I fixed an old house slipper in which the bottom sole had split from the rest of the shoe - pretty easy fix; just glued it back together with shoe glue. The shoe glue I found at the craft store was really nasty stuff though... Next time, I'm going to try and find a less toxic glue.

As we all felt (and continue to feel) during the onset of the pandemic, the disruption of our food supply chain has led to decreased product availability and increased prices. Other disruptions that we can relate to [ranging from political instability to weather events] certainly have also impacted the integrity of our local and global food supply chains.

I shop at my local Lidl in Woodbridge, NJ and what I appreciate most about them is their pledge to a more sustainable future through their quality standards, third-party certifications, and more.  I look online and I could not locate where food is sourced from immediately, so in terms of areas to improve on, increasing transparency on where produce, seafood, poultry, etc. come from from would be great. I think communicating with Lidl and asking for such transparency will allow us consumers to have peace of mind knowing where and how are food are sourced from. This transparency should be a standard across all corporations.

As practical, what we can do as consumers is be informed. We can support local farmers markets. We can grow food in our yards or patios. We can support food coops which supports environmental and social initiatives. 

Through birding, I've been able to learn more about different places within Middlesex County, and I had no idea there's an active nonhazardous solid waste landfill in the county! Middlesex County Landfill (MCL) was opened in 1992. Just like other landfills, MCL has a methane recovery system, which reuses and converts the greenhouse gas into electricity.  Leachate is also recovered and treated in the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sayreville. It won't be long until we reach 2024-- the expected end date of the landfill. But then what? Nothing truly goes "away" which begs the question of how we can better manage our resources.

It was interesting to note that the average person in Middlesex County generates ~11 pounds of waste per day.  The challenge is upon us to create a long-term solution to our waste. We have yet to address single-use plastics, which I think will continue to be a pressing problem for this generation and the next. We need to make investments away from single-use plastics, and we need top-down leadership in addition to bottom-up leadership. Are we up for the challenge?