Food waste

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about how much thin plastic was dominating my domestic, internal rubbish bin. I thought this was so peculiar and a significant burden on the landfill to which this rubbish was destined.

 (Source: Tree Hugger)

The second fact is still true, but as I washed my dinner dishes this evening I had a bit of a light bulb moment. At the time all this plastic was going into the bin I was doing a bit of a cook up. I perhaps might not have noticed the complete dominance of plastic in my rubbish bin if I had been mixing all this plastic with food waste as well. However, there is very little food waste that enters my traditional (in urban environment) rubbish stream.

Food waste in my house generally gets separated between the worm farm, the compost bin and the dogs. Hopefully in the near future I will also be sharing my scraps with some chickens too! In fact, I might not have enough food waste to sustain the chickens and may have to actually grow some goodies for them! Amazing.

All green waste from kitchen, including fruit and vegetable peelings, fruit stones, ends of herbs and old and sloppy fruit and vegetables all go to my worm farm and compost bins. The meat wastes and any small amounts of old left-overs go to my dogs! The only food scraps that on occasion goes into my mainstream garbage stream is my onion and garlic skins. Worms don't like these and as such most of the time they go into the normal rubbish bin.

 (Source: Colin J via Earth 911)

Interesting what little light bulbs turn on when you're up to your elbows in grey-water appropriate soaps suds!   Pin It

It's raining, It's pouring!

Well, we have had a week of wet weather again here in south-east Queensland. Not unusual most would say. But certainly it seems that this La Nina event is again bringing us plenty of water, with 100mm of rain falling over Noosa in 1 hour on Friday night. That is certainly a massive amount of water and has resulted in some damage to the road network in that area, with sections being washed away and bridges damaged. Commuters also got caught in the deluge with the train tracks flooded and the roads so awash with water that people abandoned their cars only to come back and find them either gone or damaged with the rising waters over the next 12 hour period. Crazy stuff!

But my main excitement (not to downplay the dramatics of the events) during this wet weather, apart from having a house which is no longer leaking (thanks Mr insurance) but the joy of hearing the rain hit my roof, head towards the nearest gutter and downpipe (thanks to partner for installing extra just before this last lot of rain) and watching it rushing into my rainwater tanks. This is sooooooo exciting for me. The constant replenishment of our rainwater tanks is a joy to me. Watching the water fill the tanks has always been such a satisfying feeling for me, even when we were in our last house and we were on town water. I just love watching this natural process: capturing a wonderful natural resource with the idea that I could use it at my leisure and pleasure for whatever purpose I choose. Yes, some would say I am a freak, but if you ever get the chance to watch the rain pour into your own or someone else's rainwater tank you tell me that it isn't satisfying or at least mesmerizing.

Another exciting thing that occurred during this last large rainfall event, is that my new 2000L tank that I recently purchased and attached to my carport is also full! Woo hoo. I was a little worried that I would miss all this summer's rains and as we head to another El Nino event (I believe) that it would take an eternity to fill up and the cost of installation ($1000 for the tank....slimline corrugated iron) wouldn't justify itself for many years. But already I am satisfied that I have done the right thing.

Love to hear your rain appreciation stories. Pin It

Forest Stewardship Council timber

Some of you may have heard of FSC timber, otherwise known as timber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The Council is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which provides standards for responsible forest management and has a mission of promoting environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests. What does this mean?

According to the FSC (international website: http://www.fsc.org/) timber and timber products must meet 10 principles and criteria as a minimum for their operation and management. These are:

Principle 1: Compliance with all applicable laws and international treaties
Principle 2: Demonstrated and uncontested, clearly defined, long-term land tenure and use rights
Principle 3: Recognition and respect of indigenous peoples' rights
Principle 4: Maintenance or enhancement of long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities and respect of worker's rights in compliance with International Labour Organisation conventions
Principle 5: Equitable use and sharing of benefits derived from the forest
Principle 6: Reduction of environmental impact of logging activities and maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest
Principle 7: Appropriate and continuously updated management plan
Principle 8: Appropriate monitoring and assessment activities to assess the condition of the forest, management activities and their social and environmental impacts
Principle 9: Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests defined as environmental and social values that are considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance
Principle 10: In addition to compliance with all of the above, plantations must contribute to reduce the pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests (as sourced from the http://www.fsc.org/ website).

It is interesting to note, that Australian and international products that display the FSC timber come from a broad range of markets and don't just include unprocessed timber, but also timber furniture and  paper products. The Australian branch of the FSC has a webpage allowing you to find a FSC certified products.

Now my quest to find a couple of timber tables (one indoor and one outdoor) that are FSC certified begins. Pin It