Took this photo yesterday on Queen Street near Spadina...

Day 3 of the garbage strike in Toronto and waste has already begun to pile up. While walking around the city, you can’t miss the overflowing garbage bins, the illegal dumping in parks, and the horrendous stench!

Torontonians will once again have to come face-to-face with the garbage they created. It’s so easy not to think about the waste we produce, because it gets taken away by the trucks, out of sight and out of mind. Maybe it takes a strike to realize that garbage sitting in landfills is just as uncool as garbage piling up on busy streets…

Instead of seeing it as an inconvenience, I see the strike as an opportunity to reflect and maybe change some bad habits. We often just buy, and buy, and buy with disregard for how much we throw out. The strike is an opportunity to make a permanent impact – for the good. Try to avoid buying anything with excessive packaging and just buy less. If we try to be mindful of these things now (and for as long as the strike lasts), we may be able to form some healthy, sustainable habits.

While I’m not saying I want to see a long strike, necessity is the driver of invention. This strike may just inspire more people to think about their garbage and take some small steps towards reducing it on a long term basis.

Tips for getting through a city workers’ strike (like the one going on in Toronto):

- Produce less garbage

- Take a reusable mug or bag when purchasing drinks or groceries.

- Compost in your backyard (http://www.toronto.ca/compost/approach.htm)

- Leave wasteful and bulky packaging at the store if you can.

- Cook fresh food, rather than packaged food

- Return your LBCO and Beer Store bottles and containers to the store and get back the deposit.

- Pack a waste-free lunch with reusable containers and a lunch bag.

- Make sure you rinse all your food packaging before putting it in the recycling bin or garbage bag to prevent smell.

- Make sure you flatten or break down recyclables or garbage before you throw it away to save space.

- Throw away less organic waste by wasting less food. Buy only what you need for short periods of time and freeze leftovers if they will otherwise go bad.

- Think about things before you toss them into the garbage.

- Store your garbage in your backyard shed/garage/or basement – whatever is safest for your situation. Keep pests and creatures away by adding generous amounts of baking soda into the bag/bin to keep odors at bay.

Remember, please do not litter!

posted by Prabhjit Banga, EcoAction Teams program researcher

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When it comes to saving energy, even the most die-hard environmentalist among us would say ‘No Way’ to washing their own clothes by hand (myself included).

Yet, as an apartment dweller without laundry in my building this past year, I’ve been equally less excited about hauling my dirty laundry to the laundromat (or my mom’s, teehee).

That’s why I think the WonderWash could be a fantastic solution for people like me!

The WonderWash (made by The Laundry Alternative Inc.)

Manual powered, compact, and really cheap at under $50 — what a great invention! I can’t believe how cool and practical the contraption claims to be. It can handle a load of 5 pounds (or the equivalent of 10 t-shirts, 30 pairs of socks, or 2-3 pairs of jeans)! Think about the possibilities for the good people who choose to use cloth diapers…

Note: I don’t get into the habit of favouring businesses or products on this blog, but a good idea is a good idea. If there is another contraption out there that can do the same job (or better) please share it!

What do you think? Could you use a manual washer?

Pacific white-sided dolphins travel along Canada’s Pacific coast in groups of up to 3,000

Did you know it was World Ocean’s Day yesterday? I didn’t realize until this morning that it was! But there are people across the country who are working to draw attention to our coastal issues like sustainable fishing and species protection.

Not sure how you would recognize the day? The David Suzuki Foundation provides Canadians with a place to share their events online. Check it out

Hey enviro babies, we’ve come a long way! You know you’ve made it when a prime time show is created just to poke fun at you…

The Goode Family, created by Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Office Space), is an animated television show about a progressive  family who try really hard to lead an environmentally and socially-conscious lifestyle.

What’s funny about that you say? Won’t I be offended? Probably, but if the show can  improve on its pilot, The Goode Family could actually be a lot of fun.

Gerald (an academic) and Helen Goode (an activist) are parents to their daughter Bliss, an easily embarassed teenager, and their adopted son, Ubuntu. The latter is a running joke as Helen and Gerald wanted to adopt an African baby (assuming he’d be Black) and were given a White South African boy instead.  Their vegan dog Che rounds out the family, but he’s got some issues of his own. Forced into a vegan diet, the dog who craves meat is responsible for all the missing cat/bird postings in the neighbourhood.

I caught the premiere last week (May 27) expecting to be seriously annoyed or offended, but the jokes were actually quite relevant. My favorite was an awkward bring your own bag scenario in a natural foods store, where Helen is shamed by others in line for not bringing reusable bags. She one-ups them by telling them she prefers to carry her own groceries because “reusable bags are made by sweatshop labour” (and carries her groceries out awkwardly to her hybrid) .

I wonder how the show will sustain it’s jokes if the target (us!) is always the same. But as they say, any publicity is good publicity!

Wednesday at 9 /8 Central on CityTV

For a completely different take on the show, read this review from the non-commercial non-profit National Public Radio