Comments on: Eco-Running: leaving the route better than you found it.

By: Cousin Yellowstone

Cousin Yellowstone — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:45:00 +0000

I can’t tell you how happy I was to come across your blog entry! I started picking up trash years ago, but got overwhelmed and now pick up only recyclable items. It’s still overwhelming at times. Anyway, although I knew there must be someone, somewhere, who also picked up trash, I’ve been feeling isolated. It’s so good to have tangible evidence I’m not the only person “crazy” enough to go out picking up trash. Now I feel motivated to pick up more trash, not just the recyclables.

By: ashley

ashley — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:50:00 +0000

I went to the beach last summer in Southern California and there was trash all over the beach. People were just laying around seemingly oblivious. I tried to restrain myself but I couldn’t help it, I grabbed a bag and started picking up trash. I’m sure it was a very small dent in all the trash there, but if everyone could just pick up some it would help. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who likes to pick up trash. :)

By: ecbatana eagleturtle

ecbatana eagleturtle — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:56:00 +0000

I'm an eco-artist, and would like to warn about cermaic grout with plastic bottlecaps - fine for fill, but tries to pull away from plastic, and definitely will not work like glue.

I'm looking now for a way to connect the caps in formed shapes as well as mosaic patterns. Trying to avoid epoxy (durable, rigid) or hot glue (quick) to create with heat-melding. Making outdoor lampshapes and garden accents.

mental-work-in-progress

By: Clif

Clif — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:29:00 +0000

Great idea, eco-running. I’m an eco-walker, though and I’ve found that paper bags are easier to use because they hold more and they don’t blow in the wind but stay open for easy deposit. I carry two bags, one for garbage and one for recyclables. My best hunting ground is the local middle school campus. I should probably get over there when school lets out and follow the kids down the sidewalk with my bags…think they would get the hint?

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:07:00 +0000

Nice post! Good to hear how you enjoyed it and how quickly you made a difference.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:54:00 +0000

Aw. This brings me back. When i was younger my parents and I would hike through the woods by our cabin and my mom would always bring bags and we would collect cans and bottles along the way (at the time i didnt realize how sad it really was to see so much garbage thrown out in the forest since i was so little…started at 4!). good for you. if i ever get over my “i hate running” attitude i’ll join you someday. but as for now…the eliptical in my living room 4 days a week is still giving me attitude problems. but good for you and im proud of all your efforts! *marika

By: heather t

heather t — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:58:00 +0000

Just a thought about your plastic bottle cap collection – I wonder if they are compatible with standard grout used with ceramic tiles and could therefore be used in a mosaic-type art project.

Might be a fun/scary project to do with the kids next summer – collect all the plastic bottle caps we use over the school year and put them into an art project. (Yes. We are trying to cut down.)

By: terrible person

terrible person — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:56:00 +0000

Just FYA: the word is “hoarding”, not “hording”. You amass of “hoard” of stuff, like treasure or food; you — especially if you’re Genghis Khan, who I don’t think you are, but he probably didn’t use much plastic — get together a “horde” of people, like Mongol warriors on small horses, in furry hats. (The Mongols are in the furry hats, not the horses. Well, maybe the horses, too; I wasn’t there.) Anyway, a missing “a” so early in the AM isn’t a big deal, but I just thought I’d point it out in case you reedit these posts.

By: Beth in the Fake Plastic Fish Tank

Beth in the Fake Plastic Fish Tank — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:25:00 +0000

Anonymous, I do agree that I can reuse the biodegradable bag if it's not full. Here are the reasons that I disagree with the rest of your comment:

1) There are many other uses for plastic garbage bags than putting them in a landfill. They can be reused many times as bags. And once they are worn out as bags, they can be made into many different objects (like knitted fake plastic fish or more useful things like baskets and totes.)

2) While plastic bags do not biodegrade, they will degrade in a landfill, especially in contact with other toxic chemicals. They degrade into smaller and smaller plastic particles that can leach from the landfill into the surrounding soil. And yes, all landfills do leak. The EPA allows a maximum amount of leakage from all landfills. A corn-based bag, on the other hand, is not going to degrade into something harmful to the soil. Plastic does not belong in landfills.

3) I would not just drop loose plastic items into my household garbage bin without tying it up in a bag because that is the way to send it flying back out into the street and down the storm drains. You should see the way the trucks collect our garbage. The bins are lifted by mechanical arms and dumped roughly into the truck with small, lightweight refuse often flying back out into the street and left there.

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:24:00 +0000

This is so exciting to read because I did this in my urban neighborhood and had similar thoughts: who cares what they think, oh my God, how much trash in just a few minutes… I feel good, especially since bending down to pick up trash enriched the monotnoie of just running, I think. Good for me and the ‘hood.
Keep doing this, I applaud you!