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- Trash Talk:
an inspirational guide to saving time and money through better waste and resource management
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- Authors: Dave & Lillian Brummet
- Reviewer: Sonali T. Sikchi
- Publisher: PublishAmerica, Baltimore
- Format: Adult, Nonfiction, Paperback, 190 Pages, 2004, $19.95
- ISBN: 141372518X
- Rating: * * * Quills
- Amazon.com
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- In Trash Talk, Dave and Lillian Brummet explain how to implement their "Refuse, Reduce and Reuse" principle for various commonplace household items, before even considering recycling. (Forget about dumping it in the garbage bin.) Refuse to let certain items enter your house, such as polystyrene foam. Reduce buying individually packaged products and buy bulk items, for example. Reuse bottles and plastic containers in the kitchen, garden and craft areas.
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- "North Americans account for only 8% of the world's population, yet we produce 50% of the world's garbage..." Statistics like these make me shudder and approach the garbage can with trepidation. We all talk about doing our bit for the environment, but most of us don't know how nor where to start and whether our efforts will have an impact. I was heartened upon reading Trash Talk's table of contents with chapter titles, such as "bags," "containers," "water use," "energy use" and "metals." Here was a book that would guide me in all the different areas where I could make a difference.
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- So, I started reading this book, like any other book, from page one. I was quickly overwhelmed by an avalanche of information about all the different things I had to keep track of for every item that I usually would've put in the garbage or recycling bin. I, then, decided to try a different tack: Use the book as a workbook. I chose the chapter on cereal boxes and bags. It explained everything succinctly and had a "benefits" summary at the end. I implemented the recommendations. A week later, I went back to the book and read the chapter "Brushes and Brooms" and followed through on those ideas. Then the chapter "In the Office." Suddenly, I was reusing more, and it was all manageable and doable.
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- The workbook aspect of the book also means that you can commit to doing as much or as little of their suggestions as fit your personality and lifestyle. Some of their reuse ideas might be a tad finicky for you, but you can ignore those and focus on others. The important idea behind this is that no matter how little you do, everything that you do has a positive effect on the global conservation effort.
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- The main quibble I have with this book is the order in which the information is presented: intra-chapter and inter-chapter. For example, given that many of the household items have gardening uses, the two chapters on gardening should've been the first ones mentioned. Chapters, whose content is repeated again and again elsewhere, should be moved to the front of the book and referenced appropriately. Longer chapters, such as those on cloth and containers, need to be broken down into sections and sub-sections with titles to improve readability.
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- Leaving the above issues aside, Trash Talk is an excellent reference book to have in every household.
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- To read more in depth about what happens to the trash you leave at your curb for weekly pickup, read Elizabeth Royte's Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. It just might convince you to follow some of the guidelines mentioned in Trash Talk.
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