I always loved this song from Rocko's Modern Life:
Lets see. I:
- Recycle whenever possible.I hate whenever they don't label small things with what recycle number because I like to do everything possible, big and small. I'll even take home things of my own and others as well (like the receipts at self check out lines) to recycle at home.
- Reduce amounts of one use plastics I use like ziplocks, cling wrap, ect
- Use reusable grocery bags and mesh bags for produce
- Decline plastic bags for things I can carry
- Reuse one use plastics whenever possible. I'm known for washing and reusing plastic silverware, straws, and even zip lock bags.
- If I see lots of recycleables in the dumpster I'll get them out and put them in the recycling dumpster myself (People piss me off, btw. NO EXCUSE in CA NOT to recycle!)
- Unplug chargers and turn off multi plugs when not in use.
- Use Freecycle to get furniture and other things I need if at all possible. Everything in my apartment furniture wise is second hand, and free, besides the bed.
- Don't use bottled water unless I have no other choice (I think it tastes like plastic anyway)- instead I use a water filter and my awesome camelback waterbottle. I swear that thing makes drinking water easy- highly recommended for a reusable bottle!
- Save electronic waste (including batteries) until I have enough to make a trip to the specialty recycling plant for it
-Buy second hand books if possible and donate unwanted ones
- Love thrift shopping for clothing and donate unwanted ones also
- Buy bulk containers and fill up smaller reused containers for individual sizes (like Diet Coke, my on the go life force), instead of buying individual bottles or cans all the time
- To write notes or make lists I use envelopes or backs of spam letters
- Sign up for electronic billing whenever possible to save paper
- Get creative with reusing things (like odds and ends for crafts or modifying old clothing)
- Working to reduce how often I eat meat (it's complicated with my body/medical issues)
- Buy eggs from a local cage free farm
- When I print something I use the front and back of each piece of paper (and use recycled paper)
- Tear paper towels/baby wipes/ect into pieces as big as I need instead of using the whole thing for something small, and reuse if possible.
- Try and use towels/sponges rather than one use paper towels/cotton balls/ect when I can
- Use an actual mop instead of one of a swiffer (unless a bunch of raw meat was dropped on the floor and I need a quick wipe up with antibacterial solution- it's a germaphobe thing)
I'm glad we did this! I've gotten ideas already There are a few things I'm working on right now. It's better to transition slowly and steady instead of trying to throw it in all at once, especially for people who need to get use to change. But I'm working on it! I'm looking at cleaning products next. I get the green all purpose but I need some better eco friendly specific type cleaners. I'd like to get a composer, but last time I check they only allowed "approved" ones, and the approved ones are expensive (few hundred). They are trying to do more green things here lately so they may have changed their stance on it, but they tend to be uptight about what you can and can't have on your porch.
One thing that I like to remind people is that yes, recycling is better than nothing, but it still takes a lot of energy to recycle, and it's not as efficient as people think. It's something that helps, but it's not the magical cure all that everyone thinks it is. That's why reducing and reusing come before recycling. They're harder, but they're a lot more important.
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