Recycling

A lot has been made of organic cotton and other eco-friendly fabrics made from Tencel, hemp and bamboo as fashion rides the mega-trend of environmentalism. But recycled clothes purchased at thrift and consignment stores, as well as upcycled items reworked from out-of-date castoffs, may be an even greener choice. Almost half of the climate impact of clothing occurs before it reaches consumers. It was this idea I embraced when I hired a wardrobe consultant for a desperately needed eco fashion makeover.

When the city of Los Angeles held off three years ago on banning single-use, carry-out plastic bags, it missed a chance to be at the forefront of environmentally responsible lawmaking in California. By the time it inexplicably delayed a vote again in December, close to 20 cities as well as Los Angeles County had prohibited stores from providing the bags. And since then, the bags have been banned in more than two dozen additional municipalities in the state. More important, in the last three years tens of millions of plastic carry-out bags - possibly hundreds of millions - have been distributed in Los Angeles.

This storied adobe mansion outside Los Angeles was once a getaway for California's last governor under Mexican rule, a landowner so wealthy he called the nearly 9,000 acres of land around it his "ranchito. " Now, state budget cuts have reduced supporters of Pio Pico State Historic Park to begging for recyclables to cash in to keep the gates to the 1850s landmark from closing. As California moves to close dozens of state parks by July 1 to save money, those fighting to prevent the closures are growing increasingly desperate.

State workplace safety regulators issued more than $166,000 in fines Wednesday against a prominent recycling and compost company that runs a Kern County site where two brothers died last fall from exposure to poisonous gas. "These young workers' deaths were completely preventable," said Ellen Widess, chief of the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, in a statement. She noted that hydrogen sulfide is a common byproduct of composting but said Community Recycling & Resource Recovery, which is headquartered in the San Fernando Valley, failed to provide workers with proper training, failed to test for dangerous levels of gas and did not have effective rescue procedures.

Darrell Mahler of Topanga thought he was on to something good when he saw an insert with his most recent garbage bill inviting him to apply for a 25% senior discount. Mahler, 72, did the math and realized this would lower his monthly charge from $35.32 to $26.49. But when he contacted the garbage company, Universal Waste Systems, he was told that, as part of the deal, he'd have to replace his 96-cubic-foot bins with 32-cubic-foot bins. Think about that. In return for a 25% cut in his garbage bill, Mahler and his wife would have to accept a nearly 67% reduction in the amount of trash they could dispose of. "They must think all seniors are senile," Mahler told me. I'll let you know in a moment what Universal Waste Systems had to say about this.

The beads were flying all around them, some pooling in the street, some caught by revelers and cherished for a moment — most of them destined, in all likelihood, for the landfill. It was Mardi Gras 2011, and Kirk and Holly Groh were stationed in their family's traditional viewing spot downtown, where they had watched so many parades roll by in years past. This time, they kept thinking what a waste it was. Their hometown had never seemed more environmentally fragile.

The push-back against rampant consumer culture has some new, mechanical muscle: the Swap-O-Matic vending machine, which distributes recycled goods among its users free of cost. Designed by Lina Fenequito -- a Parsons School of Design graduate -- and detailed over at FastCompany , the machine operates using items donated by some users and then snapped up by others. Donors' accounts are given "credits" every time they add to the machine's inventory; they can then "spend" the credits on others' castoffs.

Opponents malign it as "toilet to tap. " But a new National Research Council report says that reclaimed water can contribute a growing portion of the nation's drinking water supplies and be as safe as conventional sources. The assessment is especially relevant to Southern California, which has been a pioneer in recharging local aquifers with treated wastewater but still sends most of its runoff and treated water to the Pacific Ocean. A decade ago, public outcry and electoral politics thwarted a Los Angeles plan to partially replenish San Fernando Valley groundwater with recycled supplies.

"Twi"-guy Kellan Lutz's ab-tastic body is about the only thing shown to its best advantage in "A Warrior's Heart," a ho-hum drama whose many moving parts feel decidedly recycled. Lutz plays Conor Sullivan, a cocky, inexplicably hotheaded California high school lacrosse star, who must move east when his career-soldier father (Chris Potter) again uproots the family. But Conor's bullish ways on — and off — his tony new school's lacrosse field intensify when his dad's redeployment to Iraq has tragic consequences.

It was a pleasure to read two articles by Emily Green in the Home section ("A Tree Whose Star Just Keeps Rising," about the palo verde, and "Let These Facts About Soaker Hoses Sink In," Aug. 20). Her articles are consistently informative and enjoyable to garden-loving readers. When I see her byline, I know I am going to learn something new. And I enjoyed the glowing photo of her amid her California sunflowers ("The Seeds of Sunshine," Aug. 13). Good story. Kay Kanuit Redondo Beach :: I read your article about California sunflowers, but I must have missed where you specified the botanical name.