Recycle - Reasons

Reasons to Recycle:

We are putting out the reasons to Recycle this whole week, to help motivate us to recycle as much as possible

A glass bottle thrown away into a landfill today will take almost a 100 years to disintegrate.

Recycle - Reasons

Recycle today - reasons to motivate us to recycle.

The more we recycle - The cheaper the cost for material and cost of clearing out trash comes down considerably.

Recycle - Reasons

Reasons to Recycle:

Recycling creates 1.1 million jobs in the US

Recycle - Reasons

Recycle today - reasons to motivate us to recycle.

In America, 30 million trees worth of Newspapers are being thrown out every year. America only recycles 25% of the paper waste generated in the country.

Polystyrene (styrofoam)

Styrofoam (a trademark name for Polystrene) is a type of plastic, made from petroleum products and a harmful toxin called Benzene is used in it as well.

Styrofoam - probably the most common use we see as packing peanuts and other packing materials. This is actually a very hazardous material, and if ingested by animals, it can prove to be very harmful to their digestive system. Not mention, the years it takes to breakdown this material - so not a landfill material at all.

Polystyrene is NOT a good material to package food products. It can be toxic and is in fact banned in several states in the the US from being used as food packing material.

So, make sure you dispose the polystyrene material responsibly in the proper recycling program. Make sure you do not dump these in the trash. There are several ways to recycle polystyrene

1. Recycle bin
2. Donate to craft stores - they use a lot of this in their projects
3. Avoid packing peanuts and use alternative materials when possible
4. There are some mail back options available now that take polystyrene back

So, today, pack up all those packing peanuts, and get rid of them the right way!

Used stuff

A great way to go green - go used!

Look around the house, if you have tons of used CDs, vidoes, DVDs that you have not used over a few months, the chances are, you will never use them. There are great ways to now sell, donate these items. Craigslist & FreeCycle are great resources. You can also buy used materials as much as possible. Using MP3 players and purchasing mp3 music online, can also reduce use of disc plastics.

Today , jus take 20 mins to clear out that stack of media and books you have been hoarding for years.

Paper Towel Vs Cloth towels

There has always been arguments over which is a better choice? Paper towels are bad as they simply encourage overuse of paper, cloth towels are blames too for increased use of energy and water to clean and use them.

We have done reading to decide that Paper towels are a bad choice. But, considering the huge lifestyle of change and simply giving up those extremely convenient paper towels, but there is room some some adjustments we can do to make a lot better.

1. Use unbleached, brown colored, recycled paper towels. They are not fancy, but that is one step. At least use these better versions for high use areas.
2. Do not use paper towels in bathrooms!
3. Use a cloth towel as much as possible. Have enough to collect to make a decent sized dishwasher load to wash them.

So, today's green tip is - Replace bleached white paper towels with recycled paper towels or put it down on your shopping list. Buy a bunch of cloth towels and keep them handy in kitchens and bathrooms.

Spring Gardening - 1

Going to the nursery to buy a bunch of plants? Take a cardboard box or tray with you. Avoid getting the plastic containers. If you do end up bringing them with you, take them back to the nearest nursery or be sure to at least recycle them. Reducing the amount of plastic your bring back is always a good idea.

Always remember - Reuse, Recycle, Reduce.

Watch for a whole series of Spring Gardening tips this week.

Coffee Cups - overuse & abuse

A simple act, but great impact!

How many us wonder where coffee cups we get from coffee shops go? (as estimate 1.5 billion paper cups are used at Starbucks alone, per year) How much do we know about the cups and if its made from recycled paper? Or how many of these cups are even being thrown in recycle bins? Do we ever see recycle bins in coffee shops?

Well, one my friends, did think about it. She noticed that most coffee shops provide 2 cups if you ask for extra hot beverages. Yes, 2 cups! The one in the bottom is practically unused and thrown away by most people, a lot of them do not even notice the extra cup. She made it a point to collect these cups and return them for reuse. What a thoughtful way, and a simple act, yes powerful message to most of the onlookers at the store. In fact, this thoughtful person will soon be joining us to contribute to Stay Green today and share some valuable thoughts on leading a green life!

So few things we can do TODAY when we pick up that cup of Jo.
GREEN WAYS to enjoy a cup of COFFEE !

• Try to use reusable coffee mugs (there are tons of options out there.. and most are dishwasher friendly too)
• Sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee - like french people do (you will barely find to-go stuff in the city of Paris) and this will totally avoid use of to-go cups and the plastic lids. Hey, slowdown once in a while. Most coffee shops offer ceramic / porcelain cups if you sit down.
• If you still need to use the to-go cup, make sure you recycle them.
• If you buy a hot beverage - use the little sleeve and avoid using a second cup. The seleeves are mostly made from from recycled paper.
• Choose coffee shops that have a recycle bin, or choose coffee shops that use recycled paper to make their cups.
• Do not take more than one or two napkins. If you spill a lot of coffee, even a hundred napkins are not going to help. For practical reasons, a few drops of spill, just one napkin will do just fine.
• Use the sugar dispenser and avoid the packaged paper wrapped sugar. Do not open more than you need.
  
  Interesting reads:
  
  Starbucks recycle information
  
  Eco-tip: Coffee cups - Treehugger

Recycle

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle.

The simplest way to start living a "green" life - start recycling today! All it takes is adding an extra bin in your kitchen and start recycling. A lot of us think about recycling everyday, but somehow, never start.

Today is a great day to start. You don't have to rush out and buy a big green bin and figure all the details out. One step at a time will do just fine. Start small, place a small cardboard box in the garage or backyard or wherever convenient. Start with the most common stuff - paper, cans and bottles. Then move on to plastics and other materials. You will not believe the amount of paper and metal you collect, when you start with just junk mail, cans and bottles.

Recycling even helps to reduce clutter around the house. A lot of times, people have a hard time throwing an old magazine or book in a trash can, but when they throw it in a recycle bin, there is a sense of accomplishment and no guilt.

tip: Get a paper shredder - helps to quickly destroy important documents and then recycle. This avoids hoarding papers and documents for the fear of ID theft and end up staying in your house for a very long time. Just shred it and get it into the recycle bin.

Helpful Links:
WikiHow - How to recycle
Recycle - Local resources and more

Carry a tote

Carry your own tote today to the store. Don't use plastic bags. If you forget your tote, get one in the store, or at least choose to use the paper bag option and remember to recycle it responsibly. Ideally, simple carry your own bag to the store.

If you are ready to take on the idea of never using plastic bags, then, try using the No plastic bags pledge on the Leonardo Decaprio's website.

tip: always leave a tote bag in your car or hang it along side your shoe rack or key holders. Just take a moment extra to keep the bags in a handy place, that reminds you to take them where you go.