2 posts tagged “environmentally friendly”

It was hanging on the hook on my mailbox.  A medium-sized plastic bag with an advertisement for Yoptimal printed on it.  English on one side, French on the other.  Some new kind of Yoplait yogurt to strengthen your immune system.  And wow, it's got probiotics, amazing!  And antioxidants too!  Isn't that just the most fantastic, innovative thing you've ever heard?

Inside the bag was a 650g plastic yogurt tub. 

Empty.

Okay, not empty - it held a small leaflet and a coupon.

When I looked more carefully at the plastic bag, some small print at the bottom read "Please note that the container in this bag does not contain any yogourt.  We suggest you reuse it to store your favourite foods." 

... I honestly don't even know what to say about this, it's just so odd.

Something about how I am already overrun with plastic containers?  Or about how I keep them only out of guilt, allowing them to take up one full drawer of my kitchen cupboards even though I generally try to store all food in glass containers? 

Oh maybe I should mention that clearly, the brains over at Yoplait, while observant enough to notice and hop on board the super-duper probiotics bandwagon, are somehow so blind that they completely missed the whole green movement that is everywhere? 

A plastic container.  Empty but for a bit of paper.  An empty plastic container in a plastic bag. 

The bag is 100% biodegradable, does that make it better?

What are your favorite ways to reduce, reuse & recycle?

Hm.  Not sure how to decide which are my "favourite" ways.  I mean... dividing our household waste into 238 different containers is super and all, but I'm not sure how much fun it is.  I guess I'll list 3 things I do that bring me the most overall satisfaction as well as making a positive impact, at least as far as I know.

Reusable shopping bags

You can buy such great bags online:  Handmade, beautiful, printed with cool patterns or making a statement about anything you can think of.  I salivate over them on a regular basis, but since all the chain stores are jumping on the Go Green bandwagon (the temptation is to roll my eyes and say "it's about time," but really, I'm just happy they're getting with the program - better late than never), they've started selling reusable bags for $1, and I've stocked up. 

It's such a minor change to make, but it makes me feel so good to know my choice has such a positive impact.

Plus, a common excuse explanation that people give for not choosing the environmental route is that it costs more.  I see that in many circumstances it does, but for a buck for a great shopping bag, you can't go wrong.

Reusable beverage containers (preferably non-plastic)

Our family has lots of plastic reusable drink containers, but the plastic is not only environmentally costly to produce, but more and more, I hate thinking about the toxins that may be leaching into our drinks.  We also have a stainless steel travel mug, and I recently bought a stainless steel insulated flask that I've used almost every day since buying it. 

I'm so completely sold that I'm definitely buying more, I just need to decide on which kind.  I wrote recently about being a little wary of the Sigg bottles without more information, but there's another kind called Klean Kanteen which are single-walled stainless steel bottles (you can even get them fitted with a sippy cup lid for little ones). 

Environmental food choices

A lot of things fall into this category, including:

• Buy locally.  I try to do this when possible, but I'm not great at it, I must admit.  I do most of my shopping at major grocery chains, and I don't know how all these buying contracts work, but it seems that even in the height of, say, Ontario strawberry season, they'll have strawberries from California for sale.  I avoid supporting this more obvious kind of idiocy when I can, but the farmer's market only runs in the warm months, and it's kind of a trek from my house, so I don't get all my produce there. 
  
• Buy organic.  I used to do this more, when money was more plentiful around here.  When the cost difference isn't too steep I still buy organic, but a lot of things are just a little too expensive for us right now. 
  
• Go veggie.  Haven't done this, but I don't eat red meat, which I think counts a bit.  I have trouble finding much information on the difference between eating fish and chicken vs. pig and cow (most sites seem to say meat or no meat), but from what I've read, I'm still reducing my global footprint by avoiding cow and pig products.

Okay, I said I'd do 3, but I spent all that time writing the one on food choices before I remembered this one, which is truly fun!  Just as with the reusable shopping bags I mentioned, cloth diapers can mean anything from utilitarian to a total fashion statement! 

Simple pre-folds with a cover to keep baby's clothes dry are an economical, workable, effective choice, no question.   Even so, they're not the diapers your mother used - the diapers come 'folded,' sewn in layers for extra absorbency, no pins needed, and leakproof but breathable covers.

However, go a step further and no joke, shopping for diapers could actually become quite addicting.  An amazing variety of cute patterns, different styles, it's just endless.