Reduce, Reuse and Recognize

This week we are recognizing The Green Tree Frog in Bobcaygeon at 42B Bolton St!

The Green Tree Frog is an Eco-store and Refillery selling Canadian made refillable and eco-friendly products for bath, body, and home. They source their products as close to home as possible and give back to the community.

They have lots of zero waste accessories for sale as well as a lengthy refill bar menu with bath, kitchen, laundry, and personal care products.

They carry some very interesting plastic free/sustainable products that we haven’t really seen elsewhere like biodegradable razors, biodegradable makeup sponges, and bamboo toilet paper.

Thanks for helping our community become greener!

In Canada the average person in throws out 81 lbs/37 kg of clothing and other textiles each year. Textiles that are thrown away in the garbage end up in our landfills and take up valuable space and release greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. Here are out 6 tips on how we can each do our part to reduce our clothing/textile waste.

6 Ways to Reduce Textile Waste

1. Buy clothing second hand. Try out some of the great local thrift stores we have in Kawartha Lakes. A few options include:

Vicky’s Values (Lindsay), Salvation Army (Lindsay, Fenelon Falls), Mission Thrift Store (Lindsay), and Recycled Kids (Lindsay)

2. If buying new, look for clothes that are high quality and will last. Check out this article for tips on how to spot high quality clothing.

3. Borrow, share or swap clothing from a friend or family member instead of buying something new for a special event.

4. Get out your sewing kit! Repair clothing to extend its life.

5. Up-cycle your clothing. Turn old clothes into rags, reusable shopping bags, makeup remover pads, or any other creative option you can think of.

6. Finally, if you have to say goodbye to your textiles Kawartha Lakes has you covered through our textile reuse/recycling pilot program:

• Textile bins are available to accept donations at the City’s five landfill sites for reuse and recycling during regular landfill hours.
• Textiles must be in a clear bag, and are free to drop off. Stained and ripped items that are not reusable are accepted.
• Curbside textile recycling pickup will occur in 2022 during the weeks of June 20-23 and October 3-6. Residents will have the opportunity to arrange for textile curbside pickup through Recycling Rewards on their designated date.
• Textiles donated through this pilot program are collected by Talize/Recycling Rewards and brought to a sorting facility. Textiles go to Talize thrift stores where they may be sold or redistributed. Non-reusable textiles are sent to companies that recycle them into upholstery, stuffing, or rags. Items that cannot be reused or recycled go to landfill. Talize/Recycling Rewards has a 98% diversion rate of all materials they accept.

If you have any other tips on how to reduce textile waste we'd love to hear them! Comment below.

We received the final update from David and Ellen:

Our waste free July experiment is ended – finally!! It was certainly a great education, even though we were not totally successful in becoming waste free. At the end of the month we have 1/2 a garbage bin of waste, 4 kg that cannot be recycled, reused or composted. We were able to reduce our output from 8 kg per week to 4 kg per month – 87%!

Some of the issues we encountered:

• Not recyclable items
  • Polystyrene (Styrofoam)
  • Hard/coloured plastics (ie deodorant, sprays, etc...)
  • Crocs
  • Car air filter (fused fibre and rubber)
  • Disposable diapers
  • Welcome mats (fibre and rubber fused)
  • Ceramics and specialty glass
• Recyclable but not practical items
  • Polyethylene tarps – can be shipped to the US for recycling
  • Swiffer pads – Swiffer will accept the old pads back by mail
• Recyclable if dropped at landfill items
  • Used kitchen grease/oil
  • Batteries
  • Clothing and stuffed toys
  • Motor oil/filters

The process ended up not being too much trouble, after we got the separating down to an art. We will be continuing with the composting and vermiculture so I expect our waste output to still be a fraction of our old level. I recommend everyone try a waste free month for the education and to help the planet.

David and Ellen Webb

We are so impressed with their waste free July experiment and the fact that they were able to reduce their waste by 87%! Way to go!

Week 3 and still no garbage! Way to go David and Ellen. Here is the week 3 update on their month of attemping to go waste free:

Still have no need to put out a garbage can this week, although the bin of "undetermined" disposal is getting more full.

Our systems are working better now and making separation easier. The worms are doing their job nicely and we have some really nice castings for the garden and the composter is handling what the worms can't eat. I just need to figure out how to separate the worms from the castings.

We have guests coming this weekend so it will be interesting to see how we (and they) make out trying to eliminate waste without a huge impact on socializing.

Still happy that we are trying this, quite an education and a behaviour modification experiment, if a bit more consuming.

David and Ellen Webb

Does anyone in our Jump In Community have experience vermicompsting? Can you provide any advise on separating worms from their castings? Comment below.

We've heard from David and Ellen today on how their waste free July has been going.

Three weeks now and we have not put out any garbage. The composting and worm farm are easily taking care of all food waste and we are being very careful to recycle everything that can be.

I can see we will not be able to go totally waste free but will likely have one bag of garbage at the end of the month. So far the items for waste include a tarp, styrofoam packing material, odd hard plastics, glassware candles and a welcome mat.

Still learning every day and trying to buy things that can be recycled. Having guests this week so we’ll see how much waste is generated there.

Sounds like they are doing a great job so far. Three weeks without any garbage to set out! Do you have any tips for them on some of the items they have left for waste disposal? Comment below.

We've heard from David and Ellen on how Week 1 of their waste free experiment has gone. It sounds like it has been a challenging but meaningful experience so far.

First week down – we did not put out any garbage to the curb, but we have a good sized collection of things we don’t know what to do with. Going waste free is way more effort than I thought. The composting is easy and effective, but having to consider ways to dispose of things we would normally toss in the garbage is very challenging.

We have had to adjust our sorting a bit to include storage for things that can be recycled by dropping at the landfill – for example linens and kitchen oil and grease. We also have a spot for the items we have not figured out what to do with yet.

The worms are getting lots to eat and the composter is getting a good workout plus we’ve taken a lot of stuff to thrift shops for reuse.

I am sure it will get easier as we become more educated and as we adjust buying patterns to reduce non-disposables. I am thinking that it is unlikely that we will have zero waste for the month based on the past week's experience, but we should have considerably less and we will have educated and motivated ourselves to do better.

David and Ellen Webb

Have you ever tried going waste free? What was difficult for you? Do you have any tips for David and Ellen? Comment below.

A couple of our Kawartha Lakes residents are embarking on a challenge. A waste free July. We will be posting weekly updates on this experiment. Here is the first update as they set out on their journey.

Well, for us it’s time to stop talking and start acting on waste reduction. For many years we have faithfully recycled and done some limited composting, but we still manage to put out a large bag of garbage every week. With just the two of us it is hard to believe that we produce so much – I estimate 7-9 kilograms per week on top of recycling! When the kids visit for the weekend we double that. When we started thinking about what was in our garbage we decided to try an experiment and so for the month of July we will try to go Waste Free!

Taking an inventory of what we throw in the garbage we hope that by composting and being more diligent in recycling we can reduce our waste to almost nothing. What cannot be recycled or composted we will need to figure out what to do with. Some of the items we need to work out include bathroom hygiene waste, bones/fat, polystyrene (Styrofoam), flexible plastic, hair/lint, etc... I am sure we will come across many more items before the month is over.

We will continue to recycle and have set up two compost bins and a vermiculture centre (worm boxes) to increase the efficiency/speed of composting – the gardens will be happy! We will be even more vigilant about sorting our stuff and set up collection bins in the garage for blue box recycling, green box recycling, bathroom waste, compost and “the stuff we can’t figure out”. We are also hoping to modify our shopping to avoid products with difficult to recycle packaging. We are investigating a back yard digester that might be able to handle bones, fat, hair and bathroom paper products.

For us, our kids and grand kids, this is an educational exercise but hoping it encourages us to continue and have them step up (if they can figure out what to do with their disposable diapers!!!).

Stay tuned and we’ll share our experience and maybe ask for your help on what to do with un-recyclable items.

David and Ellen Webb

Have you ever tried going waste free? Do you have any tips for David and Ellen? Make sure to comment and stay tuned for weekly updates on their progress.

It's an understatement to say that it's been a very tough year for small businesses. That's why we are committed to continue to feature local businesses here in Kawartha Lakes who are going above and beyond the pressures of dealing with COVID-19 to continue to reduce their waste and protect the environment. For our first post of 2021 we want to share the businesses that were recognized as environmental heroes in 2020. We have highlighted some of these businesses before on our page and look forward to learning more about some of the ones we haven't featured yet in 2021.

During the Committee of the Whole Meeting on January 12, the Kawartha Lakes Environmental Advisory Committee presented the 2020 Environmental Business Hero Awards. Each year, the Committee awards the title to businesses living in Kawartha Lakes who have shown a commitment to improving the wellness of the environment.

This past year saw a variety of nominations and efforts, from more sustainable products, to waste collection, to recycling and education programs. Here are the 2020 heroes:

Environmental Business Hero Awards

• Boiling Over’s Coffee Vault (Lindsay) is a great example of a small business making many small changes to reduce their environmental impact, including: switching to “sippy” lids to reduce straws, switching to paper straws, biodegradable cutlery, products and packaging, and more. They also donate their surplus food through FoodRescue.ca.
• Burns Bulk Food (Lindsay) has been a family business for over 35 years and has recently taken additional steps to promote zero-waste, encouraging shoppers to bring their own containers. As an incentive to shoppers who bring their own containers, Burns is providing a 10 per cent discount for everything purchased in one’s own container.
• Country Cupboard (Fenelon Falls) has gone above and beyond trying to reduce plastics, making sure their products are produced as environmentally friendly as possible and by encouraging other local businesses to do the same. They offer a discount for patrons who use reusable containers, made the switch to compostable spoons and containers and offer sterilized glass jars for use instead of plastic bags. Owner Julia Taylor has also spoken at different events offering environmental ideas and suggestions.
• Dive Kawartha (Lindsay) has made a massive impact on the Kawartha Lakes community by holding multiple events called Dive Against Debris, where the team dive into local rivers and waterways to remove waste. The last event saw over 700lbs of garbage removed. They also have a fun promotion where if an employee spots you using one of their stainless-steel straws you get a free tank refill.
• Flex Fitness (Lindsay) is a fitness studio that has become more of a community hub. Owner Cathy Steffler takes extra steps to make sure the environmental footprint of her studio is as small as possible, encouraging people to use refillable containers and providing glassware for her members to use. You won’t find any vending machines filled with plastic bottles, Cathy leads by example and would rather do dishes for her members than create unnecessary waste.
• La Mantia’s Country Market (Lindsay) has become a model of environmental responsibility thanks to the practices Owner Dave La Mantia has put in place. Before the City’s policy on plastic recycling for businesses had even taken effect last year, La Mantia’s was achieving a 78 per cent waste diversion rate and they’ve kept that momentum going. Vegetable scraps go to local farmers for animal feed or composting, the store avoids unrecyclable waxed cardboard and 144 solar panels are mounted on the roof and sides of the building. All light fixtures are being replaced with LEDs and display cases for dairy products have been upgraded to be more energy-efficient.
• Unwrapped (Lindsay) was opened in January 2020 after its owners struggled for many years to find more sustainable options for household goods in the Kawartha Lakes. Today, Owners Jenny Connell and Jessica Moynes, sell refillable bulk items like shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products and more to reduce the amount of plastic bottles used in our area. They also offer a variety of eco-friendly alternatives to other disposable items. More importantly, they’re both committed to helping people in Kawartha Lakes make the switch to more sustainable lifestyles and are willing to chat about ways to reduce household waste.

In 2019, as staff looked into the possibility of a single use plastic and styrofoam ban in the Kawartha Lakes, one of the factors considered was the impact of alternative packaging, items such as the following:

• Biodegradable Plastics – derived from petroleum or bio-based resources. Many of these don’t breakdown unless exposed to temperatures above 50^oC for long periods of time (conditions found in composting facilities but rarely in natural environments)
• Bioplastics - derived from biomass (plants/animals). They do not necessarily degrade more readily than conventional plastics.
• Compostable Plastics – Sub-classification of biodegradable, where they likely biodegrade in an industrial composting environment.

There has been an increase in these alternative packaging types across the world, both in use and in conversations at all levels of government. But are they the solution to our single use plastic woes? Time will tell, but for now we know the following:

1. Kawartha Lakes does not have at this time, a curbside organics program. That means that compostable/biodegradable/bioplastics will end up in the landfill, or they will end up being disposed of in the recycling stream as contamination.
2. Our current Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where all of the City of Kawartha Lake’s recycling goes, noted that bioplastics are one of the fastest growing sectors of the plastic industry and that they are projected to rise 20-30% annually in coming years. Although they currently do not see large volumes at their facilities when these products do make it down the processing line, they have the chance to make their way into final bales of product as contamination. These products look very similar to acceptable materials and are therefore difficult to remove. Ultimately these products may cause contamination issues for end markets if the bales are not further processed to remove these items which can be timely and most importantly, costly.

Ultimately, it was concluded that these packaging types may be enticing and the way of the future, but there is definitely a need for more information on which packaging types can actually be included in an acceptable program, and also that it is imperative that large producers of these types of packaging are responsible for their end-use and disposal.

This leads us to our goal of overall waste reduction. The only sure way to reduce waste and the associated costs is to eliminate the need for this type of one-time-use packaging altogether. Reuse/takeback programs eliminate the risk of these items ending up in our natural environments and landfills.

Jo Anne's Place has been a local favourite for health products in Kawartha Lakes for the past 45 years, but we recently noticed that they have been increasing their line of zero waste products. We reached out to them to find out more about their interest in waste reduction.

They told us that Jo Anne’s Place has been passionate about providing incredible health food and environmentally sustainable options for decades and they are always eager to provide their customers with new and innovative eco-friendly options. As leaders in the community, they take a direct approach in waste reduction by supporting our local areas with produce and food products through organizations like Second Harvest Food Rescue, and other various non-profit organizations.

For years, Jo Anne’s Place has offered biodegradable and paper bags, and they are thrilled to hear that come 2021, single-use plastics will be a distant memory in Canada. At Jo Anne’s Place, you can also return select glass bottles from yogurt and milk companies to be re-used again! They even have a bulk section where you can fill up on your pantry essentials as well as organic herbs and spices.

Jo Anne’s Place Health Foods supplies a great variety of waste-free, biodegradable, reusable & sustainable products, including local, low-packaged goods, unwrapped bar soaps, reusable containers, compostable baking sheets, beeswax wraps, eco-friendly cleaning products, plastic-free detergent sheets, reusable straws and more. Jo Anne’s Place also sells low-waste hygiene products like the diva cup, cloth pads, cream deodorant in glass jars, zero-waste toothpaste options (toothpowder & tablets), biodegradable floss, reusable cloth wipes, etc. They've provided us with a few images you can see throughout the article of their zero-waste products.

At their new Café, ’76 Sips (At their Peterborough Lansdowne St. location) they prioritize sustainability and waste reduction. They use only compostable and recyclable packaging materials and aim to be as zero waste as possible by utilizing items multi-purposely, and making use of imperfect fruits and vegetables that would normally end up in a landfill, to make delicious and nutritious menu items.

Find out more on their website and check out Jo Anne's Place at one of their three locations:

In Kawartha Lakes: 84 Russell St. West Lindsay, ON K9V 6A5 (705-328-3628)

In Peterborough: 1260 Lansdowne St West Peterborough, ON K9J 2A1 (705-749-9474)

904 Water St. North Peterborough, ON K9H 3P3 (705-742-6456)

What type of products do you like to shop for at Jo Anne's Place? Do you know of any other local business setting an example for waste reduction in Kawartha Lakes? Let us know so we can promote them on our page!