Dallas, Texas is taking the latest advances in green technology very seriously.  Over the next five years, City Hall intends to grandfather out the use of plastic and paper shopping bags.  Why such a long phase-out?  People are well into the habit of assuming the bag is part of the purchase.  Moving to a bring-your-own-bag forethought is going to be quite a change for most people.

When you consider that plastic shopping bags are not solely the by-product of groceries, but also include many other items purchased from stores that sell hardware, clothing, whole foods and medical supplies, it isn’t any wonder why they are found blowing around the environment.

Green programs that require the return or exchange of plastic and paper bags are rare in the American culture.  The excess of plastic shopping bags can be found trapping fish and strangling diving birds that go for the plastic-wrapped fish.

Part of the Dallas plan to oust plastic and paper litter from the city limits includes an incentive to collect used shopping bags in return for a recyclable bag away free of charge.  For a limited time, shopping bags made of eco-friendly material will be given to consumers as a retail promotion and to increase public awareness of the harm caused by tossing away non-biodegradable materials.  Public education campaigns will focus on the benefits to the environment that using cloth bags will create.

On an average, Americans use 363 plastic bags manufactured from petroleum per person, per year.  Using paper products encourages using trees as a non-sustainable commodity.  Paper consumes 40% more energy to manufacture than plastic and is responsible for 80 % more solid wastes.

Cloth grocery bags are made from organic cotton grown in fair wage and legal labor work environments. Its design is sturdy and will support the weight of heavy cans. The hard part is going to be remembering to bring your own bag.

Greener Shopping in Dallas Texas is a post from: Green Efficient LEED Blog

Almost 8 million tons of wastewater is produced in the state of Texas each year.  This includes sewage and water from residential, industrial and commercial drains.  It isn’t all bad; greener treatment of waste from toilets and sewers produces a sustainable source of compost, called dry sludge.

Sludge is a thick mud left over after bacteria have digested sewage and human wastes deposited into septic systems.  Untreated sewage contains chemical elements and toxins.  Pollutants and pesticides from run-off into open drainage grates contaminate our wastewater.  Beneficial bacteria clean and filter the sewage.  This leaves a sustainable sludge behind which is left to dry before entering any landfill or used in an application with the land.   Texas produces about 650 000 tons of environmentally-friendly, dried sludge per year.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulates treatment of sewage and sludge to make it useful.  Elements such as phosphorous and nitrogen are beneficial to soil.  Sludge can also be composted with vegetation and landscape trimmings for use on golf courses, large open areas and highways.

Austin, Houston and Dallas, produce compost called, Dillo Dirt.   The program was initiated in Austin in 1989 and continues today in Houston and Dallas, as well. The municipality collects yard waste and landscape trimmings which are combined with treated with dried sludge. Dillo Dirt is free from human and plant pathogens.  They are eliminated during composting when the temperature can be as high as 130 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, the Dillo Dirt is cured, sifted and packaged.

Dillo Dirt can be used on flower or vegetable gardens, as a topsoil dressing or for any other environmentally-friendly outdoor purpose.  This fertilizer is rich, made from recyclable elements and will retain water better than regular soil, thus reducing the need for watering.

Dillo Dirt in Dallas is a post from: Green Efficient LEED Blog