The Beginings Of The Environmental Book On Everyone's Lips
By Dave & Lillian Brummet, Thu Dec 8th
/p> Question: What inspired you initially to begin your Trash Talk venture? Answer:
As a society, we are bombarded with negative information aboutthe environment and our resources constantly. Feeling powerlessbecause we cannot afford to donate cash or time to a cause, webegin to feel overwhelmed by the immense environmental problemsour world faces. Psychologists know that simply performing onepositive action helps to define a positive outlook on life andwill inspire further participation from the individual. Question: How long did the Trash Talk column run? Answer: The articles began in 1999, and were published for about 4years. For the last couple of years, we have focused all ourenergies towards compiling the articles into a book that matchedour expectations and the publisher's deadline. Question: Why the title? Answer: We talk about trash so we simply called it Trash Talk. It was aneye-catching title for readers of our column, so we kept thetitle for the book.The concept of the book is to reduce, reuseor recycle items that were formally destined for the landfill.The idea of refusing to buy products with excessive packaging isanother key element discussed. You are sending a powerfulmessage to manufacturers when their sales figures decrease. Question: What kind of book is Trash Talk? Answer: Firstly, Trash Talk is meant to inspire participation from theindividual in easing the world's environmental strain. Theentire book is focused on bringing the reader inspiring facts,useful ideas, and a real sense of hope. We show how recyclingbenefits us all and discuss how the 4-R's of waste managementare implemented. By treating waste as a resource, the readerwill save money and better the environment. Question: Where is the likely readership? What type of person would beattracted to this book? Answer: Anyone that creates waste, that likes to save money and whowould like to lessen their personal impact on the environmentwould get something very useful out of this book. Anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or depressed about the stateof the earth can find some comfort in our pages. Individuals andbusinesses will learn how to save money and time. Our financialconsultant tells us that if people could find a way to save just$7 a day they could contribute to their retirement monthly. Weshow people how to accomplish this simply by improving theirwaste and resource management. Question: What is the sales potential of the book? What are the interestsof the book? Answer: Zero Waste initiatives are gaining popularity in communitiesacross North America. Education systems are teaching recyclingand environmental sciences in their curriculum. And, the lasttime we checked, the landfills were not getting any smaller. Itis in the best interest of all of us on this planet to make itas healthy and non-toxic as possible in order to remain. Withthis in mind, we felt it was vitally important to have this bookpublished, aiding communities in their waste reduction efforts. Question: What makes this book unique? Answer: Trash Talk is about implementing the Refuse-Reduce-Reuse tacticsfirst, in that order, before even considering recycling. Inthis, we are not trying to pronounce that recycling is anegative approach by any means - more a final solution when allother options have been considered. By taking matters into ourown hands we can ease the burden that is upon the recyclingindustry, decrease our own household costs and help preserve ourresources. In all our research, we could find only four, or five, books onthis subject throughout North America. Most of these areregionally based and were written up to 10 years ago. We havewritten Trash Talk for a wider, North American audience. Weincluded a list of over 140 magazines, Internet sites, books andreports that
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were used in the writing process, as well asproviding statistics throughout the book. It is focused onproviding the reader with a sense of hope and the knowledge thattheir actions have a direct impact on their own pocketbook aswell as the health of the community. In fact, many chaptersclose with a list of the direct benefits attained by taking thesuggested actions and the chapters can be read in any order. Question: Why should anyone care? Answer: We think it is vital that people recognize the volume of wastegenerated in homes and businesses. Each bag sent to the landfillincreases municipal costs and the need to create new landfillspace. The ideas in this book will help individuals andbusinesses to not only manage their waste and resourceconsumption, but also purchase less. We show readers how to turn their yards into organic, wildlifeparadises. Individuals will learn how to increase the value oftheir real estate. Employers will learn new ways of decreasingsick days and increasing staff production. Communities willlearn how to reduce smog and waste issues. Each - and every one-of these things we just mentioned can have a huge effect on thefinancial state and health of people within our communities. Question: What makes this book so enjoyable that people keep referringback to it? Answer: The hands-on reuse ideas make it easy to start right away withsimple projects around the home or office that make adifference. The positive approach gives the feeling that thereis hope and that no matter how small you start it is just that -a start. In no time the inclination to look at anything twicebefore discarding it will be a reflex action. Because readerslearn of the direct benefits of each action they make, we hopethey will find the courage to further their management journey.This book could very well be one of the best tools forindividuals and businesses to meet Zero Waste goals. Question: What is the best way to get started in recycling? Answer: Returnable bottles and cans are probably the easiest to beginwith, and have the additional incentive of receiving money forbringing them to the depot. All office paper, envelopes, cerealboxes, newspaper and junk mail can be put in one box and takento the depot. Cardboard is also easily recycled. However, notall glass is recyclable. Very few depots accept ceramics ordrinking glasses. Because mixed glass is less valuable thanseparated colors, many depots require glass to be sorted bycolor. Tin cans and aluminum foil can be put in another box.Labels on jars and cans are also recyclable. It is easiest to start recycling these resources. When thefamily becomes used to these, they can consider recyclingplastics, metals and many other things. Recycling is the firststep in taking responsible measures to deal with our wasteproblems. Question: Do you have outlets for all your recycled items? Answer: Most communities have big recycling bins, reuse centers andtake-it-back programs available for the public. There aredifferences in each depot. For instance, some require labels tobe taken off cans and bottles - others do not. Some accept allrigid plastics from #1-#7 - others accept only translucent milkjugs. It is important to become familiar with local depotrequirements because the wrong thing can ruin the whole bin. Question: How does one "save time and money"? Provide some examples of howreuse works. Answer: Even before recycling, a plastic container can be reused forvarious storage means numerous times. This means the containeris not going to the landfill, contributing increasing municipalcosts and loss of land. The individual saves money by notpurchasing a storage container.
About the author:Written by Dave and Lillian Brummet based on the concept oftheir new book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned abouthis or her impact on the environment, that offers usefulsolutions to reduce waste and better manage resources.http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit
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