Disposable Society

I love The Awkward Yeti.  I have been frustrated with the state of our consumption for a while and his PSA below inspired me to write about it.

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We, as a society, are pushing recycling.  We all separate our garbage and tell our kids to protect the Earth and recycle.  But a midst this push to be green we have actually gone the opposite route.  Here are a few examples.

ALL Swifer products.  These are disposable replacements for cloths, brooms and mops that would last years.

Bottled water.  We do need portable water but use a reusable container.  If you don't have one keep refilling the water bottle. Only allow yourself 1 a day.  I have people in my office who use 5 a day and that is just at work!  Unconscionable.

Consumer goods- especially electronics.  We used to have the same TV, phone, stereo for years. Now they are designed with short lives and not meant to last.  My father in law just had to buy a new DVD player because the one he bought two years ago didn't have a new software update available and it wouldn't play the DVD's we bought him. Planned obsolescence.

Those are the first three that popped into my head as my fingers flew over the keyboard.  I am sure you can add numerous items.  Please do in the comments. I would love to hear them and get a dialogue going about this issue.

Please take a moment to honestly think about the products you are using and if there is a way you can cut back on your disposable out put.  We'll deal with Carbon footprints another day.

Here are a few things I do...

Reusable water bottle.

Broom, Rake (not a leaf blower), Mop. Small floor vacuum. Old t-shirts and orphaned socks for rags to clean and polish.  We also use a lot of baking soda and vinegar to clean with and keep reusing the same spray bottle.

Lights off when I leave the room.

Turn off my computer, monitor, printer, and shredder when I leave the office every day!

We use a power strip at home so I can turn off all the unnecessary items that will keep sucking power if we don't (DVD, video games, TV).  Unplug all chargers when you are done using them.

Large laundry loads in cold water.

Native, drought resistant plants in our yard.  Ground cover that doesn't need to be mowed or a lot of water. We've been happy with our red fescue and mondo grass.  Both have held up to the dogs and kids.

I print my manuscript on the back of used paper from work.  We also use that as scratch paper for the kids homework.

Happy Recycling! You'll feel better. You're kids will look up to you. I will thank you and so will the planet.

Kate