ottawa foodies

www.ottawasun.com

Wow, "Ottawa residents throw out 240 tonnes of pizza boxes each year"

!!!

Another good tip is to use your 'used' microwave popcorn bags as collectors, or liners for green bin waste, as they are also good for the green bin. Using them to hold 'messy' items such as bacon grease, and food leftovers makes for a clean (and odour free) green bin!

240 TONNES! (Thats just Ottawa!)
There was a tv program on last night about a chef in Chicago who has developed amongst other things, edible menus...once you've picked what you want, you eat the menu.

maybe pizza boxes should be edible?

Spud guy- The problem with having edible pizza boxes is that box may end up tasting better than the actual pizza...

I'm actually pretty amazed at how lazy some people are with recyclables. At work, I watch people throw bottles/cans in the garbage when there is a big recycle bin in the cafeteria that is 25 ft away. Another co worker and I are forever picking through the garbage cans and putting stuff in recycling.

I'll carry a drink bottle all through downtown until I find a recycle bin. I've watched others put their cans in the garbage because the trash bin was slightly closer than the recycle bin.

A pizza box is such a no brainer for me.

Good tip PIO regarding the popcorn bags- haven't eaten popcorn in quite a while though.

It is amazing how lazy some people are - but "being green" involves "reducing" first and foremost, and only resorting to "recycle" as a last resort. People seem to have largely forgotten the first 2 of the "3 Rs"

Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
(Garbage)

In that order.

So in the case of pizza boxes - order out less pizza. Popcorn - cook your own on the stove in a pot (as I've recently switched to). Drink bottles? Don't use them in the first place - either take your drinks with you (filled from larger containers) or drink tap water.

In that order.

Recycling is really only a small step above producing garbage.

Reducing should be the first priority - reducing consumption of resources.

Composting on the above list would probably get slotted in with Reuse IMO.

I still create my share of recycling waste, mind you, but I'm doing my best to continually reduce it. I'm trying for the impossible goal of an empty recycling bin, not a full one.

We still don't have our green bins where I live(?!). But am I to understand from this article that you are not supposed to recyle pizza boxes in the black bin?

"Greasy, cheese-plastered pizza boxes should not be tossed in black boxes, which recycle most other paper products."

We scrape out the stuck on food and wipe down the box beforehand but should I not be doing that? Without a green bin where else would it go?

Also on an side note, my friend told me about this site aimed at redusing take-out containers in general. May be of interest to some of the "greener" foodies :) takeoutwithout.com/

Further to PIO's comment, paper bags from flour and sugar work extremely well. Also, mushroom bags do the trick for smaller amounts.

I live on the top floor of a highrise apartment and I am annoyed over how my neighbours throw their pizza boxes down the garbage shute because they are too lazy to take the elevator to the basement where the recycling bins are located. And I am especially annoyed over the person who got a pizza delivered from the take out place one block away. endrant.

I wrap my green bin stuff in newspapers (or flyers). Those paper bags from the lcbo work too. I only use my green bin for meat remainders since I use my composter.

I wrap organic kitchen waste in whatever paper items I have from used paper towels, newsprint, box cartons then I top it up with weeds straight from the garden and lawn. Especially those pesky dandylions since the city banned herbicides!

XOXO KC