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The beginner's guide for the green consumer By Avivit Shein Tags: Israel, environment Don't toss that dead tomato in the garbage can Every day the average Israeli generates about two kilos of garbage, for a countrywide total of more than 5 million tons of waste a year, and growing. This garbage causes air, water and soil pollution, and hundreds of millions of shekels is wasted on trucking garbage to landfills. Reducing the quantities of garbage we generate is a much cheaper and cleaner solution than recycling. Advertisement Getting started: Instead of buying mineral water, install a filter on your tap. Plastic bottles are a source of pollution, even if they are sent for recycling. Bottles should be put in a recycling container or returned to the store for a refund of their deposit fee. Paper recycling bins are more scarce than bottle bins, but can be found in order to dispose of newspapers and other paper, after the latter has been reused as scrap paper, of course. Avoid using disposable shopping bags. Use cloth or other kinds of reusable bags instead. If you do get shopping bags at a store, try to reuse them, to line your kitchen garbage can, for example. Try to avoid using alkaline batteries, which cannot be recharged, and to limit your use of disposable dishes. Going out for coffee? It's better to sit down for a few minutes and drink it from a mug than to take it away in a disposable cup. Advanced recycling: Electronic garbage is an environmental problem, playing a major role in greenhouse gas emissions and soil pollution. According to the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, Israel generates 100 tons of electronic waste annually. It is therefore better to buy good quality electronic devices that will last a long time. There are even companies that recycle electronic components, and some local authorities have drop-off points for discarding electronic devices. Organic waste (mainly fruit and vegetable peel) accounts for about 40 percent of household garbage by weight. When this garbage is buried, it produces greenhouse gases. When properly treated, however, organic waste can be turned into compost, which can be used as quality organic fertilizer, free of charge. To prepare compost, you need a bucket with a lid to collect the organic waste. Choose a spot in your garden for the compost heap, and start with a layer of dead leaves or grass clippings. Put the organic waste on top, and cover it with more garden waste. Sprinkle with water and leave to decompose. Mix the pile every few days, and keep it damp. Continue adding equal quantities of organic waste and dry garden waste, sprinkled with water. After about six months, the pile will turn into compost - earthy black clumps with a pleasant smell. Ecological bombs Household trash's worst environmental hazard is the disposable diaper. According to the Environmental Protection Ministry, every baby generates one ton of trash from the disposable diapers he uses from birth until age two and a half (at an average of 4.5 diapers per day). Although these diapers are biodegradable, it takes 500 years for them to completely decompose. About 550 million disposable diapers are discarded and brought to Israeli landfills every year. Once there, they take up a lot of space and decompose into various substances, some of which are toxic. Getting started: Choose baby toys made of wood, rather than plastic. Selecta, for example, makes wooden toys coated with beeswax and non-toxic paint. Since some baby furniture and equipment is used for a limited time, try to buy second-hand items and pass them on when your baby outgrows them. Strollers, cribs, high chairs, play pens and baby baths are all expensive items that are used for only a couple of years. It is worth buying quality products that will last several children. Advanced tips: Not only the environment, but also your baby's skin, will benefit from cloth over disposable diapers. A few companies that market their products in Israel, including Kushies and Bambino Mio, offer 100 percent cotton diapers with leak-proof cloth covers. There are also rice paper diaper liners that allow fluid to pass through into the diaper, but prevent it from coming back onto the baby's skin. The wet rice paper can be discarded and replaced without changing the cloth diaper if it is not soiled. Apart from preventing environmental pollution, multi-use diapers are also more economical. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Going for the gold Israel's athletes made a forceful debut on the opening day of the Olympic Games. Cooking vs. driving As Ramadan nears, Hamas bans the use of cooking gas to fuel vehicles in the Gaza Strip.

Read & React Israel slams Turkey over Ahmadinejad plan to visit Responses: 116 Israel: We'll hold Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah's actions Responses: 272 PRC: Open crossings within 3 weeks or we'll end Gaza truce Responses: 73 Ze'ev Sternhall: Burying the Jewish state between Hebron and Yitzhar Responses: 85 Ultra-Orthodox 'Modesty Guard' suspected in beating of J'lem woman Responses: 106 More Headlines 01:23 Officials: Olmert failed to dispel graft suspicions in 5th round of questioning 02:07 Putin defends Russia's Ossetia incursion, slams Georgia over 'genocide' 23:27 Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish dies after heart surgery 00:09 Putin to Peres: Russia doesn't want a nuclear armed Iran 00:15 Beijing Olympics / Israel shows its mettle even without a medal 20:33 Gaza militants fire Qassam rocket into western Negev 15:21 U.S. Jewish congressman beats opponent who linked him to KKK 20:51 Diplomats: Syria blocks new visit by nuclear watchdog 20:35 INTERVIEW / Top U.S. general lays foundation for Palestinian state 07:46 EU tightens sanctions against Iran over nuke program 03:28 Anti-Semitic graffiti prompts Sarkozy's son to take legal action 17:29 As Ramadan nears, Hamas bans use of cooking gas to fuel cars in Gaza 22:38 VIDEO / Ultra-Orthodox 'Modesty Guard' suspected of beating Jerusalem woman Previous Editions Select Day 08 aug 07 aug 06 aug 05 aug 04 aug 03 aug 01 aug 31 jul 30 jul 29 jul 28 jul 27 jul

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