MOM’s Organic Market’s ER Blog

… of garbage, twice the size of Texas, floating in the Pacific Ocean somewhere between the Hawaiian Islands and Northern California. Hard to imagine? Not really. The island of trash is being held together by a slowly rotating system of currents and mats of floating seaweed and kelp. Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in CA, estimates that there is about 3 million tons of plastic floating in this mass, not to mention the millions of tons of other debris. The plastic will eventually sink, where it will then become part of the 46,000 pieces of garbage estimated for every square mile of ocean.

According to statistics, well over 80% of the trash in the oceans is brought there from our storm drains and run-off from our polluted streets, streams and rivers. You carelessly throw a gum wrapper, baby diaper, plastic bottle or even oil on the ground and where does it go? It gets into our water ways via storm drains, down to creeks, into the rivers and finally spilling into our oceans. People are so quick to point fingers, but who is really to blame?

What can you do? Stay educated about the environment and your effect on it. Get involved with clean-ups or do one of your own in your own neighborhood. Know what watershed you’re in and the health of that area. Recycle and use designated trash cans, and encourage that behavior in your day to day life.

Every week I accumulate a small pile of dirty clothes. Come Sunday, which is my chore day, I pick-up the pile and head down to the laundry room. I push the pile into my front loading washing machine, pour in a small cup of Seventh Generation laundry detergent and set it washing on cold. When I pull it out after the cycle, I have two choices: to tumble or not to tumble? Do I put it in our clothes dryer or do I hang it out on a clothes line? Do I consume energy or do I let the sun and breeze do the work? For me, the answer is simple. Hang drying clothes is free, it often dries faster than it would in a clothes dryer, it smells better (I think) and I’m giving a helping hand to the environment.

Clothes drying systems can be cheap to install. All you need are two pullies, at least a 20 foot long cord or thin rope, and some practice with your knot tying abilities. You pick two points in either your yard or even in your home, install a pully at either end, string the cord through, tie a knot, and get drying. Easy! If you don’t want to go through all of this, you can also get creative and hang dry your clothes over your stair banisters, or on hangers in open windows or in door frames. The key here is to get creative and find ways to avoid using the clothes dryer and making a positive environmental impact.