zero waste

[Cherie]

I bury fruit and veggie peels and trimmings in the back yard. Where I've done that the soil is much improved.  

 

When the weather warms up I'm going consider black soldier fly composting for meat scraps, etc. Now there's some entertaining videos to look into on YouTube if you get a spare moment!  😜

 

I fail miserably at bringing back plastic bags to buy groceries though. I could start a bag store. It slips my mind nine times out of ten 😕

 

 

 

 

 

[Victoria]

6 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Yes, that’s a good start. Take a look at what you eat, and see if you could make any changes there. And, when you buy food things, is it possible to bring your own container?

I buy everything at supermarkets and it's impossible to bring my container there. The only possibility is to find an old lady with a cow who sells milk and dairy products. She will use my jar and containers but I am afraid to buy such food, don't know if it's safe.

[Thesauron]

I buy everything at supermarkets and it's impossible to bring my container there. The only possibility is to find an old lady with a cow who sells milk and dairy products. She will use my jar and containers but I am afraid to buy such food, don't know if it's safe.

Do you know if what you buy at the supermarket is safe? Use your eyes and nose and you’ll go a long way, just like you do with the food stuff already in your kitchen.

[Victoria]

I don't know why but I believe that food from supermarkets is better. I like supermarkets so it will be a problem to buy food elsewhere. But I believe that reducing garbage is the right thing to do for Christians.

I've already done my first small step - refused a straw:-)

[Thesauron]

I don't know why but I believe that food from supermarkets is better. I like supermarkets so it will be a problem to buy food elsewhere. But I believe that reducing garbage is the right thing to do for Christians.

I've already done my first small step - refused a straw:-)

Awesome. Usually it is better to get your food from your local farmer. Less transport.

[carlos]

12 hours ago, Victoria said:

I buy everything at supermarkets and it's impossible to bring my container there. The only possibility is to find an old lady with a cow who sells milk and dairy products. She will use my jar and containers but I am afraid to buy such food, don't know if it's safe.

Victoria, it's great that you are trying to reduce your waste of plastic. Jehovah wants Christians to take care of the earth.

 

On the other hand, once you have considered your options and taken measures, don't feel guilty if there's not much you can do. This is a problem that will only be resolved in the new world. The brothers have given some good advice, but the situation is different in every country and Jehovah is well aware of that. For exmaple, in some places we can save waste by being careful what we buy, while in others the friends can be happy if they can afford anything to eat.

 

I remember an Awake! that impacted me when I was a teenager. A reader sent a letter calling the organization hypocrites because they published a lot of articles about environmental issues but our magazines were not printed in recycled paper. The brothers replied that recycled paper is a lot more expensive, of worse quality and hard to find in an volume big enough for the amount of magazines we print. Almost thirty years later our magazines are still not printed on recycled paper.. It may be environmentally-friendly but it's not practical. The brothers do what is reasonably within their reach and don't feel guilty for what they cannot afford to do.

Edited November 30, 2018 by carlos

[Victoria]

7 hours ago, carlos said:

Victoria, it's great that you are trying to reduce your waste of plastic. Jehovah wants Christians to take care of the earth.

 

On the other hand, once you have considered your options and taken measures, don't feel guilty if there's not much you can do. This is a problem that will only be resolved in the new world. The brothers have given some good advice, but the situation is different in every country and Jehovah is well aware of that. For exmaple, in some places we can save waste by being careful what we buy, while in others the friends can be happy if they can afford anything to eat.

 

I remember an Awake! that impacted me when I was a teenager. A reader sent a letter calling the organization hypocrites because they published a lot of articles about environmental issues but our magazines were not printed in recycled paper. The brothers replied that recycled paper is a lot more expensive, of worse quality and hard to find in an volume big enough for the amount of magazines we print. Almost thirty years later our magazines are still not printed on recycled paper.. It may be environmentally-friendly but it's not practical. The brothers do what is reasonably within their reach and don't feel guilty for what they cannot afford to do.

I agree. I know Jehovah won't let people destroy the earth so I don't worry a lot about ecological problems. But I want to do my best to keep the place I live  in clean. 

Thanks everybody for your advice. I will be happy to hear more ideas. I will continue to pray for the wisdom.

[Miss Bea]

18 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Awesome. Usually it is better to get your food from your local farmer. Less transport.

And, it’s real!

[Thesauron]

And, it’s real!

What do you mean?

[Victoria]

"The Bible assures us that every trace of the damage caused by man will be undone when God ‘makes all things new.’ (Revelation 21:5) However, we should not conclude that since God will in time restore the earth, our actions now do not matter. They do! How can we demonstrate that we share God’s view of our planet and support his will for it to be a paradise?". It is written in Awake!2012. 

[Miss Bea]

On 11/30/2018 at 9:58 AM, Thesauron said:

What do you mean?

No waxing, colors shot into the food, to make it more, “vibrant”. Can avoid GMO. Can avoid pesticides. Not cold storage, from last year! 

As chemical free as it can be. 

Eggs are a good example. We always buy local eggs. And, if the chickens go on strike, and we end up paying some awful price at the health food store, they are bland. Sort of tasteless. Fresh eggs, the you’ll are more orange, and the whites are not as runny. And, they taste better. And, they are as good as the market can provide. But, not as good as the eggs from the local area. 

[Qapla]

We use local eggs - I guess you can call the back yard local

[Thesauron]

No waxing, colors shot into the food, to make it more, “vibrant”. Can avoid GMO. Can avoid pesticides. Not cold storage, from last year! 
As chemical free as it can be. 
Eggs are a good example. We always buy local eggs. And, if the chickens go on strike, and we end up paying some awful price at the health food store, they are bland. Sort of tasteless. Fresh eggs, the you’ll are more orange, and the whites are not as runny. And, they taste better. And, they are as good as the market can provide. But, not as good as the eggs from the local area. 

Why do you think that’s the case with your local eggs?

[Miss Bea]

9 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Why do you think that’s the case with your local eggs?

The taste! 

[Thesauron]

The taste! 

Yes, but why?

[Miss Bea]

1 hour ago, Thesauron said:

Yes, but why?

Probably multiple reasons. I don’t raise chickens. But, I suspect there is a vast difference between the background chickens, and the ones raised never touching green grass, and always stressed out. Never mind what they are fed. I know it is different then commercially produced eggs. Because of that taste! 

That stress business is why we buy chickens that have been raised decently, and if you will excuse the term, killed decently. Those fear hormones...and, the meat almost tastes like a different species. We pay more. But, it is our fuel. I’ve read about, I think, Tyson. Chicken people. Not good. At all. 

It’s all a mess. I’m not hysterical about it, but I look foreword to eating how Jehovah intended us to eat, however that is. 

Are you wanting me to do some research? I’m tired, but...

[New World Explorer]

On 12/5/2018 at 4:12 PM, Victoria said:

"The Bible assures us that every trace of the damage caused by man will be undone when God ‘makes all things new.’ (Revelation 21:5) However, we should not conclude that since God will in time restore the earth, our actions now do not matter. They do! How can we demonstrate that we share God’s view of our planet and support his will for it to be a paradise?". It is written in Awake!2012. 

Yes, but in a balanced way. GB members fly to attend International Conventions - and planes emit massive amounts of pollution to the air (directly into the atmosphere)

We do, what we can Victoria. We just can't switch off completely.

[Victoria]

13 minutes ago, Gregexplore said:

Yes, but in a balanced way. GB members fly to attend International Conventions - and planes emit massive amounts of pollution to the air (directly into the atmosphere)

We do, what we can Victoria. We just can't switch off completely.

I absolutely agree, balance is important. But I know that some people produce very little garbage though they don't study the Bible and are not going to live forever.But they care about the planet. That made me think that I could do much more and I should do much more that I am doing now. I just didn't care before. I did almost nothing to demonstrate that I share God's view of our planet. I think it's hard to understand when you don't live here. No recycling. We just throw  out everything we don't need even toxic things like batteries ( hope it's the right word). We don't throw anything in the streets or in the forest. That is all. The dump is not my problem. That was my thought. Because everyone here thinks so.

I am not against airplanes, cars, eating meat and bananas. I guess I am against thoughtless deeds. It is very easy to say: "I cannot change anything!  Everyone does it so I do it too". I really don't think such attitude will make Jehovah happy. He knows what I cannot do and what I just don't wanna do.

Am I wrong?

 

[Qapla]

Yes, Jehovah knows what we can and cannot do. He also knows our heart.

 

Think of some of the other things we are faced with:

• Military and weapons buildup
• Greedy commercialism
• LGBT
• tobacco use
• drug abuse

While these things plague the world we live in, it is not our place to try to change them. We may have to "put up with them" where we work or live. Some people think that, if we disagree with something and we do not try to fix it, we are not doing "our part".

 

Look at it this way. If you went to an art gallery and noticed a painting that was hanging slightly crooked. Would we feel we had to set it straight? Would we get upset because we can't fit it? Or, would we just admire the artwork and move on?

 

Since the art gallery has personnel to care for the artwork, and, more than likely, have some type of barricades or other prevention measures to keep the public away from the art, we leave it in their hands. We do not come away from the art exhibit and worry over the picture that we could not straighten.

 

The same holds true of many of the conditions we face in this system. We cannot stop what the military does. We cannot turn the clock back on the acceptance of homosexuality. We cannot prevent tobacco, drug and alcohol abuse.

 

We can do what we can to generate less waste - but, we need balance. We cannot solve the problem. Therefore, Jehovah only expects us to have the right heart condition about it. He knows the problem is beyond our ability to solve.

 

Yes, we can do our part to the extent possible not to make things worse - but we do not get absorbed in trying to be so "zero" in our "footprint" that we lose sight of Jehovah's purpose and His ability to solve things in His due time. If we get too absorbed in trying to be "green", we could end up taking precious time away from serving Jehovah while we try to do His job instead of the one He assigned us - that of preaching the Kingdom.

[rocket]

Sometimes even when a person does everything possible to contribute to a clean planet, the people responsible for disposing of recycled products get greedy.  Occasionally we see where someone has dumped recycled products in streams and rivers in mass.

[rocket]

Another thing to consider locally is the reduction in what is acceptable to recycle. A near by Congregation received a $300 fine for having an article in the recycle that was not acceptable. So now they have to scrutinize every article in the recycle bin before it's picked up.

[Victoria]

6 hours ago, Qapla said:

Yes, Jehovah knows what we can and cannot do. He also knows our heart.

 

Think of some of the other things we are faced with:

• Military and weapons buildup
• Greedy commercialism
• LGBT
• tobacco use
• drug abuse

While these things plague the world we live in, it is not our place to try to change them. We may have to "put up with them" where we work or live. Some people think that, if we disagree with something and we do not try to fix it, we are not doing "our part".

 

Look at it this way. If you went to an art gallery and noticed a painting that was hanging slightly crooked. Would we feel we had to set it straight? Would we get upset because we can't fit it? Or, would we just admire the artwork and move on?

 

Since the art gallery has personnel to care for the artwork, and, more than likely, have some type of barricades or other prevention measures to keep the public away from the art, we leave it in their hands. We do not come away from the art exhibit and worry over the picture that we could not straighten.

 

The same holds true of many of the conditions we face in this system. We cannot stop what the military does. We cannot turn the clock back on the acceptance of homosexuality. We cannot prevent tobacco, drug and alcohol abuse.

 

We can do what we can to generate less waste - but, we need balance. We cannot solve the problem. Therefore, Jehovah only expects us to have the right heart condition about it. He knows the problem is beyond our ability to solve.

 

Yes, we can do our part to the extent possible not to make things worse 

So you think I am doing enough not to make things worse?

I don't buy plastic bags ( to save money), but I take small free ones to weigh food). I don't use single use plates and cutlery because there's no need to do it. I don't buy water in plastic bottles ( to save money).

It's not about the garbage but I don't use a car and try to save water and electricity.

So is it enough? 

You know, I don't worry about planes and other means of transport because I don't own them. But I own my garbage, I myself buy it, it's mine and I am to decide what to do with it. That is my opinion.

BTW my husband doesn't want to buy local milk because local cows can eat garbage.

[New World Explorer]

3 hours ago, Victoria said:

BTW my husband doesn't want to buy local milk because local cows can eat garbage.

Please explain ...because I can shake that silly smirk off my face

[Victoria]

During the summer local cows wander everywhere and eat everything they find. They can find much garbage( some is toxic) so we think their milk is not safe to drink. Don't you agree?

[GeordieGirl]

34 minutes ago, Victoria said:

During the summer local cows wander everywhere and eat everything they find. They can find much garbage( some is toxic) so we think their milk is not safe to drink. Don't you agree?

If there is toxic material around that your cows might be eating, I certainly wouldn't take the risk, Victoria.  Just keep buying your food from the supermarket if that is what you are comfortable with and that is where it is safer.  Your health is important.

 

Some countries are much stricter about these sorts of things than other countries and you can only do what you can according to the facilities in your country and if you don't have recycling and everything just goes into a dump there is nothing you can do about that.  If you don't have a garden there is no use composting.

 

There will be many differences between where you live and where alot of the rest of us live and just because I can do things here it doesn't mean you can do the same things there. So while it's good to think about these things, don't let it stress you out.  There are already many pressures in this system and you can only do what you can do. Don't try and make lots of big changes all in one go but as you make small changes in your personal life you will come across other things you can do a bit at a time.  xx

 

Edited December 7, 2018 by GeordieGirl