Tagged with recycle RSS

*Friday morning rant* I was listening to a morning radio show on my way into work. I absolutely hate morning talk shows - it probably has something to do with my anti-social morning personality. However, there wasn’t anything good on the other stations so I decided to put up with the chatter for my 7 minute commute. I hate that radio personalities just say whatever crosses their mind without thinking twice knowing that hundreds? thousands? of folks are listening to them. If you have that influence, take it seriously. This morning one of the guys was talking about how he hates recycling…I was so curious why someone would HATE recycling that I continued to listen. He said that he didn’t want to recycle because it costs him money and then approximately four groups profit from it. There are the guys that get paid to collect the plastic, the guys who buy it from them and distribute it, the guys who turn it into a sheet, the guys who turn into something usable and then he said “then you just have to buy it back again from them”. At this point I was just super pissed off at this stupid moron that I couldn’t change the radio station. He COMPLETELY missed the point of recycling…how can someone be so thick headed and stubborn that they are willing to hurt the environment just to make a stupid point?!? Not only is recycling saving our environment and wildlife but it is also supporting the economy by providing jobs.   And if it wasn’t for the fact that I won a free trip to San Diego with my sister last year and that they play some rockin’ pop music on my drive home from work I would stop listening to them.  I don’t consider myself to be a tree hugger but I grew up in a fairly environmentally friendly household and I make the effort and do my part. Our company just recently switched to paper plates and plastic spoons in our break room because dealing with communal dishes was “too much effort” hence the picture at the top.  *End Friday morning rant*

*Friday morning rant*

I was listening to a morning radio show on my way into work. I absolutely hate morning talk shows - it probably has something to do with my anti-social morning personality. However, there wasn’t anything good on the other stations so I decided to put up with the chatter for my 7 minute commute. I hate that radio personalities just say whatever crosses their mind without thinking twice knowing that hundreds? thousands? of folks are listening to them. If you have that influence, take it seriously.

This morning one of the guys was talking about how he hates recycling…I was so curious why someone would HATE recycling that I continued to listen. He said that he didn’t want to recycle because it costs him money and then approximately four groups profit from it. There are the guys that get paid to collect the plastic, the guys who buy it from them and distribute it, the guys who turn it into a sheet, the guys who turn into something usable and then he said “then you just have to buy it back again from them”. At this point I was just super pissed off at this stupid moron that I couldn’t change the radio station. He COMPLETELY missed the point of recycling…how can someone be so thick headed and stubborn that they are willing to hurt the environment just to make a stupid point?!? Not only is recycling saving our environment and wildlife but it is also supporting the economy by providing jobs.  

And if it wasn’t for the fact that I won a free trip to San Diego with my sister last year and that they play some rockin’ pop music on my drive home from work I would stop listening to them. 

I don’t consider myself to be a tree hugger but I grew up in a fairly environmentally friendly household and I make the effort and do my part. Our company just recently switched to paper plates and plastic spoons in our break room because dealing with communal dishes was “too much effort” hence the picture at the top. 

*End Friday morning rant*

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Why You Should Use A Reusable Grocery Bag

An article on the importance of switching to reusable grocery bags caught my attention while I was scanning the news during my lunch hour.  

I constantly struggle with this one because it doesn’t seem like retailers are trying to help make the transition any easier. I have been carrying around reusable totes off and on for about 7-8 years now. When my parents moved to Switzerland in 2003 we got turned onto the idea of using reusable grocery bags. In Europe most stores charge you a small fee for plastic bags. Although the fee is fairly negligible (5-10 cents) they strongly encourage the use of reusable bags and frown upon people using the plastic bags that they charge for.  

This was one of my new years resolutions that I of course didn’t write down but rather just made a mental note to become better about.  

  • I ask for no bag if I am only purchasing one or two small things (particularly gas stations, retailers, etc.)
  • I pull out a few of my handy envirosax that I keep stashed in my purse and have them on the ready for grocery shopping. Most of the time the cashier at Walmart gives me a look like “seriously, you are holding up the line” but I push past that.  
  • I offer to bag the groceries myself and just start tossing things in, breaking all of the rules as far as what things are technically supposed to be packed together.  
  • I used to keep a bunch of those $.99 cloth bags in my trunk but I NEVER seemed to remember to actually bring them INTO the store with me. Keeping the little rolled up bags in my purse ensures that I almost always have them on hand.  
  • I am slowly starting to integrate these bags into mall and other retail shopping.  
I especially like Envirosax because they don’t require a small bag to hold them instead they roll up and fasten closed. I’ve used a few others and I could either never get it back into it’s pouch (same reason I was never any good as sleeping bag rolling as a child) or I would lose the little pouch. I am now borderline obsessed with them and although I had a good number I recently ‘splurged’ on the Groupon deal that they had and picked up 4 more. Even Abbey cat likes the new bags!
Then of course I see that they released the Marina and Surfrider series and I am trying to find an excuse to buy just a few more of these pretty little totes.  
My motivation is that “It’s estimated that 1 million birds and thousands of turtles and other sea animals die each year after ingesting discarded plastic bags.” The cashier giving me a dirty look and the tiny amount of additional effort and time it takes to bring a reusable bag for groceries is definitely worth it!  
More scary/interesting facts about plastic bags on their website and consider liking the Facebook page No more plastic bags please hosted by a friend of mine.  

Note: I am not associated with or supported by Envirosax, I’m just a really big fan!

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Just a science nerd with a passion for scuba diving, running and CrossFit!

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