I have two of these questions actually.

The first is; a few plastic bottles or a ton of aluminum cans? DH is a soda addict and I alternate between the 2L bottles and the cans. I get the cans when they are on sale b/c I know aluminum is 100% recyclable, whereas plastic isn't. But the cans can be soooo expensive when they are not on sale, and we end up with tons of cans. And no, asking DH to give up the soda habit isn't an option:(

Second: a plastic broom that last years or a wooden that has to be replaced often. I chucked the plastic broom last year for an all wood one in an effort to reduce the plastics in our home. Only problem is, now the straw bristles are already wearing out and the broom is going to need replacing soon (I sweep at least twice a day, see the dogs in siggy, LOL). I had the plastic one for about 5 years before it was worn out. So which is better?

I would love to hear everyone's opinions.

My opinions:

1) Cans
2) Plastic

I would say go with the cans whenever you can afford to.

As for the broom, I would personally go with wood as it is biodegradable, even if you end up buying more brooms that way. I'd look for a broom with a replacable head if possible. Perhaps someone knows of a source for a higher-quality broom. Or perhaps you could vacuum instead of sweeping.

Peace,

Kimberly

Ecolovables broom/mop. I love mine. I also have a straw broom that I have had for 12 years. Has held up great. Granted, it has not had much use since I got the Ecolovables 3 years ago. But, I even sweep carpet with it. It is a Libman.

Wooden brooms from the Lions Club are awesome.
We bought all three sizes - monster broom for carpets, regular broom for wood and kitchen floor, and small broom for children.
The largest one wore out because it takes a lot of abuse on our rugs and my husband sweeps like he's trying to fan out all hellfire...seriously, the children and I have to leave the room.
The other two are in excellent shape. I think we spent $20 total and the money goes to support the Lions Club and I think - THINK - they are either made by the blind or the revenues go to services for the blind - or both.

cans
Ecovlobles broom/mop

A) Cans when ever you can

B) Plastic broom with Ecolovables broom/mop for moping. I have both, and love them... and I have had the same broom and Ecolovables broom/mop since before we got married, and they both still works great.

Link to Echolovables (http://ecolovables.com/)

There is something to be said for that kind of stuff. I have a plastic garbage can too... why? Becuase it cost $6.99 (compared to $25.99 at Costco for a metal one, and that was a GOOD deal) and becuase it works well. We have tupperwear too. But never heat in it, and we only have glass and ceramic dishes (including cups) and long term food storage. Even our juice container, but for some things... plastic is the more economical choice. Even though it is a little less echological. :) Although if you can do the more expenzive choice, I would for sure go with a good metal garbage can... they are SO pretty. ;)

Love Val

Cans, and Wood.

I see how buying a plastic broom that lasts longer than wood is tempting for 2 reasons.
1) It costs less.
Of course that is an issue in almost all of our lives and one that has to determine our decisions in sitations where money is tight. Plastic is the Earths enemy (don't I sound alarmist today? ;)) and I feel I should avoid buying it if there is a non-plastic alternative (provided I can afford to do so.)
2) You may think it is kinder to the environment because it lasts longer.
The way I see it is plastic pollutes during its manufacture, pollutes during its use (offgas, etc), and pollutes when it is disposed of. The wooden broom will have to be replaced more often and at higher cost, BUT it is made from a renewable resource and is biodegradable. It is the kinder choice for the Earth, but not so kind to your wallet.

Here's my thought of the day:
When your plastic broom wears down and you need to buy a new one, have you ever stopped to think WHERE the plastic bristles went? They didn't just disappear...you can neither create or destroy matter. All that plastic went SOMEWHERE. This really gets me thinking about tires. When your tires wear out and the tread gets real shallow...where did it go? What about everyone elses tires? And all the tires in history? It almost seems like there should be thick layers of black rubber laying along side all the streets but there isn't. It went *somewhere* though. This is like thinking about the edges of the universe to me...trying to figure out where all this stuff went!

Always long-winded ;)...-Heather

This really gets me thinking about tires. When your tires wear out and the tread gets real shallow...where did it go? What about everyone elses tires? And all the tires in history? It almost seems like there should be thick layers of black rubber laying along side all the streets but there isn't

OT and not what you are talking about, but this reminded me. I remember seeing a piece several years ago about how recycled tires made awesome road material. It was cheaper and more durable, plus it was another use for all those tires, but the asphalt lobby was halting the effort at every turn. It was really sad.

My Dad runs a tire manufacturing plant, so tires have always been a subject in our family.

Amy

Heather,

Being a huge Nascar fan, I have learned this - tire gunk sticks to the road surface for a while. Then it balls up and goes to the edge and is then washed away in a rain. What is stuck to the surface of the road just prior to a rain, along with oil, antifreeze, etc, is brought to the surface during the initial stages of rain. This is why the road is much more slick in the first few minutes of a rain (or longer during a drizzle). It all ends up in the ponds and rivers and oceans. But then, why aren't the bottoms of the rivers coated in it? Cause the Earth is covered in so much water and thus it is dispersed?

Harder compound tires "shed" less quickly, thus last longer and produce less "gunk". (Don't ya love my technical terms this morning?) I love that I can get 70,000 miles out of a 40,000 mile tire. I am wondering what I will get out of my 70,000 miles tires.

In Alabama, in years past, there were problems with tire "junkyards". Then one near us caught fire. It burned for weeks with massive pollution in the process. Now, you pay a still fee for disposal of each tire removed from your car when you get new tires. Hasn't detered people from driving, just like the gas prices. But I won't go there this morning.

well, i guess i will be the voice of dissent here. I wouldnt drink out of aluminum cans regularly. Occasionally is fine, but if he is drinking at least a 12pk a week, I wouldn't do it. I relaly think high metal content in our bodies is the cause of a LOT of illness. Yes, it may be better on the earth to go the cans route, but I dunno-- I just am not comfortable with it.

Not that plastic is great.. and I wonder what leeches from it, but at least it isn't metal. LOl you could always start buying glass bottles for him :) the little 6oz ones? ;)
heather

Just wanted to say about the tires... in our area you can take them for free to a tire recycling place, and there they are shredded and put in our local parks around the playground equipment, in our schoolyards around the playground equipment.

I've been wondering about this for myself. I need something to put around our fort/swingset combo, and I don't know which is better - but that's a whole other thread. lol!

about building with old tires, but I would personally have major concerns about living in a house made of tires... As for road materials, that's where a lot of glass goes in this part of the country - they crush it into the most minute particles to use in the road bed. But then they claimed they had too much and stopped glass recycling altogether :rolleyes:

I personally love my wooden broom. There's a lot of folklore behind brooms (you're never supposed to bring an old broom to a new home), so I like to think of them as something traditional. A plastic one just doesn't conjure up that opinion, you know? We also had a broom specially made for our wedding (to jump over). I put charms on it and wound it with ribbon and it's hanging on our wall - I just think it's so beautiful, that something utilitarian can have some greater meaning.

As for the soda - my husband likes it way too much too. I got him to go for 'natural' sodas, if there is such a thing, and now I he's forced to drink water because I tell him I'll only buy it when it's on sale...

Occasionally is fine, but if he is drinking at least a 12pk a week

Oh, I would say he/we drink easily a 12pk/week HERE! He also gets free sodas at work and while I don't know for sure, I would guess he probably goes through 4-6 a day at work (based on what he does here on weekends)

And *forcing* him to drink something else is not an option, he will just buy it himself.

I admit, I like my coke or two a day, and I drink way too much coffee (but it's cheaper, LOL), but his soda habit is extreme, it is all he drinks. But then again, I can't change him, so I have to find the best way to do it. He refuses to drink water, and for some strange reason (call it being raised in a convenience oriented family), he only likes instant tea, which I don't buy b/c I make my own.

Sigh, living with a man who pretty much has the OPPOSITE eating habits can be very stressful at times.

Amy

I will NOT buy sodas at all. If he wants them, he has to buy them. I used to do that with coffee thing figured out that was his sleeping problems (two cups in morning kept him up all night). Now I buy decaf and put it in an unmarked container so he does not know. He got to a point with the sodas that I threatened making him buy his own fridge for his home office. I did not have enough room in the family fridge and the girls would pitch fits for them. He eased back buying them and the girls figured out I wasn't going to give in. So things got easier. My InLaws drinks so many they have a separate fridge for sodas, beers and candy.

We have always avoided aluminum. Bauxite mining is horrendously awful for the environment and rainforests. Bauxite is extracted by open cast mining and/or strip mining which requires the complete removal of vegetation and topsoil. Whatever environmental evils plastics may cause, I have always felt that they were a better choice than almuinum. JMHO.

Okay, now I am even more confused, LOL, and I was all ready to start scouting for can sales and buy another wooden broom.

So, does this Ecolovable mop also work as a broom, I am confused? Will it pick up large amounts of dog hair and crumbs? If so it might be worth it. Another way to simplify, since right now I have a Swiffer handle that I used with damp washcloths for spot mopping, an EnviroSteamer for weekly mopping (LOVE that thing), a broom, a non electric carpet sweeper for daily use, and a vacuum cleaner for twice weekly use! And I have no broom closet or pantry, they are all stuck in various closets throughout the house. Ah, the joys of having two boys and two big shedding dogs.:D

LOL! You girls are cracking me up!
I *know* what physically happens to tires. :D
I was pondering how the tires, plastics, and other non-degradable substances that dissolve into pieces we do not see will affect the Earth over time. That was my entire reason for suggesting a wood and straw broom...When the plastic broom wears down to the point of needing a new one, that plastic that used to make up the bristles went somewhere. I don't think people genrally think of that type of pollution because you dont *see* the plastic bits laying around everywhere. They turn into plastic "dust" and fly way (but just as much plastic is still there, you just can't see it as a whole anymore.) And while I was thinking about that the tire thing just popped into my head. Just the fact that they errode and noone ever really thinks about where it all is going. I guess I just have too much time to ponder such things, lol!
Oh, and I would love to get some of those super-sticky nascar slicks for my racecar :thumbsup: (Racecar is my affectionate name for the '69 Firebird project that is on hold until the rock-crawling landcruiser is done :D)

-Heather

No idea on the bottle vs can debate - I'm trying to avoid sodas, but despite all my best efforts, dh still has to have them now and then. :D

We have a rubber broom - got it at the State Fair. Lasts forever, excellent for pet hair (we have a big dog too). I can't find a website for the local company, but I believe they are made from recycled tires.

WOW!! I'd never heard of a rubber broom before, so I did a little search on them, and here's what I learned.

http://www.ebizinc.us/RubberBroomWhy.htm

Why A Rubber Broom?



The Top 10 Reasons For Owning A Rubber Broom:

# 10. The Rubber Broom is made of solid rubber! There are no loose bits and pieces, so they don’t fall apart like a bristle broom or corn broom where you always feel like you’re sweeping up your own broom.

# 9. The Rubber Broom is easy to keep clean; you can even sanitize them with disinfecting liquids (great when using them around different animals in stables, etc.).

# 8. Bristle brooms also allow the finer dirt in life to go right through the bristles. The Rubber Broom, however, interlocks its bristles to form “a dry squeegee”: dirt doesn’t go through the bristles.

# 7. With the Rubber Broom, there is no “bristle effect”, where the bristles kick the dirt at the end of a stroke. The Rubber Broom never “sprays” its dirt: the dirt stays with the broom and goes in one pile: you’re not chasing the dirt all around the floor saving you lots of time! It means there is no dust in the air either! With the Rubber Broom you can sweep your entire house dust free, even on rough concrete floors (garage, basement, workshops with saw dust, etc.).

# 6. The rubber broom sweeps the floor clean on the first pass. This is especially true for uneven surfaces like ceramic tile: the bristles never loose contact with the floor and sweep through grout lines in any direction, so you don’t have to come back to sweep the grout in the opposite direction or work in zigzag patterns; again this saves you a lot of time! This also works on patios, sidewalks, uneven garage floors, etc.

# 5. Rubber has friction! This means the broom does not slide over dirt or past grass clippings or wet leaves like a bristle broom: the Rubber Broom ‘drags’ all those kinds of things in front of the broom; you don’t have to pull the dirt loose just so you can sweep it (yet another time saver!)

# 4. Rubber makes a great scrub brush. Use the Rubber Broom as a scrub brush on floors, patios, pool/boat decks, etc. The soft flexible bristles do not scratch and you can use almost any cleaning agent. You can even do the windows, vinyl siding, pool liners, hot tubs, etc.!

# 3. The Rubber Broom has a built in squeegee, so you can squeegee the floors or the windows after you scrub them. You can even use them to remove snow and sludge from your vehicles in the winter and squeegee the windshields dry (so they don’t freeze up when you start to drive).

# 2. The Rubber Broom is the only one that effectively sweeps carpets and rugs. It not only picks up loose dirt, but also things that the vacuum cleaner does not: pet hair, human hair, sowing threads, pine needles (from Christmas trees), etc. It even removes carpet fuzz, especially from oriental rugs, where it restores the sharp lines between the different color patterns (removes “the haze”). And the good thing is: the hair stays in front of the broom; not between the bristles of the broom. The rubber Broom is also a great carpet rake: it lifts the nap of your carpets and rugs and thus helps protect them against wear from walking on “flat” carpet.

# 1. And . . . the number one reason for buying a Rubber Broom is . . . the price!
We can just hear you think: “How can you say that; the Rubber Broom is more expensive than a regular one.” True, but consider these:

Think of the things you don’t have to buy: no separate squeegee for the windows, no (dirty smelling) mop for the floors, and no carpet rake: they are built into the Rubber Broom!
Ever hear the expression “time is money”? Think of the time you save by using the Rubber Broom around the house (see reasons 7, 6, and 5)!
And speaking of time: regular brooms are replaced “as often as you change socks”: the average life span for the Rubber Broom is 7 to 10 years!


Thanks!

Well, I'll throw another thought in to the soda debate. My dh used to drink tons of soda. In fact it was the only beverage he ever drank. Fast forward to this fall, he had kidney stones diagnosed that he had been developing for years. And being stubborn he wouldn't go to the dr for years with his stomach pains. He had a huge stone which had to be blasted, he feels great now, but it was a pretty horrible experience. Now dh has the occasional soda, but he drinks at least 1gal a day of h2o now. Just something you might want to mention to him. My dh's dr said his stone was directly related to the soda consumption & dh as alot of friends who have found themselves in the same boat.

Hope it all works out for you.