Top 10 Tips for a Less Wasteful 2009 from ReusableBags.com

Top 10 Tips for A Less Wasteful 2009 From ReusableBags.com:

One of our resolutions should always be to create less waste. The ReusableBags.com site has their top ten wasters we can improve on. They have some great products. I will probably make my own on some of these. The added benefit is saving money!

#10: Ditch the dryer sheets. Sure they are easy but they clog up lint filters over time, and add chemicals many people have allergies to. They have a product called dryer balls that can be used over and over to soften clothes and remove static cling without chemicals. These-I will get!
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/nellies-allnatural-dryerballs-p-1433.html

#9: Bring your own cup. Most coffee places, even truck stops will refill your cup. Then you aren’t thowing away more Styrofoam or paper. I do this on long road trips because it keeps my coffee hot longer (or a cold drink colder).

#8: Use a reusable utensil. Instead of throwing away plastic silverware along the way, consider having your own knife, fork, and spoon in your bag. It may end up being more sanitary in some eating venues. Small sets are available at camping stores, and ReusableBags.com has some of their own: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-utensils-more-c-4_28.html
#7: Bag the sandwich baggie: We throw tons of plastic sandwich and snack bags away every year. Cloth bags can be washed and reused. Again, you can get some ideas from here:
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-sandwich-snack-bags-c-4_13.html

#6: Kick the water bottle habit. Save money and natural resources by saying 'no' to disposable juice bottles and sport drinks, by filtering and flavoring your own and using reusable bottles.

#5: Say “No” to gift wrap. Says ReusableBags.com: Reusable gift bags are a smart, sustainable alternative to disposable paper gift wrap. From production to consumption and disposal, paper gift wrap generates enormous waste (each year a staggering $5 billion worth of gift wrap is tossed in the trash.) Reusable gift bags save natural resources and money, too. When you restore the tradition of using cloth gift bags, you inspire others to do the same. You can make your own with fun cottons or some of theirs:
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/gift-bags-c-29.html

#4: Reuse the plastic bags you do have, by rinsing out, turning inside out, and drying.

#3: BYO Bottle: Carry a BPA-free reusable water bottle with you to refill.

#2: Pack a sustainable lunch. From sandwich bags to utensils to cloth napkins (I mean, aren’t we worth it?) to insulated lunch bags, it can all be reusable. And my personal favorite:

#1: Always carry a reusable shopping bag with you. If it’s in the car in sight, you’ll remember to take it into whatever store you visit.





















One of our resolutions should always be to create less waste. The ReusableBags.com site has their top ten wasters we can improve on. They have some great products. I will probably make my own on some of these. The added benefit is saving money!

#10: Ditch the dryer sheets. Sure they are easy but they clog up lint filters over time, and add chemicals many people have allergies to. They have a product called dryer balls that can be used over and over to soften clothes and remove static cling without chemicals. These-I will get!
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/nellies-allnatural-dryerballs-p-1433.html

#9: Bring your own cup. Most coffee places, even truck stops will refill your cup. Then you aren’t thowing away more Styrofoam or paper. I do this on long road trips because it keeps my coffee hot longer (or a cold drink colder).

#8: Use a reusable utensil. Instead of throwing away plastic silverware along the way, consider having your own knife, fork, and spoon in your bag. It may end up being more sanitary in some eating venues. Small sets are available at camping stores, and ReusableBags.com has some of their own: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-utensils-more-c-4_28.html

#7: Bag the sandwich baggie: We throw tons of plastic sandwich and snack bags away every year. Cloth bags can be washed and reused. Again, you can get some ideas from here:
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-sandwich-snack-bags-c-4_13.html

#6: Kick the water bottle habit. Save money and natural resources by saying 'no' to disposable juice bottles and sport drinks, by filtering and flavoring your own and using reusable bottles.

#5: Say “No” to gift wrap. Says ReusableBags.com: Reusable gift bags are a smart, sustainable alternative to disposable paper gift wrap. From production to consumption and disposal, paper gift wrap generates enormous waste (each year a staggering $5 billion worth of gift wrap is tossed in the trash.) Reusable gift bags save natural resources and money, too. When you restore the tradition of using cloth gift bags, you inspire others to do the same. You can make your own with fun cottons or some of theirs:
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/gift-bags-c-29.html

#4: Reuse the plastic bags you do have, by rinsing out, turning inside out, and drying.

#3: Carry a BPA-free reusable water bottle with you to refill.

#2: Pack a sustainable lunch. From sandwich bags to utensils to cloth napkins (I mean, aren’t we worth it?) to insulated lunch bags, it can all be reusable. And my personal favorite:

#1: Always carry a reusable shopping bag with you. If it’s in the car in sight, you’ll remember to take it into whatever store you visit.

Something New Has Been Added

Just as the seconds of our lives are ticking away, we are amassing a huge ecological debt of disposable plastic bags. Up the in the right hand corner of the blog the number of plastic bags used (and discarded) are growing at an alarming rate. Our thanks to ReusableBags.com for their help in illustrating the magnitude of this problem.

Farther down on the right sidebar, you will see a link to their store where you can purchase a wide variety of eco-friendly reusable products. 1% of their sales goes to environmental projects, beyond the activism they have assumed to get the word out worldwide about how we are trashing the only planet we have.

Strategies for Improving our Planet

So now that you all have your cloth bags handy in your cars, and automatically reach for them before you go into ANY store with an intention to buy something, let’s look at the larger picture.

I live in the city where trash is as ubiquitous as flowers in the spring and snow in the winter. No matter how often I pick it up, it resprouts. Here’s an idea, whether you are walking in the neighborhood or out on a trail somewhere:

Take a bag with you. I have some really lightweight cloth bags that will crumple up and stuff into a pocket or waist pack. Stuff a bag in along with your other stuff. Then pick up trash as you go and dump it in the first available trash bin. I’ve regretted several times not having a bag with me when I was out in some pristine wilderness that some jackass thought could be improved by his (or her) empty beer cans. Pick them up, take them home to recycle, and make the walk more pleasant for the next hiker.

In the city, I don’t have a bag large enough, but since I walk almost every day, I do a little at a time. One bag full is an improvement. Sometimes I find a plastic bag along the way (big surprise here!) so I can fill two. So you look like a bag lady to passer-bys, you are also setting an example. And sometimes, examples catch on. If enough people see you picking up trash, they may think twice about throwing it. It shows someone cares enough about the neighborhood to try to improve it.

With all the other really serious problems in our world, just making it look better can make us a little happier while we’re working on those. Urban studies have consistently shown that cleaning up blighted areas, painting over graffiti, etc., reduce crime in those areas. Since I’m living in a crimeful city, I’m all over that one! Plan ahead next time you step out for a healthy walk. Take that bag along; the worse that can happen is you won’t see any trash and will just bring it back home. How bad is that?

Tip: Keep those bags separate from the ones you use for groceries and throw them in the wash more often; wash hands thoroughly after trash pick-up. Let’s spruce up our world.

The Season of Giving--On the Cheap

Tis the season to remember our families and dear friends. Tis also the season that has seen our IRAs plummet, our house worth half as much, and our jobs hang in the wind. Well, tis also time to realize that caring doesn’t have to carry a hefty price tag. And the gifts we give should be environmentally responsible. Nothing says landfill like a bunch of cheap pricey toys that break within days after Christmas.

Low-cost gifts that tell people how much we care:
· My best friend made me two denim shopping bags with stenciled flowers that I will use over and over, without advertising a merchant; and her home baked pecan pie tartlets are to die for.
· My adult nieces and nephews all received string shopping bags from a company that donates a portion of their proceeds to ecological preservations; and homemade cookies from me. (These professional folks don’t bake.)
· The little kids each got a golden book. I bought two compendiums from Amazon and divied up the books among all the tots. They each have something to open, and some quality time sessions with their parents, who will read to them. Cost per book: minimal. Impact on a delighted child: substantial.
· Last year, I bought inexpensive attractive glass cookie jars and hired my friend to stencil their names onto them, and of course, filled them with cookies.

Other ideas for greatly appreciated gifts:
· An attractive coupon book for chores for beleaguered young parents to include errands run, babysitting, doing laundry, walking the dogs, etc.
· For aging relatives who want to keep in touch: a box of return address labels, stamps, and stationery, or even postcards or box of assorted greeting cards
· Personalized anything: cookie jars, tote bags, stationery, apron, oven mitts
· A coupon for a special “just us” outing for a grandchild or child, redeemable (with advance notice) when he or she chooses
· A written promise (with a start date) to be a twice-a-week exercise partner for a friend having trouble keeping active

The idea is to be creative and come up with low-cost gifts that are truly personalized to the individual. With our declining pocketbooks to urge us on, and our desire to be better world and planet citizens, we can become more creative about showing our caring for loved ones. And if the economy improves, even shoots back up, perhaps our gift-giving should not. Instead of having to pay those credit card bills from holiday excesses, we can have money left in our accounts to spend more on the things that matter more in the long run:
· Travel to learn more about other peoples, increase our tolerance for other religions and cultures, and make our children more world-embracing citizens. Erasing the specter of the Ugly American? Priceless!
· Charitable giving to organizations that promote healthy environments and self-reliance through training, basic necessities, and example.
· Upgrading our homes and cars to be more energy efficient and lower maintenance

Changing Consumer Habits

It seems trying to do what’s right for the environment ruffles the feathers—and pocketbooks—of pollution producers. For example, the American Chemistry Council has reported spending $180,625 in August to fight a 20-cent fee on paper and plastic bags that was approved by the Seattle City Council in July.

Most of the money was likely used for signature gathering in an effort to put the issue on a future citywide ballot. The Coalition to Stop the Seattle bag Tax has turned in about 22,000 signatures. That averages out to about $8 per signature. For the $8 spent per signature, the ACC could have bought every person who signed the petition a high quality reusable bag!

The reason for doing this goes far beyond preventing plastic bag litter at home. A United Kingdom news investigation revealed that plastic packaging and bottles that consumers believe are going to local recycling plants are ending up buried in India. A British reporter traveled to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and discovered wells of British-branded rubbish, estimated to be around 30 feet deep...Concerned locals told the investigation that there were at least ten such waste wells and that the pits also contained American waste. It’s an inconvenient truth that many items entering the recycling stream don’t get recycled. We’re seeing increasing evidence of recyclables getting burned or buried in landfills -- or shipped overseas. Recycling has its place in reducing waste -- but it’s no silver bullet. The economics are really not there for recycling plastic bags, as you’ve seen in earlier blogs.

Many bags collected for recycling never get recycled. A growing trend is to ship them to Third world countries like India and China which are rapidly becoming the dumping grounds for the Western world's glut of recyclables. Rather than being recycled they are cheaply incinerated under more lax environmental laws. And think about the other things you dispose of: such as plastic cutlery and plates. What do you think happens to them?

The French have had it with plastic waste. Their environment minister confirmed a new program, the "taxe pique-nique", that starting next year will result in a tax of 90 cents per kilogram (2.2 lbs) will be placed on plastic and paper throwaway cups from next year, aimed at cutting the average 360kg (793 lbs) of rubbish generated per person per year in France.

A raft of other "green" taxes may also be imposed, including on batteries, televisions, washing machines and fridges, with tax breaks offered for more environmentally friendly alternatives. Of course, it has its detractors. But the main opposition Socialist party rounded on the measure as a bourgeois attack on those French already struggling to meet basic living costs. The government, he said, should instead concentrate on reducing energy consumption in other areas, like public transport.

The French are keen on picnics, often surprisingly gourmet. Some said the tax would not make them change their ways. Others are more supportive, saying if we don’t start cutting back on disposable stuff, we'll never get out of this mess. The tax will affect plastic goblets, knives and forks, and non-biodegradable paper plates and napkins.

The supporters say the tax would help bring down costs on recyclable products. Rather than seen as a tax, it should be viewed as a levy on goods which are heavy generators of rubbish. A near-identical tax was introduced in Belgium last year, where the tax also extends to saran-type wraps and aluminum foil.

Your assignment, if you decide to accept it:
1. Look at all the disposables for which you could substitute reusables. For picnics, could you take regular plastic plates and silverware, wrap them up and take them home to throw in the dishwasher?
2. Research biodegradable disposables (second-best choice) for when reusables really aren’t practical (really impractical)

Take a wider view of our world and how we’re trashing it. Remember, the trash may not end up here at home but will pollute other countries and diminish their quality of life. We need to act like grown-ups and make some tough but responsible decisions.

I've Got Company! Are You With Me?

More and more when I go shopping, there are other people in line also with their own bags. I hope they are also recycling at home. We have become loaded down with garbage. We want less of it. With a little effort, we can decrease landfill impact tremendously. Behavioral scientists tell us it takes three months to make something a habit. Recycling and using reusables are great habits to get into! Here are some great habits to develop:

· Remember to keep cloth bags in every car and to grab one when you walk to a store. It’s pretty hard to carry seven items home loose in your hands, so you tend to go for the plastic with its convenient handles. Grab a cloth bag with longer handles so you can sling it over your shoulder while you walk. Better, yet, wear a backpack and stay balanced.
· Remember that every chipboard carton a product comes in can be flattened and recycled.
· Tear address labels off the umpteen catalogs and travel books we all get and recycle those, as well.
· Take the time to wash out messy jars and bottles. Some can be thrown in the dishwasher. Others just need to sit with hot soapy water in them for a few hours, shaken up and rinsed out. Don’t forget the soap. It acts as a surfactant to reduce surface tension and keep food from sticking so tightly to the container. (Yes, I mean peanut butter, too!)
· Invest in a shredder. That’s the best way to keep sensitive materials, like old bank statements from falling into the hands of identity thieves. Then use the shredded paper to pack breakables for shipping.
· Recycle printer cartridges. Office Depot gives you your choice of a discount off a purchase or a ream of recycled paper for each one you bring in.
· Recycle old batteries, even the AAAs. Hazardous metals can leach out in landfills.
· Go on-line and research recycling centers in your area and your options. Then post their requirements in the kitchen or someplace easily accessible. If you live in an apartment or condo building, share the information with other units. We can pay for curbside recycling, but we have free recycling drop-off locations within a few blocks, so we take it ourselves.
· When you have neighborhood clean-up days and pick up trash, separate it into garbage and recyclables. No reason for cans and bottles to go into a landfill.

You probably have tons of ideas of your own. If you do, please comment on these blogs and I will use your ideas and help you share them. We’re all in this together. Let’s do what we can.

Fighting Special Interests- and the Beat Goes On

Using Ireland’s successful plastic bag tax as a model, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing a 20-cent “green fee” on all disposable bags. The proposed fee is the first of its kind in the nation made by a mayor striving for a legacy of environmental stewardship. If the City Council approves, the fee would go into effect January 1. In an effort to ease the transition, the city will mail one reusable shopping bag to each household.

Plastic bag bans, however, are meeting concentrated and well-financed resistance from petroleum producers and plastic bag manufacturers. Some municipalities considering plastic bag bans have been hit with legal demands for environmental impact statements to justify a ban. Most do not have that kind of money, so they back down from proposing a ban or even a plastic bag surcharge. In their efforts to prevent bans, the plastic bag industry has launched a huge campaign for plastic bag recycling. As you have seen from earlier blogs, the economies are just not there.

EPA data shows that between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Of those, less than 1% are recycled. However, increasing that percentage isn’t a solution. Jared Blumenfelt, Director of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment tells it like it is:
There are harsh economics behind bag recycling. It costs $4,000 to process and recycle one ton of plastic bags, which can be sold on the commodities market for $32. Do the math.

Again, we’re faced with special interests corrupting the environment. The bag industry is right that paper bags are not the answer. But their claims that plastic bag bans will create a huge demand for paper bags and cause widespread catastrophic deforestation are unfounded. The solution is and has always been; reusable bags. When someone asks you whether you want plastic or paper, say: “Neither. I brought my own.”