Glass vs. Plastic – Thoughts?

A week or so ago, another employee and I were discussing one of our bath product lines, and trying to figure out if the glass packaging was more environmentally friendly than plastic packaging. With this discussion in mind, I have been trying to learn enough on the topic to form an opinion on the matter. The problem is that the more I learn, the more confused I become. I think I am coming down tentatively on the side of glass packaging – especially for food products, and cosmetics/bath products, but I welcome comments!
Glass is problematic when it comes to the total energy usage required to produce, ship, and recycle it. Glass is made of sand that is heated to temperatures high enough to melt it, and then cooled quickly. This process is energy intensive because it requires such high temperatures, and fossil fuels are often used to produce this energy. Glass requires much more energy to produce than plastics. Glass is also heavier than plastic, and therefore requires more fossil fuels to be burned for transportation than plastic. Also, there is more danger of product wastage when using glass, because glass packaging is more prone to breaking than plastic packaging. Glass also requires more energy input than plastic to break it down when recycling.
However…..!!! Plastics are made from un-refined petroleum which is un-renewable. Also, many types of plastic can leach harmful chemicals into your food, bath products, and cosmetics. Additionally, if the packaging gets tossed away as litter, or put in a land-fill (and is not sent for recycling, tsk, tsk, and you know who you are…) glass will not leach chemicals into the environment as it sits. Plastic takes 600 years to break down when left in the environment, and in the mean-time, it releases polluting compounds which leach into the soil and water. Also, if glass finds its way to our oceans, it breaks down into little pieces of sea glass (rounded, smoothed, pebble-like pieces of glass, that many people collect at the beach and use in jewellery, and decorating). However, when plastic finds it way into our oceans, it simply floats around, and there are island sized deposits of garbage which have collected, and are floating around in our oceans – gross! Sometimes, sea animals eat this plastic, mistaking it for food, and it makes them sick, or can cause death.

So far then, I come down on the side of glass packaging because:

- I am selfish, and don’t want toxic chemicals leaching into the products I use and consume – even small, “harmless” levels of exposure!
- I like sea glass – even though it’s a product of pollution, it’s pretty! We have even sold products made from sea glass at P’Lovers!
- I don’t like the idea of people’s old plastic containers and packaging releasing any level of toxins into ground water and soil!
- I am hoping that humans as a species will move away from fossil fuels as a means of energy production, and as this happens, the levels of air pollution associated with glass production will go down! (I know, this is based on hope only, but we have to be optimistic, or else nothing will change!)

That’s All!
Mackenzie

Bring on the New Year!

Christmas is behind us and it was a good one, I had the great pleasure of spending quality time with the people I love the most. Three complete uninterrupted days with my children and my husband, what more could someone ask for?

The time preceding the big day was spent in preparation, alot of that time here in the store interacting with our awesome customers. There are so many of you that we see regularly and this time of the year also brings with it many new customers some of whom will now frequent the store and become friends.

Our walls are covered in bright green papers announcing our sale: 15% off everything in the store. We want to show you, our customers, that we appreciate your loyalty.

I often tell people this is the best job I have ever had, not only do I interact with interesting people day in and day out but I am also blessed to be educating, while being educated on issues that truly matter. I am passionate about the P’lovers mission statement and really feel I can make a difference each and every day.

Every person who walks through the doors makes this possible for me and for that and much more I thank you and look forward to a New Year filled with many blessings.

Lawn Madness

Lawn Madness…

I am a newbie on the P’lovers Port Perry team, and I didn’t think I would be an avid blogger, and yet, here I am pounding away on the keyboard! Thanks for taking the time to read the P’lovers Port Perry blog!

I was thrilled today to see a man mowing his lawn with a manual push reel lawn mower! We finally have legislation that prevents people from the needless and heavily polluting use of cosmetic pesticides. The next step is to educate people about the air pollution they emit when cutting their grass with a traditional two-stroke gasoline powered lawn mower!

What you should know:

- A two-stroke gasoline lawnmower burns gasoline and oil, and does so in a highly inefficient manner
- Running your two-stroke lawnmower for just 1 hour releases smog causing emissions equivalent to those released by driving your car for 600 kilometers!!
- Put another way: Running your two-stroke lawn mower for 1 hour releases the same amount of smog causing emissions as running 40 new automobiles for one hour!
- Another potential problem created by using a gas powered lawn mower, is the frequency of gas and oil spillage that happens when trying to fill a standard gas mower without a funnel
- Gas powered weed trimmers, lawn edgers, and leaf blowers have an environmental impact similar to a two-stroke gas powered lawnmower

What you can do to reduce your carbon footprint; not have a forest for a lawn; and not use kitchen scissors to cut your lawn:

- Try an electric lawnmower / trimmer / lawn edger (“I don’t like navigating the cord” is no longer an excuse – there are recharable options available that are cordless)
· Yes, I know, much of the electricity used could be generated in a pollution causing, fossil fuel based power plant, however, the David Suzuki Foundation points out that these plants are much more efficient than running thousands of fuel and oil burning lawnmowers!
· The average electric lanwmower only costs the user $5.00 per year in electricity!

- Try a solar powered lawn mower! These are emission free, and the fuel is free!
However, these mowers can be expensive…

- For another emission free, and a more cost effective alternative to a two-stroke lawnmower, try a manual, push-reel lawnmower!
· No, the new push-reel lawnmowers are NOT the same as the one your grandparents had! The new push-reel mowers can weigh as little as 16 lbs, and run more smoothly than the old push-reel mowers.
· A big bonus with a push-reel lawnmower is that it cuts the grass in smaller pieces which makes it excellent fertilizer! Just leave the clippings on the lawn, and they will compost, putting nitrogen back into the ground without water polluting chemical fertilizers!
· Also, push-reel lawnmowers are silent, and great exercise!

- If you absolutely cannot give up on gas powered lawn mowers, consider purchasing a newer, 4-stroke engine gas mower. While this is not the most ideal choice, 4-stroke mowers still emit less pollution than 2-stroke mowers.

- The last option is switching from grass, to a low maintnence, native local ground
cover such as clover, or other herbal options!

Information sourced from:

The Clean Air Foundation, “Mow Down Pollution: Facts and Info,” http://www.cleanairfoundation.org/mowdownpollution/facts.mdp.asp

The David Suzuki Foundation, “Garden Tools Shouldn’t Pollute,” May 9, 2003, http://www.davidsuzuki.org/about_us/Dr_David_Suzuki/Article_Archives/weekly05090301.asp

Earth Hour!

Earth hour 2008 was a great success here in Port Perry as well as in Canada! We can all join with WWF in 2009 by turning off our lights for one hour on Saturday, March 28th from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.!

Earth hour is a global lights out phenomenon that will bring together millions of people from all around the world to support action on climate change.

Hundreds of cities in more than 70 countries have pledged to support Earth Hour, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.

Last year millions of people in more than 35 countries participated and we have already surpassed that number for 2009. We are well on the way of meeting WWF’s goal of one billion participants.

Add to that a special significance; Earth Hour will also provide a global call to action to world leaders who are meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 to strike a new global deal on climate change.

A new agreement is pivotal because in 2012 the Kyoto Accord will expire.

So, please, turn off your lights, how about a beeswax candle to light your way.

This is one way we can all be heard, actions speak oh so loudly. And don’t stop at turning off the lights. Think about what else can be done to reduce your footprint; like taking transit, unplugging unused electrical appliances and washing your clothes in cold water. The list is endless and your action will make a big difference. 

here I go again!

I know it seems as if I am belaboring the point but as I walked to the store this morning I passed 2 Tim Horton’s and I was choked by the exhaust fumes in the air, I can only hold my breath so long and it is extremely difficult to express my dismay when I am unable to breathe.
I want to knock on the windows of these vehicles and suggest the drivers get their warm, caffeine lacking body’s out of the seat and enter the establishment, order coffee while waiting in the warmth of the 4 walls before coming out to start their vehicle and get on their way. On a morning like this one, at -28 I do concur that it is colder than we like but…it does take less gas to turn off the car and turn it back on than to idle for as long as it takes to get to the drive thru window. I cannot state exactly how long most people wait in the line but I will attest that it is longer than our environment can handle.
So, let’s get out of our cars and take care of business. It is up to us to spread the awareness which will hopefully lead to less spread of exhaust!