I remember speaking with friends from college years ago (we were all marine/environmantal bio majors) about our concerns and how we could make changes in our own lives and convince others to mitigate waste, save energy, move away from toxins, and live more humanely.
I'm pleased to see more and more communities and nations waking up, amazingly articulate and wise children speaking up, deamnding accountability, banning single use plastics, scrutinizing how electricity is generated, what fuels are being used, and how water is protected/used/distributed. On the west coast of the US, plastic shopping bags have been banned in most places, and reuseables encouraged so strongly that if you forget to bring one, you pay a dime for each paper bag you choose to use. We need to do the same with single use plastics otherwise.
There are so many cleaner, safer alternatives to nuclear power, coal, and other fossil fuels, geothermal being one that stands out as being a huge, clean, recyclable, untapped resource!
I'm excited about paper straws, compostable trash bags, and am hoping that any plastics we can't recycle are banned and any plastic coming into contact with food and beverages is banned because of dangerous microparticles and leeching toxins.
Don't even get me started on GMO's, pesticides and other "agri-chemicals."
In the meantime, in my own home and airbnb:
Im totally organic inside and out, all food, all gardening, and as many personal care products as possible and
- make our own or buy non-toxic laundry, hand, and cleaning soaps
- use vinegar and water for cleaning class and smooth surfaces
- I use home made essential oil blends and atomizers instead of commercial air fresheners and scented laundry additives.
- cloth napkins and tablecloths
- I compost all food and yard waste
- recycle as many substances as our area will process (there's way too much they don't)
- have elimiated buying any plastic contained products that are not recyclable
- buy all beverages in glass or paper (metal leeches into many beverages)
- I have signs by the thermostats and light switches: "if you turn it on, please turn it off when not in use"
- I've included that in my house rules as well, noting it "helps the environment and your wallet by alllowing me to keep my rates more reasonable"
- Consolidate shopping trips so I get everything we need in once/week outings
- Re-use containers for gardening and other projects
- we have wonderful spring water, so we don't need bottled water
- I provide spring water flavored with fruit and herbs for my guests and any other beverage containers are glass
- I use tiolet tissue and paper towels made of recycled paper (guests still demand paper towels)
- I provide good quality shampoo and conditioner, liquid body soap, and dish soap, from the co-op in wall mounted stainless dispensers I refill from bulk quantities I decant at the co-op into my own repurposed glass containers
- toothpaste is home made, non fluoridated (toxic)
- I use only compostable trash bags in the airbnb, and at home I repurpose paper bags and use a stainless compost container.
- I read most of my news online. Any newspapers/mail waste is used in the fireplace and wood stove or recycled.
- laundry is line dried, weather permitting
- we have a rain barrel
- donate anything we're done with so it can be reused by someone else
The only waste/toxicity created by my airbnb is whatever the guests bring with them; mostly returnable beverage and plastic food containers from the grocery store and restaurants.
I'm not solar, but I do burn wood in the cooler weather. I'm hoping to find property with the resources so I can be completely off grid, do geothermal heat and hot water, solar for electric, and compostable everything else, complete with organic garden, chickens for eggs, and a trout pond.
