Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season, and with it comes the hustle and bustle of preparations. This also means parties and gatherings, that require shopping for gifts and food. It is just understandable that people have other things in their mind besides protecting the environment and being green, however, we should remember that those things are particularly important this time of year. This is because holiday activities tend to increase. For instance, during the winter holiday season:
• Sewer backups and blockages increase by about 60 percent;
• Nearly 40 percent of all battery sales occur;
• Preparing for and cleaning up after parties uses much more water than usual;
• Cold weather inversions can put a “lid” over the Bay Area, allowing pollutants from wood smoke to intensify and cause serious health problems.
For these reasons, here are some quick and easy tips to make this Thanksgiving and holiday season friendly to the environment.
Grease, please. The number one cause of sewer clogs and overflows are fats, oils and grease, and it is likely that they come from our kitchens. During the holiday season, it is a fact that more people are cooking higher-fat-content food (deep-frying turkeys or preparing for large family meals). Even if you don’t pour used cooking oil and grease down the drain, fatty food that gets sent through the garbage disposal can cause problems. Cooking by-products are washed down drains all year long, and can build up in sewer pipes over time.
To prevent clogs and sewer backups from happening:
• Keep dairy products, fats, oils grease or greasy foods out of the sink and garbage disposal.
• Freeze small amounts of fats, oils and grease, then dispose of it in the trash.
• Mix oil with absorbent materials like cat litter of coffee grounds, place in lidded container then dispose in trash.
• Before soaking greasy pans with soapy water, pour off grease in a container then wipe pan with a paper towel. After soaking, place a paper towel over a drain basket to catch remaining grease and food particles.
• For large quantities of cooking oil and grease, bring these for recycling into biofuels.
Use and re-use. Consumers go through huge amounts of paper and plastic shopping bags every year, especially during the holiday season. These single-use bags, are a waste of resources (trees for paper, fossil fuels for plastic) and can contribute to water pollution during production, as overload landfills during their disposal.
Purchasing re-usable cloth bags cuts the amount of plastic and paper trash dramatically. Remember to take them with you to the store by keeping your shopping list in them, hanging them by the door, or keeping them in your car.
‘Green’ greetings. Invitations to holiday gatherings and sending your greetings need not be on paper. Consider sending e-cards or e-invites to spread the holiday cheer. If you really can’t avoid paper cards, choose ones made from recycled paper. And though they may seem cute, avoid musical cards that use small batteries because they are considered as household hazardous waste. Also, look into recycling card you have received by making them into decorations or gift tags.
Spare the air. The cold season also makes it a time for burning wood in your fireplace. But did you know that burning wood in your fireplace can create smoke full of toxic contaminants such as carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde and dioxin? Aside from inhaling, these pollutants can also can into local waters when the particles eventually settle back down to earth. Dioxin particularly is a major concern because it has been characterized by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen that increases one’s risk of cancer.
To reduce dioxin and other pollutants in the environment:
• Use manufactured logs instead of wood in your fireplace as they burn cleaner, with substantially lower emissions of dioxin and other pollutants.
• Switch from a traditional fireplace to a natural gas device, an EPA certified wood stove or pellet stove, which can reduce emissions by up to 70 percent.
• Burn wood that is completely dry. Wet wood burns less efficiently and causes more pollution.
• Never burn painted wood, particle board, plastics, Styrofoam, wrapping paper or other garbage in your fireplace.
• Make sure that your fireplace and chimney are well-maintained to improve air flow and reduce emissions.
• Don’t burn on Spare the Air days.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(Northern California Nov 25-Dec 1, 2011 SomethingFilipino pg.2)
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