Question: What inspired you initially to begin your Trash Talk venture? Answer: As a society, we are bombarded with negative information about the environment and our resources constantly. Feeling powerless because we cannot afford to donate cash or time to a cause, we begin to feel overwhelmed by the immense environmental problems our world faces. Psychologists know that simply performing one positive action helps to define a positive outlook on life and will 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 4 years. For the last couple of years, we have focused all our energies towards compiling the articles into a book that matched our expectations and the publisher's deadline. Question: Why the title? Answer: We talk about trash so we simply called it Trash Talk. It was an eye-catching title for readers of our column, so we kept the title for the book.The concept of the book is to reduce, reuse or recycle items that were formally destined for the landfill. The idea of refusing to buy products with excessive packaging is another key element discussed. You are sending a powerful message 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 the individual in easing the world's environmental strain. The entire book is focused on bringing the reader inspiring facts, useful ideas, and a real sense of hope. We show how recycling benefits us all and discuss how the 4-R's of waste management are implemented. By treating waste as a resource, the reader will save money and better the environment. Question: Where is the likely readership? What type of person would be attracted to this book? Answer: Anyone that creates waste, that likes to save money and who would like to lessen their personal impact on the environment would get something very useful out of this book. Anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or depressed about the state of the earth can find some comfort in our pages. Individuals and businesses will learn how to save money and time. Our financial consultant tells us that if people could find a way to save just $7 a day they could contribute to their retirement monthly. We show people how to accomplish this simply by improving their waste and resource management. Question: What is the sales potential of the book? What are the interests of the book? Answer: Zero Waste initiatives are gaining popularity in communities across North America. Education systems are teaching recycling and environmental sciences in their curriculum. And, the last time we checked, the landfills were not getting any smaller. It is in the best interest of all of us on this planet to make it as healthy and non-toxic as possible in order to remain. With this in mind, we felt it was vitally important to have this book published, aiding communities in their waste reduction efforts. Question: What makes this book unique? Answer: Trash Talk is about implementing the Refuse-Reduce-Reuse tactics first, in that order, before even considering recycling. In this, we are not trying to pronounce that recycling is a negative approach by any means - more a final solution when all other options have been considered. By taking matters into our own hands we can ease the burden that is upon the recycling industry, decrease our own household costs and help preserve our resources. In all our research, we could find only four, or five, books on this subject throughout North America. Most of these are regionally based and were written up to 10 years ago. We have written Trash Talk for a wider, North American audience. We included a list of over 140 magazines, Internet sites, books and reports that were used in the writing process, as well as providing statistics throughout the book. It is focused on providing the reader with a sense of hope and the knowledge that their actions have a direct impact on their own pocketbook as well as the health of the community. In fact, many chapters close with a list of the direct benefits attained by taking the suggested 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 waste generated in homes and businesses. Each bag sent to the landfill increases municipal costs and the need to create new landfill space. The ideas in this book will help individuals and businesses to not only manage their waste and resource consumption, but also purchase less. We show readers how to turn their yards into organic, wildlife paradises. Individuals will learn how to increase the value of their real estate. Employers will learn new ways of decreasing sick days and increasing staff production. Communities will learn how to reduce smog and waste issues. Each - and every one -of these things we just mentioned can have a huge effect on the financial state and health of people within our communities. Question: What makes this book so enjoyable that people keep referring back to it? Answer: The hands-on reuse ideas make it easy to start right away with simple projects around the home or office that make a difference. The positive approach gives the feeling that there is hope and that no matter how small you start it is just that - a start. In no time the inclination to look at anything twice before discarding it will be a reflex action. Because readers learn of the direct benefits of each action they make, we hope they will find the courage to further their management journey. This book could very well be one of the best tools for individuals 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 begin with, and have the additional incentive of receiving money for bringing them to the depot. All office paper, envelopes, cereal boxes, newspaper and junk mail can be put in one box and taken to the depot. Cardboard is also easily recycled. However, not all glass is recyclable. Very few depots accept ceramics or drinking glasses. Because mixed glass is less valuable than separated colors, many depots require glass to be sorted by color. 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 the family becomes used to these, they can consider recycling plastics, metals and many other things. Recycling is the first step in taking responsible measures to deal with our waste problems. Question: Do you have outlets for all your recycled items? Answer: Most communities have big recycling bins, reuse centers and take-it-back programs available for the public. There are differences in each depot. For instance, some require labels to be taken off cans and bottles - others do not. Some accept all rigid plastics from #1-#7 - others accept only translucent milk jugs. It is important to become familiar with local depot requirements because the wrong thing can ruin the whole bin. Question: How does one "save time and money"? Provide some examples of how reuse works. Answer: Even before recycling, a plastic container can be reused for various storage means numerous times. This means the container is not going to the landfill, contributing increasing municipal costs and loss of land. The individual saves money by not purchasing a storage container. |
