Small Companies doing some BIG good

There are so many businesses all over Dallas that are doing their small part for saving the Earth. Sure, you hear about some of the big guys with huge ad budgets implementing green projects then running ad campaigns to support those projects. But what about our local business? They very well might be doing something special to Reduce, Reuse or Recycle but how would you ever know?? My advice is to check back often and I will do my best to ferret out those businesses that are making a difference here in Dallas.
Let’s start with plastic pots. I recently planted several large bushes in my yard – did you know that fall is the best time to plant bushes and trees in our area? Our mild winters are a better time for transplanted bushes and trees to get settled in before the Big Texas Heat descends upon us. So shop those sales, and get those half price bushes in the ground before the first freeze drives you to your fireplace. When you are done planting you will have a lovely landscape, extra cash and a big pile of plastic pots. Now, you might find a use for a few pots in your yard, so go ahead a keep some. A few might be recyclable – look on the bottom for the recycling logo. But better yet, call around to your local nurseries to see if they need them for their spring plants. Don’t bother with the big box stores, Home Depot and Lowe’s don’t want to take your call. ALTHOUGH if we all start calling in mass and push them to give us some options that don’t involve sending the pots to a landfill, maybe we can cause a change!
In east Dallas, Brumley Gardens off of Plano Road will take your pots, they use them for planting which is the best case scenario for our lovely and talented plastic pots. Rubal’s (several locations – including Farmer’s Market downtown and Grand between Gaston and Tennison) will BUY back your flats. They can’t use the 4’’ pots, but they will give you a nickel off of your purchase for every flat you bring in. So get your earth friendly discount at Rubal’s. I am going to keep searching for nurseries that will take back plastic pots, and if you know of any, please leave a comment so we will know where to shop next spring.

WHY LOCAL?

There is a real live groundswell upon us, a tidal wave of trend and this time it is the local movement.

When we look over our shoulder, we remember a time when the best wines were French, the best cars, Italian and the best couture was anything but American. This was not a problem when fuel was plentiful and panache drove prices of these goods to very profitable levels. Today, looming changes to the earth itself and dwindling supplies of fuel sources that once seemed endless has us looking for quality in a much different place – close to home.
Here in Texas we have the advantage of a vast agricultural network to support artisan companies. Here in Dallas we have the advantage of skilled craftsmen from all industries that create amazing products right here at our doorstep. No superfreight ships, no refrigerated eighteen wheelers, just buying quality products from the person who cared enough to learn how to create that product. Specialty restaurants, small growers, small agriculture and meat producers and processors, craftsmen of all kinds from furniture to soaps to jewelry to breads, the Dallas area is rich with talent.
If you are the kind of person that has paid $85 for a bottle of Patron or $200,000 for a Lamborghini Gallardo, then I challenge you. Look in your community for fine products, buy them and tell your friends about them. If you are the kind of person that clips coupons and knows every aisle of the nearest Walmart by heart, I challenge you. Take a portion of your budget and pamper yourself with a really lovely home grown soap or a decadent caramel sauce for topping your budget-buy ice cream. If you are interested in adding layers to your life and getting to know neighbors that you hardly ever talk to, I challenge you. Make it your goal to meet one new person each week and ask them how they got where they are, why they do what they do and learn about their passion. You will soon begin to understand the power of Local in ways you never expected.

Well, yes, I have always been a bit trashy. Just ask my friends. They can attest to my trashy vices. I’ve been known to stop on a dime when I spot a good trash pile on bulk trash day. In fact, I have been known to phone a friend and tell them about a particularly good trash pile.
One of my favorite stories involves a handmade basket woven around a Charles Chips can that a neighbor had put out for bulk trash. I snapped it up, gave it a good spruce up with Old English and took it to a local consignment store. A few weeks later I received my cut of the sale…$17.46!!! Now isn’t that a Fabulous example of one gal’s trash being another gal’s treasure?
I like to think that bulk trash day here in Dallas as more of a neighborhood-wide free give away. When I have bulk trash, I stack it in a blob in front of the house but when I have an old chair, or a pile of metal (no matter how small) this kind of trash gets its own spot on my curb – away from the non-useable stuff. When I get home from work and see that the metal guys have stopped by to claim their prize or a neighbor has taken in the wayward chair for their own, I am euphoric!
I started recycling in earnest when the city of Dallas started picking up my recyclables along with my trash on Wednesdays. Before then I was saving cans for a friend’s dad (he smushed them and sold them for a few cents per lb out in Mesquite, I guess they had a facility out there that bought them for a bit of cash). My glass went to an igloo receptacle at Teitse park and I didn’t think my little family went through enough plastic to mess with. Ah, the days before bottled water! When Dallas made the offer to pickup my recyclables at my curb, they couldn’t take glass because it was dangerous for the collectors and I already had a place to recycle my cans, so I decided to save my plastic. In a very short time, I had accumulated a blue bag of plastic containers of all shapes and sizes. Hmm, maybe my little family of 4 really did throw away more than we should. I had proven to myself that I was making a much heavier footprint on the earth than I had ever imagined.
I have come a long way since that realization. It took a while, but now hubby and kids are also trained to rinse and recycle. We have had heated family debates on the recycle-ability of pizza boxes (they are not recyclable because the cardboard is contaminated with organic matter. Even if the organic matter is from Whole Foods organic pizzas) and food containers (look for the recycle symbol stamped into them but be sure to rinse off any food before putting them into your bin). Even guests to our house are introduced to the placement of the recycle bin in our kitchen. How wonderful it is for a visiting teenager to utter those precious words, “Do you recycle?”.