Figuring out waste

Before I climb onto a soapbox today - I'd like to make a little comment about my last post. My original intent while writing the post was to help myself keep track of what changes I have made - not to give myself a big pat on the back, but to remind myself that my efforts, while small, can add up to make a difference. I tend to get overwhelmed by all of the things that I am NOT doing and I get really down. Seriously, I can get really kooky. I can lay awake at night and feel bad because there are children in Malawi (and all over the world) who cannot remember their last meal and I spent $5 on a drive-thru meal this afternoon because I couldn't wait 20 minutes until I would be home and could make a simple sandwich. Do you know what five-well-spent-dollars could do for a truly hungry person? It's really sickening. And I take so much for granted, you know? I also wanted to show anyone who might read that post that little changes are not difficult to make. In fact, all of our changes so far have been super easy and totally painless. And all of our changes have been really small. I am hoping to make some bigger ones soon, but more on that at a later date. Anyway, I'll move on now.

I thought it might be worthwhile to post about how we think about waste. I've been thinking a lot about it ever since I came across suggestions for reuseable dryer sheets a couple of months back. My initial reaction to reusable dryer sheets was that these very tiny things could not possibly be taking up large amounts of landfill space. I mean, seriously, wad one up in your hand - they get really small. But then, for some reason, I started thinking about how the little buggers are manufactured. I conjured up an image of a giant factory with plumes of black smoke rising into the sky. Whether this image is entirely accurate I don't know, but it is probably pretty close. And what powers this giant factory, anyway? Fields of solar arrays and wind turbines? Right. Then, once they are packaged up (in boxes made in another giant factory), they are put on trucks to be driven all over the country so they can end up on the shelves of your nearest big box. So, even though the dryer sheets themselves are small, eliminating the need for them can have a big impact.



So, I've started to think about all of the products we buy and use in this "new" way. Ask yourself some questions:

1. How does this product contribute to my family's garbage output?

2. How does the manufacture/transport of this product line up with my morals and principles?

3. What kind of waste materials are produced during the manufacture/transport of this product?

4. Is there a way for me to replace this product with something similar, or even superior, with something I can make (and reuse)? Or is it possible for me just to do without this product altogether? (I struggle with this one.) OR is there a person out there offering a sustainable alternative to this product? Check out http://www.etsy.com/ - you will be amazed at everything offered there and you will be supporting the "hand-made" movement!

5. Is there a previously-owned version of this product available? I love Craig's list. Last week I bought a practically-new bread machine for $20 from a woman who lives about a mile away. WOW! Since our family "exploded" on March 2nd when we welcomed three more kiddos, we have been seriously mowing through bread. Now I can make bread for about 1/2 the cost per loaf, I know exactly what goes in it, it takes about 5 minutes to throw everything in the machine, and it uses less electricity to bake a loaf than my oven would. We may be eating twice as much of it now though, because it is definitely twice as delicious!

Just some ideas. A lot of "green" products can be quite a bit more expensive than the traditional alternatives. But a lot of "green" products are really only "greenwashed." That is when the marketing gurus tap into the national trend toward greening up and change their marketing strategy instead of substantially changing their products or the way their company conducts business. Ironically, truly greening up your lifestyle can save you money! Instead of buying "green" papertowels, rip up old baby blankets or t-shirts and you will never have to spend money on papertowels again! Get green and save green all at the same time!
TTFN,
Brooke