CasaSugar

Casa Verde: BioBags

CasaSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:00:48 -0700

We talk often about ditching plastic bags in favor of resuable shopping bags and recycling whatever you can. But, no matter how hard you work to be environmentally conscious, at the end of the day (or week), you still have to take out the trash. Someone still has to take out the trash. When that time comes, toss your trash away in BioBags, certified 100-percent biodegradable and 100-percent compostable bags, and the first "bag from corn." My dear city of San Francisco recently sent 100,000 rolls of BioBags to residents to educate them on the importance of diverting food and other biodegradable waste from entering landfills, and they're now available at over 100 outlets in the Bay Area. BioBags come as kitchen compost bags, tall-kitchen bags, lawn and leaf bags, cat-pan liners, and waste-system bags — pick your flavor. They're also available at most natural-food stores in the US, or you can order yours online.

Casa Verde: Ikea Ditches Plastic Bags

CasaSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:30:00 -0700

Good news for those of us who hate plastic bags: As of October 2008, Ikea will no longer offer plastic or paper bags. Instead, the store will only offer reusable plastic bags to its customers. Last March, Ikea set a goal of reducing its US stores’ plastic bag consumption by 50 percent, reducing plastic bag use from 70 million to 35 million plastic bags in the first year. The store wanted customers to go reusable, and sold the sturdy Ikea blue bag for $.59.
And if Ikea customers weren't happy with that choice, they previously had the option of purchasing Ikea plastic bags for five cents, with all proceeds going to American Forests to plant trees to restore forests and reduce CO₂ emissions. Since the "bag the plastic bag" program began in March of 2007, Ikea has donated more than $300,000 from their disposable plastic bag sales to American Forests.

I, for one, am looking forward to October, when Ikea is completely disposable-bag free.
Source

Casa Link: Quilted DIY

CasaSugar — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:00:26 -0800

Craft shares an ambitious plastic bag-recycling project. While I've shown you a nifty fused plastic bag project in the past, this one definitely gets high marks for its innovative quilting and eye for detail. Find out how it was done here.

How To: Make Fabric Shopping Bags

CasaSugar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:15:18 -0800

Did you know that each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide?

To do your part to reduce this huge amount of waste, make your own fabric shopping bags with these easy instructions from Kristina J. Millar when you read more.

What You Need

heavy-duty fabric, such as canvas or upholstery fabric
thread
scissors
sewing machine

How To Make It

Choose some fabric - something heavy like canvas or upholstery-grade cotton. It can be as plain or as fancy as you like.
Measure out a long rectangle for the bag (your finished bag will be about half the length of your original so decide how big you want your bag to be, then double the length). Measure out two long rectangles for the handles that are about 6 inches wide (if you want long handles measure out long rectangles; the ones above were 20 inches long).
To sew the handles, fold the long edges of your rectangle into the middle, fold in half then topstitch it together.
Sew a half-inch seam along the short ends of your long rectangle on each side (they need to face each other when you fold the edges together) and attach the handles approx 4 inches in from the edge on the sides with the seam.
Fold the good sides together and close the two long sides (the bottom of the bag is made up of the fold, which is why you cut a long rectangle). As this bag won’t be lined you should zig-zag stitch the seam to prevent fraying.
Turn right side out and enjoy your shopping!

Source

Casa Verde: Plastic Bag Stand

CasaSugar — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:30:01 -0700

Green designer Danny Seo always has great, simple ideas for greening your home. In
a recent post he writes that when he was thrifting at a local Goodwill, he saw a bunch of toothbrush holders, and immediately thought of using these as plastic bag dryers. All you have to do is stick wooden dowels or chopsticks in the holes where you'd normally stick your toothbrush, and then drape the bag over the stick.

Source

Casa Verde: More Ideas For Plastic Bags

CasaSugar — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:57:59 -0700

Plastic bags: It's hard to escape them. Even though I bring cloth bags almost everywhere, I still have a collection of plastic grocery and department store bags. At Casa, I've told you how to make a cool bag out of plastic bags and I've also given you tips on what can and can't be recycled. Now, Treehugger has linked to Real Simple's list of 10 reuse solutions for plastic bags.

Some of these, like using plastic bags to pick up doggie deposits, are no-brainers. But some of the other ideas are ones I'd never thought of.

To find some simple-yet-innovative uses for plastic bags, just read more

Use plastic bags as paint preservers, by covering your brushes and rollers with bags with plastic bags, and then rubber-banding them to keep them airtight.
Peel and cut veggies and fruit over plastic bags. (But instead of then tossing them in the garbage, as advised, empty the peels and pieces into your compost instead!)
Use crumpled plastic bags in the bottom of planters to cut down on the amount of potting soil you use.

Want to read the rest of the tips? Then head over to Real Simple.

DIY: Fusing Plastic Bags

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:30:57 -0700

While we're fretting about what to do with our plastic grocery bags, I thought I'd throw out another recycling option for all of the crafty types out there. Etsy Labs has a great tutorial on how to fuse plastic bags into new "fabrics" that can be fashioned into tote bags (left), purses, and anything else you dream up.

What you'll make out of your fused bags is up to you - and better left to another post. But fusing the bags is easy and quick; just be sure to open a window so you're working in a well-ventilated space! For a list of what you'll need and step-by-step instructions on how to do it, read more

Fusing Plastic Bags, via Etsy Labs

What you'll need

Plastic bags (thin, flimsy ones work best)
Parchment paper, freezer paper or plain old copier paper
Iron (and your favorite ironing surface)

How to Make It

Flatten out the bag and trim the bottom seam and handles off. This allows the bag to be opened up into a larger rectangle of plastic.
Turn the bag inside-out if it has printing on it. Once the ink heats up, it comes off the bag and makes a huge mess. If the bag has an interesting design that you'd like to preserve, try using a clear plastic bag layered on top of the printed one.
We find that between 6-8 layers of plastic gives the best results. So, you can either fold your bag twice until it is 8 ply thick, or use three or more bags layered on top of one another. Trying to fuse less than 6 layers often results in little holes forming in the finished piece and a generally weaker material.
Sandwich your plastic bags between the parchment paper, and run a hot iron (we set ours to "Rayon", but you will need to experiment a little to see what works for you) and keep the iron moving constantly. Make sure to get the edges, and after about 15 seconds, flip it over and iron the opposite side for a few seconds.
Peel a corner of the paper back to see if the plastic is fused together. It should be fairly smooth and "one sheet" to the touch (watch out, its a little hot). If the layers are not all melted together, iron it some more.
Peel the parchment paper away from the finished plastic sheet. Voila. Now, you can use this stuff to make a million things. We've made re-usable grocery totes, wallets, and floor cushions; I think its an inexpensive way to make waterproof linings for beach bags and makeup clutches.

Casa Verde: Recycling Plastic Shopping Bags

CasaSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:40:52 -0700

I try to always carry my groceries in cloth bags, but despite my best efforts, I still end up with plastic shopping bags from time to time. There are plenty of ways to reuse them - as trash can liners and dog-poo holders, for instance - but even then, the bags still end up in landfills, where they can take months to hundreds of years to break down.

The best option, of course, is not using plastic bags in the first place, but if you can't cut them out entirely, you should definitely recycle them. For a primer on what can be recycled and where to take it, read more

Though most curbside recycling services don't handle plastic bags, many cities have drop-off centers for type 2 and 4 plastics. Most grocery bags are made from type 2 HDPE, or high-density polyethylene, and many supermarkets have bins where you can deposit these and other retail bags; just be sure to remove any string or handles.

Some drop-off centers also accept type 4 bags, which include dry-cleaning films, paper towel and toilet paper wraps, and newspaper bags. The key is finding a location nearest you and knowing what plastics they accept. Plastic Bag Recycling has an extensive list of drop-off centers, and Earth 911 lets you enter your zip code to search for different plastic recyclers in your area.

Source

Casa Verde: Wash and Reuse Your Plastic Bags

CasaSugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 08:15:19 -0700

I used to give my dad a hard time about being a cheapskate because he washed and reused his Ziploc bags. But as I've become more eco-minded, I realize how wasteful it is to toss a baggie after just one use. Here are some tips on how to get more mileage out of your plastic sandwich and freezer bags.

Taking a sandwich or a snack to work every day? As long as the food is something relatively dry, such as bread, carrots, or pretzels, you should save the bag when you're done and just repack it the next day.
For wet or sticky foods, wash your plastic bag with hot water and soap at the end of the day, then allow it to dry before using it again.
The same goes for plastic freezer bags. Unless you’re storing raw chicken or something similar, storage bags rarely get so tainted that you need to toss them after one use. A little hot water, dish soap, and rinsing, and they’re ready to store something else.
To dry the bags, try stringing a mini clothesline over the kitchen sink and drying the bags upside-down with clothespins. Or, buy a rack like this Plastic Bag and Bottle Dryer ($15.95) and set it up next to your dish rack.

Casa Verde: Eco Bags Reusable Produce Bags

CasaSugar — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:45:54 -0700

Though I prefer to use cloth tote bags instead of plastic grocery bags, it always feels hypocritical to then fill those fabric totes with plastic produce bags. But until recently, the free plastic baggies were the only way to protect your fruit and keep your veggies from getting battered.

Today, however, I was excited to discover these Eco Bags Reuseable Produce Bags. The set of four bags ($14) includes two lightweight produce bags and two net sacks made from organic cotton. Not only will they cut down on landfill waste, but the eco bags are also washable, so you don't have to worry about them getting too grimy over time.