*Snippets and Blabbery*

The new compost bucket!

I’m sure this isn’t huge news, but we finally got a new compost bucket. Here’s our old one - well used and VERY broken. We got it for free at the little composting class at the local library.

So I was so excited to get the box from Gaiam with my large 9 qt compost bucket, but was so sad when I opened the box and found packing peanuts. Gross. And bad news.

BUT THEN, I read the enclosed info card and learned that the peanuts Gaiam uses are called Renature peanuts, made from a wheat and potato mixture. They’re completely biodegradable and water soluble. Watch this!

Awesome. And here’s my new compost bucket! So super awesome!

oh, and one more thing

about all the toys. We’re a fairly green family. Except that my husband drives an hour to and from work and works for a water-bottling company. You can bet we recycle those bottles, but still.

We compost, we recycle everything, we use reusable bags instead of plastic bags - except to hold cat poop, we buy biodegradable (read “even more expensive”) diapers.

But the packaging on these toys we’re buying our kid are undoing all the good. Two layers of hard plastic surrounded by tons of cardboard, paper instructions, a box around the cardboard and plastic, steel ties (well, maybe not steel, but ridiculously hard to cut) around each toy that has to be sawed off with a chainsaw…I now make sure I have my camping knife with me when we go to Target. I also keep a box cutter in the car.

Crazy? If you think so, perhaps you’ve never had to open a Thomas the Train package.

I think the Europeans have the right idea. Because there are limits on the amount of trash you produce (you have to pay more if you need a bigger receptacle), stores will take all the packaging for you.

But really, if there weren’t so many thieves in this country, the packaging wouldn’t be so extreme.