A New Zero-Waste Market is Here!

* This post represents the views and opinions of the writer. The views and opinions are not those of the City of Edmonton or the Reuse Centre. These views are not intended to endorse any one particular individual or company but provide a list of resources and services to readers.

Many people make goals to adopt more sustainable behaviors. If you are like me and "reusing and reducing waste" is one of your priorities, then I have some great news to share!

Earlier this year, a new zero-waste market opened its doors. Re:Plenish is one of Edmonton's bulk shopping markets and offers household cleaning products, along with zero-waste options for personal hygiene products such as shampoo, conditioners, soap and makeup remover wipes. Inspired by seeing the amount of their own waste, owner Karina and Meghann wished for more alternatives and options for shoppers experiencing "eco-grief" as a result of waste that comes with purchasing conventional household products.

The market is located at 9912 77 Ave NW. See their website for current hours of operation. They also offer home deliveries and curb side pick up.

Although Re:Plenish is one of Edmonton's first bulk and zero-waste markets to open in Edmonton, this culture has been long upheld by other companies in our city. Earth's General Store "opened in 1991 and offered bulk cleaning products, bulk personal care products, cloth diapers, recycled paper, composters, composting worms, and a lot of other items that people could not easily find elsewhere in Edmonton." Over the years, they've offered “Refill Tuesdays” that supported their campaigns such as "Plastic Free July”. They also championed the complete elimination of plastic bags in their store on May 1st, 2019. To learn more about the services or products that they offer, visit their website.

Looking for more options to retail shop sustainably, check out this guide by The Eco Hub that highlights food, clothing, beauty, health, and household shopping alternatives in Alberta (with many options provided in Edmonton), or this resource list created by Wastefree Edmonton.

On a final note, I am so excited to see the awareness and momentum growing within Edmonton's consumerism culture, and even more excited to learn about the increasing sustainable options available to us! Remember readers - this is all made possible because of your advocacy on this issue - so let's continue to champion for a greater reduce and reuse culture! 

Jessica T. (Volunteer)

Lets Compost!

This post is a summary of how to start composting. For a thorough and detailed guide, check out edmonton.ca/compost. 

Composting is reusing your waste and turning it into useful decayed organic matter. This is the stuff you can mix with your garden soil to provide your plants and flowers with rich nutrients. Home-produced compost will enrich soil and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers for your garden. Reduce the amount of organic waste that ends up in the landfill and have a blooming and healthy lawn and plants during summer, it’s a win-win!

Food scraps that end up at the bottom of landfills, decay in an environment that has no oxygen present. Lack of oxygen promotes formation of methane gas, which is a harmful greenhouse gas that is 26 times more potent than carbon dioxide. However, composting is done in the presence of oxygen. So, food scraps that are composted in your backyard will instead release carbon dioxide (like it should in the natural carbon cycle). Carbon and nitrogen also stay in the finished compost and are great for the health of your garden.

Thinking of giving composting a try? This is what you can do:

Purchase or Make a Compost Bin

The bin should have enough holes for air to pass through. This how to guide has a number of styles to choose from. For more information on composters, visit edmonton.ca/compost.

Learn What to Compost

Image Credit: Radhika

Get Started

Now, composting is pretty easy. It should have a good balance of green stuff (nitrogen) and brown stuff (carbon).

Image Credit: Radhika

Put a layer of brown stuff at bottom to start. Alternate between putting a layer of green stuff and then brown stuff. Make sure clumps are broken into small pieces. Mix fresh material in with the layer below. Add water to the bin, if it is too dry. Make sure your compost is turned or fluffed once every week or so. 

Troubleshooting

If your compost runs out of oxygen it can start to smell. Make sure it is getting enough air by fluffing compost and breaking up clumps. 

Nitrogen is rich in moisture, so too much nitrogen can lead to a very wet and stinky compost. Whereas carbon is dry, so too much carbon will lead to a lack of moisture needed to decay waste properly. So the key is to have a good balance. If compost is too wet, add more brown material and aerate. If compost is too dry, add more green stuff or some water.

In winter, to protect the compost from excessive moisture, the bin can be moved to the garage or a shed. If compost is kept outside in winter, it should receive some sunlight whenever it can. It can also have straw bales stacked around the bin to provide it with some insulation. 

A Fun Alternative to Outdoor Composting:

Not everyone can compost in their backyards or patios. Vermicomposting is a good alternative. Vermicomposting uses red wiggler worms, as they are incredible garbage eaters and they produce rich compost. All you need is a small bin with a few red worms and your food waste. Oh, and worms also speed up the decaying process so it’s a win-win-win!

You can reuse a plastic bin for vermicomposting with small sized holes in the top for airflow. 

For vermicomposting, add newsprint torn into long strips to your bin. You can also include small amounts of potting soil, along with straw, dried leaves, dry houseplants and crushed eggshell to your container. This bedding will ensure your worms’ proper health. After the bin is full of these materials, sprinkle it with some water so it is as damp as a wrung out sponge. Add your worms. Now you can start feeding the bin and worms with green scraps (fruit, vegetables, plant leaves), make sure to use a different part of the bin each time you feed them.

Vermicomposting bin with the bedding Source: edmonton.ca/wormcompost

After about three months, the original bedding will have decreased in size. At this point compost can be harvested and new bedding can be added for the cycle to repeat (leaving the worms in the bin)!

If you want to use worms for your outdoor composting, brown earthworms eat organic waste in gardens. Red wiggler worms can’t survive our climate, which is why they are used in indoor composting.

Final tips!

• Compost should stay as wet as a wrung-out sponge. 

• Worms like to be at room temperature.

• Keep compost bins on bricks to leave room at the bottom for air to circulate.

• You can store food waste under the sink in a bin throughout the day and throw it in your compost pile all at once.

Submission by Radhika (Volunteer)

The Power is Yours!

I've never been a big fan of practices that are considered wasteful or that may be harmful to the environment.  Maybe that's because I grew up watching Captain Planet guard the earth and The Raccoons protect the forest.  I was taught to be aware of pollution and to be a good global citizen by putting litter in its place. 

Graphic by Charlene

As a kid, I was lucky enough to participate in programs and initiatives that supported the environment.  I took school field trips to logging sites, where we helped forestry services with tree planting.  I still remember how exhilarating it felt to physically place those tiny, baby trees in their new earthy homes.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air, exercise, and the opportunity to make a difference.   

Since the invention of the internet, it has become exponentially easier to learn about and discuss our impact on this earth.  Knowledge is being shared across the globe every day.  While this has certainly been helpful, it's also made it clear that there's so much more work to be done. 

Graphic by Charlene

There are many simple and accessible changes that I’ve made to lessen my impact on our planet.  When I learn a new way to complete an everyday task that presents an environmentally-friendly alternative to the norm, I try to adjust my lifestyle.  I'd like to share a few practices that I've adopted.

Low-Impact Dusting

Let’s face it, dust bunnies are everywhere!  They congregate in corners and hide behind doors.  If you’re not careful, they invite all their friends and family over for a party.  My house regularly hosts conventions for a small army of the biggest dust bunnies known to man*.
*not scientifically proven

I’ve found vacuuming tends to leave a trace amount of dust behind, that's particularly noticeable on hard surfaces.  So I utilize a few tools that don’t produce the waste involved with disposable dusting products:

• reusable container
• cloth that’s not too fancy
• small amount of tap water

For the container, I typically rinse and reuse a small plastic butter/margarine tub, but you could use the dish or bucket of your choice.  If you don't have the right container at home, the Reuse Centre carries an assortment of types and sizes, based on donations.  Reusable cloths are widely available, and there are many DIY options too.  For example, old holey t-shirts can be cut up into small squares, or you may already have a selection of dishcloths ready for retirement.  Face towels are good options too.  If you choose a reusable cloth, the impact can be further minimized by removing/rinsing as much dirt or grime as you can using your water bin, then tossing the cloth into a wash cycle with other clothes.  When I'm done dusting, I "donate" the dirty water to my compost farm!

Cardboard Creativity

I prefer cardboard to plastic, but end up with a lot of it at home!  I've begun shredding smaller packages and spreading them in my compost farm.  For those without compost worms, cardboard containers make great reuse!  Think... wrapping for presents, packaging for parcels, even everyday organization around the house.  Use cardboard to separate drawer contents and keep small objects contained.  Cardboard boxes are also great if you plan to move!

Have you discovered a great way to reduce, reuse and save?  

Please leave us a comment and share your ideas for supporting the environment!

Submission and artwork by Charlene (Volunteer)

Chef Saves

Today, let’s spend some time in the kitchen. No, I am not cooking a specific dish. I am going to share how simple changes in the kitchen can have an important and significant impact. Among some of the things wasted in our day-to-day life, food waste is a huge problem.The statistics say that 58% of all food produced in Canada is lost or wasted (Second Harvest and VCMI, 2019). 

An excellent place to start reducing food waste is to observe and make a list of what food and beverage items are being regularly thrown away in your home. This list will highlight if something is routinely being wasted. Once you make your list of commonly wasted items, find ideas on how to repurpose or store food instead of tossing it. Ask yourself “could these items be purchased in smaller quantities, be repurposed to avoid being thrown away, or be easily composted?” 

Vegetable scraps 

• Use left-over veggie scraps to prepare a nice and healthy broth. Save up odds and ends of vegetables whenever you chop and cook with them. When you have enough scraps, throw everything in a pot and add water, stir and bring to a light boil. Then strain the mixture and store the broth in jars in your freezer. 

• Bake or stir fry potato skins, add some cheese and serve as a side dish. This one is my husband’s favorite dishes.

Stale Bread

• Another common ‘waste’ in our kitchen is stale bread and bread crusts. I make bread crumbs with these: I put them into a food processor, pulse them and store the crumbs in a jar for future use.

Bread crusts turned into bread crumb

Herbs

• I used to throw away more than half of my fresh herbs - coriander, parsley, and mint leaves - but have learned a great way to store them for longer use. I chop the leaves and freeze them in an ice cube tray. As I need them, I take them out to defrost, and use.

Herbs stored this way can stay much longer

Tea and Coffee 

• My mother has beautiful indoor plants and credits this success to used tea leaves. Once tea is prepared, the steeped tea leaves (not containing sugar or dairy) are placed directly in the pot. The plants benefit from the extra nutrients. 

• Did you know that some tea bags have plastic in them? Steeping loose tea leaves in boiling water is the best way to avoid the added plastic. 

• Use coffee grinds as a deodorizer in the trash can or refrigerator. You can also spread them in your yard as a natural pest-repellent.

 Tea leaves used as plant nutrients

Fruits

• Lemon and orange peels make great scrubs for your face and body. Dry the peels and grind them to make a fine powder and use it as a scrub. Some people also make facial creams with orange peels.

• Banana peels are rich in nutrients, so instead of throwing them away, try adding them to smoothies and shakes. You can also mix them in flour and bake or fry them for a tasty snack. You can use ripe banana flesh as a face mask for a soft and fresh look. 

• Instead of throwing away bruised fruit, toss them into a salad or make popsicles.

The possibilities are endless with what can be done to avoid food waste. I learned recently from a friend that she even grinds eggshells into a powder and uses it as a calcium supplement for her dogs. Please check with your veterinarian before giving this a try.

For potential food waste that you cannot otherwise repurpose or consume, consider composting. If the idea of home composting is new to you, learn more here.

No discussion about kitchen waste can be complete without talking about reducing the use of plastics. Try and carry your reusable bags for grocery shopping. Nowadays, good reusable cloth bags for produce are available in the market. You can replace plastic containers with glass jars, paper, and cloth bags. It’s an investment worth making and an impact you can make towards saving our planet. Many stores still sell fruits and veggies in single-use plastic wraps or boxes, but you can try and avoid buying such boxes if other options are available. Buying plastic-free groceries is hard, and you cannot always win, but it’s important to do your best.

Let us make these small important changes in how we shop for, store and use groceries to reduce food waste. Let us pledge towards a zero-waste or low-waste  lifestyle, starting with the kitchen.

Photos and Submission by Sunanda (Volunteer)

DIY Spring Cleaning and Reusing

It is finally spring and we are through with yet another winter! The first thing that comes to my mind when spring approaches is warmer days but also spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is currently a trend as many people are finding themselves without things to do at home. Like a lot of people, if you are also at home socially distancing from others, you can spend your time doing some cleaning and decluttering.

As a teenager, my mom and I used to work really hard when it came to spring cleaning. We’d clean all the wooden cabinets, all the dusty corners, cluttered drawers and closets, and wiping down all the walls in our house. Most importantly, we made our own spring cleaning products and supplies at home.

In this post, I will be focusing on how you can clean using everyday household items that don’t require you to travel to a store as often.

A great way to divide spring cleaning around the house is to divide it by each room. 

Living Room

Deep cleaning living rooms involves cleaning couches, floors, rugs, and wiping down surfaces that have accumulated dust on them.

A good recipe for a DIY carpet shampoo is:

• ½ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide
• 4 tbsp white vinegar 
• 2 tsp non-bleach laundry detergent
• ½ cup of fabric softener

The carpet shampoo can be used for deep cleaning carpets and couches.

*Always be sure to test the product on your fabric in a small inconspicuous area first and check and follow manufacturer cleaning instructions.

Kitchen

Kitchen cabinets usually have grease collected on their surfaces. To combat the grease use a mixture of: 

• ½ cup lemon juice 
• 2 cups of white vinegar

Gently scrub the cabinets using a soft scrubby and an old toothbrush to get in the grooves.

To simply clean and polish your cabinets, use a mixture of 

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Apply the mixture using a rag or a cloth all over the wooden cabinets, rub, and clean. The mixture does need to be stirred frequently as the oil tends to separate from the vinegar and water.

*Always be sure to patch test your surface in a small inconspicuous area first and check manufacturer cleaning instructions.

To clean the dishwasher, scrub the bottom of the dishwasher using baking soda, a spray of white vinegar, and an old toothbrush. After, put some white vinegar in a bowl and place it on the top rack of the dishwasher and run the hottest cycle with the vinegar inside. Vinegar will do the work of disinfecting the dishwasher while removing any buildup of foods and bacteria.

Sinks can be cleaned by sprinkling baking soda all over them and a little bit of dish soap. Scrub the mixture all around the sink and faucet then rinse with hot water.

Bedroom

For my bedroom, I usually strip down all the sheets, pillow cases, and blankets and put them in the washer. I also wash my pillows then put a couple of tennis balls in the dryer with the pillows to fluff them up. 

As I keep my windows open most of the time, the rest of my room usually accumulates a lot of dust on my nightstand, dresser, headboard, fan, and light fixtures. If you have ever bought a commercial duster wand, and still have the handle you can make your own duster using fleece or flannel. I use this to dust all the dusty areas.

I started off by ripping my old flannel shirt and tying each piece on a handle that I kept.

Image of the duster halfway complete

This is what it finally looked like.  I used it to dust off my fans, and all the dusty areas in my room, it worked really great. Once it is extremely dirty, the pieces can be untied, washed and reused again.

The finished duster ready to be used

Lastly, I finish shampooing the carpet in my room and cleaning any glass or mirror surfaces with a glass cleaner and flyer papers or newspapers.

Bathroom

The bathroom is my favourite area to clean, I think because it is the smallest. I usually start by cleaning the sink and counter top with baking soda and dish soap. I sweep and mop the floors thoroughly. Now, to clean the tiles there are a lot of different homemade recipes you can use. I wanted to find a mixture that was non-toxic and still did the job well. Here is what I found:

• 7 cups of water
• ½ cup of baking soda
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup white vinegar

Put the mixture in a spray bottle, spray it all over the tiles and scrub using a scrubby and an old toothbrush and voila, grout is now clean. 

Besides all the cleaning, I also go around the house and declutter drawers and closets. Stuff that I have no use for anymore gets reused or recycled. 

Some examples of reused items are:

My mom sewed her own cushion covers from old bed sheets. 

DIY cushion covers from old sheets

This is an old project but a few years ago I turned my old bookshelf into a bench. It works great.

I turned my bookshelf into a bench

I would really encourage this season for everyone to get creative and work with the things you already have at home. It can be a challenge but there are a lot of resources on our Reuse-It blog and Pinterest page on reusing items to create something you need. Share your reuse creations and recipes in the comment section below!

Submission and photographs by Radhika (Volunteer)

2020 Family Day Festivities at the Reuse Centre

This year was the first year I actually did something for Family Day. I took my brother and my grandpa to the Reuse Centre for Family Day festivities. We stayed for about 2 hours making a wind chime, envelopes with calligraphy, and visiting some educational booths. For younger kids, it seemed like the glitter tattoo station and DIY wind chimes were the most popular, there were lineups for both activities. My brother isn’t a big fan of glitter tattoos, so we opted to make a DIY wind chime, which was a lot of fun. There were a lot of reusable items supplied such as CDs, keychains, pearl strings, ribbons, bells, hoops, pop can tabs, etc., to make the wind chimes. My brother and I were able to get very creative because there were so many items to work with. My grandpa gave us motivational support and by the time the wind chime was complete, he was willing to get photographed with our finished craft. 

Image: Brother, Grandpa, and DIY wind chime

I think the wind chime we made is cute and the pop can tabs actually make a soothing sound when the wind moves them around. So, the project was a success. 

Another cool thing we made were envelopes out of old calendars. There were many options for types of calendars; I picked the calendar with European buildings and my brother picked an animal-themed calendar. 

On the left is the envelope that I made and on the right is the envelope my brother made.
Calligraphy by the Edmonton Calligraphic Society

The calligraphy is really beautiful, and the envelopes are very unique. We were given the option of putting a label with the name of the person we want to mail it to. My brother put his own name, later he decided he can add “from” before his name, if he wants to give it to someone else. I put “grandpa” on my envelope and will be giving it to him with a small letter inside before he leaves to go back home.

There were also educational booths with volunteers at the event. The two booths we attended were Change for Climate and Waste Services. Change for Climate had a wheel with different categories for testing peoples' knowledge of various climate-related issues. After spinning the wheel, my brother landed on “water saving at home”, then he was asked to provide ways to save water at home. This was a good way to have a conversation and we got some candy and stickers. They also had a variety of resources to share.

The Waste Services booth had a sorting activity with pictures of various waste items, and the person playing the game would have to sort them into compost, recycle, reuse, Eco Station, or garbage. My brother had fun playing that game, he surprisingly knew a lot about different waste categories, but still learned a bit more. As a prize we got two free recycling blue bags.

Overall, this event was amazing. It gave my brother something to do over his long weekend break other than playing video games and I was able to show my grandpa what a Reuse Centre is and what its purpose is. The centre was busy and full of families participating in activities and also shopping. There were staff leading families in the right direction and cookies being offered as a treat for attendees. I would definitely go again next year and recommend the Reuse Centre for anyone looking to do something fun and eco-friendly on Family Day. 

Follow City of Edmonton Reuse Centre on Facebook to stay informed about monthly, family-friendly events.

Submission by Radhika (Volunteer)

Reuse Centre: A Wedding Store

When I got married 10 years ago, I didn't have a huge budget. I made my own invitations, and my best friend helped me with the decor and planning. Yes, it was stressful (mostly for my friend, haha), but at the end of our day, we were so proud of what we were able to do with a limited budget. I think most people take pride in showcasing something they have made themselves. It is very fulfilling to be able to create a beautiful and personal thing for your special day.

For this post, I will share some wedding decor ideas, and create wedding items from materials at the Reuse Centre. You might ask, "What can I possibly get there that I can use for a wedding?" So, I'm going to show you a few easy projects you can do to not only save money (only $5 per 25 kg), but also help you reduce waste created from planning your special event.

1. Egg carton flowers and mini-cupcake/mini-donut holders

Paper flowers have slowly been taking the place of balloons, which is awesome since balloons end up in landfills. Instead of using card stock, you make roses out of the egg cartons.

It took me one carton to make five roses and other flowers

Hand-painted each rose with red acrylic paint.
 (I think they turned out eggcellent!)  

Painted with food safe acrylic paint

2. Empty containers for a candy buffet or favours

Instead of buying a box of jars for your candy buffet, check out the Reuse Centre for an amazing variety of tin cans, bottles, and jars. Start collecting empty containers from your own home. Take the labels off, wash thoroughly and voila, you have candy containers! Baby food jars are perfect for holding wedding favours such as mints, tea leaves, plant seeds, etc. 

Just a few empty containers from my kitchen

A bin of baby food jars at the Reuse Centre

3. Old picture frames are multi-functional

The Reuse Centre has a lot of  picture frames that you can use to show the seating chart for the guests, or to simply display pictures of the couple. Large-sized frames can become fun props for wedding pictures or photo booths. 

Perfect for a rustic feel

My models!
 

4. Broken crayons to wax seal invitations

There is an area at the Reuse Centre with all the school supplies to stock up on crayons, envelopes or stationary. But if you, your friends or family members have kids, chances are they have broken crayons lying around the house. For this project, all you need are crayons, a glue stick, a candle, and an old metal spoon. Melt a piece of the glue stick and crayon in a spoon and pour it onto your envelope. At this time, you can either stamp it with a personalized stamp or let cool.

  

You can also mix different crayons for a rainbow effect.

5. Tissue paper/gift wrap rolls can become napkin ring holders 

                

From these rolls (photo taken at The Reuse Centre)

To these cute napkin rings

There is not much to say here. Simply cut the rolls to the desired size and paint in the colours of your choice.

6. Books used as centerpieces

I saved the best for last. Honestly, this is something I wish I had thought of when I got married: using books as centerpieces.This idea is genius because I can't think of a more personal centerpiece than books specifically picked by the couple according to their tastes or motif. Not only that, but having books as centerpieces eliminates the need for wedding favours because the guests can bring home whichever book they want. There will be zero waste with this idea. I mean, what more can guests ask for? Food. Party. Books.

So, there you have it, just a few ideas for you! I'm sure once you enter the Reuse Centre and see all of the items in there, your mind will light up with other projects. Please comment with your own Reuse Centre ideas or creations.

Enjoy planning!

                                                                                        Photos and Submission by Mariz F (volunteer)