Return to Happy Harry's HomePageThe Merry-Go-Round
Dear Harry
In last week's article you told us how wasteful we are with out water. Do you really think that this will change anyone's thinking, or for that matter that anyone will do anything about the environment or recycling? -- Disillusioned
Dear Disillusioned
If I tell you about our wasteful habits and suggest some easy solutions, you may think about them. If you think about what I say, then this may cause you to act upon what you thought. When you act upon what you thought, you will then cause changes. This is when true recycling will begin.
Dear Harry
We have a large family and two house pets. Odors are a major problem. We use aerosol air fresheners. Can you tell me if these are bad and if there is something else we can use? -- Sniffles
Dear Sniffles
Air fresheners are irritants and can also be toxic! They contain ethylene chloride, naphthalene, and formaldehyde. Air fresheners do not freshen air, they only mask it with an oily film which desensitizes your nasal passages. Solid air fresheners may be poisonous to children and pets. Get rid of them, give them to your mother-in-law. There are many alternatives to using them. Two easy ones are potpourri and/or scented candles. You can also just open the windows and let the fresh air in!
Dear Harry
I have recently redone my bathroom. Now my garage is filled with the parts of the bathroom, like the tub, toilet, sink and medicine cabinet. It seems a shame to take it to the dump. What can I do with them? -- Ms. Fix-It
Dear Ms. Fix-It
You can dispose of these articles and put some cool cash in your pocket at the same time. There is a used building material yard in Winnipeg that will not only take your old fixtures, but if they are in good shape, you will also receive cash for them. Information about this is at the end of the article.
Dear Harry
Around our house the garbage seems to pile up, sometimes it feels like we're living in a garbage can. Do you know what kind of garbage people throw out from their homes each week. -- Oscar
Dear Oscar
If your house is like most other houses in the country, here is what you will find: 45% is paper, newpapers, cardboard, paper food packaging. 10% is tin cans, aluminum cans, and other metals. 10% is glass jars, beer and beverage bottles. 10% is plastic pottles, containers and bags. 10% is food waste. 15% is durable goods like couches and other things.
We hear in the news constantly about people from other countries like France going to the Amazon to save the rain forest; people from the USA coming to Canada to save the whates; and people from Canada going to who-knows-where to save whatever.
Noble as these causes are, they tend to overwhelm us here in our little corner of the planet. This merry-go-round of environmental concern tends to make us oblivious to what is happening in our own back yard. The waste sites are starting to over fill. Where's it coming from? We need to focus on our own local concerns. The question is not what you can do for the world, it's what you can do in your own hometown today!
There are some immediate actions that can change things now. Like how long did you leave the water running this morning while you were washing, or how many times did you flush the toilet unnecessarily, or did you really have to drive to work, could you have car-pooled? This is where the environment, as we know it, is taking a kicking. Think about it next time you see or hear about the devastation going on around the world. What are we doing about it at home.