Letter to the editor: pursue a zero-waste lifestyle

To the editor:

It is an unfortunate reality that recycling is becoming harder to do, more expensive, and less effective. Plastic recycling for the most part has always been quite unsuccessful. Our oceans, rivers, food, and even our bodies are filling with plastics even though most of us have been optimistically washing and sorting our plastic for the recycling bin.

Mothers Out Front Lincoln is working to reduce the use of single-use plastic and aspiring towards adopting a zero-waste lifestyle. We have been inspired by the David Suzuki Foundation’s Zero Waste Pledge, which states the following.

We agree to adopt one or more of the proposed actions:

1. REFUSE single-use plastic items that I can do without
2. ASK for reusable cutlery and pass on plastic straws
3. REPLACE single-use items with reusable items
4. GIVE UP nonrecyclable plastic disposable items
5. PROMOTE the choice of single-use items made of eco-responsible materials
6. BUY items that contain recycled plastic
7. PICK UP plastic debris in cities and natural areas
8. REDUCE the amount in my recycling bin without increasing the size of the bin
9. APPLY the 5Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot/compost
10. ASPIRE to a zero-waste lifestyle

We are excited to announce two new initiatives we are working on here in Lincoln that will help move our community towards a zero waste life style, apply the 5Rs, and reduce our disposable waste and carbon footprint.

1. A zero-waste pop-up showcase — This year at Town Meeting, we will have a table showcasing some of our favorite zero waste products — things like shampoo bars, sunscreen in aluminum tins, cotton produce sacks, and plastic-free laundry pods. There are so many great everyday use products that don’t have disposable plastic. We will have a handout available with online sourcing. We are also hopeful that local businesses will start carrying some of these items so we can shop sustainably and locally.
2. Town-wide composting with Black Earth Compost* — Lincoln can reduce its carbon footprint and significantly reduce our waste going to landfills and/or incinerators. It will be both easy and beneficial for Lincoln to adopt some form of commercial composting. Mothers Out Front Lincoln is excited about this endeavor and is figuring out how to make it happen in Lincoln.

*Black Earth Compost is a composting company based in Manchester, Mass., that offers environmentally responsible composting services ranging from residential pickup to site-based pickup to municipal-wide programs. They process all of their compost on site, do not mix in any outside waste, and forgo lawn clippings to keep chemicals out of their final compost product, which they would then drop off back in Lincoln for customers to use. They already serve all of the surrounding towns and have significantly reduced the amount of waste going to those landfills and/or incinerators. They are half the price of other composting companies because of their efficient and reusable bin system.

Please stop by our table at Town meeting to learn more about this exciting possibility and to check out our fantastic zero waste products. If you have any favorites or questions, please do share them with us in person or via email at lincolnMOF@gmail.com. Hope to see you Saturday!

Sincerely,
Staci Montori for Lincoln Mothers Out Front

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.