20 - Friday, July 26, 1991 ~ North Shore News

Finding alternatives to consumerism

ECOINFO READERS have obviously given some thought

to our role as consumers in this society.

Feedback | received on my last
few columns on the causes and ef-
fects of consumerism was inspir-
ing in its passion and the genuine
commitment with which some
people are striving to realize an
alternative to the frenzy of buying
that seems to drive much of our
activity.

Last week I promised you some
thoughts and tips from readers,
and from the Mennonite publica-
tion Living More With Less, on
the topic of living more simply
and with less dependence on ma-
terial resources.

This first is from North Van's
Alyson Witts, who, along with her
husband, has cut down on the
purchase of many objects they
balieve unnecessary, from kitchen
gadgets to new carpeting. In
response to my July 5 column, she
writes:

“We have been saying for three
years that we ‘really must replace
that useless toaster’ but have
persevered with it; ‘we need new
picnic chairs,’ but still use the old
ones. It goes on and on.

‘I simply don’t agree that we
are, any longer, ‘addicted to buy-
ing, and our addiction is fed by a
never-ending stream of objects.’

New
process
recycles
anti-freeze

MEMBERS OF the public can
now have their anti-freeze recycled
in a new ‘‘Glyclean’’ process that
is available at the newly opened
KalTire at 440 Brooksbank Ave.
in North Vancouver.

Used anti-freeze, which may
contain toxic dissolved metals
such as lead, tin, zinc, iron and
copper, has always been difficult
to dispose of responsibly. As a
result, some local service stations
simply pour the liquid down
our storm drains to avoid paying
charges incurred from hauling the
waste to a proper disposal facility.

Using the Glyclean method, a
machine is attached to the cooling
system and reverse flushes the en-
tire system using an external pump
and series of filters to remove any
deposits.

The original anti-freeze is
brought back to its proper pH
level and corrosion protection
with the use of a liquid additive.

“The recycled, additive-treated
anti-freeze eliminates dumping or
discharge problems and from a
corrosion inhibition comparison is
better than new anti-freeze,”" says
Ron Kellett, a North Vancouver
man who is distributing the system
in this region,

Kellett’s company also operates
a mobile Glyclean unit which ser-
vices major fleets, such as Gray
Line of Vancouver. The District
of North Vancouver also saves the
used anti-freeze from all its vehi-
cles for Glyclean reeycling.

For more information, call
KalTire at 985-4221, or Superior
Glycleaners Environmental, Ltd..
at 433-9494,

Do-it-yourselfers can also watch
for non-toxic anti-freeze solutions
that are on the market, or, if they
have regular used anti-freeze to
get rid of, call the provincial gov-
ernment’s hazardous waste drop-
off facility at 660-1177 for infor-
mation on the times the Surrey
depot is open and the materials
that are accepted.

Neen EEE!

Peggy
Trendell:Whittaker

ECOINFO

That sure used to be the case, but
I think all sorts of concerns about
environment and questioning of
‘what’s it all about?’ are leading
more and more people to conclude
that, really, money doesn’t buy
happiness.”’

This next is from another North
Van reader:

‘\..Jet’s take a total look at
consumer consumption. Please
think of one home with all its

4

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dreamed of. One of our B
major suppliers has to
reduce inventory and we

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on to you. All three 9
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Transitional, Oriental,

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furnishings as well as its car,
gardening tools, fence, bike —
now multiply that by the millions
of homes in the Western world.

‘In addition, think of a
department store with a million or
more items in it and multiply that
by thousands of stores in the
Western world.

“One more thing — think of
the businesses that manufacture
buses, boats, planes, trucks and
machinery and multiply that by
thousands all over the world.

“If you can visualize all that,
with some thought one realizes
that all of it will become garbage
at some time in the future, so that
when we reduce, reuse and recycle
we are touching only the tip of the
iceberg.

“Our society is absolutely
asinine! Every time | hear a poli-
tician promising to maintain our
standard of living I could
scream!""

Those of you who may be start-
ing to think along similar lines
would probably enjoy Living
More With Less, a compendium
of articles, tips and insights on
living simply. Not widely avail-
able, you can keep your eyes peel-
ed in second hand book stores and
libraries, or call the nearest Men-
nonite store at 533-2844.

*PRICE DOES NOT APPLY TO PREVIOUS PURCHASES

The book calls upon all of us to
live in this world in a manner that
nurtures each other as well as our
natural environment.

It encourages us to nourish our
spiritual resources instead of
spending all our energy reaping
the material riches that often
prove to be an empty harvest.

It covers topics such as trans-
portation and travel, homekeep-
ing, recreation, celebrations, gift
giving, eating and our relationship
with money.

The following are excerpts from

the many write-in contributors to
the book, which was published in
1980:
**‘} accounted, penny for penny,
for an entire month's salary. I was
amazed at the amount I'd frittered
away on trivia ... 1 invited a
friend to be my budget partner.
We consult with each other re-
garding the necessity, practicality,
and economics of any purchase
not in the regular budget.”’

©‘! need disposable bags for my
sweeper, but | empty and reuse
them until they tear. It’s a dusty
job that I always do before a
shampoo and bath. A package of
bags lasts indefinitely."” (Note:
you can empty vacuum cleaner
bags into your compost pile —
PTW.)

D

ny

« “A push (manual) lawnmower is
great! It always starts, is quiet
enough to use early in the morn-
ing without waking neighbors, and
efficiently combines exercise with
a necessary chore.”’

e ‘We could all learn a great deal
more about living a simpler life
and enjoying it more if we listened
to our elderly people. Saving time,
money and materials has always
been part of their life.”

¢ ‘Plastic detergent bottles par-
tially filled with sand make good
bowling pins for kids.”’

e'We make building olocks by
packing crumpled newspape;
tightly into cardboard boxes,
covering the outside with flour
paste and a layer of newspaper,
drying, and adding more newspa-
per and paste layers for strength.

“We decorate the blocks with
crayons or paini. The children en-
joy building large structures with
these and no one is ever hurt
when the blocks fall down.”’

© ‘People always say simple living
takes too much time. Actually, it’s
like typing. At first it’s slow, but
the better you become at it, the

faster it goes. When you get good
at it, it saves you lots of time.’’

CHOICE

$3069"

REG. $6996.
PIECES

ae

278-967]
SO eSundas P1-5