by Liz Erickson
Going Green
Let’s move on from recycling to share resources on two other Rs: reduce and reuse. When looked at from a life-cycle perspective, these actions have a greater impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions than does recycling.
Many in our neighborhood use the local Buy Nothing community (on Facebook or an app). These are just two of a variety of ways to find a new home for items with which you might be ready to part company. In turn, you may find just the thing you’re looking for — without spending any money.
What a great resource as we approach the season of giving! Books, clothes, and household and yard items are things I’ve both given away and acquired. I’ve also moved craft materials, shoes, and furniture along to other households ready to put them to use. One of my favorite experiences was sharing an extra pizza that had been delivered to us by mistake. I posted it on Buy Nothing, and within 20 minutes a neighbor responded and sent her teenagers over to bring it home. Sometimes items are shared or borrowed for a short time.
Other ways to reuse existing goods is via Craigslist or Nextdoor, offering or picking up items for free. Putting an item on the curb with a “free” sign has limited utility in rainy weather — it’s better to have a plan for where it will go.
Garage sales and platforms like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and Rooster are other reuse options for buying and selling items locally, as are second-hand stores.
I hope you’ll give one of these options a try next time you are looking to dispose of something that might still have life in it — or the next time you are looking to buy something new.
Ideas, questions, or comments? Contact elizabeth.ann.erickson@gmail.com.
Liz Erickson has lived in the neighborhood with her husband and two children since 2009. Growing up in Beaverton, she remembers visiting grandparents on NE 42nd and walking to Rose’s Ice Cream for a scoop of butter brickle. Liz is a Master Recycler volunteer with Metro and served in the Peace Corps in Morocco.