photo credit: http://www.temporausch.com/01/ Over the Christmas holidays, I spent a little over two weeks in England with my Grannie, the first time I had been without my family. This time around, I found myself experiencing a lot of her to day to day life and I was very impressed (and a little shocked) with all the things she did to cut down on waste. We often think of our grandparents generation as sustainability illiterate. Car-loving, climate skeptics who don’t know what recycling is, right?  I am pleased and a little alarmed to report that, rather, we should be taking our environmental tips from Grandma and Grandpa. One of my fondest memories of my Grandad is, on Christmas Day, waiting in anticipation, with a gift of mine at the ready, as Grandad painstakingly removed every piece of tape on his gift and carefully removed the paper, ready to use next Christmas. At the time, it was a strange and uncalled for delay to our Christmas proceedings, but now I can see what ...

Photo credit: unknown It has officially begun, this week I am going WASTE-FREE with my co-worker Marie-Pier. Although not as hardcore as Brigitte Morin (Waste Diversion Coordinator) who is undertaking this feat for the entirety of RecycleMania, I am still making an attempt to lower the impact I have on the planet. The average Canadian produces 1 840 lbs of waste per year, an obnoxious amount that gets sent to landfills. If we simply decrease our waste we can decrease the effects on the planet- including that of not only the trash baking in the sun; releasing harmful pollutants and leaching into the soils but also decrease the emissions released by transport trucks. I understand that I will have much difficulty shopping tonight after work, as so many foods are packaged in unnecessary amounts of plastics that are not yet recyclable in the City of Ottawa. However, following Brigitte’s blogs on waste free tips will surely aid in my quest- see previous posts for details. Putting in place th...