You’re an enthusiastic steward of the environment, right? You bring your own grocery bags, and you would never put plastic bags or plastic wrap in your curbside recycling. You know that block styrofoam does NOT go in recycling and know how to dispose of expired medications and old paint safely. Are you ready to deepen your impact, take it a step further? As one who holds a degree in Environmental Studies and works at Metro’s Recycling information line (503-234-3000), I encourage you to give the following a try:
Turbo charge your recycling. Get to know and love Far West Recycling (farwestrecycling.com). You can drop stuff off at the curb that is not recyclable—from old tennis shoes to (washed) plastic take-out clamshell boxes to that dusty old VCR in the basement. I keep a bin in the garage and go to FWR every other month.
Avoid the number one mistake in paper recycling. Any box from the freezer or fridge is garbage, not recyclable, so boxes from frozen pizza, entrees and butter all go in the garbage! Who knew, right? Now you can wow your friends and neighbors by explaining “wet strength,” an invisible additive put in those boxes that makes them “non-pulpable.” Now you know!
Kick carcinogenic chemicals out of your laundry room. Did you know the #1 source of air pollutants in our homes is from something we think of as clean: our laundry products! You may want to try switching to unscented laundry detergents and do away with dryer sheets, which emit a huge number of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into your air, both inside your home and into the outside environment through the dryer vent. (To wit, walking through the neighborhood can often smell like the perfume aisle at Macy’s. Is all that fake chemical perfume really necessary? Should your kids be inhaling it all day from their shirts and all night from their sheets?)
Stop idling your car! According to everyone in the industry, there is absolutely no need to warm up a modern-day car. It is wasted gas, unnecessary air pollution, and it’s your money up in smoke. Industry experts suggest driving slowly at first as the best way to get your engine warmed up. I know what Grandpa taught you, but cars are very different now.
For more information on these issues:
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018511/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/12/29/the-biggest-winter-energy-myth-that-you-need-to-idle-your-car-before-driving/
Lighten your environmental footprint, and delight in our beautiful spring!