It's time for a trade-in. While surfing around for some eco-friendly dryer sheets, I discovered a whole host of method products online -- ones I haven't found at Target yet. Well, I suppose I've seen the omop at Target, but I figured I didn't need to buy another Swiffer-type mop because I already have one. But all those Swiffer cloths just go in the trash, right? Had I taken the time to look closely at the sweeping cloths designed for the omop, I probably would've grabbed it off the shelf a long time ago. The sweeping cloths are compostable and made from corn! Not only is this a totally cool concept, but it's right in line with my goal to generate less trash. Once we move into our new house, we plan to set up a composting bin, in which these neat little cloths will go when spent. Bingo.
So I went to methodhome.com and ordered me an omop wood floor starter kit and an extra package of sweeping cloths. The Swiffer mop is on its way out the door (but not in the trash). I can't wait to try the new mop on the wood floors in the new house.
Method also makes that eco-friendly dryer cloth I was searching for, don'tcha know. It's biodegradable, whereas other dryer sheets only contain biodegradable softening agents. The method bathroom wipes are flushable and biodegradable, and the hand soap refill packaging uses 83% less plastic than a rigid PET bottle (yes, I'm regurgitating info from the Web site, but I think it's great!). These are great products that can help you begin the transition to green cleaning, if you're not ready to make your own cleaners. Target carries most of the cleaning products, and you can order them on the method Web site, if you don't see what you want at Target. Take note: drugstore.com carries several method products, but they're priced higher than at methodhome.com.
In other eco news, we switched out the old chemical-laden kitty litter with a wheat litter we found at the Seward Co-op. Not only will Marty smell a lot better, but he won't track chemicals all over the house with his kitty paws (or ingest the chemicals), and the litter is flushable. We flushed the kitty clumps yesterday to test the flushability; it looked pretty gross in the toilet, but it went down with no problem. The price wasn't all that bad, either.
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Is flushable good? I mean the more solids you put down the drain the more the treatment plant needs to take out. Why go trough the trouble of recovering the solids if they are not there to begin with. I say keep what goes down the drain to the bare minimum. Anyways, solids recovered from waste water are often sent to the landfill anyways... so not a real improvement.
The only "biodegradable" waste stream I know if is yard waste, which is closer to compost than biodegradable. The difference here is that biodegradable takes a lot longer to be consumed by bacteria than unprocessed biomass. Thus the question, what waste stream to put your biodegradable kitty litter into?
I don't know which stream is better or if flushable is ideal, but we thought that if we flushed the kitty poo instead of throwing it away, we'd at least be eliminating one more plastic bag put in the trash -- since you have to tie up the litter in something to throw it out, and it's usually a plastic bag. If we have the option of flushing, we can put the plastic bag in the recycling instead of the trash.
So the question is, would it be better to put kitty poo and a plastic bag in the landfill, or just kitty poo?
The cat poo in the bag problem. Didn't Shrodinger solve this? (sorry, bad Physics joke). This might be worth more thought. I always see home owners walking there dogs, with plastic bags in hand, ready to snatch their beloved's nuggets. Seems like both cats and dogs have a plastic bag issues.
I suppose I have double the issues, since I have a cat and a dog. :-P
Problem is, if you don't pick up your dog's poo in public places, the city fines you for not picking it up. Either that or the neighbor who catches you leaving it in the boulevard gives you the stink eye and you're forever on the list of bad neighbors. There are options out there for what you choose to pick it up with (you probably don't want to hear that there are biodegradable poo bags!), but most pet owners that carry around plastic bags opt for the easiest and most accessible option. Good thing it's been too cold to walk my dog much this winter -- it's saved me having to discard his poo, other than what he leaves in my yard.
As for the cat litter, you don't actually flush all of it -- just the clumps you scoop out of the litter box.
Strange how this conversation has focused strictly on poo.
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