I'd like to post links and information here to guide our community on ideas for long-term sustainability for our community, homes, finances and environment. Our general manager made some great suggestions at our recent meeting. She said that our waste disposal costs are related to weight of garbage to recyclables. We can lower our maintenance costs and reduce the need for monthly dues to be raised in the future by recycling more and throwing away less garbage! We can avoid plumbing problems by not using drain cleaners which erode the aging cast iron drain pipes. So I wanted to give people a resource for how to accomplish these goals.
For instance, keeping hair out of the drain, is the easiest way to avoid slow drainage. How do you do it? Try the 99 cent store for screened drain covers? Never put oil down the kitchen sink unless is is diluted with water at least 500 to 1 and with plenty of dish detergent. If you have grease or something that is solid at room temperature, pour it into a container that you can seal and dispose of it in the garbage. Got a real clog? This may sound counter intuitive, but you can buy Draino Snake Plus, which has a tool for removing clogs from the U section of a drain. After you use the tool to pull out the slim and hair, you don't really need the caustic chemical.
About increasing recyclables and decreasing garbage. Don't buy more food than you plan on eating in the next few days and don't go shopping again until it's all gone. Simply put, don't waste food. It can be fun to come up with a creative recipe for just what you have in the fridge. Second, don't throw leftovers in the trash or down the garbage disposal, buy a worm bin and compost. Here's a link of a very good self-contained wormbin that takes up very little space that will turn your garbage into soil that you can use for your patio potted garden. wormbin I also found a good one at the Hillcrest Farmer's Market. I'll post more links as I find them. Good Luck and please share your stories and questions in the comments on the main page! Thanks!
