EcoSwitch

Recycling – Put a smile on the face of Nature

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Recycling Centre on Cromer Beach

As I walked along the beach in Cromer, Norfolk, I seized the opportunity to take the picture of a recycling bin which I believe voices the responsibility and care Cromer residents have for their environment. This spot of the United Kingdom is not only breathtaking by the beauty of its natural gift but the people are clearly concerned about the whole recycling process. There is no secret to Cromer residents dwelling in such a healthy blossoming environment; it is the fact that they keep on recycling and managing their waste properly.

This particular kind of bin (as shown in the picture) has a major purpose. The contents put in these bins are recycled en masse; therefore our waste does not go to waste. How? Simply, what we used to consider as garbage, is reprocessed to combine with raw materials in order to conceive the same initial product or to produce new ones. Hence, whilst feeding the recycling bin with your recyclable objects, you are symmetrically preserving our natural resources.

I am sure you all share the same opinion as me on this matter: if our resources are finite, should we not value them? For example, the manufacturing process for glass requires raw materials such as soda, lime and sand which have to be extracted from the earth and these are then melted together at 1500C. There is obviously an enormous amount of energy involved! However, for each tonne of glass that is recycled, approximately 1.2 tonnes of raw material and an equivalent of 136 litres of oil are saved, not to mention the CO2 emissions that are avoided from the initial melting process. Logically, it demands less energy to melt already made glass rather than producing the latter from scratch.

Some items that are apt for recycling are:

· Food and Garden waste which you can turn into compost.

· Glass

· Plastic bottles

· Paper and cardboard

· Drink cans

· Textiles

Ecoswitch encourages you to be kind to nature by recycling your waste products. It is not complicated a process and it releases such a pleasant feeling of having done something positive for the environment

TO NOTE: Recycle bins are not hidden but they are exposed around supermarkets, on streets, in buildings…and on top of that, you can have your personal one!

This is the green process to get rid of your waste:

+ Waste = into

The biodegradable or recycle bins are made in the United Kingdom and they are guaranteed to be 100% polythene bin liners. They use less resources and lower energy, therefore they are better for the environment. You can buy them online from all leading supermarkets.

In the battle to alleviate your carbon footprint, to preserve our natural resources and to act upon deforestation, you might not experience a direct gain but your personal effort contributes largely to an outstanding impact on our existence and that of the environment.

By recycling every ton of waste paper, you are equally saving:

· 17 Large Trees

· 380 gallons of oil

· 7000 gallons of water

· 4,100 KW of electricity (energy to heat an average home for 6 months)

· Elimination of 69 pounds of Air pollution

My personal note of encouragement is this: When you recycle a book, look at a tree with a smile and say ‘I saved you!’

Posted under Climate, Environmental News, How To's & Guides, Lifestyle & Fashion

This post was written by Trisha Gukhool on September 2, 2008

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What is green cleaning? How can we do it?

cleaning

Green cleaning can have many interpretations, but the main aspiration of green cleaning is to use cleaning solutions and methods that keep the environment healthy and safe. There are many ways in which people can take this aspiration into their homes.

For some people, green cleaning means that only use substances like baking soda, vinegar, and lemons to clean the home surfaces. Other people may find commercial cleaners that are healthy for the environment. They want to avoid phosphates, chlorine, artificial fragrances, and artificial colours. Many cleaners that are available on the market now are marketed as being biodegradable.
Other cleaning products may use recycled packaging or donate some of their profit to environmental causes.

You can make certain choices about your cleaning supplies; there is a huge variety of environmentally friendly choices for those who are keen on cleaning green.
If you are interested in cleaning your home with cheap natural materials, then have you looked into using vinegar, baking soda, and lemons?
Because these are cheap and cheerful ways of cleaning your homes, they date back years and years, and would still be used widely if it weren’t for all of the commercial cleaning products that are forced down our necks, which are also quite pricey, especially in comparison to the price of a lemon.

There are many ways you can use these three substances around your home with ease;

Vinegar
adding ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing machine saves you from buying a separate fabric softener. Vinegar works naturally to soften your laundry and has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent very effectively. This means that less detergent sensitive allergies for families that struggle with sensitive skin. Don’t be put off by the smell of vinegar, because the smell disappears when the vinegar dries.

Baking Soda
after you are done working out at the gym with your sweaty stinking trainers put a sachet of baking soda inside them to help absorb the odours until you’re ready to wear them again. Wrap some baking soda in a small piece of cloth like a handkerchief and tie it with some string or use a rubber band. You will have your own homemade sachet to use in your trainers, no need for embarrassing smelly trainers now.
You could even fill the toe of a sock with baking soda and tie it off. Leave that sock in your trainers over night, but don’t wear the sock after wards.

Lemons;
One use out of many, can be rubbing a lemon onto your wooden cutting boards to clean and deodorize onion and garlic smells and kill any bacteria that maybe living on the wood, this also works well on wooden cutlery and bowls. Go ahead and try it, not only does it work well; it makes your kitchen smell lovely and fresh.

Posted under Articles, House & Home, How To's & Guides, Money & Finance, Uncategorized

This post was written by Xavier Tikadar on July 30, 2008

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