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Everybody has probably seen, heard about, or participated in the "Going Green" movement. When you turn on the TV or pick up a magazine, you likely see ads or reviews for products or services that are more environmentally responsible. It seems like people are really starting to consider choices that are more friendly to our earth. So what I want to know is...
How do you "Go Green"?
What are you doing that is good for the planet? How do you reduce/reuse/recycle?
Sometimes it can seem like being earth friendly requires huge lifestyle changes all at once, but really every little bit counts. It also may at times appear that teens and young adults can't do much to go green, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are plenty of things that everyone can do!
So, share your green secrets! Maybe you'll get ideas from other people about changes you can make. Got questions about going green? Post them here and maybe someone else will have a suggestion!
-------------------- Sarah Liz Posts: 7313 | From: USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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I got reusable bags to use for my grocery and general shopping. These are great on two levels...first, they are not as wasteful as plastic or paper bags that you get at the store. And secondly, these bags just work better! You can fit more into each bag, my groceries are not crushed and they don't spill out all over the back of my car since the bags have flat bottoms and are more solidly formed. I have 6 bags for my groceries (though many weeks we don't need all of them) and I carry 3 other reusable bags in my car for random purchases at other stores.
We recycle a TON! Our city recycles paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass. The recycling bin is almost always full, while our garbage can is only full about every 2-3 weeks.
I try to drive as little as I can by combining trips. Where I live, public transport isn't terrific or a workable solution for most of my needs. Biking is difficult with an infant and is just dangerous in general here (people don't watch out for bikers and there are few bike lanes). So I have to drive pretty much everywhere I go. To reduce my impact (and how much I spend on gas), I try to do all of my going in one trip rather than making multiple trips.
When I have clothing that I no longer need or wear, I donate it to our local Salvation Army shelter. My son's outgrown baby clothes and other baby products are also going to go to a local shelter for young mothers battling addiction.
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Mental note for me to grab some reusable shopping bags. I keep meaning to do this.
One thing I've been doing is trying to use less dishes. I have a 2 year old, our days can be hectic and it's easy to use a different cup with his daily million cups of milk. I also try to make the most of our laundry, take off his clothes when he eats because he won't keep a bib on, so we can go through 3-4 outfits a day.
I'm way too scared of biking with him and I haven't been driving, so we hang out in our neighborhood a lot.
I also shop second hand for his (and my) clothes, and get a lot of hand me downs from family. As well as passing on the ones he grows out of (which is often, kid just keeps growing like crazy).
Wow, each of these is kid centered. I don't remember life before him, but I wasn't quite as environmentally conscious then, so, dude.
Posts: 1180 | From: WA | Registered: Apr 2006
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We also use cloth bags for shopping. I love how much they hold compared to their plastic counterparts.
I use cloth pads and the Diva, which saves the waste from disposable pads and tampons. When we have babies, we're going to use cloth diapers (they have SUCH CUTE ones out these days). I'd love to do family cloth, but there's only so much I can handle right now with laundry (we don't make enough between the two of us to do more than a couple of loads every other week).
We bike and ride the bus, mostly because we don't own a car, but I figure we'll continue doing it for as long as we can, even when we eventually DO get a car.
I try to use "greener" cleaning things, like vinegar and water or baking soda...but I love the smell of our orange cleaning spray, lol. So that gets used sometimes.
All of my clothing is second-hand or hand-made. It has been since I was really little.
For our wedding, we are planting trees to offset the footprint of out-of-towners, and giving baby trees away as favours to those who don't have to go through customs. I'm giving cloth pads to my bridesmaids (I know they want to try them and will get good use out of them), and we're trying to figure out "green" gifts for the groomsmen.
We recycle what we can, but where I live doesn't have a great recycling program, and you pretty much *have* to drive to get there. We only go every so often, and it really does end up being a deterrent to recycling. Hopefully they'll work on it (they've been doing a fabulous job of greening the city lately).
-------------------- "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt; sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth." ~Mark Twain Posts: 59 | From: Canada | Registered: May 2007
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Use energy saving lightbulbs, turn down your central heating a few degrees, eat locally produced food!
Posts: 1 | From: London | Registered: Sep 2008
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i have always recycled paper and glass in big black boxes and have recently started a green bin for the household waste. we go to the dump every time we have a big load of stuff to recycle that can't be put in the black bin. i buy from charity shops all the time (i used to work in one) so i wear clothes that have been worn before which also is healthy for my wallet but i could never get used to cloth pads, i rely on usual sanitary towels (naughty i know)
Posts: 94 | From: london | Registered: Apr 2007
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The water used for washing dishes and showering is collected with buckets in my house - it's then used to either flush the toilet or water the many plants in our backyard.
Recycling is a big thing here - they even made things easier for people so that the can put paper, cans, bottles and cardboard all in one bin. It's probably sorted by hand first, then they've got machinery to help separate the others.
Energy saving lightbulbs are the way to go. If in one room you have the choice of turning on a single light as opposed to several down lights, always choose the single one.
Retrofitting an old house is also an option. Improving insulation and energy efficiency can save lots in the long run. If you are planning to buy a house, the best scenario would be to purchase a north-facing house if you're in the southern hemisphere, and vice-versa if you're in the northern hemisphere. If a house is properly designed, you would hardly need to use heating or cooling devices.
Look at your energy providers as well - there should be the option of switching to "green" energy, even if it costs a bit more. Posts: 10 | From: Australia | Registered: Feb 2010
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For me,I always use my trendy Tesco reuseable eco -friendly bags.I guess to date I have about 15 reuseable bags and totes which I get free from my shopping and as gift from magazine subscription
I always return the packaging of my beauty products to its manafacturer through their stores and in return,I did get some rewards for my effort in going green. For example,when I return empty used Body Shop product,I get 20% discount for my next purchase of any Body Shop product For M.A.C cosmetics,I recently get a new lipsticks of my choice after I return 6 used and empty M.A.C packaging and container
I tend to recycle cardbords(packaging from skincare products-mostly),fashion magazine,glass/plastic bottle packaging from my skin care items,newspaper,aluminum canned drinks,empty liqour bottles
I also reuse old newspaper to wrap up my sanitary napkins before throwing them i the bins.
I use hankerchief instead of tissue paper
As for my undergarments,I invest in Sloggi's Eco line which claims to use unbleached cotton
I tend to use public transport more,travelling in LRT and MRT
So,I'm I green enuough?
Posts: 48 | From: in mua beauty world,where everyone beautiful leaves there XD | Registered: Mar 2009
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Always recycled, do my best to grow edible vegs and herbs myself, turn off unnecessary lights and other electronic devices (no stand-by for me!), and use re-usable grocery and vegetable bags. My sister has also kindly sewn me all kinds of lovely things from recycled fabrics. Also use a bamboo-fiber knitted dish cloth! They are so much better than commercial dish cloths, you can wash them in the washing machine too.
I'm currently rather upset that there is no recycling station for plastic bottles and packaging where I live and I don't know where to return them to. I give old ketchup bottles for my grandma, she uses them to bottle homemade juice in the fall.
I should definitely do more to be green, but at the moment being greener is hard to achieve. I'd love to buy local produce, but it can cost up to 5 times more than imported produce. As a student on government paid benefits, I can't afford that. And unfortunately, I need to eat.
Over here you have to separate your own waste, but there are people checking it as it comes to the recycling center. I am aways infuriated when I see people bin organic waste IN A PLASTIC BAG, because that can easily ruin the entire batch of organic waste and it gets sent to the landfill. I know organic waste is smelly and unpleasant, but come on now.
I'm hoping to one day renovate an old build and fit it with green solutions, rain water gathering systems, using bath water to flush the toilet, I'll have to think about energy supplying, as solar panels have a short lifespan and they are 90% non-recyclable. Wind energy? Definitely want to use ground heat for heating. And a compost, I have this (perhaps silly) dream of having my own organic garden. It's silly because I am infamous for killing all my plants.
I don't have a car, which is good. Cycling is eco-friendly and good for cardio. I'm in horrible shape, though, so it takes some getting used to.
Posts: 236 | From: Europe | Registered: Oct 2009
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but i could never get used to cloth pads, i rely on usual sanitary towels (naughty i know)
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