Call me and we'll set up a time to hang out! I can't wait to meet the baby and see Shlomo now that he's so much bigger than he was the last time I saw him!
On an abstract level, this seems a great environmentalist policy, which takes into account basic laws of economics.. charging people money is one of the easiest and most direct ways to influence behavior. As I learned living in Japan, where they require you to sort your garbage into a whole bunch of different categories, hopefully, presumably, to be recycled, recyclables + compostable organic garbage actually compose a very large percentage of our garbage; actual garbage could be far far less. As an abstract example to be discussed in an environmental economics classroom, I think this a great idea, and wish it were implemented elsewhere
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In NY, we were required to recycle just about anything conceivably recyclable. The compostable organics I couldn't find an option for easily. And it really does take up a significant amount of our trash space: Shlomo insists on having his apples peeled, so there's that along with the standard orange peels and potato skins (and yes, I do sometimes leave those on, but not always) and onion skins and beet leaves (so sue me, I just can't think of them as food and haven't found any recipe with them that appeals to me) plus all the food a two-year-old will ask for over a day and then neglect to consume. (I have a rule about that by now, actually: if he asks for something and I give it to him, he must finish it before he gets anything else
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It's one thing to be voluntarily environmentally-conscious. It's entirely another to be forced to be "environmentally-conscious" by the local government. I'd like to know what they use all your blue-bag dollars for. I think you're perfectly right to be upset. Does it also apply to businesses, who might be unable to significantly reduce the amount of trash they create?
Regarding being forced to be environmentally-conscious, I do keep thinking of the man in the boat who's drilling a hole under his seat. The other passengers jump up and say, "What are you doing?! We'll all drown!" and he replies, "It's only under my seat; it's no one else's business." Being environmentally-conscious shouldn't necessarily be a choice. We've only got the one world, and I'd like to live in such a way that if everyone did what I did, the world would be a sustainable place. Other people being environmentally insensitive is a huge problem for my future and my descendants' future, so on some level I should be invested in it. On the other hand, as a lower-case-l libertarian, I find my hackles rising at any hint of 'forcing' anything
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I think in the same situation, I too would be quite outraged. At the same time, I think it gives you a pretty exciting opportunity to reshape your habits- as you are clearly exploring.
As far as the baking sheet go- you can get sheets of Silpat (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called) that roll up, and then roll out on your cookie sheet- serves the same use as the tin foil, but is re-usable and non-stick in some snazzy way.
Starting a compost pile in your yard, if you have one, might also both cut down on trash and provide you with really awesome soil if you ever decide to do any gardening. It also doesn't require taking your food-waste on a separate trip to wherever the town drop-spot is. The only thing is not to include most animal-related food waste: milk, butter, meat scraps...
Good luck with all the changes, it sounds rather overwhelming...
Meat ain't a problem, but milk might be. We have a yard, but we're just the tenants, and the landlords think we're crazy as it is, with our leaving lights on on Shabbat and getting awkward when they offer us home-made cake. Sil-pat, eh? I'll keep my eyes open. I have a nonstick rolling mat which I adore and use frequently for challah and lachmagine and pie crusts and hamentaschen, so if these are similar I'm sure I'd like them as well. It's annoying as all get-out to wash and store in a clean manner, however. (At this point I tend to assume that the bottom is permanently unclean, because one side will always be touching something, and I fold it in half with the inside pressed against itself before rolling it up. It's annoying.)
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Brookline is looking to move to a pay-as-you-throw system as well.
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Call me and we'll set up a time to hang out! I can't wait to meet the baby and see Shlomo now that he's so much bigger than he was the last time I saw him!
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I don't know if I have your number. What's your email address? I'll send you ours! It'll be great to be neighbors!
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As far as the baking sheet go- you can get sheets of Silpat (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called) that roll up, and then roll out on your cookie sheet- serves the same use as the tin foil, but is re-usable and non-stick in some snazzy way.
Starting a compost pile in your yard, if you have one, might also both cut down on trash and provide you with really awesome soil if you ever decide to do any gardening. It also doesn't require taking your food-waste on a separate trip to wherever the town drop-spot is. The only thing is not to include most animal-related food waste: milk, butter, meat scraps...
Good luck with all the changes, it sounds rather overwhelming...
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We have a yard, but we're just the tenants, and the landlords think we're crazy as it is, with our leaving lights on on Shabbat and getting awkward when they offer us home-made cake.
Sil-pat, eh? I'll keep my eyes open. I have a nonstick rolling mat which I adore and use frequently for challah and lachmagine and pie crusts and hamentaschen, so if these are similar I'm sure I'd like them as well. It's annoying as all get-out to wash and store in a clean manner, however. (At this point I tend to assume that the bottom is permanently unclean, because one side will always be touching something, and I fold it in half with the inside pressed against itself before rolling it up. It's annoying.)
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