Topics
6 Comments
-
Re: Disposable Feminine Products versus Menstrual Cups
2014-03-20 18:28:28 UTC
They are indeed available in two sizes, the larger one is for women who have had a baby or are over 30. They are still large compared with a tampon.
Katherine Lustig
Corporate Sustainability Coordinator
Parramatta City Council
Australia -
Re: Disposable Feminine Products versus Menstrual Cups
2014-03-19 23:00:35 UTC
Just in support of Karen's comments, I'd say there is no question that the menstrual cups are less wasteful, and you can just wash them out when showering. My understanding is that, unlike tampons, the cups are not associated with toxic shock syndrome, which is quite a bonus.
They are, however, more difficult for some people to use, because they are a lot wider than tampons; women who are not sexually active may not find it especially easy. Women need to be comfortable with their bodies, and women who currently use applicator tampons won't be enthusiastic. (In Australia, applicator tampons aren't very popular, but I've heard they're very common in North America (??).)
Also, finally, when considering the waste, you might also want to consider what cups / tampons are made from. I've seen cups made of both medical-grade silicone and of rubber. Tampons are made from anything from organic cotton through to synthetic fibres.
Katherine Lustig
Corporate Sustainability Coordinator
Parramatta City Council
Australia -
Re: Providing refillable water bottles at events
2013-12-18 20:52:17 UTC
I know what you mean. I have started a conversation at some of our public venues (where bottled water is sold) about having bubblers for the public, and apparently the water is a major source of revenue for them... so I am still looking for really good ideas to sway them.
Feel free to harrass me after Australia Day for a report on our success (or failure...).
Katherine Lustig
Corporate Sustainability Coordinator
Parramatta City Council
Australia -
Re: Providing refillable water bottles at events
2013-12-18 16:31:50 UTC
At Parramatta City Council, we will be going bottled-water-free for Australia Day 2014 (that's 26th January, for people from other countries). It's the first time we've done it, and it's our biggest event on the calendar (up to 60,000 people).
We are working with Sydney Water, who will have (free) TAP refill stations. We also have one extra refill station as a supplement. The main limitation is that the Sydney Water stations have to be located where there are taps, and we're in a heritage park where those are limited and we can't just install new ones. So we can't get as many water stations as we'd like. The one extra refill station doesn't gets pre-filled but there was only one available for the day by the time we ordered it!
We'll be giving out a limited number of water bottles, and have been talking through the best placement of those so that people don't just take a free thing and not use it. (My preference would be to sell them for a small amount to deter this but we aren't able to do that, unfortunately, as they were produced by the major sponsor.)
To my knowledge, stallholders have simply been told that they aren't allowed to sell water - I'm not aware of any complaints as yet. I have suggested that the stallholders might sell water bottles themselves, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. We are putting reminders about bringing water bottles on all the marketing, but we will also have biodegradable disposable cups for people who don't have a bottle because we don't expect everyone to actually DO that.
I can provide an update after the event about how well it actually worked.
You might also like to get in touch with the organisers of the Newtown Festival (also in Sydney). They have been bottled-water-free for a couple of years.
Katherine Lustig
Parramatta City Council
Australia -
Re: Cloth Diapers vs Disposable Diapers
2009-03-02 15:46:00 UTC
To my knowledge, the most recent definitive paper on this is a British one:
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WR0705_7589_FRP.pdf
NOTE - It is very important that you read the detail of this and not just the conclusion as the assumptions made are important. This study assumes that the reusable nappies are normal cotton, whereas there are of course nappies made from organically produced cotton, bamboo and hemp nappies, all of which have a smaller footprint.
For those who don't want to read the whole paper, the answer to which you should use is: it depends. It depends on which environmental issues are deemed to be more important. It depends on which products you buy. If you use reusable nappies, it depends how many children you use them for and how you wash and dry them.
...But to my mind it's pretty clear that reusable nappies are the winners. After all, does anyone buy new cotton reusable nappies, dry them in a tumble drier all the time and then throw them out after one child has used them?
Katherine Lustig
Parramatta City Council
Australia -
How to Evaluate our Efforts
2008-12-13 19:15:58 UTC
A successful method I've seen is telling respondents that for every survey returned, fifty cents or a dollar will be donated to a charity - and as part of the survey, you list three different, but preferably local, charities (eg, a children's hospital, a wildlife sanctuary and a soup kitchen) and ask them which of them they want "their" money to go to. I can't remember the response rate but it was very high.
Katherine Lustig
Environmental Management
System Coordinator
Strategic Asset Management
Parramatta City Council
PO Box 32 Parramatta NSW 2124
0 Recommends
You haven't saved any recommendations.
Messaging 0 colleagues