A new film, No Impact Man, follows Colin Beavan as he completely eliminates his personal impact on the environment for a year. It meant eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. No elevators, T.V., cars, busses, airplanes, toxic cleaning products, electricity, no material consumption and no garbage.
I don't want to know what he did when he needed to use the restroom, but that's another matter. You can watch the movie or learn more about Colin here.
So that got me thinking about my own carbon footprint--and I want to know about yours. Where does your plastic go? While the popularity of Nalgene and non-plastic water bottles are on the rise, a majority of Americans still use and dispose of a large amount of plastics on an everyday basis.
We're talking plastic bags at the grocery store, packaged chicken, trash bags. If you think about all the little things you and your family throw away and waste daily the amount can be staggering.
Watch the below video about what the call "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch," an area in the Pacific Ocean polluted with plastic that they say is 10-million square miles, bigger than the continental United States.
Then I want to know -- Where does your plastic go? How do you reduce your impact on the environment if you do at all? And how far would you or wouldn't you go to protect the environment? Sound off the in comments.
What I'd like to know is what people are doing with stuff like their old decrepit furniture, old VHS tapes, etc. I think the problem about things here is that there's no easy way to dispose of items (at least none that I can tell). Worse yet, the existing services are too scattered or require some pick up, etc.
In Japan, although it's a big hassle for individuals, they force you to divide garbage up into four types: burnables, non-burnables, magazines/newspapers, and one other type (I can't recall what it is). They're pretty strict on that. Also, if you want to get rid of heavy items (e.g. furniture), you have to call and pay a company to dispose of your items (usually cost around $50). That said, they do a pretty good job of dealing with this problem.
If you live in a complex that has management facilities, the complex goes one step further by having some little old dude helps organize things when people are too lazy. Sure, you get posted an extra fee per month, but hey, it's a little better for the environment.
The way they handle plastics is that you can separate bottles into a separate pile. Plastics (which are considered non-burnable) go into a separate bin. I think a lot of this ends up going to a landfill.
I take our family's plastic bottles/containers (water, soda, laundry detergent etc, etc, etc) to a local recycling collection site. I also take all newspaper, magazines, junkmail, paper, fiberboard (cereal boxes/soda twelve pack boxes and the like) and corrugated cardboard to the same place. I can put bottles and cans together but the paper/fiberboard and corrugated cardboard are separate; three separate types of recyclables. None goes in the trash. If I find one in a wastebasket I take it out but 99.9% of the time everyone is good at not throwing out their recyclables at our house.
Any recycleables at my place go straight into the recycle bin - here are trash is dividied into recycleables in a blue bin, trash in a second bin and plant/grass/leaf refuse in a third. They make it a rather easy affair here in N. California. For electronics refuse (old computers, disks, batteries, big screen TVs, etc.) I know they have collection days about twice every year. Furniture, though...that is a good one...I wouldn't really begin to guess what to do with that?
At our house, we TRY to recycle...honestly it doesn't always happen. We, too, have curbside recycling which makes it a no-brainer. I have a bunch of reusable bags in my trunk and try to grab one on the way into the grocery store. Just imagine if every person who goes to the grocery store TODAY, took ONE LESS plastic bag home with them. Now, imagine if everyone did that everyday!!! It's easier to think in baby steps than it is to think cold turkey. Consciencious decisions each step of the way, people!
Our household has recycled everything that can be recycled for years now. My husband is a firefighter, and all of our aluminum cans are collected along with other families in the area and we sell them. The entire amount made off selling the cans to an aluminum recycler is given to the Medical University of SC for their children's burn ward from the fire dept he works at.
Everyone should do some research and see if there is a similar program in there area. So far in the last 5 years, we've raised over $25,000.00 for the burn ward, it's not much, but with other programs around the state, it adds up quickly!
California is great about recycling. Our curbside collection includes cardboard, all paper, all plastic and all metal cans. We reuse plastic and paper bags as garbage bags. No toxic materials go into the regular trash, and that includes all old electronics including batteries and unused paint or cleansers. We can take them to a special toxic waste site for free or wait for the neighborhood collection that goes on a couple times a year. California also charges consumers an extra fee at the grocery store for drinks that come in recyclable containers. You get most of the fee back when you take the bottles back for redemption. I use the cash redemption for aluminum and plastic as an allowance and incentive for the kids to recycle. When we're away from home I carry empty bottles with me rather than throw them into the regular trash.
Something I don't do as diligently is volunteer for beach cleanups. It's amazing how much garbage you can find left lying around in the sand or floating up on the beach. It's actually a nice way to spend the day, hanging out with the kids while we see who can pick up the most garbage.
Thanks for sharing the video. It's frustrating and heart-breaking to see how much we are destroying our environment. I wish it were shown on regular tv as a commercial to get the message out to more people.
I live in a small town in Missouri, so recycling takes a little effort, but once you do it a couple of weeks, it's really no effort. I share the top floor of an apartment building with a LARGE front porch. I have set out 4 plastic storage bins from Wal-Mart with painted lids. We have paper, cans, plastic, and glass. Our neighbors use the bins as well. We have to take the bins to a drop off point in town, but again it's a simple thing to work into the routine. I felt guilty for drinking zero and low cal sports and electrolyte drinks before, but now that we take the bottles to be recycled, I feel better. Plus, I don't have to make nearly as many trips to the dumpster down stairs which is good, because the need to break open the bags and sort the trash down there has almost overcome me a time or two. I wish all the apartments would participate.
I not only take reusable grocery bags with me into the store, I rinse out, dry & bring back with me all the clear plastic bags you get in the produce aisle to sort your fruits & veggies. I do this until they get a big hole in them or are otherwise unusable.
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Member Comments
by keithyw on September 21, 2009 at 11:37 AM
What I'd like to know is what people are doing with stuff like their old decrepit furniture, old VHS tapes, etc. I think the problem about things here is that there's no easy way to dispose of items (at least none that I can tell). Worse yet, the existing services are too scattered or require some pick up, etc.
In Japan, although it's a big hassle for individuals, they force you to divide garbage up into four types: burnables, non-burnables, magazines/newspapers, and one other type (I can't recall what it is). They're pretty strict on that. Also, if you want to get rid of heavy items (e.g. furniture), you have to call and pay a company to dispose of your items (usually cost around $50). That said, they do a pretty good job of dealing with this problem.
If you live in a complex that has management facilities, the complex goes one step further by having some little old dude helps organize things when people are too lazy. Sure, you get posted an extra fee per month, but hey, it's a little better for the environment.
The way they handle plastics is that you can separate bottles into a separate pile. Plastics (which are considered non-burnable) go into a separate bin. I think a lot of this ends up going to a landfill.
by dbacksfanbrian on September 21, 2009 at 1:48 PM
I take our family's plastic bottles/containers (water, soda, laundry detergent etc, etc, etc) to a local recycling collection site. I also take all newspaper, magazines, junkmail, paper, fiberboard (cereal boxes/soda twelve pack boxes and the like) and corrugated cardboard to the same place. I can put bottles and cans together but the paper/fiberboard and corrugated cardboard are separate; three separate types of recyclables. None goes in the trash. If I find one in a wastebasket I take it out but 99.9% of the time everyone is good at not throwing out their recyclables at our house.
by LiveGu on September 21, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Any recycleables at my place go straight into the recycle bin - here are trash is dividied into recycleables in a blue bin, trash in a second bin and plant/grass/leaf refuse in a third. They make it a rather easy affair here in N. California. For electronics refuse (old computers, disks, batteries, big screen TVs, etc.) I know they have collection days about twice every year. Furniture, though...that is a good one...I wouldn't really begin to guess what to do with that?
by gretchen1325 on September 22, 2009 at 10:04 AM
At our house, we TRY to recycle...honestly it doesn't always happen. We, too, have curbside recycling which makes it a no-brainer. I have a bunch of reusable bags in my trunk and try to grab one on the way into the grocery store. Just imagine if every person who goes to the grocery store TODAY, took ONE LESS plastic bag home with them. Now, imagine if everyone did that everyday!!! It's easier to think in baby steps than it is to think cold turkey. Consciencious decisions each step of the way, people!
by senniss on September 22, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Our household has recycled everything that can be recycled for years now. My husband is a firefighter, and all of our aluminum cans are collected along with other families in the area and we sell them. The entire amount made off selling the cans to an aluminum recycler is given to the Medical University of SC for their children's burn ward from the fire dept he works at.
Everyone should do some research and see if there is a similar program in there area. So far in the last 5 years, we've raised over $25,000.00 for the burn ward, it's not much, but with other programs around the state, it adds up quickly!
by mchen on September 22, 2009 at 2:11 PM
California is great about recycling. Our curbside collection includes cardboard, all paper, all plastic and all metal cans. We reuse plastic and paper bags as garbage bags. No toxic materials go into the regular trash, and that includes all old electronics including batteries and unused paint or cleansers. We can take them to a special toxic waste site for free or wait for the neighborhood collection that goes on a couple times a year. California also charges consumers an extra fee at the grocery store for drinks that come in recyclable containers. You get most of the fee back when you take the bottles back for redemption. I use the cash redemption for aluminum and plastic as an allowance and incentive for the kids to recycle. When we're away from home I carry empty bottles with me rather than throw them into the regular trash.
Something I don't do as diligently is volunteer for beach cleanups. It's amazing how much garbage you can find left lying around in the sand or floating up on the beach. It's actually a nice way to spend the day, hanging out with the kids while we see who can pick up the most garbage.
Thanks for sharing the video. It's frustrating and heart-breaking to see how much we are destroying our environment. I wish it were shown on regular tv as a commercial to get the message out to more people.
by khkellum on September 23, 2009 at 8:37 AM
I live in a small town in Missouri, so recycling takes a little effort, but once you do it a couple of weeks, it's really no effort. I share the top floor of an apartment building with a LARGE front porch. I have set out 4 plastic storage bins from Wal-Mart with painted lids. We have paper, cans, plastic, and glass. Our neighbors use the bins as well. We have to take the bins to a drop off point in town, but again it's a simple thing to work into the routine. I felt guilty for drinking zero and low cal sports and electrolyte drinks before, but now that we take the bottles to be recycled, I feel better. Plus, I don't have to make nearly as many trips to the dumpster down stairs which is good, because the need to break open the bags and sort the trash down there has almost overcome me a time or two. I wish all the apartments would participate.
by bhankla on September 23, 2009 at 1:22 PM
What does eating vegetarian have to do with the environment?
by yangjen on September 28, 2009 at 9:40 PM
I not only take reusable grocery bags with me into the store, I rinse out, dry & bring back with me all the clear plastic bags you get in the produce aisle to sort your fruits & veggies. I do this until they get a big hole in them or are otherwise unusable.