Confession: I have never actively recycled anything in my entire life.
During a recent dinner with my best friends, I found out that one of them has recently decided to “Go Green”. I’ve read countless articles about saving the environment but I’ve never actually made a move to do anything. I was surprised that someone I knew was actively trying to change the way she lived, and it sort of inspired me. The next day, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and I found myself actually annoyed at the fact that I was using plastic bags. I turned around and noticed that the lady behind me had a several cotton totes in her cart – her way of replacing the plastic bags. When I got home, I emptied out my groceries and did what I always do – roll up the plastic bags into balls and stuff them in a basket overflowing with tons of other plastic bags. Only this time, I noticed just how many bags were stuffed in there, never to be used again. What a waste!
That’s when I made up my mind to change a few of my bad habits. It will be impossible to “Go Green” overnight, but it wouldn’t hurt to take it one day at a time.
My first step: I decided to by cotton totes to replace using plastic bags at the grocery store. I read somewhere that you can save about 300 plastic bags a year by using a cotton tote instead! I especially loved these bags from Minusbags. They are large enough to fill about three plastic bag’s worth of groceries, so you don’t have to shop around carrying 10 bags at a time. They also are decorated with pictures of fruit, which makes it totally cute! They are currently having a spring special right now – buy 3 bags and get the 4th bag free of charge. I definitively took advantage of it by getting one for my mom and boyfriend as well (Yes, I am going to force my boyfriend to walk around using these bags). Unfortunately the grey bag with oranges is out of stock (I really liked that one) and the blue with purple grapes does not come with 22” handles (I like carrying things on my shoulders).
Second step: Biodegradable bags! Did you know that plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose? Imagine your doggie poop, which is biodegradable, wrapped in a plastic bag. The result is embalmed dog poop, preserved forever in a plastic casing. Biobags provide 100% biodegradable bags made from corn. They not only sell doggie poop bags, they provide kitchen bags (bags that will decompose along with your garbage) as well as lawn and garden bags for outdoor use.
Third step and beyond: 30 years too late, I will make a much bigger effort to recycle. There are so many other ways to make a small difference. Take shorter showers, turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth, buy a coffee mug to cut down on coffee cup garbage, turn off your computer when you’re not using it (I’m totally guilty of this)…. Just Google “Go Green!” and you will find loads of information to help you do your part to “Go Green”. Just one friend inspired me to be this way. I would be happy if I could inspire just one person too.
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