Your Guide To Green

Did you know that Americans use an average of 1267 plastic bags per person per year? That's just bags! What about all the bottles, cups, straws, lids, etc. that we use for less than an hour and toss? Fast food restaurants buy these items by the gross for customers who toss them in the trash. Then the restaurant wraps them all up in a bigger plastic bag and hauls them to the dumpster.

Watching this process countless times through the years started me thinking about what I call the Use-It-Once Item. As I began evaluating this in earnest I made an agreement with myself that I would no longer use plastic grocery bags for anything. Soooo, now if I arrive at the store and don't have any of my favorite cloth bags in the trunk I can only buy what I can carry out.

This has made for some interesting shopping adventures. I recently had the checker put all my groceries back into the cart then loaded them individually onto the front seat of my car. While it probably took a couple of extra minutes, and looked a little weird, it really was not a problem and a commitment is a commitment!

Once I began looking more carefully at all of the use-it-once items in my life I couldn't believe the sheer volume that I went through on a weekly basis. I wasn't as concerned initially because I'm good about recycling, but I then I learned that up to 85 percent of these items still end up in the landfill.

That was it...that's when my journey to lighter living elevated to passionate. Now I am much more aware of the countless ways that I can help reduce my personal impact. What started with plastic bags has spread through my entire lifestyle.

For instance, I purchased a stainless steel drinking bottle that I fill from my home water purification system. I'm eliminating the hundreds of plastic bottles that I previously used annually. And I have found that many restaurants will fill my bottle. This is helping to save numerous cups, straws and lids. I also get the added bonus of knowing there is no risk of chemicals leaching into my drinks from stainless steel.

Making both of these changes has required very little effort on my part but has made a huge impact on reducing the number of items that I use. It's a win, win, win because it also is helping to decrease the potential negative impact on both the environment and my health.

The important thing to remember is you do not have to suffer in order to make significant changes. If you always use a straw or lid for your cup, and that is something you need, keep doing it. On the other hand if the wait staff is bringing you a new straw every time you get a refill, you might ask them to stop. You simply have to be aware of what works for you.

These kinds of changes might seem small on an individual basis, but collectively they can make a tremendous difference. The most important change we can all make is to be aware of how our choices impact our environment. Then we can best evaluate different choices and select the ones that make sense in our worlds.

Click here to browse our Stainless Steel and Plastic Guide, for more information on steel, aluminum, and plastic bottles, plus environmental and health issues involving plastic.