10 - Friday, June 15, 1990 - North Shore News

It’s time to come

A LOT of things go on in our washrooms that just don’t

wash in this new era of environmental awareness.

It’s in the nation’s bathrooms
that one finds a host of over-
packaged, usually disposable and
often unnecessary goods — I'd
rather call them ‘‘bads’’ — like
throwaway razors, toxic house-
hold cleaners and huge boxes of
sanitary napkins.

But don’t women need pads and
tampons? Well, the fact must be
faced that we really don’t need
them any more than babies need
to wear disposable diapers.

Perhaps it is time to consider
living without the ‘‘convenience’*
of disposable menstrual products.
They are a drain on _ forest
resources, contribute to the land-
fill problems and contain harmful
dioxins, a result of the chlorine
bleaching process.

President’s Choice has come out
with a line of unbleached max-
ipads, but that doesn’t do any-
thing to cure the first two ills.

A solution is offered, however,
with the Many Moons washable
menstrual pads being produced by
a small Victoria company. They
have just been stocked at Capers,
which has, over the past few
months, sold a good number of
Envirofemmes, a different brand
of reusable menstrual pads.

The Many Moons product con-
sists of a 100 per cent cotton ab-
sorbent liner that is inserted into a
rectangular pocket (you have your

¥

Entire Stock
of Children’s

Swimwear

© BOYS & GIRLS
SIZES 2 to 14

choice of color and design!),
which is then held in place with
velcro wings. If this sounds con-
fusing, fear not, a clerk is on
hand to offer a demonstration.

A pamphlet that is supplied
with the product explains the phi-
losophy behind the pads and prac-
tical advice on using and washing
them.

Part of the reason women may
be resistant to abandoning tam-
pons is that we have all been
taught that menstruation is best
not talked about — certainly with
men — and hidden away as much
as possible.

Washing used menstrual linens
is no Jonger a part of a house-
hold’s routine, and the re-in-
troduction of this habit may seem
almost unthinkable for the
above-mentioned reasons.

But this is simply a change to
be faced like any other, and it’s a
change men can assist in by sup-
porting women in their move to
**come out of the (watei) closet.’’

For both sexes, this means
allowing menstruation a respected
place in our culture, free from
derisive jokes and any implication
of shamefulness. Perhaps it’s not
so wrong to wash one’s dirty
linens in public, after all.

Orders can be telephoned to
Many Moons (1-382-1588) using a
Visa or Mastercard. Cost is $34

CHILDREN’S CLOTHING CO.

- CHILDREN’S CLOTHING Co.\_

: LYNN VALLEY CENTRE 988-7466

out of the water closet
TIPS ON ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND HYGIENE HABITS

for a set of eight beltless pads
(they were slightly cheaper at
Capers), and you can also order a
paitern for $4 if you'd prefer to
sew your own.

tf you are still using tampons,
boycott those with plastic ap-
plicators and dispose of used
tampons in the garbage — don’t
flush them down the toilet.

That’s not all we can do to
clean up our act in the bathroom.
Here are a few more pointers:

* Use shaving soap and a brush
instead of canisters of shaving
cream — equally as effective and
much more fun. Disposable razors
are, of course, a quite unnecessary
evil.

* Buy soaps and toiletries that
are made without cruelty to
animals.

¢ For every cleaner and
deodorizer underneath your
bathroom sink, there is a cheaper

and safer alternative. A good all-
purpose cleaner for any surface
consists of one gallon of hot
water, “% cup each of sudsy am-
monia and vinegar and 1 tbsp.

EcoInfo

Peggy Trendell-Whittaker

baking soda. If you need a
stronger cleaner, double all ingre-
dients except the water and wear
gloves.

Never mix bieach and ammonia
because the combination of the
two produces deadly fumes.

@ Wash windows and mirrors
using a spray bottle filled with a
quart of very warm water, “2 cup
ammonia and 1/8 cup vinegar.
Use old newspapers instead of
paper towels —- they work very
well.

e To clean your drains, use a
plunger followed by 4 cup baking
soda, % cup vinegar and two
quarts of boiling water.

® Clean linoleum floors with a
mixture of one cup white vinegar

Jur bar 1s stocked with the finest. Luscious wate: neion = sp
cantaloupe. Fresh vegetabies. Hot pasta and soup 9:1: Natu: viiy,
it’s Sizzler’s Ail-You-Can-Eat Fresh Fruit & Saiad Ba:

And grill means large and lean
7-ounce Sizzler sirloin Steak cut fresh

daily. Then broiled to order. So bnng
| your family to Sizzier, where bar and
grill takes on a fresh new flavor.

! | sat Se. QO |
| | Stea - YOU- |
[IE —_—— |Can-Eat Salad Bar ee? a

. 20% Seniors Discount 2-Spm Any Day or Al Day Monday-Wednesday (°— gular »r:ced items)
Westview Shopping Center “Upper Levels Highway at Westrew Drive Sarth Van auver)

Open [lam «© Licensed

and 'wo gallons of water, Clean
toilel scowls with « paste of borax
and lemon iuice.

© Most ouets ise 20 litres of
water oer flush. Cut down on
wate ise oy nutting a brick or
plastic jug in our water tank.
This » one of tne tasks listed in
the ‘August’” section of the Go-
ing oveen on ‘he North Shore
projes mut why tot beat the rush
and: 10wW

e custall a ‘ow-flow shower
head end cut down the time you
spenc «© ne shower. Between 15
and + ‘itres or ster per minute
go down :ne dran f you’re using
astanaard showe ead.

TEPS

Jennie Keerar of the North
Vancouver Districi Fask Force on
the Environment let me know
about ‘hese twe ecycling pick-up
services.

Encore Hy-grade (699-1248) is
another company ‘hat will pick up
your Wice-grade paper. There is
No charge but minimum load per
Month :« 300 {bs They will also
shred the paper without charge.

Con munity Appliance (526-
0896) --il! vick up vour old fridge,
stove. vashers, itvers and metal
car parts, drain ‘hem of harmful
ails and treons ind dispose of
them ippropriately. There is no
charge

Sene vour environment tips and
questions to Ecosmto, North Shore
News. 39 Lonsdale Ave., North
Vancouver, V7M /H4,

e@

Sizzler

A fresh ¢:.nervence.

i

Offer alid-o iune 16,1990. © Salad “ar items may > ary by sea-