Do you go the extra steps to recycle or up-cycle to help the state of the world?

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   suzzycueposted 11 years ago

   Do you go the extra steps to recycle or up-cycle to help the state of the world?
   
   Do you use cloth diapers and cloth napkins? Maybe a small step to save the world but every little bit helps. Tell me how you changed your habits to love our planet.

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   Ericdierkerposted 11 years ago

   Interesting but in the desert, conservation is focused on water. Like what it takes to clean diapers and linens.
   Interesting is it not?

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Very interesting point. Thank you Ericdierker.

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   junksellerposted 11 years ago

   I've given up hope that small steps make any bit of difference at all. The reality of our country (America) and much of the world is that it is built on very inefficient fossil fuel systems. Our cities are sprawled out and focused on personal automobiles that use combustion engines; our energy systems are wasteful, dumb, massive grid systems; our food systems are incredibly resource intensive--pesticides, machinery, irrigation, fertilizers, etc.--all of which again comes down to fossil fuel use; our economy is dependent upon consumption which too often favors crappy, have-to-replace-all-the-time products, along with titillating advertising which drives us to must-have products that usually aren't. Even something which sounds good, like cloth diapers, are usually washed using water that was purified at a plant, shipped a long distance, and then will be dumped back into a sewer and transported back to the treatment plant. Is it better than disposable? Ya, probably, but tinkering around on the margins without actually fundamentally changing systems is irrelevant, in my opinion.
   
   Take recycling as another option? Good or bad? Well, it's irrelevant. Recycling is simply another form of mining (It just mines the waste stream rather than mountains), but it only has a minimal or nonexistent impact on the overall system of consumption.
   
   I still do small things but only because it seems better than doing nothing--recycling, CFL bulbs, turning out lights--but what really needs to happen is fundamentally altering all of our major systems. Starting with converting them all to run off of the sun. Cities need to be converted into compact mass transit cities. Food, energy, and water systems need to be made sustainable, local, and smart. Capitalism needs to be shot dead. Nobody, in America anyway, is really talking about any of this stuff. A few micro-projects but that's about it.

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Junkseller thank you for taking the time to really tell it like it is. Yes I agree recycling needs to be done on a bigger scale by cities but I still believe if we all do our share  than it will help.

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      rharperposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Strange.  When I go into a big box store like Wal-Mart I see the products made of plastic that I made available for reuse. I'm talking mountains of plastic product companies begging someone to find a way to get rid of.  Of course it's dirty.

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   duffsmomposted 11 years ago

   No, I am not proud to say that I am not recycling. It is so overwhelming and I have to say that Ericdierker has a good point.  More water used to cloth diapers and napkins and also the energy it take to produce electricity for electric cars.  It's always something.
   
   I have to admit I rarely leave the house so my gasoline consumption is way way down.

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you duffsmom. Even not using your car does help conserve . I have been riding my bike for thirteen years.

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5. 61

   Tonyx35posted 11 years ago

   My neighborhood has a recycling program that is picked up along with regular waste. So I'm able to go ahead and recycle Paper, Plastic, Aluminium cans, Glass jars, cardboard boxes.  They recently gave us bigger containers. Came in really handy after Christmas (gift boxes/packaging).
   
   I still ask for plastic bags when food shopping, since I use it as a liner for my small trash cans/bins around the home. I will admit that I use a lot of Paper towels and napkins. Go to fast food/takeout places and they pre-pack napkins in there and Lots of surfaces to wipe down here at home.
   
   I  switched over to CFL light bulbs in some rooms, they don't really last as long as advertised. Have to replace them every six-nine months. Try where I can, but some old habits are difficult to break.

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your answer Tony. My neighborhood has all the same recycling habits as yours. Just think of the piles of garbage going to the trash dumps if we didn't recycle every day. Also recycling has created jobs that we desperately need.

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   livelifeworryfreeposted 11 years ago

   No I do not do it to save the world, although I know my contribution counts.  I do it because it's the right thing to do.  It also teaches my kids that items are valuable and although we may not need it any longer it can be used for other things.  This is important because recycling inspires innovation and forward thinking.  One might see a can and ask, "I wonder if this can would work as x?"  When X is created somebody's life is better off because someone save a can and used it to create X and X made somebody happier, live better, more efficient, etc.

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Awesome. I agree livelifeworryfree. I make lots of art from found objects and people do love my tin can frame hanging in my living room. Believe it or not it is the focal point of the room. Thank you for your answer.

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   Juliehauxposted 11 years ago

   My father was a soil conservationist, and taught us early on to leave a place better than we found it, whether it be a camping spot, a park, or even our own back yard.  it became a very ingrained habit to pick up other peoples' litter as well as my own.  We can only recycle paper and plastic here where I live, but I loved it in CA because we could recycle glass as well.  Even so, we put more in our recycling bin that in our regular garbage containers.  We compost our wet waste, but are not as diligent when it's snowy and frozen outside.

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Good inspiration to recycle Juliehaux. That is how some people walking around the river in my hometown get more exercise by picking up the trash left at the river. I love these people. Great lesson by your father.

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   MisterShivesposted 11 years ago

   I take a lot of extra steps to reuse things in any way possible to reduce the amount of trash and recycling that my family produces.

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      suzzycueposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Right on MisterShives. We need more people like you. Thank you to everyone for these great answers.

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   rharperposted 9 years ago

   I push back against companies that make electronics that are not reusable.  If a corporation uses a chip and/or restrictive software to prevent reuse I actively discourage people from buying that product from that company.
   
   A side note:  At one time Walgreens use to refill ink cartridges.  Then they stopped. 
   
   Why?  I asked myself the same question.
   
   Here's why.  Companies started using sensors that short out when the ink runs out.  That made the ink cartridge unusable.  That's not right!

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