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While the concept of an environmental road trip sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, however! I think, based on the trailer that this has the potential of being a pretty education documentary, and a fun one at that!

I've been noticing a trend in environmental docs in the last little while, away from the gloominess of "Inconvenient Truth" to a more light-hearted stance. I am very much pro-this. What are your thoughts?

I think this is a good way of getting people to see the myriad of crises as something more manageable, something they can actually have an impact on vs. something that is so heavy that it is completely over their heads. But, I might be wrong! Perhaps my optimism is blinding me... :)

Hope all of you who are partaking in the Zero Waste Pledge are doing well! Only a few short days to go!

- Brig

NO IMPACT MAN

In the same style as our ZERO WASTE PLEDGE, which is well underway at this point, this popular documentary features a man (and by extension, his family) who decided to live WITHOUT IMPACT for a whole year - that means no elevators, no transit, only local food, etc.

He write a blog about it here. There is also a No Impact Project, which has a lot of community shared tips for implementing some of these strategies into your own life!

I haven't seen the doc yet, but am hoping to see it this week! Have any of you seen it? I'm liking the more lighthearted approach in the trailer, so hopefully the full doc has a nice balance of positivity, while also keeping in mind the dark reality of the impact our society has on the environment. Thoughts?

- Brig

An oldie but a goodie! A lot of you have probably seen this, however, its a good tool to understanding the different steps of production, and how much impact consuming has!

Any comments? Has this changed your conception of STUFF?

- Brig

Zero Waste Pledge UPDATE

Two weeks into the pledge!!

...how are you doing? I want to hear about your experiences! What weird obstacles have you come across? Perhaps you had a deep realization on sustainability as you folded your laundry this weekend. I want to know!

I'll share one of my little stories to get us started:

Last weekend I walked over to the PA grocery store west of Concordia to get some grapefruit for the zero waste pledge breakfast (every Saturday! join us at the next one). As I lined the grapefruit up on the conveyer at the cash to be scanned, I was struck by a thought: even though I wasn't producing any obvious waste, I might stil be causing a bunch of waste down the line. These grapefruit had to be grown in Florida and shipped all the way here. Who knows how much packaging went into that process, not to mention all the carbon emitted in the transportation and water used in growing this. Booooooooo!

So my first realization that day was that being concerned about one aspect of sustainability shouldn't replace a mindfulness of all impacts. Other parallel situations that have struck me in the past

not all vegan food is healthy or sustainable

dishwashers might save water when they run but what about all the water, metals, and energy used to make them and ship them?

computers might save paper but what about all of their production and shipping impacts and the non-recyclable waste produced?

Obviously, we don't have Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) on hand for all of the choices we make everyday, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't slow down a bit and try to make a better choice. (Check out this video from Cascades about LCAs if you're not sure what it is. The narrator is quite the annunciator.)

One of the reasons I really love this zero waste pledge is because it asks us to communicate more about waste with people around us. The cashier immediately grabbed a plastic bag to put all of my grapefruit in before he started scanning them. I quickly said that I didn't need a bag, to which he responded with a a roll of the eyes. I asked him if it was annoying to him, which might have taken him off guard. He replied "no, but it I hate scanning them one by one". There you go! I had just uncovered a secret source of resentment for cashiers...so from now on I will try to bring my own plastic bags to collect my fruit and veggies in to make for easy scanning for the cashier.

If you want to try out the pledge yourself, join the facebook event!

- Faisal

#zero waste pledge #zero waste #r4 #concordia #concordia university #montreal #life cycle assessment #lca #sustainability

Recycling is easy! ...although apparently Cindy doesn't understand...

This hilarious video has a pretty extensive list of common recyclable items. So take note!

Looks like we are not the only ones doing a Zero Waste Challenge!

This was posted on The Clean Bin Project blog! Jen, who is in the film, shared these tips for kids who want to make a positive impact on their environment by implementing zero waste activities themselves. As she states, this is a good way of making better less-packaging choices.

3. Try your own challenge.

The students at UBC Commerce Environment Club decided to carry all their garbage with them for a week to draw attention to how much they produced. They said it automatically made them make better packaging choices.

ATTENTION: This Trailer might be too much awesomeness for most people to handle ;)

Check out the trailer for The Clean Bin Project, an award winning documentary film done by canadians in Vancouver B.C. Two people, one challenge: to live a whole year with the main aim of producing as little waste as possible!

In addition to the movie, check out the blog, which has tons of cool, easy tips about how to adopt/adapt to a zero waste lifestyle!

Here's the synopsis:

This multiple award winning, festival favourite has been inspiring audiences across North America.

Forget everything you know about typical a documentary and follow the cinematic and creatively executed story of a couple who ask the question “What can an individual do?” Young couple Grant and Jen let you into their lives for 1 year, sharing moments of humour, struggle, and hope as they compete with each other to give up consumerism and produce zero garbage. Described as a beautiful combination of An Inconvenient Truth and Super Size Me, The Clean Bin Project features laugh out loud moments, stop motion animations, and captivating interviews with TED lecturers Chris Jordan and Captain Charles Moore. A fun and inspiring call to environmental action that speaks to crowds of all ages.

Although I haven't personally seen the film, I'm super excited to catch a FREE SCREENING of the Movie at McGill University on March 16th @ 7pm! Only a few blocks away from Concordia. See The Conservationalists (McGill) blog for more deets.

:D,

Brigitte

Although most of you probably (hopefully!) know how to sort out your waste, here is a little reminder in video form!

As you may notice around Campus, Waste Stations have been implemented so that every sort of waste has its own container. These bins are:

One RECYCLING bin for PLASTIC, GLASS and METAL;

One RECYCLING bin for PAPER;

One for GARBAGE headed to the LANDFILL;

And another for COMPOSTABLE ORGANIC WASTE

Concordia has produces 650 tons of waste a year! That's WAAAAYYY too much. To reduce the amount of waste being mistakenly thrown into landfills, make sure to put your waste in the right place! This will contribute immensely to reducing the amount of waste put into landfills that could otherwise be recycled or composted.

Enjoy the vid! and keep an eye out for Waste Stations!

Check out this link and support a sweet initiative to have Google Map searches show Green Balloons for businesses that have been eco-certified.

This is Facebook group's description the project:

Google Places could easily serve as a global platform to promote eco-certified businesses. All that would be required is for certified businesses to be represented by green balloons rather than the usual red ones. The purpose of this page is to bring together all the people who would like to make this happen.

Pretty interesting! and definitely a good way of promoting responsible buying.

Check out this website for a great group called WE CANADA.

They are planning to be at the next Earth Summit Rio+20 to represent Canadian voices and be a voice for change.

http://earthsummit.ca/

We Canada is a nation-wide initiative for the Earth Summit 2012. Canadians are an important piece of the puzzle for global sustainability. We can be the leaders the world once new with your voice and actions behind the We Canada initiative. Join the movement!

This is a great initiative! So join in! :)

Another video done by the superb and magnificent Susanna Jones!

Make sure to use your reusable mugs, or Huggy Da Muggy might get ANGRY!!!!!

.....and then Hug you later... of course :)

Zero Waste Pledge!

As many of you know, we live in a consumer culture of convenience that is putting extreme pressure on our waste stream and on our environment. This needs to stop. So, to spread the word about living a zero waste (or little waste) lifestyle, we are organizing a ZERO WASTE PLEDGE! For the entire month of March, ‘pledgers’ (people who decide to make the pledge) will be making efforts to create zero waste. What this means is that for the month, we will only be using products that are either compostable or recyclable. The goal is to create NO GARBAGE, and any garbage that is created will have to be carried on oneself at all times for the whole month! The reason we are doing this is to raise awareness by being conversations starters. Carrying garbage on us will inevitably raise some eyebrows and some questions (!), creating a golden opportunity to talk about waste reduction. We will be tabling March 1st and 2nd for people to come celebrate with us and sign up! We will be at: - UQAM on the morning of the 1st - Concordia University in the afternoon of the 1st - UdeM on the morning of the 2nd - McGill University in the afternoon on the 2nd Now, we understand that this will be a tricky pledge for some more than others. We will be organizing support groups - think potluck fiesta more than therapy session ;) – to celebrate and share our journey to a full Zero Waste Month! These will be held on Saturday afternoons, at various locations around the city still to be determined. And finally, when the month is done, we will be organizing a PARTY so we can compare our small or nonexistent waste piles and cumulatively bask in the joy of having produced little waste! A worthy celebration, if you ask us. ☺ That’s all for now! To join in on the dialogue and give us a heads up of your participation in this great challenge, check out the Facebook Event and click ‘attending’ if you want to be a pledger. And tell all your friends and encourage everyone you know to participate as well. This will be a good chance for everyone to bond with likeminded people and share their enthusiasm and priorities with others while having a good ol’ time!

See you in March everybody! We are super stoked! :)

#zero waste pledge

Check out our own Faisal Shennib talking about the R4 and Greenhouse projects!

Gives a good concise view of what is in the works at R4, although many more initiatives have been added since then!

This segment was done in Nov, 2011 thanks to CUTV.

Brigitte

Top 10 Facts About Disposable Mugs

Facts about Disposable Cups! and why you should use your reusable mug! :)

1. Disposable cups are not recyclable or compostable. Disposable cups are made of plastic #6, which is not recyclable in Quebec. Disposable cups use new, often times bleached, paperboard that cannot be reused.

2. In 2010-2011, 3.4 Million coffee cups were thrown away on Concordia's campus, which is equivalent to throwing away 250 every hour.

3. Disposable cups are covered in a membrane of polyurethane, a plastic that is not recyclable, or wax, which is equally non-recyclable.

4. Almost all retailers on campus offer a significant discount (between 10% and 15%) when you use your reusable mug! More $$ for you!

5. 114.5 million kilograms worth of disposable coffee cups are thrown out each year - equal to the weight of 22,900 elephants (check the vid posted on January 31st!).

6. In 2010-2011 concordia spent around 7,000$ on landfilling 67 tonnes of coffee cups.That amount required 200 tonnes of trees, the equivalent of 20 homes powered for a year of energy, 32 cars used for a year of C02, and 2 olympic sized swimming pools of water.

7. If you use a disposable cup every day for a year, you personally would be adding 22 pounds to the waste stream.

8. What is so bad about coffee cups filling up landfills? The paper decomposes and creates methane, which has a heat trapping power 23x stronger than CO2. This gas is prone to leakage and can be very dangerous. Plastic does not decompose and eventually there will be no more space in the landfill. Almost all landfills in North America are either close to or at capacity. Landfills cost a lot to build and maintain.

9. Mugs need to be used on average 24 times to offset the impact of their resource extraction, manufacturing and transportation impact.

10. Disposable coffee cups are an important facet to the culture of convenience we have created for ourselves in the past 100 years. We need to start rethinking our everyday choices!

A Family Living Zero Waste Style

I had read an article on the Johnson family when I was visiting a friend in California last year and the article simply stuck with me. At the time, I thought the idea was great and made a few (minimal) life adjustments as a result. While thinking of good ressources to contribute to the Zero Waste blog, this article and the interesting family it features came back to my mind.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this family, and a lot of criticism of their lifestyle not being overarching (i.e. they consume meat, and fly to France yearly...).

Here is a Q&A section where Bea answered the large amount of comments received following the Sunset article. Also, Bea Johnson has a blog where she discusses the trials and tribulations (and multiple successes!) of her Zero Waste lifestyle.

An article by the Huffington post also has a video where Bea Johnson describes how she maintains her Zero Waste lifestyle and responds to the 'haters'.

I am on board with her mission, and think that only good can come from having a positive model of sustainable, zero waste living. However, some people have expressed that they are not huge fans... mainly surrounding the fact that the Johnson family is clearly not financially struggling and therefore has time/ressources to live such a lifestyle.

What do you guys think??

A joint project by Montreal artists Roadsworth and Brian Armstrong, the Eaton Centre was turned into an art installation that gives credence to the old adage "One man's trash is another man's gold."

Check out this video which shows the process of building the nature-inspired installation which is part of their greater project entitle "Fragile". Not only is this exhibit really beautiful, but it is a good reminder of how recycling and reusing are BEAUTIFUL things!

Check the website also!

Especially this link, which offers a breakdown of what recycled products were used to make many of the pieces. Givin' me some ideas of crafts to do in the near future.. :) The eco-conscious child in me is inspired!

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