Museum of Litter

REduce, REuse, REcycle, RE-THINK. Ramblings on resources.

I don't think of myself as a consumer since I don't love to shop or buy stuff. But I most certainly consume. We are all constantly consuming just by the fact that we're on the planet and breathing. I've been thinking a lot about the resources I use on a daily basis.

The Museum of Litter and I are on an extended road trip, experimenting with living off-grid and boondocking.

I figure if I can cut expenses to a bare minimum I can keep the Museum of Litter alive and work on litter-prevention full-time.  Since I've been on the road, my use of resources has changed. I've had to rethink everything, and I hope I'm making the wisest choices.

What used to work for me in a land based dwelling has dramatically changed. Here are some ramblings on my experience of living economically off-grid, as green as possible and using the fewest resources.

PAPER TOWELS:

At home I hardly ever used paper towels. I always had a roll in the house just in case there was something too gross for a sponge or reusable rag, but almost never used them. On the road, I started sparingly using paper towels because it helped me conserve water by removing more food from the dishes before washing. I used them, with my conscious nagging me, until I found a better way (keep reading).

WATER:

My vehicle is self-contained. I carry my own water. My RoadTrek tank holds 36 gallons of fresh water. I don't keep it filled when traveling because of the weight and gas expense. If I know I'll be somewhere a week then I'll fill it with as much water as I expect I'll use. We always have a few plastic jugs that we can refill with water as we go. 

At first I used paper towels to cut down on water usage, but that was definitely not working for me or the planet. For some reason I brought this old Tupperware tool my mother used to use (she was a Tupperware Lady) with me on this trip and started using that for scraping the food from the dishes.

It worked really well. Not only did it use less water for washing dishes, but kept the sponge cleaner so there is less water wasted rinsing gunk from the sponge. I've created something similar, upcycled from an old credit card.

Because it's so flexible, it works even better. It easily conforms to the shape of the bowl or dish or pan and doesn't scratch the surface

To save water I even pour the water from the washed dish onto the next dirty one, enabling me to reuse water. Each dish gets its own fresh rinse, with the smallest amount of water possible, rinsing only the fork tines or inside of the bowl and wiping dry the handle or outside of the bowl where a thin residue of soap won't matter.  This may seem nit picky, but if you're running out of water in a remote location, even a tablespoon or two is helpful, so I am learning to not waste a single drop.  I use less than 25 gallons a week. I'm sure at home I used that much daily with each shower. Now I can wash and rinse my hair with less than 1/2 gallon of water. I used to really be a water-waster, but I'm learning. Also, using less water means using less gas to transport it.

PLASTIC:

I have always carried reusable bags to the market (or beat myself up if I forgot), but on this road trip I do get plastic bags for most purchases to use for garbage bags.

At home I was vigilant about not bringing home unnecessary plastic. These days I agonize in the produce section, and now buy the pre-washed plastic

bagged salad. Although I'm purchasing plastic my thought is I'm saving a lot of water by not having to wash it. I save the plastic and reuse it to wrap food or for picking up litter in my travels.

PROPANE:

The propane operates the gas range, the refrigerator, the hot water tank and the furnace. We use at the most, about $14 a month and the propane seems to last forever. We fill up when in town but have never come close to running out. 

COOKING FOOD STORAGE AND REFRIGERATION:

This RoadTrek has a 3 cubic foot refrigerator. It runs off electric (when plugged in), propane (when dry camping) or 12 volts (when driving) and holds about a week to ten days worth of food.

I've altered some of my food purchases. I use a lot of *Crumbles* (soy protein that resembles hamburger) and have replaced that with dry flakes of TVP (textured vegetable protein) that does not require refrigeration. Also instead of buying liquid soy or almond milk that needs refrigeration when opened, I buy soy powder and just mix it with water as needed.

WASTE /TRASH / RECYCLING:

It was so easy at home pitching something in the garbage can or recycling bin without giving it a second thought. Now, in addition to finding an RV Dump station, we need to dispose of our daily garbage. Having to be always looking for a place to throw away a bag of trash sure helps with the choices I make about what to buy and how it is packaged. Recycling poses a challenge and I'm always happy to see a recycling bin.

GAS:

Gas is a big issue and expensive. We are conscious of conserving yet it is certainly our biggest expense and use of a nonrenewable resource. I had also been using it for electricity via the generator for an hour or two a day. One hour of generator use consumes a little over a half gallon of gas. I wish I was in a position to consider biofuel, but I'm not. I am hoping my limited use of other resources, and any good I might do by meeting people and bringing awareness of the importance of litter-prevention will balance out and help offset the use of this resource.

ELECTRIC:

AC: I haven't needed air conditioning since I left northern Florida in September 2012. That's eight months without AC. About a days drive from where I live in South Florida the air was just cool enough to sleep with open windows. Since then I haven't used AC. My AC has been the natural AC of moving North or South with the seasons and Up & Down in elevation.

The other things in the motorhome that I used that required electric on an daily basis were the microwave and the coffee pot. I still had a regular electric drip pot and if we were not plugged into electric I would turn the generator on to get electric just to perk a pot of coffee or to make oatmeal in the microwave. Isn't that just pathetic? My camping neighbors who had solar thought so. LOL. Well, I've graduated to an old fashioned percolator pot and now make coffee...quietly... on the propane stove. And I can easily make oatmeal on the propane stove. In fact I prefer it. I never thought microwaves were safe anyway and heating up things in them had become a bad and convenient habit.

The ONLY thing I am still dependent on electric for is to recharge my cell phone, laptop and MiFi jetpack. I had been scrambling to give them as much charge as possible while running the generator for morning coffee or heating up food for dinner. I would continue to run the generator after the food was done, just to recharge my electronics.  The generator was annoyingly noisy, wasted expensive gas and I  rarely had it on long enough to fully charge all of the devices anyway. 

I can do without electricity for the most part, but there is no way around needing electricity to stay connected, so, 

SOLAR:

I broke down and bought solar. It is expensive but also an investment. I feel having a charged cell phone is an important survival tool and being able to connect is an important part of litter-prevention.  I LOVE solar, and have been an advocate for a long time, as you can see. The friend on the right

is wearing a solar tee shirt I designed in the 70's.  I now have a 155 watt panel on the roof which is enough to charge my devices, run my roof fan to help keep cool and give me lights at night.

NOW I'm a happy camper!

CONCLUSION:

I used to feel so virtuous when I'd remember to consume less of one particular resource. Now I realize, sometimes using less of one resource can mean using more of another. It's a tradeoff....a balancing act. Of all the R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) ReTHINK may be the most important of all!

Comments and suggestions are welcomed as we all try to figure out how to consume less and preserve the planet

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IF YOU WANT more info on mobile, off-grid, living there are a number of great sites. Check out RV Vagabond, Frugal RV Travel, and  Cheap Green RV Living. I am in no way affiliated with any of these sites. This is just to share information with you.

RE RE RE RE RE RE RE RESPECT!

Thinking about Earth Day, the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), and the additional RE's being added (like REfuse, REpurpose, REthink), in my mind I keep hearing Aretha belting out:

RE RE RE RE RE RE RE RESPECT!

 

To hear Aretha Franklin singing Respect, the Rhythm and Blues classic by Otis Redding (1967, original version) click here.

Wouldn't this song, with images of the earth, make a great, green, public service announcment for preserving our planet? Aretha, are you in?

I may have been an Ugly American,...butt Gracias.

I made a quick trip into Algodones, Mexico today to get a haircut and my teeth cleaned. As I was running errands I saw a woman extinguish her cigarette butt on the sidewalk right in front of me.

I just stopped for a second and stared at it thinking what I could do as I didn't have anything with me to pick it up. I was in the touristy section and one of the sidewalk vendors started trying to sell me his wares. He asked me what I wanted. I told him I only wanted to pick up the cigarette butt but I didn't have anything to pick it up with. I thought the lady was just another tourist and I explained to her how the butt would go into the water and ocean and kill birds, fish and turtles and how that was so sad, so I always tried to pick them up, and that I wanted to pick it up but didn't have anything to pick it up with. She didn't have much of a reaction until the vendor explained what I said in Spanish. She bent down and actually picked it up! If I had known she was Mexican, I may not have said anything since I was a guest in her country. As she walked away to the trash can I called out a heart-felt, "Thank you! Gracias!"

Do you think me being an American visiting in her country should have anything to do with if I said something or not? Have you ever made a comment to someone littering? What kind of result did you have? Have you ever felt like saying something but didn't? What did you feel like saying? What could you say that would make a difference in their future actions?

Keeping your word...literally.

Talking to a park ranger about camping in Tonto National Forest, Arizona,

I was cautioned to not leave garbage laying around when we left. I laughed and told him I was from the Museum of Litter, was obsessive about litter, and would leave it cleaner than I found it. He remained unconvinced. He said 98% of the people say that and leave the place filthy....that he doesn't believe anything anyone says anymore.

I found that so sad. He's definitely not meeting the right people...not the people I know. I thought of all the litter-pickers I know from around the world who care about the environment and wished he could know you.

The area was definitely left cleaner than I found it...

Here's a photo of the litter picked up from the parking lot, beach and picnic pavillions:

On the way out of the forest, I stopped by the ranger station with the litter I'd collected so he could see some people do keep their word. Unfortunately, the ranger station was closed (budget cuts, you know). I'm hoping he reads this and realizes there are many of us who go out of our way to pick up litter wherever we find it. Check out this map of world-wide litter-pickers. (Hold your mouse over the person to see who they are and where they are from.)

There ARE people, a LOT of people who care and do the right thing for the environment. Just wanted to give a shout out to all of you and tell you how much you are appreciated! A big THANK YOU from the Museum of Litter!

Happy Valentines Day to Earth ...Let's LOVE it ...not Litter it.

What a great opportunity Valentines Day is to talk about showing a little love to the Planet. Using the concept of LOVE, it's a perfect time to talk about litter prevention as in "Love it...dont litter it."

Organizing a clean up is always good, but what can we do proactively to prevent the litter in the first place? The Museum of Litter is making little "valentine cards" to hand out. After the word "LOVE" there's a blank to fill in wherever you are.

Love Earth...don't litter it.

Love New York....don't litter it.

Love the Grand Canyon ... don't litter it.

Love the beach ... don't litter it.

Love the park ... don't litter it.

Hopefully this will be a pleasant way to receive a litter-prevention reminder.

What are other ways we can get this message out? I'm picturing a sign in a car window, a shop window, a billboard or done by a skywriter. Write it in the sand at the beach or playground. If you're really gutsy, write it on a big board and stand at a busy intersection.

Would love to see your ideas We can all learn from each other and spread the message faster. Please share your ideas with us!

Clean & Green in 2013

Will this be the year we eradicate litter?

I honestly believe, If we really cared we could eliminate litter within a year. Litter is easily preventable. There is NO EXCUSE. So, cheers to:

Clean & Green in 2013

(repeat if necessary)

Clean & Green in 2014

(repeat if necessary)

Clean & Green in 2015

(repeat if necessary)

Clean & Green in 2016

(repeat if necessary)

Clean & Green in 2017

(repeat if necessary)

Clean & Green in 2018

(repeat if necessary)

Clean & Green in 2019

Hopefully with 2020 vision we'll be litter-free and wonder how we ever put up with litter for so long in the first place. Would love to hear your ideas to speed up this process!

Fellow Litter-pickers:  What valuables have you found?

The most expensive things I've found would be iPhones. We've found several and have been able to find the owners for all of them. 

Most of them were happy and appreciative of the effort to find them, like Austin:

 

but then there was George ... a Jack-Nicholson-bad-boy-character look alike who made me want to hit him over the head with his iPhone. 

The most VALUABLE thing we've been able to return, was a grandmother's camera. The camera barely worked, but the memory card had 700+ family photos. The photos revolved around an adorable young boy and his

extended family during all the holidays, sporting events and birthdays for a whole year. There were pictures of him dyeing Easter eggs, in Halloween costume surveying all his candy, standing in snow, under the Christmas tree with presents, family vacations, playing soccer and proudly showing a ribbon won for a track event, even pictures of a military funeral. Although she was visiting from Ohio and lost her camera on.Fort Lauderdale beach, we were able to locate her and return these priceless memories. Read how we were able to find grandma to return her camera.

Not really of monetary valuable, but VALUABLE TO ME, are this cloth sun visor and plastic beach basket. These former pieces of litter were not only rescued from the Atlantic Garbage Patch they are both very useful to me. I use them both almost daily. 

I can't keep everything I find and would like to pass it along to you. Other great litter finds can be found on our Pinterest Board  Lost & Found & REcycled.  These are beautiful, serviceable, somewhat valuable items that need to go to someone who can put them to good use. If you see something you like or think would make a good gift, please consider using or gifting this item rather than purchasing it new. In addition to a cool item, you'll be supporting a litter-free environment and conscientioius, anti-consumerism and all the plastic packaging that goes with it.

In your clean ups have YOU found anything valuable? Were you able to return it? If not, what did you do with it? Did you give it away? Do you use it? Do you have any *keepers*, like me? Any good stories to share? Would love to hear them and see pictures of your treasures. It's so true: one mans trash is another mans treasure.

Mothers feed cigarette butts to babies

 

Mother birds don't mean to feed their babies cigarette butts, but flicked filters are easily mistaken for food. Unfortunately, it is a deadly mistake.

Birds can die from the toxins in the butts and/or from the plastic filters (yes, filters are made from cellulose acetate -- plastic) This plastic clogs their systems, and prevents them from digesting real food, so they starve. This is a picture of a dead baby albatross with its stomach full of plastic.

If you're a smoker, please, p-l-e-a-s-e, P-L-E-A-S-E plan ahead so you can prevent these mothers from poisoning their young.

Tombstone: Buried in Butts

What a treat to visit Tombstone, AZ,  the site of so many old west legends. The pedestrian-only streets look and are filled with people dressed as they were in the 1800's. It's charming and certainly takes you back in time.

As I walked around a town that is supported by tourist dollars and strives to be historically accurate, I was shocked to see so many

cigarette butts. I'm sure back in the day those ruff 'n tuff Marlboro guys pitched their butts, but back then cigarettes were biodegradable and you wouldn't see plastic filters laying around as litter for months. Like Tombstone, these butts are "too tough to die."

I got to thinking what a great opportunity Tombstone has to be tourist-tidy and educate about the problems of litter, especially toxic cigarette butts. I envision someone in western garb, good-naturedly interacting with tourists and townsfolk with a *vintage* sign reading:

Littering is illegal.

(Cigarette butts are litter.)

Violators will be shot on site.

Using the wild west theme there are lots of ideas to make this light-hearted and fun, yet informational.

Tombstone could have clearly marked ashtray/butt collection bins that look like jails with plexi containers to collect the butts. Sign could read:  Wanted: Dead or Alive. Cigarette butts.

Those butts could be sold  or recycled / upcycled at http://innovagreensystems.com/

Considering the implication of fire hazard with pitched butts on the wooden sidewalks and Tombstone's State of Water Emergency I'd think they'd have good reason to prevent cigarette butt litter. What do you think?

Block Island, RI, June 24, 2012

2 Hands, 3 Hours -- Hike through Rodman's Hollow Trail to the Ocean

How refreshing to only find 3 pieces of litter in about 3 miles of hiking on this beautiful greenway trail.  

We hiked to the edge of the bluff and were rewarded with this gorgeous ocean view.

Block Island is beautiful with lots of open vistas.  It has 28 miles of walking trails and 43% of the island is preserved thanks to Block Island Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy.  The island is about 11 square miles and is situated 12 miles south of the coast of Rhode Island. It has 350 freshwater ponds and ground water is the island's only source of water so Block Island is very conscious about conserving water, keeping the water free from contaminants and litter prevention. Wish more tourist were aware, especially about cigarette butt litter. I saw lots of littered butts in trafficked Old Harbor and at the airport.

Spotted this visual reminder at  Pond and Beyond Tours and Rentals  (a kayak rental). Asked several people and they were sure this was created by Corrie. Thanks, Corrie, for this great reminder!

2 Hands, 20 Minutes:  West Beach

This was a secluded spot for viewing the sunset and a little litter pickup. This beach was littered with entire car engines and large pieces of heavy rusted metal objects. There were a few cigarette butts and bottle caps, but not many.

Didn't seem to be a lot of litter left behind by beach goers, but there were lots of balloons. I  picked up 6 and there were two more caught in bushes behind a fence that I couldn't get to.

Block Island, as a whole, is pretty clean, yet there doesn't seem to be anyplace, anywhere, that is completely litter-free. Was happy to do some small litter cleanups to help keep this very special island beautiful.