Replacing items from household with Earth in mind

The headline on The Washington Post story about replacing household items (“Nothing Lasts Forever,” Nov. 17) is false.

Many things last virtually forever, including the household items the article recommends replacing frequently.

I don’t dispute the importance of keeping smoke detectors up-to-date. And I’m no expert on HVAC systems. But things like toilet brushes, shower scrubbers (not plant-based loofahs) and kitchen sponges are made of plastic. Mattresses and many pillows are made of artificial fibers and foams.

These items take thousands of years to decompose.

Admitting that I am more an eco-geek than a germophobe, I’d like to suggest alternatives to the article’s recommendations:

■ Kitchen sponges, shower scrubbers, etc.: These are used much like dishcloths and washcloths. So why not toss them into the laundry instead of the trash? You can even wash and reuse those fluffy “Swiffer” dusters just like ordinary dust rags.

■ Toilet brushes: Unless they’re falling apart, why not continue to use and disinfect them? If every one of the 120 million or so American households replaced its toilet brushes every year, just imagine the mountains of waste.

■ Toothbrushes: If everybody in the U.S. discarded toothbrushes four times a year, that’s around 1.3 billion plastic sticks in our landfills. But there’s an alternative: even big chain stores are being nudged toward offering eco-friendly products like toothbrushes made of bamboo.

■ Pillows: Check the tags. Mine say “Machine wash, warm water. Tumble dry.” It’s how we take care of sheets, right?

■ Mattresses: A home maintenance website says sprinkling baking soda on top of the mattress and vacuuming it up after 15 minutes gets rid of dust mites. Of course, if your mattress makes you feel like “The Princess and the Pea,” maybe it’s time for a new one.

We treat Earth better when we commit to reducing and reusing what we have rather than replacing it — and, when replacing is unavoidable, to do it with the Earth in mind.

REBECCA KVAM PAQUETTE

Hanover

Norwich fortunate its town manager is caring, polite

I’ve known Norwich Town Manager Herb Durfee for three years through being a landowner in town and working with him directly.

He is the rare town manager (an often thankless job) who treats all individuals around him with respect. He’s polite at the counter at Dan & Whit’s ordering a cheeseburger, and thoughtful enough to field phone calls directly from all ranges of the community. He’s calm and collected, caring and concerned. Daily, he deals with a range of complicated issues to keep the town churning.

Norwich is lucky enough to be a privileged town, and I think its citizens, me included, often take the town’s blessings for granted — at times, focusing too heavily on first-world problems.

In an age of constant updates and distractions, we all expect more instead of being grateful for what we do have.

Durfee is a solid leader, a compassionate human being and one who is genuinely focused on making the town’s future even brighter.

Norwich is fortunate to have him at the helm.

NICK FABRIKANT

Vershire

Football photos were works of art

Kudos to Valley News photographer Geoff Hansen for the stunning photos of the Newport (N.H.) High School football team in the Nov. 13 issue of the Valley News.

The sunset cooperated that evening to create such a gorgeous, coral-colored glow causing, at least me anyway, to gasp in awe and say “Wow, who took these photos?”

If I were the parent of any of those players, I’d frame the photos from the front page and page B3. They are gift-worthy works of art, in my opinion.

Well done!

VIOLET SIMPSON

Newport, N.H.