I find this medical waste once or twice every year after a storm has churned up the lake. I also sweep up bags of plastic bottle caps, pens, sanitary items and shards of broken plastic.

Recycle your plant pots at Loblaws stores

Article, Friday, June 20, 2008, on Ecochick.ca

Have you been feverishly gardening, planting your perennials, annuals, baskets, bins, veggie gardens? And do you have a pile of leftover plant pots and flats to show for it?

Don't pitch them - take them to a Loblaws chain store (so Loblaws, Independents, Great Canadian Superstore, etc.). Make sure it's one that has a a garden center, because those ones have a recycling bin where you can drop off the pots. They'll use them for next year's plants. Which is awesome, because much of the plastic used in these pots isn't easily recyclable, so if you put them in the streetside bins they might end up in the landfill. Booo! So bring 'em back and get them reused. Your garden will thank you for it.

Worth Repeating

The Home Depot Canada Launches CFL Recycling Initiative
by Earth 911 on November 7th, 2007


Toronto—The Home Depot Canada announced a national in-store compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) recyclingprogram at all 160 The Home Depot Canada locations, helping customers make environmentally conscious decisions from purchase to disposal.

This free service is the first such offering so widely available in Canada, and by November 22, Canadians will be able to bring in their expired CFLs to any The Home Depot store, assured that each bulb will be recycled safely. The program is supported by Philips Lighting and Fluorescent Lamp Recyclers Inc.

“The CFL recycling program is another example of how The Home Depot is encouraging customers to make energy efficient changes in their homes,” said Annette Verschuren, President, The Home Depot Canada and Asia. “With stores located in every province, this program is the first national solution to providing Canadians with a convenient way to recycle CFLs.”

At each The Home Depot store, customers will find a CFL recycling unit located at the entrance by the special services desk. Customers can simply bring in their expired CFLs, place them in one of the plastic bags provided, seal the bag and deposit it into the display.

Each store monitors the unit and once full, sends the expired CFLs to be responsibly recycled by Fluorescent Lamp Recyclers Inc., in Ayr, Ontario.

“Consumers face a barrier in making better environmental decisions, such as what to do with their expired CFLs,” said Michael Gentile, Vice President and General Manager, Philips Lighting. “Having CFL recycling units located in so many stores across Canada will allow customers to feel completely confident in purchasing and using CFLs in their homes.”

While more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, CFLs contain mercury, which can be toxic to the environment if disposed of improperly. For more information on mercury, visit Earth 911’s Mercury page.

As the largest retailer of light bulbs in the country, The Home Depot is on track to sell seven million CFLs in 2007, which will provide Canadians approximately $315 million in energy savings and save 755,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases over the life of the bulbs.

Organic Food Delivery Programs--Toronto and Area

Toronto's organic food delivery programs have expanded in the past years. They have also expanded what they sell. The following list shows organic food companies currently delivering in Metropolitan Toronto and area:

Beretta Organic Farms
(416) 674-5609
fax (416) 487-0514
thefarm@berettaorganics.com
http://www.berettaorganics.com/
OCPP Certified: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Grass Fed beef.

Damn Good Food
(416) 948-6162;
fax (416) 968-1493
beth@dirt.zzn.com
http://www.beths.home-page.org/
This biweekly delivery service runs from late spring until late fall. The set box ($60 plus $6 delivery in the GTA) includes produce, one prepared vegetarian meal and fresh flowers. Every third delivery, participants are invited to another participants home for a vegetarian potluck with a guest speaker/performer and to pick up their box. Also has customized orders offering meat, dairy/eggs, bulk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, frozen foods, beverages, baked goods.

Field to Table
200 Eastern Ave.,
Toronto, Ont.,
M5A 1J1
(416) 363-0474;
fax (416) 363-6441
goodfoodbox@foodshare.net
http://www.foodshare.net/
This non-profit organization offers biweekly organic (small $20, large $30) and non-organic produce boxes with deliveries to almost 200 drop-off locations in the GTA.

Front Door Organics
879 Islington Ave.,
Etobicoke, Ont
M8Z 4N9
(416) 201-3000;
fax (416) 201-3002
frdoor@interlog.com
http://www.frontdoororganics.com/
Offers a produce box (small $29, large $39) weekly or biweekly with up to 2 substitutions and also has customized orders offering produce, dairy/eggs, packaged foods, processed foods, beverages.

Hallelujah Organics Inc.
(also is a retail store)
110 Pony Drive,
Newmarket, Ont.,
L3Y 7B6
(905) 953-7900 or 1-888-607-3734
matthews@neptune.on.ca
http://www.hallelujah.on.ca/
Customized orders offering produce, meat, dairy/eggs, packaged foods, processed foods, frozen foods, beverages, baked goods.

The Organic Farm
801 Collinson Rd.,
Dundas, Ont.,
L9H 5E2
1-877-223-0542;
fax (905) 627-5171
birch.tree@primus.ca
http://www.the-organic-farm.com/
Customized orders offering produce, dairy/eggs, bulk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, frozen foods, beverages, baked goods
[Blogmaster Note: I was unable to reach the website owner to determine why the website was unavailable. The email address does not work either. However, I am leaving this post in case it is a temporary condition]

Penny's Organic Produce
53 Golfview Ave.,
Toronto, Ont.,
M4E 2J9
(416) 691-2571
Customized orders offering produce, dairy/eggs, bulk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, beverages, baked goods

True Food - Farm Store and Market
(also a retail store)
2499 York Rd. 30,
Stouffville, Ont.
L4A 7X4
(905) 643-3383;
fax (905) 642-1276
(outside the GTA 1-888-257-FOOD; fax 1-888-257-3316)
info@OrganicHomeDelivery.com
http://www.organichomedelivery.com/
Customized orders offering produce, meat, dairy/eggs, bulk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, frozen foods, beverages, baked goods.

Wanigan Toronto Organics
1-877-926-4426
info@mywowbox.com
http://www.torontoorganics.com/
Offers several sizes of produce boxes ($29-$49) or customized orders offering produce, meat, dairy/eggs, bulk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, frozen foods, beverages, baked goods.

Wanigan Whole Foods Inc.
1-877-WANIGAN (926-4426)
fax (519) 938-9396
info@wanigan.com;
http://www.wanigan.com/
Customized orders (minimum order $70, plus $5 delivery) offering produce, dairy/eggs, bulk foods, packaged foods, processed foods, frozen foods, beverages, baked goods.

Vital Planet on Lake Shore Boulevard sells a selection of organic produce.

Park Saviours

Salvatore, and a group of garden angels, turned a mean little dirt patch in South Etobicoke into a peaceful intermission from the hubbub of Lake Shore Boulevard. A parkette at the bottom of Sand Beach Road, with a jaw dropping view of Toronto, was overgrown and unmanaged. It was a horrible pit of weeds, garbage and abandonment.

A nearby community member decided to do something about it. With the help of a few residents, Salvatore turned the ugly, decheveled parkette into a sweet enclave. Residents donated plants, pots, seeds, structures, and labour and Savatore pressed the donations into the soil like a patchwork quilt. This is Salvatore's labour of love. And the labour is not simple because Salvator is combating Parkinson's.

I am inspired by Salvatore, his garden angels and the results they produced together. The visit brought a tear to my eye.

See the slideshow below.