okay all you soymilk fans (recycling)

Has ANYONE seen soymilk in anything other than a cardboard carton?

My kids & I come up with one new family rule each year for Earth Day, to help the environment. And this year we are committed to reducing & recycling every last bit of waste that we can. We were fairly good about this already, but to reduce even more waste we're taking a look at what DOES go into our trash, and are finding other ways to buy the things that come in non-recyclable containers & using things like reusable cloth napkins versus disposable paper towels. Our goal is to cut our waste in half over the next year. Right now we put our trash at the curb every other week, so we're aiming for only having to put it out once a month.

One of the first things the kids pointed out, (quite correctly) is that in our county my soymilk cartons are non-recyclable. And we go through 1-2 cartons each week. So I'm on a hunt for a local place that will take them, but I'm not sure I'll find something close enough that the fuel burned to get them there merits the recycling itself. So I'm hoping that SOMEONE here has another idea... anything? These kids are somewhat merciless, and are threatening that I'll have to go without soymilk if I can't find a greener solution! (they're my enviro-cops this week) Does ANYONE have any ideas?!?
love,
mom

 

Yeah and rice milk containers are "aeseptic" too. It's a mix of cardboard and aluminum that makes it hard to recycle. I imagine the cardboard is bio degradable and not as harmful as say a lightbulb or a computer or printer ink, but aluminum?

Certain centers recycle aeseptic containers and you can find a list online to see if one's near you.

The best thing to do for the environment, honestly, would be to buy hemp seeds and make your own fresh seed milk. Probably best for your health too. Soys great and all but 90% of it is GMO and it can't do anything near what hemp can do, for your health or the planet. I mean it's a step up from dairy but hemp is probably 10 steps up from dairy as far as environmental and health benefits are concerned.

Hemp has omega 3's closest to fish, its a complete protein, it doesnt contain tryspin(inhibits protein metabolism!) or thyroid suppressive qualities, nor does it mess with hormones...

And its in fact, one of the most digestable proteins on the planet because of it's high edestin content, and it resembles the protein in our blood.

Here is a link to the cheapest certified organic hemp seeds I have found on the internet, 3 ten ounce bags for 18.00 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NGX7V0?ie=UTF8&tag=myspace0172-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000NGX7V0

 

Mom, Hey, my wife came up with a wonderful use for those cartons. She cuts away the top part, puts good plant growing goodies in lower section of the carton, and puts tomato and pepper plants that she started from seed in them. Later they will go out to the garden to be transplanted when it is past the frost date.
We burn all our paper products, I know that sounds bad, but I think that is better than filling up more of the land fills.

 

Hemp milk?!? I might have to look into this one a bit more. I've got a heap of natural allergies, but it's worth checking into. What does it taste like? Is it at all similar to almond milk? (yum!)

As for soymilk having GMO's I think mine is safe - I drink Kirkland's (sold at Costco) Organic Soymilk & it states on the box "This soymilk is made from soybeans that were not genetically engineered." That does make it GMO-free, right? I sure hope so since that's what I'd been taking the label as

Farmout - I do reuse these cartons as starter-planters. But since my yard is contaminated & we only have so much space for container gardening, there are only so many of them that can be reused. We do burn a little of our paper, (junk mail & paid bills that have personal information) but I'd be afraid to burn these cartons as they have a plasticky coating on them.

love,
mom

 

asian markets usually sell jugs of straight soy milk. no additives or anything...

 

Homeschoolmamma, your doing a great job with all the recycling and everything you do for Motherearth!
My wife and I used to drink soy, but got a little skeered of the GMO scare. Now we drink organic milk, usually from Kroger's. They come in the plastic bottle, its called private selection. We recycle the plastic containers at a local drop box.
Keep up the great work!
Peace to you.... Farmout

 

I JUST discovered powdered soymilk this week! It was a little pricier than I was planning for that shopping trip, but I'm going to pick up a container to try later this month. If it doesn't taste awful, this would solve a lot of problems... like camping & road trips too!

Farmout - thanks so much I want my kiddies to grow up with a personal sense of responsibility for the world around us, so it only makes sense to SHOW them

 

I get 8th Continent soy milk and it is sold in a "jug".

See photo here: http://www.generalmills.com/stream_image.aspx?rid=6748

 

this is beautiful. i love it. hubby and i reuse some of our containers to hold stuff. like left over food or we even use a jam jar as our toothbrusth holder. we recycle in home and center ^_^

 

Yeah it is like Almond milk. It reminds me more of rice milk when I buy the container of it in the store. Here's the pic of what I buy :

I get the original kind since the chocolate in the chocolate one is not organic, and the vanilla in the vanilla one is artificial.

Making your own is best for your health really

Heres a recipe to make hemp milk from Nutivas site - http://nutiva.com/nutrition/recipes/milk.php :

Hemp Milk

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shelled hempseeds
1 cup water
flavorings (vanilla, maple syrup or honey)

Directions:

Place seeds into a blender and add small amount of water 1 inch above the seeds. Turn blender on at multiple speeds and agitate seeds so they become a thick hemp cream.

Then add either vanilla, maple syrup or honey or only a ripe banana and serve as a thick drink or add water at a ratio of 4.75 water to 1 part seed for a lighter hemp milk.

A great alternative to soy milk without the throwaway aseptic containers.

Hemp Milk

Ingredients:

1/4 cup shelled hempseeds
1 cup water
flavorings (vanilla, maple syrup or honey)

Directions:

Place seeds into a blender and add small amount of water 1 inch above the seeds. Turn blender on at multiple speeds and agitate seeds so they become a thick hemp cream.

Then add either vanilla, maple syrup or honey or only a ripe banana and serve as a thick drink or add water at a ratio of 4.75 water to 1 part seed for a lighter hemp milk.

A great alternative to soy milk without the throwaway aseptic containers.

 

hmmm i may try hemp milk. is it sold at whole foods or trader joes?

 

Oh my gosh. My eyes are like buggin out right now. Thank you SO MUCH for letting me know that. Wow. I'm really upset with myself. That was one of my "starter" veg things before I REALLY started to read labels. Wow.

P.S. I went to the 8th continent site and it says all of their soymilks are vegan. I wrote a message to them asking to please confirm it. Either way ... I'll probably be switching brands just to be on the safe side.

 

I dont have a whole foods or trader joes really close to me, but we have it in 2 health food stores here, the organic food depot and the heritage...so it's pretty popular.

I think whole foods would be more likely to carry it since ive never seen hemp in trader joes... but I'd check both cuz it's sooooo good and worth searching out.


And If it's not there, put in the request and create the demand ! It's highly likely they get their food from a distributor that deals with living harvest products, so just ask for it and they'll probably get it ! And if they don't, get 3 of your friends to call in asking for living harvest hemp milk(lol)

 

About 8th Continent: a good clue is to watch out for ingredients that simply say "natural and artificial flavors." No need to be upset with youself though... live and learn

And homeschool mama... what a wonderful idea to pick out a new environmentally friendly house rule on earth day... I love that and will steal it one day

 

It's kinda hidden in there, but here it is:

http://www.8thcontinent.com/Products/ProductCategory.aspx?CategoryID=3

Also, I sent them an email asking about their vegan status ... I received this reply:

Dear Valued Consumer:

Thank you for contacting us regarding 8th Continent products.

Our nutrition and ingredient staff have verified that all 8th Continent products (both the soymilks and the smoothie) can be considered vegan; thus they could also be considered vegetarian. They contain no animal-sourced ingredients.

We hope this information is helpful to you. If there is anything else we can do concerning this matter, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Christy Stromquist

General Mills

Consumer Services

---------

I'm still a little wobbly about it though ... I've bought Silk ever since you brought that up ... I'm still conflicted whether to buy 8th Continent again.

 

Actually, the specific question I asked (which I should've posted) was this:

"I heard from a vegetarian friend that your soymilk's Vitamin D is animal sourced. I also see that your page says they are vegan, however. I would really like to clear this up and confirm that nothing in your soy milk is derived from animals. I drink your soy milk religiously! (Light Vanilla Soy Milk)"

So I did ask them specifically about that! I've accustomed myself to Silk soy milk, but I really do enjoy 8th Continent. What do you guys think?