I mentioned in a previous post about waste that I felt better about using aluminum cans for my cat food rather than plastic bags because it seems like more of a recycling process rather than a downcycling process, but I never got into any more details about why.

I define recycling simply as the processing of waste materials into new materials or products of the same quality. So from this, you can probably guess that I define upcycling as the processing of waste materials into materials or products of better quality, and downcycling as the processing of waste materials into materials or products of lesser quality and reduced functionality.

For now, I`m  happier with the aluminum can because there is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can can be recycled. An aluminum can that is thrown away can still be a can 500 years from now! Yes, it still needs to be processed, which takes energy and creates waste, but it`s still better than mining bauxite from the earth, don`t you think?

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"Plastic" is a very generic term for a wide variety of materials which have very different physical and chemical properties. This is one of the things that makes them so difficult to recycle. Plastic Identification Codes (PIC) is the system that identifies the different types so they can be separated for reprocessing. However, just because a plastic has a PIC on it does not mean it can be recycled. Mixing plastics during reprocessing can weaken recovered plastic, which makes it less appealing to manufacturers to use in their products. Even if it is sorted by type, plastic can only be recycled a limited number of times and it is often used to produce items that are not themselves recyclable.

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Don't get me wrong, downcycling has its place. I would much rather potentially useful materials are reused a few times rather than just being sent to the landfill immediately. But at some point, that material has an end of life. It will no longer be useful and will end up in a landfill or ocean garbage island. Yuck.

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Here's a wee hint from my dad, who's a bit in the know about waste management. Leave the lids off your plastic bottles when you throw them in the recycling. They're made of a different type of plastic that can't be recycled. It's apparently a problem for recyclers.

Check out My Plastic Free Life. Beth is doing a much better job that I am at cutting plastic waste from her life.

The results are in, and, while I obviously could have done better, I could also have done a lot worse too! This week, I chose to eat out at the bakery close to work that uses local produce and packages their sandwiches in paper bags rather than the Thai place that uses styrofoam when I forgot my lunch at home. I also went to the St. Lawrence Farmer's Market to get some local produce, where I was complimented for my use of reusable bags!


On a somewhat related not, I just started reading "Sleeping Naked is Green," which is the book based on the blog "Green as a Thistle." The author, Vanessa Farquharson, challenges herself to make one green change to her lifestyle every day for a year. The description says she goes to the extremes of selling her car, unplugging the fridge, and washing her hair with vinegar, but she also does easy things like switching to an all-natural lip balm. I only just hit the part where she turns off her freezer, though. It's supposed to be an honest look at what happens when an average girl throws herself into the depths of the green movement, and so far, I like it.

Last night I finally kicked off my training for Around the Bay I'm running in March in a relay with with Ali and Lorena. I don't exactly have a training plan yet, but getting out and getting miles in can only be a good thing, right?

I bought some new runners, compression pants and a simple shell at the end of last year, knowing that I was going to have to do some serious training in the coming months, and that I would need to keep warm and look awesome.

Let me first talk about how awesome my Under Armor ColdGear® Frosty Compression Tights are. I have never worn compression anything before, and I am now going to have to invest in something like these for the summer as well! I have struggled for a long time with my knees - patellofemoral - and have done a total of zero of the exercises my physiotherapist gave me back in August before I went to Peru. I even had to stop running the Waterfront 5k that Ali and I did back in September because it hurt so much, so needless to say I was a bit nervous about running again. But they didn't hurt at all! And they kept my legs warm in the cold and wind.

The shoes are cushioning Asics Gel Nimbus 13's in Lighting/White/Magenta. I didn't know when I bought then that that was the colour, but I'm so happy my shoes have the word 'lightning' associated with them! I had to adjust the laces a little bit

Self photos at this angle are not flattering for me!

You can now find me and all of my training on the daily mile.

In other, less exciting news, my camera is broken. That's why there has been an extreme lack of photos. When I was in the Netherlands and R's sister was awesome and loaned me her camera, which is why there were so many there! My 'to do' list this week includes taking it in for it to be fixed and/or replaced.

I have been very diligent about returning mail that is sent to my house to a different addressee. Except for two of the letters I sent back, got sent to me a second time, with the "RETURN TO SENDER" right on it, the amount of this type of mail I get has gone down significantly. It has not, however, reduced the amount of junk mail/unaddressed admail I get. After weighing the junk mail I put into my recycling yesterday, I am (hopefully) putting a stop to this.

Canada Post has an opt out program for admail. I did as they suggested, and put up this notice from the red dot campaign on my mailbox stating that I do not want to receive unaddressed admail.

If I keep receiving admail, I am happy to report that I can call Canada Post to report that it's still being delivered to my house!

I also signed up with the Canadian Marketing Association's Do Not Contact Registry in an attempt to reduce the number of addressed marketing offers sent to my address. Canada Post is required by law to deliver any mail that bears your address, so hopefully this in combination with the No Junk Mail sign will result in me only getting mail that's addressed to me.

And lastly, I signed up to get my pay stub electronically. I always thought it was odd to get paper pay stubs, especially since I get paid directly to my bank account. When the option became available, I think I was one of the first to sign up. The next step will be to convince all of my co-workers to do the same!

Do you do anything to reduce the amount of admail you get?

addition: I have started returning solicitations with a prepaid Business Reply Mail envelope. As suggested on the Red Dot Campaign FAQ, I wrote "Do Not Solicit" on the letter containing my name and address, signed and dated it, then put it in the prepaid envelope and mailed it off

On Sunday, friends of mine hosted their 3rd annual New Years Day party, which this year was preceded by all you can eat sushi. I used disposable chopsticks, and forgot to ask for no straw. I also ate an excessive amount of individually wrapped chocolates. I'm not sure to do about my compulsive need to eat chocolate, but I do know that next time I plan to eat sushi, I will bring my own re-useable chopsticks. I have some that friends of mine gave as wedding favours!

Monday I recycled a paper bag from a coffee shop breakfast, a cat food can and a subway transfer which I took accidentally. The cat food cans will be a reoccurring item, because I'm pretty sure I can't find a zero waste replacement. I'm content with the cans for now rather than the plastic bags that the dry food comes in. I feel as though the process and end uses for aluminum cans are more of a recycling process, whereas the process and end uses for plastics are more of a downcycling process. But that is another post for another day.


For the record, I will not be sharing every bit of waste I produce all year, just the things that I've learned how to eliminate!

2012 has some big shoes to fill. The past year was filled with some pretty amazing stuff:

• Wipeout Canada Beauties vs. Geeks aired. I was cut from the episode, but it was still a great experience.
• I met a pretty fantastic Dutch man, a perfect match for me, thanks to a pick-up line from "How I met your Mother'.
• I ran my first 10K with my Wipeout Toronto family.
• I spent 2 weeks in Peru and hiked the Inka trail to Machu Picchu.
• I moved in to an awesome new apartment with a wicked new housemate.
• I spent 2 weeks in the Netherlands working and traveling with my Dutch man.

Not a bad year, if you ask me.

I'm not a huge fan of new year's resolutions, so I made a love list, as suggested on be more with less:

• Grow a garden on our porch
• Read more novels
• Learn (and practice) to cook well 
• Learn to speak Dutch
• Get rid of the junk in my bedroom and the garage
• Simplify my wardrobe
• Finally get my Professional Engineer designation (late addition) 
• Pay off my debt
• Track the waste that I produce each week/month

I like this love list idea. There are lots of studies that show that writing down goals increases the likelihood that I will actually do them. I also believe that it's easier to make small changes to my habits over time, rather than making a bunch all at once. Plus, I intend to blog about the waste tracking, so you can keep me honest.

Happy New Year!

Tonight I went to the grocery store to stock up for the next few days. I wanted to make a casserole that I can eat for the next few days, but failed to plan ahead. I had to buy packaged pasta, oatmeal, chicken and cheese at the grocery store rather than at the market, which was closed.

Lesson learned.