Don't be overwhelmed by styrofoam packaging this holiday season! Butte County Public Works is offering the following drop-off points for styrofoam recycling:

Block Styrofoam
*Northern Recycling & Waste Services, 920 American Way, Paradise
*Recology of Butte Colusa Counties, 2720 S. 5th Ave, Oroville
*Recology of Butte Colusa Counties, 3097 Southgate Ln, Chico.
*North Valley Waste Management, 2569 Scott Ave, Chico.
*Neal Road Recycling & Waste Facility, 1023 Neal Road.
*Ginno's Appliance, 2505 Zanella Way, Chico.
*Sierra Waste Solutions, 3030 Thorntree, Chico.
*A-1 Appliance, 2586 Olive Hwy, Oroville.
*Chico City Hall Parking Lot, 411 Main St, Chico.

Styrofoam Peanuts
* A & C Postal Center, 975 East Ave., Chico
* Chico Box & Postal Center, 230 Walnut #C, Chico
* Mail Boxes Etc., 702 Mangrove Ave., Chico
* UPS Store, 1354 East Ave. # R, Chico
* UPS Store, 2485 Notre Dame Blvd. #370, Chico
* Paradise Postal Center Plus, 5905 Clark Rd., Paradise
* Postal Plus, 236 W. East Ave. #A, Chico
* The Packaging Store, 6044 Skyway, Paradise

More recycling information for Butte County, including how to recycle Christmas Trees, can be found at: http://www.buttecounty.net/RecycleButte.aspx

On a tip from my brother and sister-in-law, we are now saving the planet one butt-wipe at a time.

In an effort to continue to reduce waste, we have replaced disposable baby-wipes with 6" cloth squares cut from old t-shirts and a simple spray bottle filled with water. We simply dampen each cloth with the spray bottle as needed. The used squares go into the washing machine along with the diapers. Alright, so it's not like we are getting rid of our cars, but the little things count too.

Speaking of cleaning up, I saw this neat contraption on a toilet tank the other day:

In a nutshell, once the toilet is flushed, the clean water that is used to refill the tank is first piped to the faucet for hand washing. The average American flushes the toilet five times a day. If each person also uses a quart of water to wash their hands after each flush, then this little doohicky has the potential to save over 400 gallons of water per person each year.

It's not a new invention, apparently they are pretty commonplace in Japan.

I have attended too many events--luncheons, birthday parties, weddings, etc.--where paper plates and plastic cups were commonplace, and plastic forks half-eaten salads and empty beer bottles all ended up in the trash.

Mark Hererra of Chico is now offering an alternative, and he helps his costumers create zero-waste events at a competitive price by supplying glass mason jars to replace plastic cups, setting up recycling bins, and providing food waste compost containers that will route food scraps back to the soil rather than to the landfill.

Send Mark an email or give him a ring at (530) 894-8547 for more information.

I perhaps go through one roll of aluminum foil a year. I try to avoid using it in general--foil doesn't recycle well once it is covered with lasagna goo.

Last week I ran out, and was excited to try out the 100% recycled aluminum foil that I spotted at Chico Natural Foods.

Unfortunately, it had the durability of a gum wrapper.

Almost three months into this parenthood thing and we are only now starting to get a grasp of this diaper thing.

Our daughter's bum has now experienced about a half dozen different diapering options.

I am liking a brand called "Happy Heinys." This washable diaper has an absorbent insert that fits inside a pocket that wicks moisture to the insert on the inside and is waterproof on the outside. It secures easily with velcro and comes in many colorful prints (above).

Organic cotton and wool enthusiasts would be disappointed that the Heinys are all synthetic, however it does keep one from having to add diapers to the landfill, and is an improvement (in my mind) over cloth diapers in that the wicking action keeps our baby dry for 2 or more pees before she needs to be changed, which means we don't have to do quite as much laundry.

No, these aren't the cheapest diapers available, however occasionally one comes across lightly used diapers on Craigslist, and I cannot recommend both Baby's Boutique and Apple Blossom Baby enough for new and used baby supplies of all sorts, including diapers. The friendly staff and great advice are a bonus, especially for clueless dads.

We did try the gDiapers. Call me squeemish, but in short, they are kind of gross. I did compost a couple of the pee-soaked inserts, which was kind of cool, but tearing apart a poopy insert and then using the plastic "stick" to swirl it around the toilet bowl as I flushed was a bit much for a 3 a.m. diaper change.

Lastly, a note on "Elimination Communication." Those that follow this blog will recall that this is a method of potty-training your baby from as early as day one, reducing--if not eliminating--the need for diapers. Lately, distractions in our lives have precluded dedicating the time needed to allow EC to be as effective as it could be, at least for the moment. So the jury is still out--Stay tuned.

Here are some items that can be returned to vendors at the Farmer's Market to be reused:

--Mesh orange plastic citrus sacks
--Egg cartons
--Green plastic strawberry trays
--Small plastic mesh bags from garlic cloves or potatoes
--Smiles

The great diaper debate seems to have the same answer as the great bag debate.

Use less diapers.

In the early weeks of our daughter's life, we have used the disposable Seventh Generation brand, begun a diaper service with Cotton Club, and received as a gift a package of hybrid, part-disposable/part-washable gDiapers. And we have learned about something called "elimination communication."

Both disposable and washable diapers have an impact on the environment, whether this is adding to landfills or using water resources. Even the Natural Resources Defense Council has stated that there is no clear winner.

So the real question is, how few can you use?

Elimination communication, which is essentially infant potty training, seems to be the most promising solution. The earlier you can potty train, the less diapers you need to use. Haven't heard of it? You can thank the multi-billion dollar diaper industry for convincing the world that we should use their products for as long as they can convince us is necessary (3 years old? 4? 5?).

From what I am reading about it, the key element of infant potty training is dedicated awareness of one's child, and sadly many parents simply don't have the time to devote to such study.

Time is a non-renewable resource. Perhaps "elimination communication" takes too much time?

But then again, how much time (not to mention money) would one save in diaper-changing if a person could potty-train their child a year earlier?

Here is a book on the subject that my wife picked up. I plan to crack it open once I catch up on sleep.

Last week my compost finally began to heat up!

Even the ants seemed happy, as now they can keep warm all winter.

The trick was to turn the pile on a more regular basis, about once a week. Apparently 3 times a year was not enough.

I think it will be a while before my bin heats up enough to cook a turkey in it.

The Severely Handicapped program at Bidwell Jr. High school will make almost $1800 this year by recycling all of the school's plastic and aluminum cans and bottles. These funds are used to purchase specialty education materials specific to the needs of the students in the program, as well as the occasional treat, such as movie tickets.

In addition to raising money, Bidwell Jr.'s recycling program is these students' first introduction to the type of vocational education that many will be receiving in high school.

If Bidwell Jr, with an enrollment of 789 students, can earn $1800 through recycling, than the idea of Chico's 2000-student high schools each being able to pull in $5000 a year by recycling is not out of the question, provided that the schools can able to put together cohesive recycling programs.

It seems that the gold standard for a compost bin is one that is hot and steamy.

Mine is always cold and clammy.

I have added greens, browns, water, turned it, massaged it, and fed it my choicest kitchen scraps.

But I got no heat. Not even an ember.

I called PG&E. They were no help.

Not that things aren't decomposing. They are just doing so kinda slowly. The up side is that the resulting soil is very rich, and my seeds have had no problem germinating in it. The earthworms are happy.

The down side is that all seeds, including the weeds, have no problem germinating in it. And my earthworms have plenty of creepy crawly neighbors, not all of which are as beneficial to my garden. I have enough pill bugs to open a drug store.

Maybe Mark Herrera's "The Basics of Composting" workshop at this year's Sustainability Conference will help me warm things up.