Paper or Plastic? Cloth or Cardboard?

By: Joanne | March 25, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

paper grocery bags

The next time you’re at the grocery store stocking up on fruits and veggies, consider the question, paper or plastic? Shopping bags, especially the plastic ones are handed to us almost every time we buy something. We’re so used to it that we don’t even think about it any more, but we should.

A friend recently sent me a link to an eye-opening multimedia presentation on the topic of grocery bags. I’m not going to throw a mountain of data at you because when you take a moment to think about it, you already know that it takes a tremendous amount of resources to even produce that bag you take for granted at the store. We’re either cutting down trees or importing fossil fuels to make these things and that’s just the beginning. There’s a costly manufacturing and shipping process and the truth is, that most of them go from our hands directly into the landfill.

I’ve been making a gradual transition to using cloth bags. Every now and again I spend a couple of bucks on a reusable cotton bag. They’re easy to find – your grocery store probably sells them. If I’m not buying much, I ask for no bag at all (a request that has earned me many strange looks from cashiers!) or I keep my handy cotton bags in the car and bring them into the store. You also might want to use a cardboard box – they’re reusable, recyclable, and if your store doesn’t already offer the option, you probably only have to ask because they’ve got lots of them in the back of the store destined for the dumpster. So remember it’s really only a small change of habit to reduce, reuse or recycle that paper or plastic bag!

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Post Holiday Recycling

By: Colleen | December 26, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

In the words of the great philosopher Charlie Brown, "Another Christmas, come and gone." It's the "day after" and everyone is busy returning that beautiful sweater from Aunt Bethany, or using their newly received gift cards to buy presents for those who may have been forgotten on the first round of shopping (oops!).

We may have won the battle, but we've not yet won the war. We've still got to deal with the post-Christmas clean up. If your home is anything like mine, I'm sure you have bags of wrapping paper sitting around, bows stuck to everything, and piles of holiday cards from friends and family in various locations.

The easy solution? Dump it all, throw it away—out of sight, out of mind. The not difficult and greener solution? Recycle! According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Years than during any other time of the year.

All that wrapping paper? Most of it is recyclable. USA.gov has tons of information regarding the best ways to dispose of holiday waste. Separate your party leftovers into paper, plastics, and glass. It's best if you use washable plates and utensils to cut down on waste while you eat, drink, and be merry.

As Joanne mentioned yesterday, you may be able to re-plant your tree. If not, many cities offer special recycling services and pick-up times for live trees.

How 'bout all those holiday cards? Quite popular, aren't you!? Cut off the front, and use the pictures as post cards for next year. Many churches and community centers also collect these for arts and crafts or greeting cards.

For more tips on recycling year-round check out Nancy's post.

Hey, you might even consider recycling Aunt Bethany's sweater—she'd love to see it on you next year!

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