Not too long ago we received a friendly e-mail from Anna - ‘Director of Marketing & Press Relations’ for Way Out Wax - asking if we’d be interested in testing out some of their products.
Given the fact that this was our very first testing offer, and also given the fact that I LOVE free stuff, I leapt at the opportunity.
I was a little concerned that being located in Canada might be an issue, but Anna assured me that this was not a problem in the least (direct quote: “We love Canada”). Whoohoo!
So I gave over my mailing address then promptly forgot all about it.
Well, the package arrived in the mail today and I was certainly quite excited to see what sorts of goodies they sent. As I started opening up the box I was greeted by a surprisingly powerful lavender aroma - definitely making a good first impression right off the bat (I love the smell of lavender).
Inside I found three interesting candles, a letter and some associated literature.
I definitely have to commend Anna on her choice of candles. As mentioned, I love lavender so needless to say the ‘lavender soy candle’ (in a cool cobalt blue glass holder) is a big hit. She also sent a ‘Sage Mini-Round Pillar’ candle that smells great as well (although certainly not as potent as the lavender). What makes it even cooler is that it’s wrapped in a biodegradable corn-plastic wrapper. Neato!
Last, but certainly not least is the ‘Clear Head Candle’, which comes in an 8-ounce travel tin. It is aptly named, giving off a refreshing (and addictive) blend of peppermint, eucalyptus and rosemary scents - I can’t stop opening it up for a whiff! Getting a little light-headed, but boy do I ever feel relaxed!
I still have yet to light any of the candles but I’m already very impressed with Way Out Wax and their soy candle line! I guarantee my wife will love them as well since she is much more of a candle hound than I am. I think I’m going to have to buy a separate set for Steve because I just can’t see myself parting with any of these! Maybe I’ll let him have them on weekends.
Having flipped through their little catalogue (and visited their website) I see that Way Out Wax offers a wide range of scented candles, as well as a non-scented collection. They also sell a few other interesting products, including pet shampoo and sprays, and even an all-natural bug repellent.
In case you are interested, here are some of the specs:
- All candles are 100% soy wax - completely biodegradeable (apparently also cleans easily with soap and water)
- Biodegradable plastic packaging
- 100% natural, essential oils
- Wicks made from unbleached cotton or hemp
- No dyes or perfumes used
I also just discovered that they give a percentage of their profits to ‘environmental and social causes’.
All in all I am very impressed and will certainly give Way Out Wax a big EcoSherpa green-thumbs up!
Technorati Tags: candles, wax, biodegradable, non-toxic, aromatherapy, lavender, sage, eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint, scented, green products
Written by Bentley on December 21st, 2006 with 4 comments.
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Big thanks YET again go out to Linton from Hugg for the recent Pee-cycling posting (go give it a ‘Hugg’ already, will ya?), which mentions a recent article in New Scientist Magazine.
It’s really interesting how closely I (accidentally) timed my posting about Carol Steinfeld’s “Liquid Gold” book to the publication of the New Scientist article (I’m still waiting for that issue myself).
What’s cool is the fact that the magazine has published an online copy of the Pee-cycling article on their website.
According to the article, while urine only contributes 1% to the volume of waste water, it is responsible for a whopping 80% of the nitrogen and 45% of the phosporous in this waste stream. That’s pretty significant.
Not only do conventional waste water plants consume an incredible amount of water, but they also require a great deal of energy for the various nutrient-removal stages.
So what can we do about it?
Well, until such time as there is a massive overhaul of the conventional wastewater management model, you can do as Carol Steinfeld suggests in her book and simply separate it yourself using either low-tech (bottle) or high-tech (urine separating toilet) and then simply use it around your property as a fertilizer (remember, unlike feces, urine is essentially sterile in healthy individuals).
Here is an interesting blurb from the New Scientist article:
The whole process [wastewater treatment] is very good at converting yellow, black and grey water into more or less clear water, but all that pumping, stirring, aeration and heating uses a lot of power - about 11.5 watts per head of population. That’s only a tiny portion of your personal daily energy consumption, but it mounts up. In the UK, population 65 million, it means waste water treatment consumes 65,000 gigajoules a day - about a quarter of the output of the country’s largest coal-fired power station. In a world where energy efficiency is ever more important, that’s not to be dismissed.
According to civil engineer and urine-separation expert Jac Wilsenach, it’s highly inefficient. Wilsenach spent six years at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands working on the intricacies of sewage systems, and according to his calculations, today’s methods mean we are literally flushing energy down the pan.
In a paper published last March, Wilsenach calculated that if we were to separate out just half of our urine, the microbes in the aeration tanks could eat up almost all the nitrogen and phosphate (Journal of Environmental Engineering, vol 132, p 331). The energy-intensive polishing stage would become completely unnecessary.
There’s another, even bigger gain to be had from separating out the urine. Lower starting levels of nitrogen and phosphate mean that the microbes in the aeration tanks can do their job much more efficiently, taking just one day compared with about 30, thus reducing the energy demand of the aeration tanks. What’s more, the resulting sludge is richer in organic matter and generates more than three times as much methane. In fact, says Wilsenach, separating out 50 to 60 per cent of the urine could turn sewage works from net consumers to net producers of energy to the tune of about 2.5 watts per person.
I highly recommend you read this excellent article. Again here is the link: Pee-Cycling
Technorati Tags: wastewater, sewage, waste, urine, toilet, pee, waste treatment, fertilizer, new scientist, water, resources
Written by Bentley on December 21st, 2006 with 3 comments.
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