"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle"-the three "R"s for a better environment. How do we know if we're doing enough? Look at the trashcan-the more trash we have the less "R"s we're using. But how do we fit these practices into our busy lives? With new earth friendly products and a little thought on our parts, there's no need to choose between sacrificing convenience and sacrificing the environment.
Reducing is the first "R," and the easiest to use: by making eco-friendly decisions about what you will and will not use, it saves the need for as much Recycling and Reusing.
The first step to protecting the environment is how and where you shop. When you buy products made at local manufacturers there is less pollution from transportation. Small local businesses are more likely to carry these products. Specialty stores are more likely to have a wider variety of products, including earth-friendly options. For instance, large office supply stores carry paper supplies made from recycled paper, while groceries and marts do not.
While it may seem easier to shop at Target or Walmart, Target has been criticized in the past for discrimination and carrying goods produced using sweatshop labor, while Walmart has been sanctioned for environmental problems such as toxic emissions, and a whole catalogue of social violations including discrimination, use of sweatshop and child labor, health and safety concerns, workers' rights violations, and union problems. (If you want to find out about a company, Responsibleshopper.org is a website that gives company profiles: which charities they support, and reports on their social/labor policies and environment impact.) By planning carefully and running all your errands at once, you won't use that much more gas.
When you buy anything, look carefully at how it's packaged-less packaging means less waste. Buying in bulk sometimes reduces packaging, but buy carefully-sometimes there's more packaging in bulk items. Look also for earth-friendly biodegradable packaging. For example, Annie Chun's Noodle Bowls are packed in a biodegradable, compostable bowls that are microwaveable. And make sure you either recycle those plastic grocery bags, or use paper, or bring your own cloth bags (which can be more convenient, since cloth is easier to carry.)
Composting reduces what we throw away, and recycles it into plant food, which reduces the fertilizer we have to buy. Don't have a compost bin? Ask your favorite gardener about starting one, or call you local Ag or Master Gardener program. You can even have a small bin on an apartment balcony, and use the finished compost in your houseplants. Food scraps should go in the compost bin or down the garbage disposal, not in the landfill.
Home offices produce lots of trash. Be sure you're printing on recycled paper with recycled ink-cartridges. Consider printing on both sides, or using software that allows you to print more than one page per side. Always do a print preview to make sure you're not wasting a whole sheet of paper for just one line of text. And please recycle all this paper-your local Elementary school should have recycling if you don't have curbside recycling.
Diapers take up a large portion of our landfill. Parents can reduce this by using cloth, or using a system of a washable outer pant with a flushable, compostable inserts-these are available online through Eeenees (www.eenee.com) and G Diapers (www.gdiapers.com), and will be sold at Whole Foods locally next year. If you use disposables, manufacturers such as Tushies and Seventh Generation (found at places your local supermarket) make disposables from recycled paper and plastic. Many of these eco-friendly disposables are chlorine-free, which is also an earth-friendly plus.
Have you ever noticed how "convenience" in the kitchen usually involves lots of plastic? The best way to reduce is, of course, to use permanent containers rather than disposable ones. Using waxed paper bags and waxed paper instead of plastic bags and cellophane wrap is more environmentally sound. If you have to have "plastic", then shop for biodegradable options including trash bags, food containers, and disposable utensils, which can be found at websites like www.ecoproducts.com and www.gaiam.com. Look for paper plates, paper towels, facial tissues, and other paper goods made from recycled paper. Your local grocery store carries these sometimes: if your local one doesn't, ask them to start carrying recycled paper products.
When you support businesses that produce or sell eco-friendly products by shopping with them instead of a competitor, you give them the ability and encouragement to continue making responsible choices. Remember you vote with your money-give it to businesses that share your values and concerns!
Finally, don't hermetically seal your reduced, recycled, biodegradable trash in a plastic bag. It will never biodegrade and will stay in the landfill forever! Reuse a paper grocery bag, or use a biodegradable "plastic" trash bag (usually made from corn gluten.) Every little bit we do helps, so help reduce, reuse, and recycle today!