Recycling in the Studio
Howdy Everyone!
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about recycling and my business. I know…what a topic for a blog but you know me, anything goes. We have been living in Austin, Texas for almost two years now. That has drastically influenced my environmental awareness. I’ve made changes in my business to consume less energy and recycle more. The below is some of the things that I’ve been doing.
Consume less energy:
-Use a smaller, less electrically needing kiln. I use a Chili Pepper kiln for annealing now. I rarely use the Paragon because of the amount of watts it uses.
-I use energy saving light bulbs, either Cool Lite or Sylvania, in the studio and at shows. The 60W equates to only using 13W of energy. If I can go without electric at show, I do.
-I looked for a studio that has rooms so that when I’m working in a room, only that room is lighted and has AC in it. I keep the other vents shut down. I keep a schedule so that I don’t work on the torch or kilns in the heat of the day. The areas that are harder to keep cool, we normally only use those early in the day or in cooler seasons. This wasn’t a huge issue in the Midwest but it is in parts of Texas.
-I use rechargeable batteries for the camera and all the small tools like the dremel.
We changed out the ceiling fans with more energy efficient fans. They move the air, keep it cooler and having better energy efficient lighting.
Recycling:
-We use old washcloths, towels, and t-shirts instead of paper towels. I’m still on roll of paper towels that I placed in the studio during early March.
-We re-use most of the glass and plastic containers that we buy food in. They are re-used in the studio for various projects. Right now, all my glass stringers that I pull are stored in tea containers. Some are also stored in old pasta sauce jars. I even use old coffee cans to sort glass can, as a sharps container, and to store sterling pieces that getting ready to be mailed off to the manufacturer.
- We recycle old newspaper, any packing materials, old boxes, bubble wrap, and every other packing material.
Technology has really decreased the amount of natural resources that I use.
I send more emails and fewer postcards. It’s just less gas that is used for delivery and less paper that is used. Less shows (both buying at trade shows and show) because of the amount of fuel needed and more internet.
I’m always looking for ideas…so if you have any…let me know. There is only one Mother Earth and it saddens me that we are draining Her resources at an alarming rate.
Also don't forget, my end of year lampwork bead sale....beads are moving quickly. I will be adding more as I get pics. Here's the URL...http://www.mixedmediajewelry.com/ in the lampwork section of the website.
Have a happy and creative day!
~Moon