After more than 30 years of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) Americans still create 4.5 pounds of trash per day per person, of which only 1.5 pounds are actually recycled.

The concept of zero waste could change this. Seventh Generation’s Non-Toxic Times Newsletter describes zero waste as

a system in which we never throw anything away. In a zero waste world, whenever any product is used or consumed, whatever is left over afterwards becomes the raw material for something new. Zero waste is a regenerative system, one that mimics the closed-loop systems used by nature in which all waste becomes food for other things.

Zero waste would mean the manufacturer would have to take back anything that the consumer could not recycle on their own at the end of the product’s life. Companies like Nike, Unilever and Stonyfield Farms are already giving their product waste a new life as running tracks, toothbrushes and park benches.

For this system to work, we all need to make it a point to buy products made from recycled material. “Close the recycling loop” is one of the many great tips you can read in the Non-Toxic Times to help you in your transition to zero waste.

Go Zero Plant-a-Tree Charitable Contribution & Certificate  

How do you reply when the clerk asks, “Paper or plastic?” Reusablebags.com has the answer.

The answer to the “paper or plastic?” dilemma is: Neither. They’re roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution

The statistics are endless…

• Americans use over 14 billion plastic bags every year, the equivalent to 12 million barrels of oil.
• Plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
• Even paper bags do not completely degrade in landfills because of the lack of water, light and air circulation.
• Paper bags generate 70% more air pollution and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
• Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die each year because they mistake littered plastic bags for food.

What can you do to reduce the waste?

• Just say ‘no’ to the bag. Do you really need a bag to carry 2 or 3 items? Put them in your purse or backpack.
• Bring your own bag. Keep it in the car for last minute purchases on your way home from work. If you don’t already own a canvas tote or other reusable bag, invest in some today.
• Suggest to the manager of your favorite store to offer a rebate when you bring your own bag.
• Pick up litter. When you see a littered bag, pick it up and recycle it appropriately.

Old habits are hard to break. Take it one day at a time, one bag at a time.

Buy a Reuseable Shopping Bag.

You may think, like I once did, that if there is a number inside the recycling symbol it means it can be recycled. Wrong! Only plastics labeled one or two can be recycled with your usual curbside pickup.

Plastics labeled #1 are PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). This includes narrow neck plastic bottles like soda bottles. This type of plastic is likely to be recycled only once to make carpet, fiberfill or shopping bags. There is only a small chance that your soda bottle will ever be soda bottle again.

#2 is HDPE (high density polyethylene). This includes milk jugs, laundry detergent and shampoo bottles. Clear HDPE can be made into new bottles. Colored HDPE is recycled into plastic lumber materials.

Plastic shopping bags are made from LDPE (low density polyethylene) and are labeled #4. They are not picked up with your curbside recycling, but I have found that my local grocery store and some department stores accept them and send them to be recycled. They can be made into new bags or plastic lumber.

If you want to know more about the other types of plastic that we should all be avoiding, valcorerecycling.org has great information.

If you have a favorite product that is packaged in a type of plastic that is not recyclable, contact the manufacturer to voice your concerns. You may want to threaten to take your business elsewhere until they become more environmentally friendly.