In the Holiday spirit....

The green practices team gives a special holiday gift for the season...

The Story of Stuff.

It is an excellent 20-minute video that explains in simple terms what the consequences of a conventional system of consumption are -- and shares an alternative vision. If you haven't seen it and have a bit of time in your day (and even if you don't!) we encourage you to watch.

- GPT

It's Christmas time in the Ciudad...

There are a plethora of alternatives to the traditional consumption-heavy gift-giving practices of the holidays! Alternative gift giving falls into six basic categories

1. charitable donations (examples: nonprofit donations, memberships, tree dedications)

2. experience gifts (examples: concert tickets, scuba lessons, cooking classes)

3. give of yourself (examples: offer your cooking skills, babysitting services, fitness training expertise, whatever your skills might be)

4. recycled gifts (examples: regifting, shopping vintage, antique and junk stores)

5. homemade gifts (examples: crafts, baked goods)

6. green products (examples: sustainably produced clothing, jewelry, home accents; you name it, and a green company out there probably produces it)

Once you have your alternative gift, keep the gift wrapping green as well: cloth; scarves; magazine pages, paper grocery bags colored, stamped, tied with bright ribbon

Here's more information on specific gift ideas for the holidays:

http://www.nrdc.org/cities/living/ggift.asp

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/11/22/giftguide/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/how_to_green_your_gifts.php

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/11/holiday_gifts_f.php#garden

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/25-great-consumer-less-gift-ideas.html
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/11/your-gifts-are.html
http://letsgogreen.biz/

Alternative Gift Fairs:

December 8
SAJE: 152 W. 32nd Street
10 AM-4PM
On December 8th, SAJE will host our 2nd Annual "Just Holiday Marketplace" here at the SAJE space. We'll be open from 10AM to 4PM with gifts, food and music for all. We've got some unique and talented crafters from around the LA area so come on down and shop for the holidays so you can ensure that you give your loved ones gifts made with the very best in handmade gifts and wares. VENDOR SPACES STILL AVAILABLE! Visit the Marketplace website for more information or to download the registration form.

December 9
Alternative Christmas Market
Diamond Bar United Church of Christ
2335 S. Diamond Bar Blvd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765
11:30am -1:30pm.
Handarts from Third World Gifts and Arts, Centro Santa Catalina, and Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolates will be available. We will also be serving a simple soup luncheon. 909-861-4735 Visit our website for directions, www.dbucc.org.

December 16
The Anti-Mall
La Culebra, Highland Park (Avenue 57, crossing Figueroa)
Be a Conscious Consumer at this Winter's AntiMall.
Come and Celebrate 5 years of commitment to Recycling our Money and putting People over Profit. We have a great group of committed Artivist/AntiMallers with one-of-a-kind art work. We will be featuring an array of performers and great food. Come and put your dollars to work into our local economies!

America Recycles Day - November 15th

It is true. One week from today is America Recycles Day!

http://nrc-recycle.org/americarecycles.aspx

How to use the blog

Greetings, and welcome to this month's edition of the Green Practices internet friendly blog. Interestingly, the word blog is a portmanteau of the words web and log. Raise your hand if you knew what the word portmanteau meant. Ok...raise your hand if you knew the meaning and you went to public schools. Yep. That's what I thought.

So a basic overview of the Yurt Villagers blog is below. Please enjoy, check back often (read: hourly), and feel free to contribute any content that you would like to see added. For additions / suggestions / critiques please email the blog team: mpalmer@treepeople.org.

Let's get started...

Deep Roots
On the right side of the screen there appears a header that reads "Deep Roots". This is our section for links to all sorts of good things. These links will always be there, and serve as a quick access point for you to come back:

- Overview of Recycling
- Overview of Composting
- Overview of Hazardous / E Waste
- Instructions for canceling your Junk Mail
- An idea for wearing a reminder to reduce, reuse, recycle
- A fantastic video submitted by Villager O. Sanchez entitled "Black Balloons"
- Lights Out Los Angeles: website that promotes scheduled light outs for L.A.

Blog Archive
Below the links on the right is a Blog Archive. One of the ideas behind this site is that it can be accessed by anyone that may be working/playing in Yurt Village. People come and people go. Having all of the information that we share with each other accessible to others, even those who may be new, can be truly valuable. This information is stored by chronological posting, and

What is a Yurt Villager?

The mission of TreePeople's Green Practices Team is to inspire Yurt Villagers (TreePeople staff) to take personal responsibility for the use of resources -- educating, training and supporting them as they reduce their ecological footprint and serve as an example for making Los Angeles a zero waste city.

Recycling Overview

Can we recycle it?

YES :
These all go in the Blue Bins!

• Paper

- All Clean Dry Paper
computer, ledger, wrapping, arts and craft paper, unwanted mail,
flyers, telephone books, note cards, newspaper, blueprints,
magazines, file folders, paper bags, Post-it notes, catalogs; and all
envelopes including those with windows.

* Staples do not need to be removed as they are removed during the recycling process.

"Post-consumer" means the paper that is returned to recycling centers. From a recycling point of view, the more "post-consumer" paper used the better.

Americans buy over 85 million tons of paper per year-that's about 700 pounds per person.

- All Cardboard Boxes and Chipboard
cereal, tissue, dry food, frozen food, shoe, and detergent boxes; paper and toilet rolls; and corrugated boxes broken down and flattened

• Metals

- All Aluminum, Tin, Metal, and Bi-Metal Cans
Rinsed if possible, soda, juice, soup, vegetables, and pet food cans;
pie tins; clean aluminum foils; empty paint and aerosol cans with
plastic caps removed, and wire hangers

It is not necessary to remove labels for recycling. Just rinse aluminum containers thoroughly to prevent odors.

The aluminum beverage can returns to the grocer's shelf in as little as 90 days after collection.

Recycling an aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television set for three hours.

More steel is recycled each year than all other materials combined. Steel's magnetic quality makes it one of the easiest materials to retrieve from construction debris, demolished buildings, junked automobiles, and old appliances. Every ton of steel recycled conserves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone.

Each year, steel recycling saves the energy equivalent to electrically power about one-fifth of U.S. households for one year.

• Glass

- All Glass Bottles and Jars
Rinsed if possible, soda, wine, beer, spaghetti sauce, pickle jars,
broken bottles, and etc.

It is not necessary to remove labels for recycling. Just rinse glass containers thoroughly to prevent odors. Unlike plastics, the high temperature of glass and metal processing easily removes contamination.

Recycling a glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.

• Plastics
  

- All Clean Plastics 1 Through 7
- Empty Plastic Containers
rinsed if possible, soda, juice, detergent, bleach, shampoo, lotion, mouthwash, dishwashing liquid bottles, milk jugs, tubs for margarine and yogurt, plastic planters, food and blister packaging, rigid clamshell packaging, etc.
- All Plastic Bags and All Film Bags
grocery bags and dry cleaner bags, and all clean film plastic
- All Clean Polystyrene (Styrofoam®)
Styrofoam® cups, containers, and packaging such as Styrofoam® egg shell cartons, Styrofoam® block packaging, and Styrofoam® clamshell packaging
- Miscellaneous Plastics
Plastic coat hangers, non-electric plastic toys, plastic swimming
pools, & plastic laundry baskets

Without plastics, 400 percent more material by weight and 200 percent more material by volume would be needed to make packaging, while the volume of packaging would more than double.

By using plastic in packaging, American product manufacturers save enough energy each year to power a city of one million homes for three-and-a-half years.

Special Considerations :
Read with Care

Plastic Grocery Sacks : These can be bundled in a 24 count, put in one plastic grocery bag, tied up, and placed outside of the Forestry Yurt. They will be used by the Fruit Tree Program.

Newspapers : Same as Plastic Grocery Sacks, there is a Newspaper Collection box outside of the Forestry Yurt.

Aseptic Packaging : Aseptic Box in the Kitchen (Thank you Linda!)
"Aseptics" are the square boxes used for liquids. A common brand you may be familiar with is "Tetra Pak." Because aseptics are made from complex layers of plastic, metal and paper, the recycling process is difficult and expensive, and therefore available in few places. Waxed Cartons: The wax content of containers that hold liquids such as milk, cream, and juice makes them non-recyclable.

In the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles, curbside recycling of aseptics is NOT available.

Rechargeable Batteries : Put in the Green Box in the Kitchen
Nickel-Cadmium rechargeable batteries (Ni-Cd) contain cadmium, a metal that can cause blood and reproductive damage, among other problems. These batteries are commonly used in portable telephones, power tools, radios, video tape recorders, and laptop computers. These batteries pose little hazard in use (the cadmium is in a stable form), but are a danger in landfills. Batteries that contain nickel and cadmium must be recycled or disposed of in accordance with local laws.

NO :

These all go in the Black Bins!

• Contaminated Paper
  all soiled papers or bags with oils and food waste
• But...it's PAPER!
  Paper that cannot be recycled includes food-contaminated paper, waxed paper, oil-soaked paper, carbon paper, sanitary products or tissues, thermal fax paper, stickers and plastic-laminated paper such as fast food wrappers, aseptics, and pet food bags. Paper with any sort of contamination or plastic lamination cannot be recycled.
• Contaminated cardboard, like greasy pizza boxes, is not acceptable at recycling centers. Staples are allowed, but it is important to remove any packing tape still attached.
• Broken Glass
  window glass, mirror glass, auto glass, light bulbs, fluorescent lights and ceramics
• Other Plastic
  plastic hygienic items, any electric or battery operated toys
• Miscellaneous Materials
  coated milk cartons, electrical cords, cloth/fabric, appliances, mini blinds, kitchen utensils, lawn furniture, garden hoses, rubber tires, construction materials, including asphalt or concrete, wood and wood products
• Hazardous Materials
  Household hazardous waste is any disposable product labeled: toxic, poison, corrosive, flammable, combustible, or irritant. The health and safety of people and animals, as well as the health of our communities and the environment, is endangered when these types of products are discarded in household garbage, sinks, or storm drains. Syringes, all partially filled aerosol cans and containers for cleaning fluids, automotive fluids, all batteries (including car batteries, household batteries, rechargeable batteries), pesticides, oil based paint, garden chemicals, and pool cleaners.
• Find complete information on what constitutes household hazardous waste and how to dispose of it properly on the household hazardous waste website.