Getting a Handle on Reusable Bags

Interesting article on Care2 recently that discussed what to do with your reusable bag once it becomes unusable, like when the handles tear off. In short, the author suggests sending your broken bag off to ChicoBags Company, which in turn has the bags cut into strips for rugs. It's a great suggestion, and definitely something to consider should that come to fruition for any of us, since recycling is always an excellent option.

I just have to wonder if, however, after all of these decades (centuries?) of using bags to carry things... isn't there a better way to make a handle so it won't break off so easily?

Gravity being what it is, I understand that the heavier the items you're carrying, the more stress it puts on the bag that is holding them (see, I learned something in physics class!). But just for that reason, I have to ponder whether or not we can develop either a better implement to help us carry things to and fro, or stronger handles so that they won't rip off of the bag so easily. In other words, if bag handles keep breaking, reusable bag or not, we're wasting a lot of resources in this defective design.

Despite my in-depth knowledge of physics (!), I'm not savvy enough to develop a new design to make it easier to carry things from point A to point B. It's just not my bag, baby. That's why I ask all of those physicists out there to unite and develop a better bag handle to help the world out. You'll be doing the world a lot of good!

What if...

What if... every child was required to visit a sewage treatment plant, a mine shaft, a landfill, and a slaughterhouse?

Pretty gruesome, yes, but that's the whole point!

Unfortunately I think most Americans are so far removed from the processes that make our lives comfortable that people just take things for granted without thinking of the consequences of their actions.

It's easy to toss a plastic soda bottle in the trash can, rather than recycling it, because it just gets sent off on a garbage truck and you don't have to worry about it anymore. It's just gone, move on to other things in your life, right? But set your eyes, ears, and nose on a 100 acre landfill, and you'll quickly see that everything that gets tossed has to go somewhere, not just magically vanish into thin air.

I certainly can't sit here and say that I'm a perfect saint when it comes to sustainability, but I think by actively taking notice of what I do and how it affects my surroundings puts me way ahead of most people in this country, and perhaps this world. We are all lucky to have what we have and I'm proud of the fact that I live during the most advanced time in history, but at the same time, I realize that there's a long way to go in order for us to live at peace with our world. Hopefully it's not too late, but what if... it is too late???

How to Feel Good about Toilet Paper

Normally, toilet paper is not something that the average Joe Consumer thinks about on a daily basis. But I found a way to actually feel good about the humble TP roll:

By buying recycled.

All these years I've bought brands like Procter and Gamble's Charmin for use in the bathroom. But on a whim, I bought recycled toilet paper from Trader Joe's and I actually kinda feel good about myself. Granted, the Charmin TP has a better texture to it, and it may be cheaper (I'm not sure), but at what cost am I harming the environment so I can have a luxury tissue take care of you know what. Scary to think about how many trees are chopped down to produce something that has a useful existence of about 5 seconds.

The advantages of buying recycled toilet paper are many, including:

-Saving trees
-Minimizing or eliminating bleach from the production process, since bleach is a harsh chemical
-Minimizing or eliminating mercury, which is a by-product in some toilet paper production processes
-Giving good reason for people to recycle... since townships often actually make money on recycling, there's an added incentive to recycle more in order to give back to municipalities (well, that's my theory at least)
-And even the packaging on Trader Joe's (and perhaps other brands) is biodegradable in 18 months (or so it says on the plastic)

Once again, we need to stop thinking like we live in a disposable world since what we've been doing has just been dragging us into a dangerous spiral economically, environmentally, and socially. Time to think differently, from our head down to our feet, and other stopovers in between.

I suggest for anybody interested in purchasing recycled toilet paper, to check out this informative NRDC page, which gives an insightful comparison of various brands.

Thanks for your time and happy wiping! (C'mon, I have a picture of a toilet plunger on this blog for Pete's sakes... you didn't actually expect me to leave without some sort of bathroom humor, did you?)

Simple Things... So Hard to Do

Sometimes people really irk me.

Recently I was sitting at my dining room table eating breakfast when I happened to see a neighbor walking outside carrying a cardboard box. She proceeded to walk and carry it to the trash dumpster in front of her house.

Okay, simple task, no big deal.

But, the morning she did this also happened to be the morning when recycling items were getting picked up. And for those of you wondering... yes, my township (Evesham) does pick up cardboard boxes as part of its bi-weekly recycling program.

This really irked me because it's typical of all too many people who simply take it for granted that we have things pretty good, and that we don't have to really worry about where our trash goes on a daily basis. We just chuck it and forget about it.

The thing is that recycling is probably THE EASIEST possible thing that people can do to make a positive impact on the environment. You don't even have to think about it most of the time, just take your cans, plastic bottles, paper, etc, put it in a separate bin from your trash can and take it out every so often. It's really mind-boggling that people are so stubborn to NOT recycle, especially when it benefits everybody when it's done.

Interestingly, our neighboring township Cherry Hill has reported tremendous success with its RecycleBank program where households earn points for recycling that can be redeemed for gift cards and the like. Previously, the recycling rates in Cherry Hill had been good, but are now quite astounding. In other words, people will only do something that truly benefits society if it benefits them directly. Pretty sad, folks.

While I don't disagree that the RecycleBank program is a wise one, I would just be so much happier if people could just conjure up that slight increase of energy and time to be able to do the right thing in the first place, and recycle on their own.

But that would be too simple I suppose...

Special Thanks to UncommonGoods.com

Someway, somehow my sweet significant other stumbled upon the website UncommonGoods.com. It turns out it's been one of the best finds on the internet to date.

This site sells lots of unique, original, dare I say uncommon gifts, gear, and dare I say goods. But coolest of all, in my book, is the variety of recycled stuff they sell.

For example, for our wedding, we registered for some wedding gifts on their registry. Just today, my cousin and her hubby sent us two recycled and flattened glass bottles that can be used as serving dishes. Fun stuff!

All in all, I'm glad to see a site that got someone who previously was lukewarm to recycling fired up about what recycling is all about-- giving old stuff new life.

(Note: this is not a paid endorsement nor is it a recycled blog post.)