Helga helps clean up the CT River on 10/05/13

Helga joined 35 others at Agawam's Pychon Point to assist in the clean up of the Connecticut River. The area was quite a mess. Tons of trash was collected including 13 tires (one from an 18 wheeler), many plastic bottles, plastic bags/containers, food wrappers, assorted chairs, styrofoam cups/containers, construction debris, glass bottles and fragments.  Some of the trash was too heavy to carry up the banks or will require shovels to dig out including several more partially buried tires and a water-logged mattress with grass growing on it. This annual clean-up not only keeps the area looking beautiful but prevents trash from flowing down the river to the Atlantic Ocean.  Many fresh and salt water animals are harmed by these materials especially plastic bags. What can you do?

1.  You don't have to wait for an annual clean-up.  Simply pick up any trash you see and this will prevent it from entering our rivers and oceans.
2. Use reusable bags or boxes in place of plastic bags on all shopping trips.
3. Bring your own reusable cup when you go out for coffee or other beverages.
4. Say "no" to disposable products: All water critters thank you!!

Helga Debuts her Biodegradable Cup/Serving Bowl

Helga Debuts her Biodegradable Cup/Serving Bowl.

Calling all avocado lovers! Do you remember the first time you cut an avocado in half, removed the pit and scooped out the center? Remember how cool you thought the two cups you had left looked. Well, before you put those cups into the compost bin, use them. Below you will see two ideas:  Sour cream and chive serving bowl to use when you serve baked potatoes and a drinking cup.(You can come up with your own avocado cup idea and post it!!!) Either place them in a saucer to keep them standing upright or simply hand the cup to your guest for a refreshing beverage. Wash the avocado before cutting into them and use the cups promptly as they are biodegradable.  Biodegradable means that it will rot and turn into compost.

Tip 3 Keep the Clover in your Lawn

       Helga loves clover. Not only does she find it tasty but Helga is also a scientist. She is aware that clover is capable of nitrogen fixation. In other words, clover can take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that plants can use. This means lawns containing clover require little or no added fertilizer.  Fertilizer requires energy to make and transport.  It also can run off into lakes and streams leading to excess algae.  (Excess algae looks like green slime and is gross to swim through.)  The excess algae leads to dead zones: areas with little or no oxygen.  This kills fish and other critters who swim through the area. Why? Bacteria breaks down algae when it dies and uses up the oxygen in the water.  So, KEEP THE CLOVER!!

Helga's Second Tip: Getting ice cream

                                     
Helga says:   Get the ice cream cone, not the cup.  The cone is not only delicious but you prevent a disposable cup and spoon from being trashed. If you must have ice cream in a cup, please bring your own cup and spoon.  BYOC&S (Bring your own cup & spoon)

Meet Helga

This is Helga, the zero waste mascot.

                                     

Email

If you have a Zero Waste question, or you are interested in Zero Waste, Email
helgathehen@gmail.com or post a comment

Helga's First Tip ---- BYOC

This is my first post on my Zero Waste blog. I will post tips on how to live a Zero Waste lifestyle. Zero Waste is living like your grandparents and great-grandparents lived---only more modern---everything is reused, almost nothing is thrown away.

                                                                      Tip 1 
BYOC

Bring

Your

Own

Container

                                                                      Why?

When you go out to eat, bring your own container for leftovers. This means one less disposable container headed to the landfill or incinerator. Protect your health: Styrofoam containers (#6 plastic also called polystyrene) is considered a carcinogen according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In landfills, it takes about 500 years for Styrofoam containers to decompose.

                                 
                                                                   Video 
To check out a video and article about Styrofoam and cancer risk, go to this link.
Styrofoam Video and Article about Cancer Risk