Tales From a “GREEN” Minivan

This evening as we were clearing the table after dinner it was so nice to see that the kids get it. Finn our 2.5 year old was trying to race his big brothers to the small green compost bin we keep for table scraps and other compostables to toss the few things left on his plate.  It’s funny if he has something to throw away he always asks first where it should go.  If it’s that easy for a 2 year old I don’t understand why more people can’t do it as well?

Recently I read a local discussion where a woman was using her big outdoor compost cart to put recyclables in.  She asked the city’s waste management if she could get another one as it’s too full with all of these cardboard boxes and newspapers!  When told that the compost carts are only for food scraps and other compostables she got upset and demanded to know where she was going to put her recyclable now?

Our city does not have curbside pick-up and this woman is definitely not an isolated case. In order to be a good “green citizen” in Saint John, NB you need to transport your recyclables to one of the Depots in the city that have giant sorting bins.  There things are separated by 5 different categories:

1. Newsprint, paper & box board

2. Plastic Bags

3. Hard Plastic (milk jugs, detergent containers etc.)

4. Aluminum Cans

5. Corrugated Cardboard

If you don’t have access to a car or are elderly and can’t get out often where do you think these things end up?  Well the answer to the woman’s plight above was, “If they won’t take these things curbside they’re going to end up my regular garbage!”

It’s time to wake up City of Saint John, people have been composting for over 8 years now, but are they really using their bins properly?  How much money would the city save in tipping fees at the landfill if people recycled curbside?  I’m sure the number would be hefty enough to sustain the extra trucks…wait a minute what about all of those Blue Trucks that pick up the contents of the bins at the Depots, could they not do the same thing but on a household route?

Excess garbage is a huge peeve of mine and it’s time that this city started charging those that waste in excess instead of having “green families” like ourselves pay the price.

It looks as though I haven’t forgotten! One thing I had forgotten was just how much I love to bike ride! Earlier this week I mentioned I’d like to get the boys one of those Tag-Along bikes that attaches to the back of an adult bike. The next thing I know I get an email from Sarah that someone is selling one locally!

Here’s what they look like:

The Trail-a-Bike is made by Adams and meant for 3-6 year olds. They were introduced in 1986, so parents could have a safe way to enjoy longer bike rides without their child trying to keep up on their own bikes or for those still learning.  They also help in introducing “traffic safety”concerns as well.  Seeing that my boys are very small for their age, I know we’ll get lots of use out of it!  We already had a bike seat for Finn, so the plan is to get Liam confident with peddling  using the Tag-along and then move him to his own bike.

This afternoon Liam and I biked approx 2 kms!  I’m so proud of him and he did really great!  This is a boy that’s never even used a bike with training wheels before!

Here’s  a shot I took of us of our reflection in one of the windows of Saint John’s new Cruise Ship terminal on Water Street.

Over the past few years we’ve been fortunate enough to have a fantastic new trail system evolving right along the harbour front dubbed the Cranberry Trail due to it’s red asphalt, but it’s official name is Harbour Passage.  It welcomes biking, walking, running and also my favourite- inline skating. I started inline skating about 17 years ago when I lived in Florida, but did not really have a great place to skate here at home until Harbour Passage came along, nor did many others in the area skate.  Now at any given time you’ll pass by someone inline skating on the “Passage”.  I’ve decided that I’d like to get out at least 3 times a week and either bike or skate during the fair weather season, wish me luck!

Last week was Liam & Mackenzie’s March Break.  We don’t normally travel too far from home during our breaks as it’s early in March.  I wanted to do something that had a “GREEN” element to it, but also have a short getaway and see some sites.  After doing a little research I decided on Boston.  Wait a minute…Boston is an 8 hour drive or a airplane ride away!  Luckily we border the State of Maine, that has decided that passenger rail travel is still a priority!  You see here in Saint John, NB we do not have a passenger rail link.  The closest station is in Moncton, NB and there is limited places we can travel to.  So we drove to Maine and caught the Amtrak Downeaster to North Station in Boston.

For the drive down to Maine we used our new GPS, and I have to admit I’m kicking myself for not buying one sooner!  If you want to end all bickering between you and your co-pilot the GPS is the answer!   Definitely get one that way say the street names, it’s extremely helpful!

The train ride was fairly uneventful, I noticed as we got closer to Boston there were more and more people sporting Bruins attire, sure enough there was a B’s game that evening! We had to pack light as we knew we’d have a day that we’d have to carry our bags with us.  So I managed to pack everything into one backpack for the six of us! Pretty impressive and I didn’t forget anything either!

Here’s some photos from the weekend!

The boys on the Downeaster Train.

Just outside North Station

Dining at Durgin Park- Yes Ciaran is pluggin his nose, he didn’t like the smell.

Kenz, Finn and I outside Cheers!

The boys getting new Sox hats at Yawkey way.  (Their old ones got left in Florida! )

All 4 boys in their matching hats outside Fenway Park

Papa, Nanny & the Boys at the Aquarium, while Mackenzie Finn and I headed out to Natick to go to American Girl!  What a great store!

Now that I’m home I can’t wait to go back and stay even longer. Andrew and I decided that this trip would be our “trial run”for a longer stay this summer!  Even though the boys were a little under the weather, I still think it was a very successful trip!

Yes, for the second time in 3 days my van is back on a tow truck!  Just as I was arriving at school to pick the kids up for an appointment Mackenzie had afterschool it died right in the parking lot.  Blocking people in at one of the busiest times at the school.  I got right on the phone and called the tow truck company I used a few days before, then asked the afterschool program if the could keep Liam for a few minutes until I got things sorted out.  I found Mackenzie and tried to call her a cab to get to her appt, but the doctor wouldn’t wait the extra 10 minutes!  GRRR! This is the third time we’ve had to reschedule this appt.

Next I called Andrew, he could hear the panic and frustration in my voice I’m sure.  He said he would pack up and head straight home to find a rental van. Phew. Then I realized that we would not all fit into the tow truck!  I then called my friend Joanne and she came and picked up Liam and Mackenzie and brought them home in her van.  All I have to say thankfully the little boys were at Andrew’s mom, otherwise I think I would gave broken down and lost it right in the parking lot at the school!

I had it towed straight back to the mechanic (and I use this term loosely) who “fixed”  it just 3 days ago by selling me a new battery.  I knew it was the stinking alternator all along, but would anyone listen to me?? Luckily we did not have to rent a van (not that we could find one), as mom mom came through and let me use her car until the van was fixed 2 days later.

OK rant over!  Ideally I’d like to keep this van, it is environmentally the right thing to do, but where do you draw the line financially and time wise?  I’ve wasted a lot of my precious time dealing with van related problems in the past few months.  Andrew finally got a taste of it over the Holidays when we went in for a quick oil change with all 4 kids and didn’t get out of there for almost 4 hours. Then I had to go back a week later after another part had to be ordered and installed!  I deal with all of the vehicle related things as it has to be dealt with while he’s at work and I have the flexibility in my schedule, but logistically I’m tired of it.

So we’re going to hold onto this “green”minivan a little while longer but also watch for something that will fit our needs and I have a huge wishlist!  I’m not going to just settle, and lets just hope I can find one that’s green in colour too!

Here’s my wishlist:

• The most possible LATCH/UAS and top tether anchors
• 8 Pax capability
• Remote keyless Entry- Remote opener even better
• Rear AC
• Roof racks
• multiple 12 v  outlets
• 1-2 years old with low kms (or miles)
• Preferably a Toyota or Honda

So am I asking for too much?  We won’t buy new ever again, our Mazda was only 2 years old and had 30,000 km on it when we bought it.  I’d seriously look at a Mazda again, but they stopped making them in 2006 and replaced it with one of the ridiculous Crossover SUV’s the CX-9.  Good job Mazda, as you’ve just alienated any family with more than one car seat from buying one of your vehicles.  I had looked into their Mazda 5, but there just isn’t enough cargo space for a family of 6.

Let me know what you have and what you like about it.  I’m sure this is going to be a long drawn out process!

I thought it was fitting today to write about my minivan and why I’ve chosen to change my blog’s name ever so slightly!

For the past 2 years or so, our family has been doing many things to reduce our ecological footprint.  We know that larger families can be a bigger burden on the environment, so we’re really trying to do our part. I ‘m hoping to be able to inspire other families to try some of the things we’ve been doing that work for us.

So today I’m going to talk about the star of my blog and that’s my “Green”2000 Mazda MPV minivan!  There are many days that I think that I’d love to buy a “new to us” van (I’ll never buy new again- I’ll save this story for another day), but in reality it is much “greener”  and much more economical for us to continue using this van for the next little while.

So why is keeping this older van  better for the environment  than buying a new one?

I did some research and thinking on this. With a family our size a minivan is really one of the few options we have for a vehicle if we all travel together.  We are very fortunate to live within walking distance of Andrew’s work therefore only need one vehicle.  Our van is paid for, it’s actually the first time I can remember since my early 20’s that I haven’t had a car payment.  I honestly thought a vehicle payment was one of those things that would always be there.  It’s very good on gas, I looked at the latest models and  fuel efficiency hasn’t really changed much in minivans, which is pretty sad.

So while it would be really nice to get a newer vehicle with some better features and a few less quirks, environmentally it’s much better to keep our van in good mechanical order than buying a new one.  A study in 2004 by Toyota actually revealed that up to 28% of a vehicles carbon monoxide emissions can occur just in the manufacturing and transport to the dealer!

So just as I was happy with our choice of keeping our van a little longer, it dies on our driveway!

It was fortunate that it was a snow day, as I have to drive the kids to school each morning.  We tried boosting it but had no luck, so I had to call a tow truck!  The sad thing is that the mechanic is only 1 block away, but I still had to get it towed!

Did I mention that the South End of SJ was an absolute mess?  Just on my street heavy trucks were stuck, cars spinning, even the tow truck got stuck in my driveway!  The boys thought that  the tow truck was just awesome and glued to the window in awe!

I was fully expecting to get a call that I was going to need an alternator or starter. But we got off easy this time, it was only a battery!  So after the towing fee, battery and labour, it was still less than half of what a monthly van payment would be!

So as I peer out my front window at my “Green” minivan happily back in my driveway, I feel confident in our decision to keep it a little longer.  Just don’t as me about it on a -25 day when the sliding door won’t open!