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Plastic is everywhere, and most of us could probably could stand to use a little less of it. As always, the question is, where to start? How can you easily reduce you and your family’s impact, even a little bit? In Tuesday’s Green Space we’re always trying to give you an actionable tip that is both budget-friendly and eco-conscious, so let’s look at our household plastic use.
Grab three boxes and set them out by your kitchen trash. Let your kids do some decorating! Little ones can use crayons or stickers, preschoolers can write out “Reuse!,” “Reduce!,” and “Recycle!” on each. Then, for a certain amount of time (a week, ideally, but 3-4 days would also work), sort all of your plastic waste instead of putting it right into the trash or recycling bin.
Into the “Reuse!” bin, put anything that you really could use again. Reuse is even more important than recycling, since it keeps objects out of our waste stream. Be creative! Yogurt cups, even if you could recycle them, also are fun for craft projects, or can be used for storage of small objects in the kitchen, office, or garage. Plastic bags from bread can be stored in the diaper bag for messy bibs and outfits.
The “Recycle!” bin gets anything that is recyclable by your municipality. Check to see if there are drop-off sites for any of the plastic you can’t recycle curbside. Our city yard recycles all kinds of things outside of the curbside program (batteries, athletic shoes, and computers, to name a few).
Whole Foods grocery stores will take your #5 plastics (and many others). They are new partners in the Gimme 5 program, which sends those recyclables to preserve where they make toothbrushes and other new products from them. Drink pouches and energy bar wrappers can be mailed to TerraCycle. Kids love sorting activities like these and will be amazed at the cool products that come from their garbage!
Finally, the “Reduce!” bin holds your actual plastic waste. Take a peek at it again. Anything in there that you could reuse? Do you see a pattern in your trash, like you could stand to buy certain items in bulk instead of individually-wrapped? Being green is about being creative, so let your imagination consider the possibilities. You’ll find you save money, too, when you shop trying to minimize waste and excess packaging.
You can find Meagan blogging here many Tuesdays, at her blog sage green frugal parenting, and tweeting in between, too!
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