recycle2shop.com

recycled plastic chair

GreenCone Composter

Recycling your plastic bags is a good thing - recyclers can turn them back into many different kinds of products. But if there is even 1 biodegradable bag in the mix the product is useless, after all you don’t want your new recycled plastic chair to fall apart because there is a piece of composting plastic lurking somewhere. The moral of this story, put your biodegradables in the garbage when you are done reusing them so that they can happily decompose on that landfill in the open air (well sort of).

Furthermore, did you know that supposedly biodegradable compost bags will not decompose in your compost bin - these products need direct sunlight and a few years to fall apart. Meanwhile your poor bin is clogged with plastic - the oxygen for composting is reduced, the pile cannot heat up and the moisture is trapped - making for a very smelly, unappealing mess. If you already have a ‘bin full’, the only cure is to turn the pile and pull out all those bags (don’t shoot the messenger).

Visit Gerald Harris’ blog “bowkervalleyblog” and learn about Victoria’s local and accessible walk around Bowker Valley. Gerald is an accomplished photographer and poet - what’s not to enjoy.

from bowkervalleyblog

Recycle2shop returns to Moss Street Market on Saturday October 1 (in time for the rain, no doubt). The market continues until the end of October. Moss Street Market Christmas is December 10-11 this year.
Check our list of Christmas Fairs under the “Contacts” drop down list.

24 hours of reality is a worldwide event-24 videos that circle the globe - Victoria has its own hour at 24 Hour Climate Reality

Also hear/watch Al Gore talking on BBC - giving US politicians ‘wellie’ about their ‘paralysis’ on climate change action.

Another gorgeous sunny day in Victoria’s Centennial Square. Everybody’s spirits lift in the warmth and the Square has an atmosphere of community.
I love talking recycling and eco stuff with our visitors. This Sunday I met two delightful ladies from Victoria; Linda gave me a great eco tip via her great grandmother from the Philippines: How to eco-clean copper with, of all things, Tamarind paste (soak dried Tamarind in boiling water and mush into a paste, spread on the copper, leave for a few minutes and wipe off). I can hardly wait to try it. Thank you Linda. I have a big old coal scuttle that is a nightmare to clean so I avoid at all costs.
My last day in the Square. Please come visit Recycle2shop at Moss Street Market on Saturdays (10-2) until October Thanksgiving, unless it’s raining!

One day in August a visitor to Victoria stopped to chat recycling at Recycle2shop’s market stall on Government Street. Jim is a teacher in Montana and he told me about a Japanese scientist who has invented a machine to turn plastic trash into oil. Jim promised to send me the information so that I could share it with you guys. So here it is - courtesy of YouTube and Jim.

Spray your roof with special reflective white paint and cool down your attic…not so critical in already ‘cool’ Victoria, BC but an important step to take for homeowners in the rest of Canada. The paint is just rolled on over the roof tiles - read all about it at coolroofs.org

Volunteers Spraying on a Roof

Wacky news for the day - Bernie Madoff’s trousers have been upcycled into iPad holders - yuck!

Good news for Victoria - FolkWest is coming this weekend and it’s free Friday night. This Friday to Sunday at Royal Athletic Park - Caledonia and Cook. I am biking there, how about you? Ron Sexsmith is headlining as well as our own Dan Lapp. AND there is a beer tent - how great is that? I will be there after Moss St Market on Saturday and Government Street Market on Sunday.

James Whitall and his mando

The Green Capital of Europe, Stockholm in Sweden aims to use only non-fossil fuels for heating by 2050. They already heat most of Stockholm with biofuel. BC’s landscape could be a twin to Sweden, except we have more land which we take for granted (or at least our government seems to-allowing old growth forests to disappear, for instance and pipelines threaten our shores).Here’s a thing - biogas from 100 banana peels can fuel a small car for 9k. Victoria could do with banana fuel…our landfill is soon going to overflow. Which reminds me, I need to bury my own anaerobic compost as my bucket is also soon going to overflow.
Here is a video meditation to help us achieve calm in the face of uncertainty and fear.

Produced by Steve Wollaston with support from Ian Mowll Courtesy of Greenspirit.org.uk

Music from Journeys into a Gold Horizon by Rafael Szaban www.indigoseamusic.com

I am listening to Mark Radcliffe at the Cambridge Folk Festival on BBC Radio 2 thanks to the internet. He is broadcasting from the wild flower meadow while interviewing the likes of Fisherman’s Friends, Kate Rusby and Mary Chapin Carpenter all at Cherry Hinton Hall.

Main Stage View

Lovely summer days at Moss Street and Downtown Sunday Markets. Government Street Market is at Centennial Square this weekend, having been chased off the street by a few of the Government Street stores who blame us for the downturn in their business instead of blaming the economy. Government Street Market has been in that block for over 15 years, before many of those businesses arrived. Victoria Council is listening to the minority and not realizing that this is the only downtown ‘Street’ market, which attracts tourists to that area of town - our tents are visible from Fort street. Centennial square is a lovely venue but location and visibility is so important.

Leona on the Street

Victoria CRD (Capital Regional District) has the best resource for ‘where to recycle’ at myRecyclopedia with how to recycle cassette tapes (does anyone know what those are anymore?) to how to recycle your dishwasher.

What were we thinking?  Canada, we need our own Nelson Mandela.