Question: I was wondering if you could recommend good reusable sandwich and snack bags? Thanks, Stephanie

Answer: Since I mostly work from home, I rarely have the occasion to pack a lunch — but I have written about eco-friendly lunch boxes and totable utensils, which you might find helpful. Those kits often come with compartments for sandwiches and snacks, which could eliminate your need for separate bags altogether!

But if you do need separate sandwich and snack bags, try these options, ordered in the order I’d try them based on eco-friendliness, functionality, aesthetics, and safety:

>> Plum Creek Mercantile Organic Snack Bags (left photo). Made of 100% organic cotton canvas, these snack bags look the safest and greenest to me. Of course, the bag does have the drawbacks of cotton — They’re not waterproof, and they can stain. On the upside, they can be thrown into the washing machine with the rest of your laundry and don’t pose any plastic-related health hazards.

Amanda at Natural Mommie raves about these bags. Each bag costs $5.75 – $6.75 depending on size, with discounts for sets of 3 or 5 bags. Plum Creek also sells non-organic snack bags, so select carefully.

>> Kids Konserve Food Kozy (middle photo). Made from recycled PE plastic, this sandwich wrap helps close the recycling loop — and is free of BPA, lead, and phthalataes too. According to One Small Step, these wraps are non-toxic and non-leaching — but I always caution readers to avoid putting heated foods in plastic or plastic-lined containers.

Leighann at Full Mommy has a nice review of these Kozys. Each Kozy costs $5.

>> LunchSkins reusable snack pouch (right photo). These velcro bags are made of a cotton (not organic) fabric coated with a polyurethane liner that makes the bags greaseproof and waterproof — and that the company says won’t leach into food — though I’d still feel queasy using them for hot food. The bags are made in the U.S. and are free of lead, BPA, and phthalates.

Suzanne Catchpole at babyology says LunchSkins are of excellent quality and easy to clean. Each bag will run you $7.85 to $10.95, depending on size.

>> Wrap-n-Mat sandwich wraps and pouches. These fold-up wraps and pouches are free of BPA, lead, and phthalates — but are made with plastic (LDPE), and thus shouldn’t be used for hot food or thrown in the dishwasher. Prices range from $6.50 for small ones made in China to $8.95 for big ones made in the U.S. Get them locally at The Green Life in Santa Monica or All Shades of Green in Silver Lake.

>> snackTAXI sandwich and snack sacks. snackTAXI prides itself in making its food pouches locally, in Mass. The machine-washable bags are made of cotton lined with a nylon with a polyurethane coating and are lead and phthalate free. Each bag costs $6.95 – 8.95, depending on size.

>> reuseit.com snack and sandwich bags. Made in the U.S. out of nylon, these velcro-fastened bags can hold both hot and cold items and can be thrown in the washing machine for cleaning. Each bag costs $6.95; less if you buy more than one.

If you want to take care of all your reusable lunch container needs with one purchase, consider the No More Plastic Baggies! lunch kit from One Small Step, which includes two sandwich bags, a snack bag, four food containers, a spork, and napkins — all reusable, of course. I gave one of these away last year.

Have you tried any of these snack and sandwich bags — or have others to recommend? Share your green lunch wisdom in the comments.

Earlier:

>> Sunday solutions — Foil or film?
>> Bring your own bag: How to BYOB in easy eco-style
>> Bring your own cup and mug: An eco-stylish money-making habit

[crossposted on BlogHer]

Photos via Plum Creek Mercantile, kidskonserve.com, LunchSkins

2 Comments

Question: I recently discovered that there is a crack in my bicycle helmet, so I decided to buy a new one to be safe. My question is: Can I recycle my old helmet? Anna

Answer: The short answer’s no — though upcycling may be possible. Josh Peterson at Planet Green suggests turning the helmet into a planter, while Grist’s Umbra suggests creating some sort of trash sculpture.

My guess is that the resulting planter or sculpture will be eco-fugly — but I haven’t got any better suggestions. Like Umbra, I’ll encourage you not to feel bad about this small bit of waste if you decide to black bin it. Your eco-friendly bicycling habit more than makes up for the little space your former head gear will take up in a landfill. Happy riding!

Photo by knaakle

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Question: I was wondering what you knew about electric bicycles, like the kind that you can pedal but can also switch to a motor for going up hills and stuff like that. I just moved to a very hilly area and that would be an awesome feature to have on my bike… and cheaper/less high-maintenance than driving a Vespa everywhere.

Do you know any bike shops in L.A. that might have that kind of bike? Thanks so much!! Graham

Answer: To help answer your question, I asked Westside Bikeside’s Alex Thompson if he knew of anyone who owned an electric bike I could talk to. His response: “Man . . . I don’t know anyone! That’s weird I guess, but people are really snobbish about the electric bike thing.”

It’s true — Many a cyclist will mock electric bikes. The point of bikes, they’ll say, is human-powered transportation. What’s the point of biking if you’re moving via an electric assist? Why forego the natural exercise bicycling provides while sucking power from the electric grid?

Other cyclists, like you, admit that sometimes, we need a little help.

After all, some of us live in hilly areas — and others of us live just too far from work to self-propel ourselves the whole way. Many people may be willing to bike 2 miles to work, but not 5 or 10 — though obviously hardcore cyclists that really do bike 10+ miles to work certainly reap the benefits of ther commitment to cycling. Plus, most of us don’t have showers at work — and can’t ruin our work attire with daily buckets of sweat — or go about our workday looking soggy from our morning commute.

If an electric bike gets even people with longish communites out of their cars and onto bikes — thereby reducing pollution and congestion and carbon emissions — that’s a win win. As Trevor Reichman points out in Treehugger, “An electric bicycle is about 100 times more efficient than a car carrying one person.” Plus, on a practical level, electric bikes are “allowed in bicycle lanes and anywhere else a regular bicycle is allowed” — so long as they don’t move faster than 20 miles per hour.

I don’t actually own an electric bike, but I recently got to try out a PEDEGO electric beach cruiser (above) — which has a comfortable, sleek bike with a powerful motor that lets you go up to 20 miles per hour — for as far as 30 miles per charge!

The fact that the particular bike I tried was a “boy” bike (PEDEGO also has girl bikes, a.k.a. “step throughs,” available) and only had hand brakes (I generally use foot brakes) and was too big for me, had me freaked out at first — but I did like the bike! Since my own bike’s basically a beach cruiser, I loved the comfy feel of the PEDEGO. I got on and turned the throttle on the right handlebar for the electric motor — which propelled me around electric-style!

I will admit though, that I was so enamored by the fun boost from the electric assist that most of the time I was on the bike, I didn’t even put up a pretense of pedaling. But I’d like to think that once I got over the novelty of the electric motor, my quads would kick in more effort!

Honestly, I don’t need an electric bike. I live in a very flat area of Santa Monica, and work at home. Who might need an electric bike? Trevor says he got one during an extremely hot summer, when he had to commute up a giant hill to work. “Being that I had to wear a suit and tie, my sweat almost gave me hypothermia due to the unnatural and artificial arctic conditions inside capital building which directly followed my commute. Not only were there no showers for cyclists, but there weren’t even bicycle racks!”

Trevor also points out that many people with non-electric bikes use their bikes only for recreation, not for general transport — and I have to empathize with his frustration. I’ve met a serious competitive cyclist who seemed blindsided by the suggestion that he might actually ride his bike to get around town, instead of just transporting the bike in his car when he wasn’t officially “training.”

One thing to keep in mind with electric bikes: The battery must be handled responsibly. An Associated Press article notes that 98% of electric bikes in China use lead-acid batteries — which unfortunately are quite polluting, especially when not disposed of safely. Part of e-biking green, then, includes opting for greener batteries like nickel-meter-hydride and lithium-ion batteries — PEDEGO, for example, uses lithium-ion batteries — and disposing of those batteries safely once they’re dead.

I’d look carefully into reviews of electric bikes before plunking down the money for a new one. e-power vehicles in Pasadena will at least give you a couple options to try, including PEDEGO cruisers, which retail for $1,595 — not cheap, but a helluva lot cheaper than a car, if the e-bike can propel you into a car-free lifestyle.

Another option to consider is an electric motor kit; Chile Chews has one that helps her grow her TITS (Time In The Saddle). You can also find pre-loved e-bikes on on Craigslist. If any readers know of other L.A.-area shops that specialize in electric bikes, please share your knowledge in the comments! Happy electric-assisted cycling!

Top photo by velobry; other photos by Siel

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Question: I recently moved to a new cheaper apartment. However, now that it’s getting warmer I’ve discovered it’s a friggin tin shed and I’m baking alive. It gets so hot, when I do turn the a/c on my cat goes and lays in front of it. I don’t want to run the a/c, but at this point I’m not sure I have an option. It’s expensive and not environmentally friendly. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, jessi

Answer: Sorry to hear that the cheapo apartment is not so cheapo once you add up the AC bill! Perhaps the bigger lesson here is to move in the summer if you live in SoCal, to avoid inadvertently moving into a tin shed. More seriously though — There’s a lot you can do to chill out sans AC!

The big, overall tip is this: The easiest way to keep your house cool eco-style is to not get it hot to begin with. The idea behind this tip’s a useful one for troubleshooting around the house in general — It’s a lot easier to prevent ants or other bugs from coming into the kitchen than it is to get rid of them after they arrive, for example. In any case, I’ll focus on preventing heat first then go on to the cooling tips:

1. Change your lightbulbs. Still don’t have CFL bulbs? Then no wonder you’re burning up. CFL bulbs use a lot less energy than conventional bulbs — because conventional bulbs use a bulk of the energy it sucks up to create heat.

That’s why, for example, small scale chicken farmers will use conventional bulbs to keep young chicks warm. If you’re not raising chickens indoors but still use conventional bulbs, you’re basically paying good money to your utility company to fire up a whole bunch of mini heaters in your already-hot house — then paying the utility a second time to cool the heat (if you turn on the AC) that you paid to create.

So switch the bulbs and while you’re at it, turn off everything you’re not using. Pull out the slightly warmed cell phone charger, snuff out your heater’s pilot light, and shut down your computer after you read this post. They’re small but they add up — My hands are hotter than my feet, for ex, because they’re hovering over a hot-ish laptop while typing this post –

2. Draw the curtains when the sun’s directly shining through your windows. You’ll be surprised at how much less hot your place will get just due to this simple move alone. I like to still keep the windows open when my curtains are closed to keep the breeze going, but if your area’s got no breeze — or only an extremely hot breeze, you may want to close the windows during these hot hours too. The rest of the time –

3. Work the windows. Popular Science gives some ideas as to how you can strategically open and close windows in your home for maximum breeziness. Spend a few minutes figuring it out and you’ll be cooler the whole season. The PopSci article also has some ideas for how to –

4. Use the fan. From what I’ve gathered from research and anecdotal evidence, ceiling fans provide the most coolth. However, I just make do with a vertical fan, mainly because the heat in my place is not hot enough to spur me to go through the work of getting permission to install, then actually installing, a ceiling fan. However, if I really was too hot and was considering going through the work of getting and paying for and installing an AC, I’d definitely look into the ceiling fan option first.

5. Dress for success. If you’re female and work in an office, you probably have no idea how hot it is because the AC’s turned up so high you’re still wearing all black plus a coat inside anyway. Well when you get home, change — immediately. I say this because when I worked in an office, for some reason, I used to have a habit of getting home then putting off changing while doing other stuff around the house — going through the mail, eating things — and letting my physical discomfort climb until I got cranky and started fuming about how I really need an AC. Once I learned to change first, pour myself some ice water, then drink it while doing this stuff, I became a happier person. So don’t be like the old me. Even changing from a black T-shirt to a white tank will make a pretty significant difference in your physical comfort.

6. Time your showers. I don’t mean keep them short to save water — though that’s a good idea too. These days, I shower around 4 pm — because I work at home and that’s when it’s hottest in my apartment. If you work in an office and keep your empty home locked up during the day, then the hottest time’s probably gonna be right when you just get home. If so, ditch the a.m. shower and catch an extra few minutes of nice sleep every morning, then jump in the shower as soon as you get home from work. A nice cool shower will keep you cool for an hour, by which time your house should be at least a tad cooler. Oh — and wet hair’ll help keep you cool, so nix the blow dry.

7. Drink cold water — filtered tap water, that is. And keep your ice cube trays replenished while you’re at it.

8. Get out of the house. The reason AC in the home seems overindulgent to many environmentalists is because that AC’s using up a whole lot of energy and resources just to cool one or several people. However, AC seems much less problematic when they’re used for the good of many — to cool a classroom or office, for example, since many people are sharing that space and getting the benefit of one machine.

I feel about AC the way I feel about lawns — I’m peeved by grassy lawns for private homes because they’re an unnatural and a gross waste of water that only benefits a few people — and California’s in a drought! But I’m less bothered by, say, grassy areas in parks or soccer fields, since the resources that go into it can benefit everyone who picnics there, plays games there, etc.

So if the above cooling measures keep your home livable but for just a few days out of the year, well then use those few days of excess heat as an excuse to treat yourself to a movie or a great latte at your favorite air conditioned cafe or happy hour at an air conditioned bar with friends or lounge at the beach. The money you’ve saved on not buying / running an AC will pay for this occasional treat –

For more keep cool tips, check out wikiHow’s ideas, which include wearing a wet T-shirt or putting ice cubes on your pulse points.

Last but not least: If, despite trying all of the above, your home really is unbearably hot many days of the year, don’t die of of heat stroke. Use the AC judiciously. Hopefully, by implementing the keep cool tips, you’ll at least dramatically cut down your use of the AC — and the corresponding power bill.

Photo by Sidereal

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Question: I am getting ready to move and want to do everything as “greenly” as possible. Do you have any tips for this? Thanks! Gabrielle

Answer: The reduce, reuse, recycle triumverate — in that order –applies with moving too.

So first, reduce the amount of stuff you have to move. This’ll not only lighten your load and its related carbon footprint, but can also save you money (in moving and storage fees), stress, and possibly your back. Craigslist it, freecycle it, or sell it at an old fashioned yard sale — then donate what’s left before you think about packing things up. If you’ve accumulated so much junk that you can’t bear the thought of sorting through it all, you might consider getting the help of an eco-organizer.

Once you’ve shrunk the stuff you have to move, get a moving truck that’ll fit that stuff in one go, if possible, to reduce the number of trips — and the resulting carbon emissions — you’ll need to make. Doing this will likely save you time and money too.

One local company to consider for moving and storage services is NorthStar Moving Corporation, which recently announced that it’s converted vehicles to biodiesel fuel, uses vaults made of reused wood for storage, and offers discount offers to customers who use and return recycled boxes. I haven’t tried out their services myself though, and the green info’s not on their website yet, so call for full details before you commit.

Then reuse. For moving boxes, either find once-used cardboard boxes to reuse (again, a money-saving move) or rent RecoPacks from rentagreenbox.com, a company that’ll deliver and pick up reusable boxes made from recycled plastic that I briefly wrote about way back when.

And lastly, recycle. If you’re moving to an apartment that doesn’t yet have blue bins, call the city to order them now so you don’t have to worry about figuring out where your nearest recycling center is and hauling your recyclables there. Do what you can to make eco-living in your new home as easy and as pleasurable as possible!

Photo by ginger.wine

Update, 5/18/09: Radical uncluttering — How people are getting rid of (almost) all their stuff in search of adventure

10 Comments

Question: I’m admittedly not very car-free yet, but I’m definitely working on being less dependent on it. I mostly take the bus, train or bike around where I live in the Valley on the weekends.

The problem is where I try to commute around the city with a bike on the Metro bus. At least half the time when I put my bicycle on the front rack I get an impatient and angry driver. Even though I swear it’s not taking me longer than maybe 30 seconds or so to put the bike on there.

The last driver yelled at me, and was so rude that I reported him to Metro using their online complaint form. I have not received a response yet, but I feel so uncomfortable with the situation that I’m thinking of not doing the whole bicycle/bus combination anymore. Any advice? Thanks, Nancy

Answer: Because I’ve never done the bike / bus combo myself, I sought the expertise of Angelenos who have. The general advice: Take the high road. Says Don:

I found that being efficient in putting the bike on/off the rack combined with ignoring rudeness was the best combo. Regardless of how obnoxious the driver is, I always try to smile and greet them as I board the bus and to say thank you when I get off. I don’t always succeed at this, but that, at least, is what I aspire to.

Mischa concurs:

I’d say kill ‘em with kindness…. Bus drivers have a pretty tough job…

It definitely can be scary and nerve-wracking getting your bike on/off the racks, especially if you’re not familiar with the equipment. Once you do it enough to be quick about it and comfortable with it, it should be hassle-free.

The bottom line is that Metro should be happy bike commuters are using their service – intermodal transit is the only way it’ll work in LA.

The majority of my interactions with them have been positive. I just try to give them a smile and be as quick as I can. Usually you’ll get a smile back.

Of course, when the bus driver’s really unreasonably rude, I do think it’s a good idea to make a report — like you did, Nancy.

One other thought that comes to mind for me: The proportion of negative experiences you report do seem to be rather on the high side, compared to those of other bus / bike combiners I know — and compared to what I’ve seen as a bus rider. If anything, what I’ve seen is that bicyclers tend to have MORE cameraderie with bus drivers — simply because more interaction’s needed between them. I generally see bike riders thank drivers when they get on with the driver greeting them in return — with a second friendly exchange happening at the end of the trip, since the bicyclists need to give the drivers a heads up about taking the bike off the rack.

I’m wondering if there may be little things that you’re doing or not doing — things that you had no idea mattered to the bus driver but for some reason do — that may be creating unintended and unintentional friction between you and the driver. For ex, I think it’s customary for the bicyclist to fold up the rack when taking their bike off, assuming no other bikes are on the rack — something that newbies may not know to do, but could potentially anger a tired bus driver by not doing.

I’m not implying that your current bike / bus combo technique’s “wrong” or that it’s ok for bus drivers to yell at people; I just mean that there may be little things you may be able to do to push more of the interactions to the positive side. To that end, can other readers who do the bike / bus combo point out any tips or tricks to make trips as pleasant as possible? Or maybe even just little tips for speeding up the bike-loading process slightly?

Another possibility’s that you’ve just got a few mean drivers on your usual routes — in which case you might consider keeping track of these instances and compiling a bigger case to take to Metro or reporting it on BikeX. If you find out that it’s just a couple individual meanies — as opposed to all of Metro’s drivers being out to get you — you may also just feel better about public transit and humanity as a whole….

One last thought: I often tend to focus too much on negative events, while “forgetting” about positive things that have happened — something that, obviously, is not happiness-inducing and is a habit I’m trying to work on. I wonder if maybe we’re alike. One thing to try may be keeping a lil post-it in your bike helmet, marking down every bike / bus boarding under a “positive” or “negative” category — to see if the majority of trips indeed are negative. It may be possible that stress-free, positive experiences far outweigh the negative ones — but that you tend to devote a lot more time thinking about the latter. Or it may be that I’m simply projecting –

Photo by Fire Monkey Fish

13 Comments

Question: If one has to choose, which is better, aluminum foil or clingfilm? Both are recyclable when clean (in LA, at least). Both require resource-intensive processes to make. Is there a clear choice?

[I do realize that Greenfeet's recycled foil and reusable containers are much better choices, but sometimes you're at your mother's house having an argument about how to wrap that sandwich, and you just gotta know.] xo, Meg

Answer: A simple rule for environmentalists: When in doubt, go with the option that is not plastic. This rule holds for the foil vs. film conundrum you bring up.

Why’s foil better? Aluminum, like glass, doesn’t degrade (as in become something of inferior quality) through the recycling process — and thus is infinitely recyclable, as Umbra at Grist points out. In contrast, all plastic quickly degrades — and isn’t so much recycled as downcycled.

I’m also betting that aluminum foil — being technically as recyclable as aluminum cans — has much higher recycling rates than clingfilm. We know how expensive it is to recycle styrofoam and plastic bags — and how there’s little market for the resulting recycled materials of those plasticky things. According to the Christian Science Monitor:

There’s harsh economics behind bag recycling: It costs $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags, which can then be sold on the commodities market for $32, says [director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment, Jared] Blumenfeld. Other refuse, like aluminum cans, are actually profitable.

And According to the L.A. Times:

[Executive director of the nonprofit Californians Against Waste, Mark] Murray stressed that the cost of recycling polystyrene foam is the most expensive in the state, citing a 2006 California Department of Conservation report that said processing the foam costs $3,320 per ton, compared with $89.72 per ton for glass.

That’s why cities are increasingly banning those things instead of wasting good taxpayer money attempting to recycle them. Somewhat unfortunately, L.A.’s gone the recycling route (styrofoam’s banned and plastic bags will soon be banned in Santa Monica) — but my guess is that the ROI on recycling clingfilm can’t be any better that for plastic bags and styrofoam.

So go with the aluminum foil. And you’re very right about recycled aluminum foil — readily available at Whole Foods, BTW — being a better choice — and reusable containers being even better ones.

Earlier: Styrofoam and the City: The fate of plastic bags and polystyrene in LA

Photo by roboppy

4 Comments

Question: I write to you with the intention of getting in touch with people involved in permaculture, eco farms, sustainable life in Los Angeles. At the present I am involved in the project of making an ecofarm based on permaculture principles to have a self-sustainable life in the future.

If you would be so kind to give me some information as to what I can visit during my stay in LA. I will be arriving the 14th and flying out the 18th. Whatever information would be most cherished. Cordially, Francisco from Chile, Viña del Mar

Answer: You’re lucky, assuming you’ll arrive in L.A. earlier in the day on April 14, because that night, a whole bunch of local permaculturalists will be collecting for the Westside Permaculture Group meeting:

When: Tues., April 14, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Where: Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica
Cost: Free. You’re encouraged to bring something yummy for the potluck.

The meeting’ll revolve around planning the 100 Garden Challenge, but you’ll be able to connect with many eco-minded people involved in a myriad of interesting permaculture-related initiatives, ranging from the Mar Vista Garden Showcase to the Environmental Charter High School.

Other places you might want to visit that immediately come to mind are L.A. Eco-Village and Path to Freedom — and I’m sure other readers will share their tips and recommendations in the comments. Welcome to L.A.!

Photo of a Santa Monica community farm

4 Comments

Question: I am in the process of making my home into a greener home. I have yet to start purchasing green cleaning products. I have a few questions that I need answered though:

What do the regular cleaning products do to us? Our environment? Which are the bad chemicals I need to look for? And what do they cause to humans? Which brand do you think is the most effective? And why? Julio

Answer: If your curious mind really must have detailed, specific answers to these questions, I suggest you pick up a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Cleaning, which goes into a lot more of the frightening details about “conventional” cleaners than I’m willing to dedicate the space to here. That book has an entire chapter called “The Hit List,” with long lists of scary but common cleaning product ingredients along with the long lists of health problems they cause.

For example, all-purpose cleaners can contain “ammonia, bleach, butyl cellusolve or 2-butoxyethanol, chlorides, diethanolamine, ethers” — the list goes on. Health problems from the stuff on that list include “irritants to eyes, can cause blindness; fatal if swallowed; headaches, nausea, neurological damage, memory loss, suspected carcinogens, neurotoxins, damage to blood, kidneys and liver, severe burning of the skin” and so on.

That book also does a good job of outlining the overall concerns about these “conventional” products, many of which don’t even list their ingredients, much less undergo testing for long-term effects on health and the environment:

Will one toxic chemical cause illness or cancer? Probably not. More often it is a matter of buildup…. Layer upon layer of toxic chemicals build in your home. Everyday someone sprays hair spray, air freshener, nonstick spray, or a cleaner in the home. Each time that spray bottle comes out so does the welcome mat for cancer, heart disease, nervous disorders, asthma, emphysema, and a host of other maladies.

So if you wanna know more, get the book. If the above warnings are enough, just start cleaning green.

As for the brand names: You don’t need to know any of those to clean green, since green cleaners can easily be concocted with simple ingredients at home. Mix ‘em up, and label them Julio’s Most Effective Cleaners, if you like.

Photo by BrittneyBush

3 Comments

Question: I was wondering if we can put paper towels in the green recycle bins? Thank you, Shari.

Answer: No.

Photo by bluemodern

7 Comments