Goal For The Green

Most of us are doing our Spring cleaning from our house to our garage. Before you make a trip to the dump, check  your discard pile to see if there is anything you can give new life.  You just may save yourself some gas money and a trip to the dump.

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For several years the EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency), most large businesses, and power companies have been feverishly promoting the sales and usage of compact  fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). They are a great way to save money and energy, while fighting global warming.

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      One is no better than the other when it comes to the paper vs. plastic debate.  It is becoming apparent that we need to make more of an effort to reuse these products and keep them out of the landfills. 

      It is a fact that a paper bag holds at least four times more groceries than its plastic rival.  This is true if we don’t overload the bag.  I’m sure all of us have had the occasion when the bottom breaks out or the bag rips, and we go chasing our groceries around in the parking lot.  However, even most brown bags can be used more than once at the store.  They are also good for book covers, storing more paper bags inside of one large one, and making your own wrapping paper or shipping paper. In your own compost pile, they do break down nicely when filled with leaves or grass clippings.  I even use paper bags to cook my turkey or game hens in.  No, it doesn’t taste like the bag, but that is a whole other story.

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     As of today, San Francisco is banning plastic bags, and the Whole Food Markets are requesting their customers to bring their own bags.  The choice will be paper in both places.

    When it comes to cost, it is much cheaper to produce a plastic bag over a paper one. The drawback is, plastic is a petroleum product.  However, it only takes approximately .003%of oil per barrell to produce alot of plastic bags.  At least 100,000 birds and marine life die each year because of the plastic that liters our beaches and other public places. This could be one of the reasons for the choice of paper over plastic in the San Francisco area.

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It is the third R in the term reduce, reuse, and recycle. It is the re-making of old materials into useful new products.  The goal of recycling is to reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials and energy usage, which then reduces green house gas emissions. By  recycling, we also lower the  amount of raw waste that would otherwise end up in our landfills. Recycling is the key component in waste management as we know it today.

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