Weekly waste war: Turn Dryer Lint into waterproof fire starter

This is the first post in what I hope to be a weekly series based on combating (that's right, ass kicking!) waste in your daily life. Even the smallest and easiest things you can do to waste less can have the biggest impact, because everyone can do it, whether you're rich, poor, a moron or a rocket scientist. And it's much more important to look at what we can do and just do it instead of looking at what we can't change or thinking we can't make a difference.

After that incredibly motivating speech, you're probably ready to live 100% sustainable and never waste an ounce of anything in your life, but let's start out small, with dryer Lint. Probably the easiest and most common thing to reuse in your house. It probably has one of the smallest impacts on landfills and such, but it's not just about the waste. It's about turning something that you normally would have no use for into something useful. Whatever it is, this offsets energy and money being spent through what you've created or partially created from reusing something that you thought was useless.

Exxon Pipeline Breaks in Arkansas

This is just a short video of a HUGE amount of oil, spilled right into the backyards of people in Mayflower, Arkansas. It's bubbling through the streets of suburbia and cascading across Mrs. Field's garden flowers.

Can we stop using the word "spilled" when it comes to oil? Spilled implies Exxon was having a tea party and got a little sloppy with the china set and "spilled" some oil. Just a little bit. 189,000 gallons of oil just "spilled" across the backyards and streets of Mayflower, Arkansas. A spill. How about, "another s***ton of oil was carelessly allowed to rupture through a pipeline by another ass backwards corporate conglomerate and once again, they're going to get away with it?" Does that fit the description? I think so.

$3 Emergency Solar Radio

Another DIY from Instructables by Joshua Zimmerman, a $3 emergency solar radio. This is one of a zillion altoid tin DIY projects that's easy to make yet functional. It's portable, cheap, and solar powered. Everything you want your emergency radio to be and more. Plus, you can buy the solar cells and other parts straight from Joshua Zimmerman's site, BrownDogGadgets.com for super cheap. 

>>$3 Emergency Solar Radio

How to: Turn a playing card into a solar charger

Here's another sweet little project from Instructables by sfrayne, a solar powered charger for AA batteries using a playing card. I'm guessing you have at least one device in your house that's draining your wallet from using batteries, so this is a perfect project that allows you to recharge and reuse those suckers and save some money. In addition to being one less thing you have to plug into your wall and jack up your electric bill, it's probably cheaper to make 5 of these solar powered chargers than the crappiest outlet charger.

>>Turn a playing card into a solar charger for AA batteries

How to: Emergency butter candle

This is a really cool, easy project that only requires a stick of butter, toilet paper, and a toothpick. Chances are you have all of these materials in your house, which also makes it the perfect emergency "how to." It doesn't require stocking up on random materials that can only be used in a real emergency situation, and it's super simple and easy to remember. Which isn't to say you shouldn't stock up on emergency supplies, but how cool is it to have an almost ready to go candle from the butter in your fridge? And if your completely out of toilet paper, you might have a more serious emergency than the power being out.

Shocking investigation from PETA: Chinese fur farms

While this video doesn't exactly fall into the category of sustainable, organic living, (or the opposite) it sure as hell ain't pretty. This appalling video exposes the horrendous acts committed by the fur trade in China, and it's absolutely sick. Although I don't believe there's anything quite this bad in the United States, this probably compares to what livestock farms and slaughter houses do to animals every day, which definitely is not sustainable, organic or just plain humane . In either case, this is animal cruelty at it's worst and if you have any moral decency in your body, you will not be buying any fur product whatsoever after watching this video.

America's First Zero Waste Zone

In February of 2009 Atlanta, more specifically it's downtown district, began the nations first Zero Waste Zone, an ambitious but amazing idea if I've ever heard one. An in-depth article from SmartPlanet explains how successful this project has been, which should be a huge motivational factor for other businesses and cities to follow suit.

One highlight from the article breaking down the project as follows:

"The goal is to eliminate every scrap of food waste. Spent grease is turning into biofuel. Excess food is now donated to shelters and soup kitchens. Used food is diverted to feedstock. And food deemed inedible is now turned to compost for new urban gardens around the city."

It almost sounds too good to be true. And if that's not enough, here's another one that explains how this is beneficial to companies:

"Atlanta food companies are managing to save thousands of dollars a month in hauling and disposal fees, all while creating new revenue streams — from selling compost and used grease to drawing in new customers who favor their social responsibility. The effort has also stimulated a micro-economy of biofuel makers, compost haulers, urban farmers and recycling outfits."

If that's not enough reason for companies and cities to begin implementing this type of thing immediately, I don't think it belongs on this Earth. It's proof that helping the environment and your community doesn't have to damage your pocketbook, and it can even give you access to some untapped revenue streams. 

Read the entire article, written by Kevin Gray here:

For business, food waste a ripe opportunity for savings

You can also check out some facts straight from the EPA on this Zero Waste Zone here:

Atlanta Launches Southeast's First Zero Waste Zone