Comments on: Four things I’m doing to reduce, reuse and recycle http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:47:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle#comment-44380 Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:09:49 +0000 http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle/#comment-44380 Hi Brian. The reason they can't be recycled is that there is no way to open them (without hacking them open with a saw, which I did a few months ago) to remove the activated carbon block or granules, depending on what cartridge you have. You might also find interesting a series I did on my visits to local recycling centers (Oakland, San Leandro, San Francisco) to see how they operate: <a href="http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Issues%20-%20Recycling.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Issues%20-%20Recycling.html</a> (You'll need to scroll down to the bottom to read the posts in order.) No way a Brita filter would get sorted properly. the human sorters are looking for narrow-necked bottles, and in some cases, wide-mouthed tubs (only SF). Anything unusually shaped or heavy like a Brita filter will get diverted to the landfill. You might like to join us in writing letters to Clorox asking them to develop a way to recycle them as they do in Europe. The URL for the Yahoo group where we are discussing these issues is here: <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/recycle_brita/" rel="nofollow">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/recycle_brita/</a> Sorry your water tastes funky. I'm in Oakland and since our water tested fine we've been going without a filter. But many people don't have that luxury, and it would be nice for all those plastic filters to be recycled in some way (and not just by dumping them off on China, which is a whole other issue. Beth Hi Brian.

The reason they can’t be recycled is that there is no way to open them (without hacking them open with a saw, which I did a few months ago) to remove the activated carbon block or granules, depending on what cartridge you have. You might also find interesting a series I did on my visits to local recycling centers (Oakland, San Leandro, San Francisco) to see how they operate:

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Issues%20-%20Recycling.html (You’ll need to scroll down to the bottom to read the posts in order.)

No way a Brita filter would get sorted properly. the human sorters are looking for narrow-necked bottles, and in some cases, wide-mouthed tubs (only SF). Anything unusually shaped or heavy like a Brita filter will get diverted to the landfill.

You might like to join us in writing letters to Clorox asking them to develop a way to recycle them as they do in Europe. The URL for the Yahoo group where we are discussing these issues is here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/recycle_brita/

Sorry your water tastes funky. I’m in Oakland and since our water tested fine we’ve been going without a filter. But many people don’t have that luxury, and it would be nice for all those plastic filters to be recycled in some way (and not just by dumping them off on China, which is a whole other issue.

Beth

]]> By: brian http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle#comment-44378 brian Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:26:02 +0000 http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle/#comment-44378 @Beth- good point. Something I've been discussing among my friends is the need for a cradle-to-grave system for identifying what everything "takes". It's the "Hummer is more environmentally friendly than the Prius" debate that could use more accurate numbers. Is there a reason you can't recycle the plastic filter? I was planning to drop it into the recycle bin. I would rather not filter the water at all, but in the south bay it has a very strong chlorine taste that I can't stand. When I lived in San Francisco, we just drank the Hetch Hetchy water straight up! @Beth- good point. Something I’ve been discussing among my friends is the need for a cradle-to-grave system for identifying what everything “takes”. It’s the “Hummer is more environmentally friendly than the Prius” debate that could use more accurate numbers. Is there a reason you can’t recycle the plastic filter? I was planning to drop it into the recycle bin.

I would rather not filter the water at all, but in the south bay it has a very strong chlorine taste that I can’t stand. When I lived in San Francisco, we just drank the Hetch Hetchy water straight up!

]]> By: Beth, aka Fake Plastic Fish http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle#comment-44313 Beth, aka Fake Plastic Fish Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:07:41 +0000 http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle/#comment-44313 Hi. These are great steps to take. Switching to Brita filters certainly uses less plastic than buying bottled water. However, there is still the issue of the plastic filter cartridge that must be disposed of several times per year. A group of us are working on a campaign to ask Clorox (the company that owns Brita in the U.S.) to create a take-back recycling program for the filter cartridges. Such a program already exists in Europe. But Brita in Europe is a separate company from Brita in the U.S. I encourage you to read my blog posts about this issue and then join our Yahoo Group if you'd like. At this point, we are writing letters to the executives at Clorox but will be planning further actions when we figure out our strategy. <a href="http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Brita.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Brita.html</a> Scroll down to the bottom if you'd like to read the posts in chronological order. Beth Hi. These are great steps to take. Switching to Brita filters certainly uses less plastic than buying bottled water. However, there is still the issue of the plastic filter cartridge that must be disposed of several times per year.

A group of us are working on a campaign to ask Clorox (the company that owns Brita in the U.S.) to create a take-back recycling program for the filter cartridges. Such a program already exists in Europe. But Brita in Europe is a separate company from Brita in the U.S.

I encourage you to read my blog posts about this issue and then join our Yahoo Group if you’d like. At this point, we are writing letters to the executives at Clorox but will be planning further actions when we figure out our strategy.

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/labels/Brita.html

Scroll down to the bottom if you’d like to read the posts in chronological order.

Beth

]]> By: brian http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle#comment-44240 brian Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:17:48 +0000 http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle/#comment-44240 @Doug - those are very cool! We unfortunately live in the burbs currently so driving is a lame way of life. We keep the whole foods bags in the back of our car but I like that these bags fold up into pocket size. Much easier to use with less to carry. Plus you can throw one in your backpack for any number of uses. @Doug - those are very cool! We unfortunately live in the burbs currently so driving is a lame way of life. We keep the whole foods bags in the back of our car but I like that these bags fold up into pocket size. Much easier to use with less to carry. Plus you can throw one in your backpack for any number of uses.

]]> By: Doug Moore http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle#comment-44239 Doug Moore Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:52:46 +0000 http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/02/13/four-things-im-doing-to-reduce-reuse-and-recycle/#comment-44239 I have a set of <a href="http://www.reusablebags.com/store/acme-bags%E2%84%A2-workhorse-style-1500-p-1.html" rel="nofollow">reusable bags</a> that are fantastic. I live in the city and rarely drive to the grocery store. I keep one of these in my coat pocket at all times and my wife keeps two in her purse. I have a set of reusable bags that are fantastic. I live in the city and rarely drive to the grocery store. I keep one of these in my coat pocket at all times and my wife keeps two in her purse.

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