Paper or Plastic?

Given that Earth Day was last week, I've been thinking a bit about my ecological footprint. I read somewhere that North America is responsible for half of the world’s garbage. Makes you proud, doesn’t it? I like to think I'm environmentally responsible, but I could certainly do a lot better. I mean, I don't turn off the water in the shower while I'm lathering up or while I'm brushing my teeth. I actually own reusable bins and cloth grocery bags, but I never remember to bring them with me. I keep saving the plastic grocery bags with the intention of recycling them, but I always forget them at home and they're mounting into a giant pile that threatens to take over the pantry. I do not compost leftover food. The list goes on...

I feel like a bit of a impostor actually, when it comes to this topic. I peruse the aisles of stores looking for safer, more environmentally friendly versions of my favorite products, then I fling them in plastic bags, jump in my gas guzzling SUV and drive off to my over-sized house in suburbia, where I undoubtedly left too many lights on. I remember many times at Wild Oats, before bagging my goods, they’d ask the dreaded question - paper or plastic? “um…GULP…plastic??” I’d squeak out sheepishly. I figured I was doing my own brand of recycling if I reused the bag to pick up dog poop or to double bag stinky trash before depositing it in the can. That counts, right? To recycle or not to recycle – has long been a question at our house. I love the idea of recycling. I just wish it was easier. Canada is fairly “green” (a bit more so than the U.S. in my opinion) so I figured they must have a better recycling system. Many of the stores charge for plastic bags (donating the fee to conservation causes) in an effort to discourage you from using too many bags. They all sell fabric grocery bags that can be reused. I know, they have them in the U.S. too, but I actually see people using them here. A lot of people. The toilets at our gym have duel flushing systems to conserve water. They even charge recycling fees at grocery and liqueur stores for any item that can be recycled. I started to notice on my receipts an extra $.05 charge on my orange juice. I was told if I recycled the bottle, I could get the $.05 back. Hmmm…maybe I’ll give this a try. Imagine my disappointment to discover their system wasn’t any more convenient than the one we had in the states. There is no “service” per se, so you’re still stuck rinsing/collecting/sorting all the containers, loading them in your car and hauling them around, in search of a place to deposit them, only to find once you've arrived, an unidentifiable, smelly liquid has leaked into the back of your car in route. There is one place that takes newspapers, plastic containers, cardboard and old electronics. You have to drive your aluminum cans and glass to another location entirely. One has to wonder if it is worth burning the extra fuel it takes to drop them all off.

All that said, I'm thinking there are probably still some things I could do to clean up my act and I'm really going to try. Even the little things can make a difference. Just think how many trees I saved by typing this blog instead of writing you a letter!