothpaste conconction, our smiles feel sustainable and squeaky clean. We have decided to continue using this toothpaste on a regular basis!

There has been some concern about the lack of fluoride in homemade toothpaste. However, we recently discovered that fluoride is all talk and no action. Apparently fluoride has more environmental and health risks than it does benefits. We could be wrong as there are two sides to every story, so we will continue to research this topic. But for now, we wont be stressing about our enamel as much as our planet.

WE CHALLENGE YOU to make your own toothpaste!

Until next time,

Under A Tree

aka  Marie-Claire and Hannah

Toothpaste Challenge!

For our first challenge ever we have decided to...make our own toothpaste! Why? Well, it may seem random and insignificant but if you think about it, toothpaste is something we all use every single day, at least 2 times a day (hopefully). Imagine how many toothpaste tubes our population must go through! Also, If you've ever read the ingredients on the back of a toothpaste tube you'd know there are all sorts of chemicals that are being spit down the drain that may be harmful. We started our challenge yesterday (Sunday, March 6th) and will continue until this coming Sunday. If all goes well and we don't have terrible breath/ cavities/ yellow teeth, we hope to make this an ongoing part of our routine. We challenge you to do the same! 

Our potion ( a week's supply) :

7 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons of salt ( if you can take it)

4 drops peppermint extract 

as much TAP WATER as needed to make a paste.

note: these ingredients can be altered according to personal preference. Also, bottled water does not work, only tap water. Thank you.

Until next time, 

Under A Tree

aka Marie-Claire and Hannah