Catty is a winner!

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February 16

Catty won her division Physical Science for the Science Fair!!! She will go to the regionals in March here

at the college. Also attending will be her Best Friend Jayden who lives in our Cul de sac (House #12)

worked with paint, glue & oil got a third,"The Boy" Jamie got a third adding alcohol to plants which they

liked for a while, so dumping your drink into a plant at a party is okay as long everyone else isn't doing

it, and a friend in the Cul de sac (House #8) got a first and is on the front page of our news with a big

5 X 7 photo and write up. She made a recycled puppy out of parts of older things that were going into

the garbage anyway...Christmas lights light up the eyes ..etc. (MedicinehatNews.ca) I think.

Catty's project; Battle of the Brands was a product comparison of Paper towels. She (we) tested 30

different brands. It got a little tedious so we all helped. Anyway, we learned that:

-Paper towels are an environmental nightmare but a bit of a necessity. They stop the spread of viruses

and they take a lot of fats out of our cooking but...we believe they are a product that has been

Greenwashed, meaning they try to make them look environmentally friendly (recycled material, no

chlorine, less water used to manufacture etc...but they are usually used for messy jobs and then end

up in the landfills...

-New material has longer fibers than recycled material so that stronger and more absorbent usually

means virgin material is used...Sponge Towels are okay as they use managed forests so as not to cut

down virgin tracks. Their Select-a-Size is all new material from their own forests, their regular size

towel is a 60% recycled/40% new material. Then they have White Swan (Viva) which is recycled. The

best towel then becomes the best towel for the job So that you are not using too much paper towel for

a small job or having to use sheets and sheets of a weaker brand to do the same job as a stronger

towel. So consumers need to look at their own usage and re-think the purchases they make. Are you

polishing windows or picking up a hairball? (Don't use paper towels to polish your glasses - it takes off

the coatings)

- Also the best paper towel is a personal choice based on a consumer's values...inexpensive, kosher,

recycled, environmentally responsible (I didn't know there were Kosher paper towels either KSR

logo on the label)

- Buy large rolls: a single roll (45 sheets) and core is 9.25 cm across add another 35 sheets and

increase roll size by only .75 cm...this reduces using another core, reduces the plastic needed to

wrap the package and also reduces the costs of transportation and the emissions...925 double

rolls is 1850 rolls is about the same space as 1000 single rolls..then there are super, mega and

jumbo rolls.

- When Catty e-mailed companies she suggested they reduce the core size to 2.5 cm from 4 cm

changing the industry standard and increasing the benefits that come from the smaller roll size

same as from the mega rolls (less material in the core, in ther wrapping and less effects of shipping)

OMG...they are looking into it! There is a big thing now about Carbon Credits and such and we are

aware of Government grants and Tax breaks for some of the capital expenses that this would

require to re-tool some of the machines but not too sure how they work. More study to be done.

- The top 5 brands were store brands and then Sponge Towels were the first National Brand tying

for 5th place (Bounty was 8th)

- If you must use Paper towels then the one we ultimately loved for general use was London Drugs

Super absorbent Jumbo Premium Recycled ranking 14/30 (2/30 lowest price) and tied with that was

Cascades Brown 14/30 is was stronger than their white one which were more expensive but were also

more environmentally gentle.

- The best picker upper really is a rag...Cut up your old T-shirts and worn out towels into nice squares

and set them by the sink..If they have to go in the garbage then that's where they were headed anyway

but you got one more use...if they can be rinsed out and thrown in with a load of laundry and re-used

well...even better! Being Green is actually very economical.

And that's that..
Lots o' love
Bonnie

10:46 AM | Blog it | Environment

Comments (4)

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	Magickwrote: Ohhh...I'm so sorry that you're not feeling well. Sounds like you nipped it in the bud, though. I've been very lucky, so far, this year (knock on wood...lol)....I haven't had a cold or flu. Could be because I don't go out much, so I'm not in contact with other people. The only reason I got so sick last year, was because my Mom got sick and I was nursing her, so I ended up catching it. My Mom can't figure out why she catches things, because she takes good care of herself. I told her it's because she rides the buses everyday and they're just full of germs. People sitting close by, coughing and sneezing and then they touch the railings and then you touch them....UGH!! I hate riding buses....I only do it if I absolutely have to. Yeh, I would really appreciate it if you could talk to Ann. I really don't understand why I don't hear from her. I've stopped going to her space...I gave up. I would leave two or three comments for her and then hear nothing back. Even if I asked specific questions; she never got back to me to answer them. I'm not really all that upset about it....mostly curious. Al won't be able to use those receipts for his hospital trip until next year...so he'll hang onto them and give that a try. I think everyone gets a basic minimum medical deduction on their income tax, anyway, don't they??...lol...I dunno. And, yes, I'm afraid we're both paying income tax. You know the old saying, ''the two things you can be sure of in this life are death and taxes''!! Wow!! Sounds like you got some really good deals at that garage sale site. I don't buy anything over the internet....I'm too afraid of getting ripped off. I sure hope you're feeling better today. Just rest and take good care of yourself. Everyone needs a quiet day once in awhile. Hugs and Love, Diane Feb. 17
	Magickwrote: WTG Catty!!! What a great kid!! No, no....you would never get the boot from my friend's list...lol. You are one of the ones who falls into the category of ones who don't come by often, but have very good reasons why. You have lots of stuff going on and that keeps you pretty busy. One that I haven't deleted yet, but had to really think about it is Ann, because I've been to visit her a couple of times and she never replies....I haven't heard from her in ages....but, I know she hasn't disappeared, because I quite often see her leave a message here for you. Sometimes, I just don't get it. She might fall under the category I mentioned of people who maybe don't care for me. Whatever her reason....I'm quite baffled. What is this new thing I see on people's friend's lists, where it says ''in common''?? I don't get that either. Have people chosen friends who have things in common or did MSN do the choosing?? It's a new thing and it's weird....lol. As to what you said about someone going with Al would be covered....the answer is no, they wouldn't....it's one of the things we checked into before he left. Otherwise I would have gone with him. In fact, they don't cover much at all....he's going to be reimbursed for the ferry cost, but not the hotel....he did get a medical discount on that; but it wasn't much of a discount and they don't cover meals either. Like I said, they don't cover much of anything. It's disgusting!! I don't use paper towels very often, but my Mom does. I just use my dishcloths and then wash them. I also tried something new the other day.....I usually throw away my garden gloves when they get too bad and buy new ones; but the other day, I tried washing them instead and they turned out great!!....go figure...lol. Hugs, Diane Feb. 16
	Ann V.wrote: Congratulations Catty...and kudos to her supportive family. Hugs Ann Feb. 16
	Bonniewrote: I have to go do flyers its snowing madly ...I will format this prperly when I get back so it will be easier to read. ..I just transported it from an e-mail. What happened to the Draft option!!!! Feb. 16

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