The Recyclist: 8 teeny-tiny ways to reduce, reuse and recycle

I really admire the gung-ho green types. The ones who install a solar roof. Or rip up the  lawn and plant cactus. Or refuse to order takeout because of the Styrofoam. And by "admire" I mean, "I admire you but I know I'm never going to do that in a million years."

I'm taking the opposite tack as I try to reduce the amount of waste I produce. I'm going small.

Here are eight really teeny, tiny ways that I've stepped up my green game without spending a dime.

1. Everyone owns a commuter mug, right? Well, I realized that I actually need to use it. I usually drink coffee at home in the morning. But once or twice a week I find myself pulling into a java joint. Solution: I leave a commuter mug in the car.


2. Sure, I recycle in the kitchen. But until recently, I largely ignored the rest of the house. Like the bathroom. And the backyard and garage. Now, cardboard toilet paper holders, empty shampoo bottles and laundry detergent containers all go into recycling.


3. I now reuse my recycling bags. All paper waste -- newspapers, magazines, junk mail -- goes into a brown paper bag. When it's full I dump the contents of the bag into the bin -- and then reuse the bag until the danged handles come off. Non-paper items get rinsed before they go into my bag-lined recycling can. That keeps the liner pretty clean so it gets reused a few times as well. (Eventually, though, it gets yucky and has to go.)


4. You know all those takeout napkins stuffed into the kitchen junk drawer? I now station them in front of the paper towel holder. Instead of reaching for paper towels for messy jobs, I put those excess napkins to use.


5. Speaking of napkins: They usually pile up alongside plastic silverware and sticky, unused packets of soy sauce, chili sauce and honey that I know I'm going to throw out but I still keep them because one never can predict a soy sauce emergency.... Ugh. Now, when I order takeout, I ask them to hold the soy/chili/honey.  And, since I don't mind being one of those people, I poke my head in the bag to check. If it's in there, I just take it out and leave it behind. Politely.


6. I've gussied up my work station. I've got a cloth napkin, coffee mug, drinking glass, and stainless flatware at my desk.


7. I wish my life were paperless. It is so far from paperless. I'm trying to make up for it by reusing press releases, junk mail, Google maps. They now go back into the printer so I can print on the unused side. Or once I have a small stack I staple them together. Instant notebook.


8. I forget to bring my cloth bags into the supermarket 97% of the time. So, I have two recovery tactics. First,  I crumple up one or two plastic grocery sacks and shove them in the bottom of my purse. Assuming I do not forget that -- it happens -- I'm good to go for a modest shopping trip.  Second, if I have more buys than bag, I put my groceries into the cart sans bag and then pack them into the cloth bags when I get to my trunk.

But I want to know: What are your tips?

-- Rene Lynch

On Twitter @renelynch

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Photo: Hey, here's an idea for myself: Actually use the commuter mug. Credit: Robin Rauzi

Comments

[Joy, Sacramento, CA]

These are all good suggestions, and painless enough that everybody should be practicing them. When you mentioned paper towels, though, I realized you had left out one more idea. Remember rags? Our parents and grandparents used them all the time. Old tee-shirts, old cut-up towels, etc. When they are dirty, they go into the wash and are used again. They do a better job of dusting and cleaning, don't fall apart. I serge the edges with my serger sewing machine, so they have neat edges. Since I started using rags, a single roll of paper towels now lasts a very long time in my house.

[Boraxo]

Ahh but don't forget the cost of washing those rags, both in terms of energy consumption and water consumption.

[kathleen]

I keep the shopping bags in the vehicle but often forget them sooo ,
I make myself walk back because I am mostly an exercise slacker .

Also use minimal paper towels . The cellulose sponges unfortunately can take a long time to try and end up smelling funky so I started using the dollar store synthetic ones ( large , often called painters sponges ) because they dry fast , don't smell and can be trimmed with basic scissors for smaller kitchen jobs .

I was grossed out many years ago by most human garbage loads so I've recycled nearly everything the recycling companies will take .
My actual garbage amounts to less than a common kitchen 13 gal bag a week .

[kathleen]

I keep the shopping bags in the vehicle but often forget them sooo ,
I make myself walk back because I am mostly an exercise slacker .

Also use minimal paper towels . The cellulose sponges unfortunately can take a long time to try and end up smelling funky so I started using the dollar store synthetic ones ( large , often called painters sponges ) because they dry fast , don't smell and can be trimmed with basic scissors for smaller kitchen jobs .

I was grossed out many years ago by most human garbage loads so I've recycled nearly everything the recycling companies will take .
My actual garbage amounts to less than a common kitchen 13 gal bag a week .

[zeldap]

The website www.re-nest.com gave me some of the best, easiest ideas I use.

[Eleanor Ruby Moon]

I go one better than you, Rene. I do not buy paper towels or tissues AT all. I use linen teatowels, dishcloths and handkerchiefs, which are all laundered in the regular laundry so there is no additional resource use. Paper towels are an appalling waste of resources. They are literally UNNECESSARY in a household.

I would have my toilet paper dry-cleaned but there has to be a limit, I'm sure you agree.

[Chris Carney]

Having lived through a bad drought several years ago, I'm very conscious about water conservation. When washing my hands, I just turn on the water when I'm using it to soap up, turn it off as I scrub my hands, then on again to rinse.

[Amanda, Long Beach]

I'm good about not wasting at home but it's easy to forget about what you can do at work, too. We recently started reusing paper when we print. A note taped to the printer that tells us which way to insert the used paper is a helpful reminder. I brought a commuter mug to work for those impulsive trips to the coffee shop next door. I'm still using paper towels as napkins so next on my list is buying small towels to use instead. We don't have recycling at our office but all of us take recycling home. It's an extra step but it's worth it when you think about all the paper that offices produce.

[Andrea]

I bring my own glass jars to the grocery store for things like self-ground peanut butter, and bulk items. All you have to do is have them weigh the jar before you fill it up so they know the tare weight.

[Andrew]

It's not just about recycling, it's also about using less of everything or until something becomes totally unusable. Don't get a new TV or appliances, including cell phones until your old one truly dies. Don't use that clothes drier, air dry instead (which you can do inside the house with a simple fan to help dry faster). Don't buy that new car until yours is an old wreck. It'll take all of us, not just one or two here and there.

[julie]

I've lived in apartments for decades. I now have a kitchen composter (a mechanical Naturemill composter, which I found on craigslist -- actually, it's my second one. The first one was free on craigslist, and paid for the second one from craigslist; it's an upgrade. They use the power of something like a light bulb), but before I got the composters, I separated my food garbage and left in in large plastic bags in the freezer. When they got full, I'd take them to a garden, either a community garden or a friend's, and put it in the composter there.

[Chuck]

Use http://www.catalogchoice.org to stop unwanted mail. Read all the testimonials here: http://www.facebook.com/catalogchoice.

[Whatever]

I have tons of washcloths under/near every sink and that's what we use instead of paper towels. I buy good ones, they last a long time. Considering water/energy bills vs. throwing paper towels, I think the reusable rags win.
I use Freecycle to get rid of stuff, from a live pine tree through cardboard boxes to furniture.
I donate clothes/books etc. to the Goodwill.
We use the compost pile for kitchen and yard scraps. We sometimes add shredded paper.
I rarely print anything, especially not at work. Keep documents in soft copies.
I keep a handy small cloth shopping bag in my purse and use it.
I reuse glass jars to keep beans, lentils, home made salad dressing etc.
The guy who refinished my wood floor told me to use water with a little vinegar (which I keep in a reused spray bottle) to clean the floor.

[Whatever]

Shopping farmers markets means fresher produce that lasts longer, and less trash.

[Edmund]

My sister is the really good "Green" human. She composts, recycles, re-uses and is a member in very good standing of the "Water Police". (She's also forest service!, and very involved).
So, to please her (and sooth my concience) I :
1. take 5 minute showers, and turn the water off when I can; toothbrushing, dishwashing in a full sink of soapy water and dishes, shred my correspondance so that I can recycle it; and my total trash output is small enough that I can literally only put the cans out every other week; there's no point...

But, there is always more to do. In Germany, they recycle all batteries; from AAA to D cell and beyond, at the factories there is a special bin... They have public transit -- sadly abysmally lacking in Los Angeles; and there energy footprint (NO SUVs) is signicantly smaller.

But, I read reports that the next generation may be less involved; and I hope not. We screwed up the planet, time to own up and fix it.
But there is hope...

[sisfoft]

Remember handkerchiefs? I am appalled at the amount of facial tissue we use. We Americans are huge users of paper products.

[sue-meng lau]

Good article Rene.
My tiny tips are:
1. compost, compost, compost!
2. throw coffee grinds and tea bags straight to my outdoor plants - my rosemary bush loves it.
3. no paper towels, use a sponge instead. microwave the sponge to sterilize it.
4. re-use all grocery plastic and plastic bags for garbage. there is no need to buy special bags for garbage.
5. use cloth napkins for all meals; even when you have big parties. ditch wasteful paper napkins.
6. wash and re-use zip locks bags, when storing non-greasy food.
7. wear a sweater or buy a mattress heating pad - keep that thermostat low
8. use a nalgene bottle - do not buy bottle water; its so stupid wasteful.
9. when buying in bulk i.e at Whole Foods, bring your own zip locks bags and stock up on oatmeal, brown rice, almonds, etc. and you don't need to transfer then again when you get home. Plus, I think they give you like 5cents back per order.
Okay, I can't think of anymore.

[Snoozer]

Snaps to all who are conserve because it's just plain common sense and not just PC vogue! Bath&Body:
Besides shutting off the faucet while soaping up, collect the "excess" as it runs, into 1-2 buckets that always remain in the shower stall. It's appalling how fast that water reaches the rim - my goal is to fill only 1 Small size bucket. Just yesterday someone told me they shower while standing in a large shallow rectangular container to collect their garden/plants' water(two dishwashing bins or a large kitty litter tray, uh, preferably with no prior feline usage, would work too). Turn the faucet to 50% pressure instead of your usual vigorous flow, and you'll still collect plenty of bucket water for your plants.
And for women, consider a haircut - the longer your hair, the more water it takes to wash and rinse it. If your hair can be pulled into a ponytail at least 10 inches long, you can Recycle that too by donating it to Locks for Love, which makes wigs for cancer patients who have lost their own hair.

[Van]

Rene, the bottle caps of plastic bottles are indeed recyclable. In fact every thing on the bottle can be reused according to the PBS program "Curiosity Quest Goes Green." Joel Greene, the host, visited Global Plastics and was told nothing goes to waste. Here's the link for a preview of the show.

http://curiosityquest.org/cqgoesgreen_plasticbottlesrecycled.html

[Susan R.]

- You can also keep a clean container or two in your car for those times when you DO want to get take-out. Use your reuseable containers instead of their styrofoam, etc. I've checked with the LA Board of Health, and it IS permissible.
- Also re takeout, if you're going right home, don't accept the plastic ware or napkins AT ALL. You're going home, so presumably you have silverware there.
HTH.

[Christine]

Our household composts including newspaper and napkins. We have a drought-tolerant yard. My husband beekeeps and I started canning. We grow vegetables and fruit and buy a lot of bulk food that is stored in glass jars. Simple household cleaning products are made with vinegar, soap, and baking soda. Besides bringing our own grocery bags to stores, I also reuse those mesh nylon bags for produce (the ones that citrus or onions are commonly packaged in).