The facts behind date labels!

Ever wonder how seriously those date labels should be taken on your food? What do all the different ones really mean anyways?

Find a brief summary below: (Hopefully this will help you to better assess whether or not that loaf of bread really needs to be thrown out!)

Use-by. This is the key date in terms of safety – never eat products after this date and observe storage instructions. Check if the food can be frozen if you need to eat it at a later date. ‘Use by’ dates are usually found on chilled products such as cooked meats, soft cheeses and dairy-based desserts.

 Best before. ‘Best before’ dates are usually on longer shelf life foods such as frozen, tinned or dried goods and refer to quality rather than safety. So, with these things, it’s best to use your judgement. It should be safe to eat food after the ‘best before’ date, but food may no longer be at its best. One exception is eggs – never eat eggs after the ‘best before’ date.

 Display Until \ Sell by. Date marks such as ‘display until’ or ‘sell by’ often appear near or next to the ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date. They are used by some shops to help with stock control and are instructions for shop staff, not shoppers.

For a full explanation, please go to The Food Standards Agency webpages http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels/labellingterms/

Items commonly mistaken as recyclable

How many of you put milk cartons in the blue bin every week for them to be recycled? For me, we have been doing it for years. Little did I know that the cartons are not actually properly recycled (see the page on “Myths about recycling, Myth #1.) So how many other items are also on this list? Here is a list of items commonly mistaken as recyclable:

• food waste
• coffee or drink cups
• tissue or paper towels
• food wrappers
• yogurt or fruit cups
• broken glass
• waxed cardboard
• paper or styrofoam cups
• plastic cutlery or straws
• take-out containers
• shrink wrap
• soiled or wet paper
• candy or chip bags
• juice or milk cartons
• aerosol cans
• personal products

These items are no luxury items. They are products that we as consumers buy on a regular trip to the grocery store. Think about all the parents who buy juice boxes for their kids to take to school, or the number of bags of chips that are being purchased in vending machines everyday. No wonder we have accumulated so much waste!

(source: http://www.mcmaster.ca/recycle/guidelines/NRlist.htm)

Myths about recycling

Only about 50% of Metro Vancouver recycles…why? Our mission is to bust the myths that are associated with recycling and try to get these people to recycle more. Here’s the list…..we’ll give our thoughts on the myths as well….

MYTH #1 : Recycling that goes into recycling bins actually gets recycled

Many of the things that are collected from the curbside are recycled into new materials. Often, they are made into new secondary products, such as bumpers, plastic lumber, or textiles, however, these secondary products are not recyclable. This won’t reduce the amount of new materials actually used in products….In this case “recycled” merely means “collected”.

MYTH #2: Curbside collection will reduce the amount landfilled

Actually, if people perceive new packaging to be more environmentally friendly, they might actually consume more goods. The problem here is that if the consumption rate is higher than the collection rate, then there will be more waste in the end…and since only a small percentage from the curbside is actually recycled (myth 1), it will mean that more trash will be dumped in the landfills.

MYTH #3: The chasing arrows symbol means that the matieral is recyclable

The arrows mean nothing. You’ll see them on all plastic materials. What really matters is the number inside of the symbol, which tells you how much glass resin was used in making the product. This will determine how recoverable the material will be in the end when it is actually recycled.

MYTH #4: Packaging resins are made from the waste of petroleum refineries

Wrong, plastics are made from non-renewable natural resources that could be used for other things or conserved. Most packaging is made from the same natural gas you use in your house for heat and to heat hot water.

MYTH #5: Using plastic containers reduces energy consumption

When you factor in the energy used to make plastics and plastic resin, it actually amounts to the same as the energy used to make glass containers from new materials and much more energy than that of making glass from recycled materials. Use refillables if you want to conserve the most energy.

…..so these could all be possible reasons for the lack of recycling here in Vancouver…..the question is, what can be done to change this?

source: http://www.ecologycenter.org/ptf/misconceptions.html