With more and more municipalities cracking down on plastic bag usage by either requiring a per bag charge or outlawing them all together, people all over the country are switching to the paper alternative, or better yet, bringing their own reusable bags. These small incremental changes in our lifestyle can make a big impact and lead us down a path to even more conservation, but bags are only the beginning.
- Bagged and Tagged
Plastic shopping bags are the scourge of the green movement. They take a ton of energy to produce, they don’t biodegrade and a lot of them end up in the ocean. Paper shopping bags are bit better because they can biodegrade, but they still take a lot of resources to produce. Most super markets sell cheap reusable bags at the checkout. For an average sized family, 3 to 5 bags are enough to handle most grocery loads, but their not limited to milk, cheese and eggs. Use them for take clothes to the dry cleaner, at the bookstore or to stash a new pair of shoes.If you must get plastic bags, try to reuse them for something around the home. The ones we have remaining in do double-duty as pet waste receptacles. Not the greatest, but at least I didn’t trash the bags as soon as I got them.
- Cup-o-Joe To-Go
As eco-conscious as coffee shops like Starbuck’s say they are, they’re not doing a whole lot to encourage people to think green about their coffee cups. Millions of paper (or worse, Styrofoam) cups, plastic lids and those cardboard heat sleeves end up in the trash every day. Next time you’re in the coffee shop, why not take a look at their selection of travel mugs. Honestly, you’re probably better off making your own coffee at home or drinking the stuff at the office, but if you must have your gourmet coffee, take the mug with you. They may even give you a discount for bring it.
- Water Your Waiting For—Go Aluminum
Many years ago, my wife and I used to buy small bottle of water in bulk from a big-box store. We eventually switched over to the 2-gallon jugs, a little less expensive and a lot less plastic. Once I got on my green kick, I went back to the big-box store and bought myself a water purification system, the ones that attached directly to the faucet.So we’re getting our clean water smarter, but still using old water bottles to hold the water. The problem with this is those bottle eventually get a little beat up and gross. Not long ago, my wife came back from a trade show with two aluminum water bottles, they’ll last forever (or a really long time, taste better and will end up costing me a lot less. The beauty of having an aluminum bottle on my desk is I drink a lot more water, which is always a good thing.
- Just Like Mom Used to Make
Instead of going out to lunch every day, eating crap food and wasting lots of paper cartons, why not make the other folks in the office jealous over your home cooked leftovers that you brought in a nifty, new lunchbox? Don’t feel like sticking around the office at lunchtime? Find a local park or quiet spot close by and kick it picnic style.Instead of using plastic utensils and paper napkins each day, take the lunchbox to the next level and bring your own fork and knife from home along with a cloth napkin or two. Take it one step further by using Pyrex containers instead of those disposable plastic ones. Pyrex is durable, microwavable, lasts forever and won’t get that permanent orange, spaghetti sauce grime you find on the plastic ones.
Those are just a few ways to eliminate the needless plastic and paper waste around in your life. If you have other ideas, please share in the comments. I’d love to learn something new.
Photo by Greenhem on Flickr
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