I’ve decided that I really enjoy reading about innovative, affordable, sustainable housing designs. I have a friend doing a Masters of Design program at Carleton University right now who’s all over these kinds of projects. The real push for this sort of design-for-sustainability seems relatively new, too — even Carleton University has only just started up this MA program this year. Hopefully it will become popular as it’s got so many benefits!

Take this one, for example — it’s made from recycled matierals, fits in a small space, yet is large enough to fit 3 people, a kitchen, a reading room, a living room, bathroom, and hydroponia area! And it kinda looks like the Deathstar. I mean, maybe that’s not a sell for you, but I’m certainly all ears.

These prefab pod homes can be built quite fast and adding an affordable price tag to that, it makes it an option for any socio-economic level and a viable solution for emergency housing, too.

This particular pod was designed by Broisson Architects of Naucalpan, Mexico.

“The shelter could become another option for developing low cost housing with very short building time and could improve the quality of the life for people without access to decent housing,” say the architects.

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Remember way back in April when I wrote about the city of Ottawa’s TREE Program? Well, my delivery day is fast approaching!

I received a letter today explaining to me that my tree would be delivered to me sometime between September 22nd and October 2nd and will include everything I need to plant this tree right away: a sapling, some soil, a pot, some soil nutrients and compost.

I wonder what kind of tree it will be? They make no promises that you’ll get a tree of your choosing (you choose 3 options on your application) but they do say that they try their very best to get you one of your choices. I chose, in order:

1. Japanese lilac
2. Hackberry
3. Crabapple

I’ll be taking the tree up to my parent’s house to plant on their farm. My mom is very excited to see what we get and has a place picked out for it already. What a better way to show my commitment to going green than to plant a tree! I’ll be sure to post some pictures/video when the tree comes. I’m so excited!

What are you waiting for, Ottawa residents? The next tree delivery season is May/June so be sure to fill out your application now! Don’t have anywhere to put a tree? You can also fill in a form recommending a spot for the city to plant a tree for you.

Forget pesticides! It’s not hard to have a beautiful pesticide-free lawn, all you need is a bit of time and a little elbow grease.

• Did you know that grass actually grows best when certain kinds of organisms are present? Forget shooing them off (she says politely, knowing full well that pesticides do much more than shoo…), let them play! Earthworms eat and recycle (heh, poop) plant material that releases nutrients into the roots of the grass helping it grow! (via)
• Mow your lawn at the high end of its range — that way the roots have a chance to really develop. Deeper root systems can tolerate drought, heat, shade, disease, and pests much better. (via)
• Leave the grass clippings on your lawn! I know, I know — you don’t like how it looks, right? But trust me, it adds plant nutrients and organic matter to your soil. Researchers have estimated that grasscycling reduces fertilizer need by 25%! Saves you money and effort and keeps grass clippings out of landfills too. (via here and here)
• Don’t overwater — I mean, not only is it a huge waste of water (this is a personal pet peeve of mine) but overwatering helps weeds grow, causes oxygen starvation of grass roots, and makes your lawn’s roots shallow. Eep! Here’s a hint: If the top two inches of your lawn are dry, then it’s time to water. If not, leave it alone! (via)

According to the University of California’s integrated pest management program, “A vigorously growing turf resists pest damage and weed invasion.” So keep it growing healthy and strong and you shouldn’t have any need for pesticides!

After writing up yesterday’s Stewardship Ontario post, I did a bit more digging and found that there’s more to know!

As an enhancement to the Stewardship Ontario program, many cities around Ontario have signed up to the Take It Back! Directory — a handy source of information for residents looking to get rid of unwanted items.

The directory connects Ottawa residents to local businesses and organizations that reuse, recycle, or safely dispose of the unwanted material. Almost 600 partner retailers are now accepting 130 different household waste products that don’t belong in the Blue or Black recycling boxes. Take it Back! partners divert household waste from going to landfill each year. That’s the equivalent weight of almost 300 mid-sized cars.

“Take it Back! retailers and charitable organizations each year stop over 500 tonnes of material from going to our municipal landfill through their take back efforts. The Take it Back! initiatives of local businesses and charities within my Ward and across the City are saving landfill space through their combined environmental efforts” – Councillor Georges Bédard.

On the Take It Back list of drop off locations for the Ottawa area are these phenomenal eco-friendly places looking to help out. Here are some of my personal favourites:

Topia Greenstop (1621 Woodward Dr.) – Here you can drop off all kinds of things like rechargeable batteries and appliances. Give them a call today and find out where and when to drop off your not-quite-garbage. (1-613-722-0660)

Twenty-Twelve Electronics Recycling (14 Bexley Place) – Owner Nancy Coulter took back 12 tons of e-waste in 2006! Call ahead though, and let them know you’re bringing things to them so they can make room! (1-613-596-031)

For further help with the Take It Back program, check out the City’s website here!

In my usual news forums this morning, I ran into someone talking about Stewardship Ontario (which I initially thought was a town in Ontario that I’d never heard of, to be honest).

But it turns out that Stewardship Ontario is something even more interesting than that: it is Ontario’s first Industry Funding Organization (IFO). Here’s how they describe themselves:

It was created in 2002, in response to Sections 23 and 24 of the Waste Diversion Act, 2002 under which the Minister of the Environment is authorized to require Waste Diversion Ontario to develop a waste diversion program for a “designated waste” in conjunction with an Industry Funding Organization (IFO).

What does that mean in English?

Stewardship Ontario is an industry organization that operates two programs, one for Blue Box materials and the other for Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW). They operate these programs on behalf of Waste Diversion Ontario, an agency created by the provincial government to oversee a range of waste diversion programs, authorized under the Waste Diversion Act, 2002.

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Growing up, my family wasn’t too concerned with the environment — I mean, it’s not that we had a hate for it or anything, we were just… indifferent, I suppose.

In talking to my mom about it yesterday, she said that the reason we weren’t a more eco-friendly family was because of financial reasons rather than moral ones. We lived in a very small town. The grocery store was accordingly small — the type where broccoli only came in one variety — broccoli… nevermind organic. We were lucky to have a choice between 2 or maybe 3 varieties of apples, though still no organic ones.

Thinking about this kind of amazes me though, as the town was a farming town.

Now here’s what Gwyneth Paltrow’s upbringing was like — nearly the opposite of mine (not that I thought my childhood would be at all similar to Gwyneth Paltrow’s, heh).

“My mom has always been conscious of the environment and health issues. When I was growing up, we would go to farmers’ markets and even had wheatgrass in the kitchen. She started a curbside recycling program in Santa Monica, CA, in the seventies, and each week I drove with her to the recycling center.

Keep reading Gwyneth Paltrow on her super-eco-friendly childhood:

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild their entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months. Unbelievable!

Recycling anything is good for the planet, but recycling aluminum is great for the planet. Why? Because aluminum is one resource that can be recycled again and again without wearing out.

Remember — recycle those cans! But first, make sure to follow these handy steps:

• Rinse and place aluminum/tin cans, caps, lids and foil in the same recycle bin.
• Avoid recycling spray cans or cans containing paint or hazardous materials. Contact your local recycling program or city hall to learn where these can be recycled.
• Get in touch with the local buy-back center if you live in an area with bottle/can deposits and plan to drop off a large number of aluminum cans for cash.

Why don’t we have compost bins alongside our blue and black boxes in Ottawa? I’ve wondered this for the last few months or so as I’d heard that places like Toronto, Montreal, Durham, and Markham all have Green Bin programs.  Much of the household waste that is presently going into the landfill is a resource that is compostable and can be converted into a soil-enriching product. These organic wastes include meat, fish, bones, fruits, vegetables, greasy pizza boxes, and more.

Markham, I learned, began its Green Bin collection program as part of its “Mission Green” in the fall of 2004 with implementation to 12,500 single-family residences. “Mission Green” is Markham’s plan to divert 70% of its waste from landfill.  Sounds amazing — so why doesn’t Ottawa do any of this? I decided to investigate a bit.

It turns out that in October 2001, the City of Ottawa did in fact launch a curbside organic collection pilot program called “Compost Plus” – in four city wards. These wards include nine neighbourhoods, each comprised of approximately 550 residents, allowing the City to receive feedback from more than 5,000 residents.

But what happened to the program? This is what the City of Ottawa website has to say on the matter:

During the pilot program, participants are being asked to test different containers and collection frequencies to help the City assess public acceptance, costs, diversion rates and operational concerns, as part of a study to determine if and how a permanent Compost Plus program could be implemented in the City of Ottawa.

Wait, wasn’t that 2001? So… will it be implemented? That was 8 years ago already! Well, after some digging around on the City’s site, I found this:

Starting in late 2009 over 240,000 homes in the City of Ottawa will begin to receive a new Green Bin. Residents will place kitchen scraps such as vegetable, fruits, meat, fish, bones, dairy products, coffee grounds and filters as well as other organic household materials in the bin to be collected. The material will be processed into a nutrient-rich compost. With your help we will be feeding the land and not the landfill.

Excellent! Finally! So tell me, Ottawa, what are your thoughts on this? I, for one, am excited. Who would have ever thought I’d be this excited about compost?

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The Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre has recently been all over the local news for giving an award to the City of Ottawa for their “Speeding Will Cost You Deerly” campaign — an innovative education program that is part of the city’s Integrated Road Safety Program that has had exceptional success.

“The campaign’s focus on educating drivers to react to Ottawa-specific traffic and road conditions demonstrates that road safety, as well as the preservation of Ottawa’s greenspace and wildlife, are top priorities in our city.”

The campaign strives to educate people (who drive in areas where there are known to be be deer) the absolute importance of reducing speed, always being aware and alert, staying in control of the car and understanding deer traffic patterns.

“It is effective because it is highly targeted during the fall months when deer-vehicle collisions are at their peak due to the migration and hunting seasons.”

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I’ve been living in Ottawa for nearly 9 years now.

I grew up in a very small farming town about an hour and a bit outside of Ottawa, along the St. Lawrence River. The population there, according to the Welcome sign, is 1000 people. As plenty of country folk do, we burned a lot of our paper garbage. My mom loves fire, so really we burnt anything that would burn and not smell terrible — in hindsight, I suppose that’s not a good idea. We had a recycling bin — a blue box — but only one: For cans and bottles and nothing else. We didn’t have a compost heap, despite having the perfect area for one, because it wasn’t something that occurred to us.

Moving to Ottawa, I figured I’d see a system that was much more advanced and efficient than ours was back home.  Looking at some of the statistics from the City of Ottawa website, it’s easy to see that while there are plenty of areas that could be improved upon, but Ottawa’s got some game plans! Check out these recyling stats for Ottawa:

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