I have lived in Europe on two occasions now — for five months in the Netherlands (two years ago) and for ten months in Poland (currently). I have been green-minded since I was a young child, and knew that Europe did better on many green issues. Nonetheless, to come here and live here has given me more insight on the perspectives of the people and more of a practical understanding of why Europe fairs so much better than the US on many environmental issues.
Recently, I came up with a list of seven things that really stand out to me as good environmental practices in Europe that could be transferred to the US. These could all be adopted in the US, but some are more personal in nature and some are more systematic. Furthermore, some of the personal ones regard large, life decisions, and some are much simpler in nature and easier to implement into your life now.
Of course, Europe is not one country and things vary from country to country. Nonetheless, there are also several similarities across borders. I have friends in other countries and have traveled a bit as well, so I hope to be sharing the best of the best.
Got a collection of reusable shopping bags? Same here… but I’ll freely admit that sometimes I forget them, or decide to stop to pick things up when I don’t have them with me. You’re probably in the same boat: despite your best efforts to reduce your use of plastic shopping bags, you’ve still got a stash of them somewhere…
So what do you do with them? You definitely want to keep them out of the waste stream, so obvious uses, like lining trash cans or otherwise using them for waste disposal, aren’t the best choices. You’ve got other options, though… and, as you’ll see, your choices for responsible disposal are expanding.
How to Reuse Plastic Bags
If you’re not going to pick up the dog poop with them, or line the bathroom trash can, how can you put those plastic bags to (re)use? Turns out there are quite a few upcycling options…
Make a sweater… or a scarf: You crafty types can turn those bags into yarn… and then knit, crochet or weave with it.
Fuse them into “cloth”: Got an iron and some old paper? You can make cloth-like crafting material out of your bags, also.
Protect and store food: Making a trip to the farmer’s market? Put a few of those plastic bags inside your reusable one to separate and protect the food you buy. You can also use them for storage once you get your produce and baked goods home.
Despite her recent gaffe with factory-farmed chicken and KFC, Oprah is great for one thing: bringing otherwise overlooked news to the masses. Sure, you and I might know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and wring our hands over the fish and birds that consume the nodules of plastic, but I’m sure that the average American does not.
That’s why I was pleased to hear that Oprah brought up the matter on her Earth Day episode.
A recent study by Whole Foods Market estimates that reusable bag usage has increased by 300% in the year since it eliminated plastic bags at all of its stores. The company estimated that 150 million bags have been kept out of landfills over the twelve month period.
Whole Foods Market made the announcement last year that they would stop using plastic bags company-wide starting on Earth Day 2008. Since this announcement, public sentiment has been moving in the direction of eventual elimination of plastic bags at all grocery and retail stores, and municipalities (including the city of San Francisco) have begun outlawing or taxing plastic bag usage within city limits.
Schlumpy? Huh? Schlumpy’s an 8-foot plastic bag ball touring the country to build awareness of the 100 billion plastic shopping bags Americans use each year. That’s right… billion!
Yesterday I posted here about plastic bag fees and bans being frozen in — or before reaching — legislatures. Supposedly that’s due to economics, though reality seems to be more connected to politics. That, coupled with a post here by Low Impact Living about the green benefits of the stimulus plan signed by President Obama recently, got me thinking about a potential solution to our financial woes.
Maybe we don’t need to argue along partisan lines about small versus big government, or about a trillion-dollar stimulus plan versus whatever it is the Republicans think President Obama should be doing. Maybe instead of tax credits and billionaire bailouts, we need to impose a fresh idea of corporate social responsbility: cost-of-living increases + merit salary increases.
A proposal in Colorado to ban the use of plastic bags in supermarkets passed its first legislative hurdle as the the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee voted 4-3 to back the measure.
Some time in the sparkling green future, all of our holiday celebrations will be zero waste. But that will be then, and this is now. For a lot of us, the post-holiday hangover still means trash, and plenty of it.
But wait! With a little in-house preemptive dumpster diving, you can save some pretty good stuff from the scrap heap. If you have an extra shelf or drawer, or a corner in your closet where you can stash the goodies away until they’re needed, here’s where you can save the big bucks:
As if you need more reasons to ditch single-use plastic bags, today marks Heal the Bay’s second “Day Without a Bag” in Los Angeles County. The environmental organization is supporting the cause by handing out free reusable shopping bags at locations county-wide.
If you remember, in July the LA City Council announced an all-out ban on the ubiquitous plastic bags, which will take effect in 2010. In LA County, large grocers were threatened with a ban unless they reduced the number of the bags used by 30% by 2010 and by 65% by 2013. Of course, the companies that make plastic bags are fighting the measures, putting forth the argument that stores and consumers will use paper bags instead, which they claim are worse for the environment. I guess that they have missed this whole reusable bag movement, huh?
Just as I never buy paper napkins and yet I always seem to have some, I never buy sandwich bags and yet…I always seem to have some. My daughter brings one home with a treat from the class birthday party. Her friend brings one over with a snack to share during their playdate. I buy some dried spearmint to make spearmint tea, and the shopkeeper measures it out into a tiny little sandwich bag.
And I’m sorry, friends–I just cannot wash these things out and reuse them. Ever since I was pregnant with Willow, my gag reflex has just been on a hair trigger. Know what I can do, though? Heat them up, make them pretty, and throw them on the Christmas tree. It’s like this fusing plastic bags project, only with glitter! Don’t believe me? Watch and see.
Can you shop at any large retailer today without seeing a display of reusable shopping bags for sale at the checkout aisle? Seems like a good thing, right? Buy a cloth tote and prevent a lot of one-use plastic bags from entering the landfills.
But the thought occurred to me recently that it might not be a good thing if lots and lots of people are buying reusable bags but not reusing them. Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s started worrying about that.
Just as I never buy paper napkins and yet I always seem to have some, I never buy sandwich bags and yet…I always seem to have some. My daughter brings one home with a treat from the class birthday party. Her friend brings one over with a snack to share during their playdate. I buy some dried spearmint to make spearmint tea, and the shopkeeper measures it out into a tiny little sandwich bag.
