Comments on: Think outside the Biota bottle

By: elizibeth

elizibeth — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:40:02 +0000

is boita water out of bussness or not?

By: Rosa

Rosa — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:16:00 +0000

If you compost plastic-coated cardboard or paper, you end up with little pieces of plastic in your compost.

I assume there is some plastic in my compost that is degraded to invisibility, as well. But because we put shredded cardboards & junk mail in our compost, we get little plastic shreds in a variety or thicknesses.

By: Mazzajo

Mazzajo — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:29:00 +0000

Thankyou Beth and Reijn for giving your opinions… I am in Canberra, Australia. I remember glass milk bottles about 20 years ago, but haven’t seen them since. Unfortunately the dairy industry here is, well, an industry, I don’t think any dairies package their own milk, and certainly not in glass.
I only found out about 6 months ago that it was plastic, not wax, on those cartons and it made me feel rather ill. I wonder if different recycling companies deal with them differently? I’m going to find out…!

By: Rejin L

Rejin L — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 20:46:00 +0000

All things being equal, I’d go with the packaging that uses one kind of material. As I understand it, since cartons have paper and plastic layered together, this makes them harder to recycle. They get picked up for recycling around here, but honestly I wonder what becomes of them.
Things aren’t always equal, though. We buy organic milk for my son, and it is only available locally in cartons. Glass would be the best option, but is hardly used for milk anymore.

By: Beth in the Fake Plastic Fish Tank

Beth in the Fake Plastic Fish Tank — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:40:00 +0000

Mazzajo, this is the million dollar question, isn't it? In fact, I just brought it up last night at my Rethinking Plastics class and could not get a good answer because I don't think there really is one!

Do you have a local dairy that sells milk in reusable refillable glass bottles? Where are you located?

If not, I guess I'd go for the one with the least plastic, the cardboard carton. But even there I wonder if that's the right answer. If you compost them, what happens to the plastic? Does it stay in the compost? That can't be good. If you recycle them, what happens to the plastic?

Anyone else want to weigh in on this?

By: Mazzajo

Mazzajo — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 08:35:00 +0000

Beth & everyone I have a question about plastic bottles (but for milk, not water). Thanks to your blog I feel I have most plastic dilemmas covered except for this one:
Which is more recyclable – plastic bottles or tetrapak milk cartons (which, I gather, have at least one or two plastic layers)? How can they be recycled if the paper pulp and the plastic can’t be separated? How can they be compostable if they’re not completely organic? I’ve tried researching on the web, but am still very confused about this one.

By: Lise Mahnke

Lise Mahnke — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:15:00 +0000

Beth,
I think more fertilizer is used per square foot on lawns than is used to grow corn. Homeowners use much higher rates of fertilizer than agriculture does–agriculture can’t afford to use chemicals at the high rates used for landscapes.

By: Clif

Clif — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:18:00 +0000

Corn production is sure no free ride environmentally. In the NY Times today under the headline, UN Warns of Rapid Decay of Environment it said, “persistent problems include the rapid rise of ‘dead zones’ where marine life can no longer be supported because pollutants like runoff fertilizers deplete oxygen.’ One of the biggest is in the Gulf of Mexico where the fertilizer laden Mississippi empties. Mother Nature is almost screaming at us – THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH! So, let’s head for the tap. Virtually free, sanitary water available at the turn of a faucet and people shun it to pay high prices for essentially the same thing, an incredible achievement of marketing.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:04:00 +0000

im not sure whether i should be proud for the shout out or not! and ps…i havent even started reading your book yet. my focus has been nonexistant at this point! i think im going to try and start it this weekend, but dont kill me if it takes awhile to get done! also…if there’s a book you want to read of mine i’d be more than happy to loan you something in exchange…we have about a billion books. AND..i made some awesome donuts last night and brought them in. i think you should come visit me EVERY friday just to say HI and to be one of my test kitchen eaters.
*marika

By: Daisy

Daisy — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:52:00 +0000

Ah, local vs. organic/ biodegradable. I’m with you there. The cost (environmental and $$) of manufacturing and shipping offsets the benefits of the corn-based bottle.