GO REUSABLE AND REFILLABLE
One of the easiest ways to increase sustainability in our lives in a major way is to invest in reusable and refillable instruments. Investing in many of these instruments will not only produce substantially less waste and shrink our carbon footprint, but can also save us money in the long run!
If the fact that over 2 billion tons of plastic water bottles will be sitting in American landfills for a thousand years is not enough to persuade you to invest in a refillable water bottle, then let me promise you that it will also save you money! The average bottle of water costs an American $1.25 per bottle, and the average Nalgene water bottle can be found at nearly any major store for around $10. If one purchases only one bottled water per day, (which would leave this individual very dehydrated) they will spend around $440 per year more than an individual who invested in a Nalgene water bottle. I chose to promote Nalgene for this example not only because these water bottles are safe to refill, but Nalgene is also a company putting a substantial effort into increasing sustainability and fighting plastic water bottle usage. You can check out their efforts here through this link... http://nalgene.com/sustainability/
For coffee and tea drinkers, investing in a refillable thermos can also help decrease our waste and carbon footprint in a similar way to investing in a refillable water bottle, or using in house mugs. According to the EPA, American's throw away an astonishing 25 billion styrofoam coffee cups per year! This number does not even include the number of paper and plastic coffee cups thrown away per year, such as those from Starbucks, which are not recyclable. Investing in a thermos can also save the consumer money, as making coffee at home is cheaper, and also many coffee shops, including Starbucks are starting initiatives for customers to bring their own thermos or mug by charging less to fill them than buying to-go cups. To check out Starbucks sustainability efforts, visit http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment and to discover a number of other coffee and tea shops with sustainability initiative in the Madison area, visit http://uwsustainability.com/resources/living-sustainably/buying-sustainably/
Invest in reusable grocery bags. These "totes" can be found at most grocery stores for relatively cheap and in a variety of cool designs! Paper and most plastic bags can be recycled, but the recycling process takes a large amount of energy, and biodegradable paper and plastic bags not recycled take up a massive amount of space and time to degrade in our nation's landfills. Not to mention, even though these bags are recyclable, a New York Times article shows that in the U.S. only 5% of plastic bags and only 21% of paper bags are actually recycled. Investing in a few "totes" can help combat this issue. To read the rest of the New York Times article follow this link... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/weekinreview/01basics.html
Bring your own silverware! If you frequently get take out and eat food on the go (as most of us do), do the planet a favor and bring your own reusable silverware. Keeping a set of silverware in your backpack makes it easy to reduce the waste you create in a big way by preventing all those plastic forks, spoons and knives we use on a daily basis from ending up in a landfill. Many to-go restaurants and some progressive grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, offer reusable silverware for those willing to eat on site, so if offered, always take advantage of this opportunity. Plastic silverware is recyclable, but once again the process uses energy. To read about Whole Foods efforts to reduce their use of plastic silverware and about the recycling of plastic silverware, click on this link... http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/what%E2%80%99s-story-with%E2%80%A6plastic-cutlery
To learn more about wha happens to the types of products we throw away and recycle on a daily basis visit https://www3.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/ !