Bizz chats with Guiscela about wasting water and the differences she sees with water usage in Canada vs Mexico.

Tips to reduce water usage:

• Turn tap off while brushing teeth
• Turn on only the hot water while waiting to heat and start using as soon as it warms up
• Water lawn before sunrise or after sunset
• Change lawn from grass to garden to grow food, or to something that doesn't require watering
• Shop less and/or shop second-hand (manufacturing requires water, too!)
• Use concentrated cleansers and drink flavours
• Check for leaks and running toilets
• Get/make a rain barrel
• Shower less often/shorter showers/skip the hair every other time
• Low flow toilets and shower heads
• Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks
• Reuse clean wastewater for plants

Things we talk about:

• Water isn't just used by using water directly, not just the water we see
  • Direct uses:
    • Drinking
    • Cooking
    • Water lawn/garden
    • Shower/bath
  • Indirect uses:
    • Agriculture 
      • Food
      • Raise animals
      • Materials for building
      • Materials for clothing
    • Industrial use
      • Make pretty much everything we use
      • About 1,800 gallons of water are needed to produce the cotton in a pair jeans
      • Processing materials such as paper and steel
    • Energy
  • During a water shortage, often it's the individuals who are restricted, while large corporations can continue using as much as they want to produce non-essential products.
  • Glaciers are receding - this is our water reserve!
  • Lakes shrinking
  • Oil spills can also affect water availability, and this can happen very quickly

Donate to support waste reduction at wastefree.ca or on Patreon

Music by Vita Chino (@vitachino on Instagram, or find them on Spotify)

Bizz and Claire chat about how doing your best doesn't mean doing everything and that creating a balance in your life is the key to sustainability.

Concepts:

• Focusing on one thing at a time
• Doing research before diving in
• Choosing to NOT do/use/have rather than finding an alternative
• Don't need to fit all your waste in a jar to be low waste
• Self care and self compassion
• Just DO. Doing something is better than nothing, even if it's small.
• Try to find the one thing with the biggest impact
• Try to find the simplest thing 
• Take into consideration other people in your life when making changes
• New changes in life can mean going backward a bit
  • New job, new baby, new home, etc.

Specifics:

• Public transportation 
  • Using it is the best way to make it better
• Strategically choosing where you live 
  • Size
  • Location
  • Efficiency
• Car share
• Cycling
• Meal planning
• Shopping for food in bulk
• Mending clothes
  • Visible mending
• Compost alternatives to green bin for apartment dwellers

References:

• Spud - spud.ca
• Bulk Barn - bulkbarn.ca
• Communauto - alberta.communauto.com
• Bike Edmonton - bikeedmonton.ca
• Bulldog Razors - bulldogskincare.com

Donate to support waste reduction at wastefree.ca or on Patreon

Music by Vita Chino (@vitachino on Instagram, or find them on Spotify)

Bizz and Bri chat about consumerism and the importance of switching to a circular economy system.

Things we talk about:

• Composting toilets
• Glass and aluminum instead of plastic
• Reuse vs recycle
• Clothing fiber content
• Visible mending
• Valuing service, not just "stuff"
• Amazon hurts small businesses and the expertise they offer with their products

References we make:

• Earth's General Store - earthsgeneralstore.ca
• Compost S'Cool - edmonton.ca
• Blush Lane -blushlane.com 
• Patagonia - patagonia.ca
• Fjallraven - fjallraven.ca
• The Dress Library - dresslibraryrentals.com
• Edmonton Tool Library - edmontontoollibrary.ca
• Indigo Proof - indigoproof.com

Donate to support waste reduction at wastefree.ca or on Patreon

Music by Vita Chino (@vitachino on Instagram, or find them on Spotify)