On a whim I changed up my morning workout and went for the treadmill and decided to turn on The Today Show. One of the topics during my 30-minute workout was in regards to Earth Week. I remember when Earth Week mostly seemed to revolve around planting a tree or picking up garbage. Sadly it is necessary to become way more involved and mindful of the damage that we are doing to our planet. The Today show has put out an Instagram Challenge called One Green Thing. I am going to accept this challenge. There are many aspects of what we are doing to our planet that is very disturbing,
Plastic Abuse
Plastic abuse has become a very focused problem in Washington state. As of late in our “Green” state Seattle has banned the use of single-use plastic straws and utensils. Now when dining at Seattle restaurant straws are not provided unless you ask for one. Occasionally there will be paper straws or if plastic they must be compostable straws. Currently, our state is working on a bill to ban single-use grocery bags. I have no problem with either of these laws. However, I feel the problem is much larger than these items, but I guess we have to start somewhere right?
Are Grocery Bags Really the Problem?
So in thinking of the plastic grocery bag issue, we have begun looking at other items we purchase in the grocery store. We feel that all the plastic used in coffee creamer bottles or juice containers as an example is creating a much larger plastic concern than the “single-use” plastic grocery bags (of which I return or find a secondary use for anyway).
Too Much Plastic in Consumer Goods.
As a result, we have begun looking at some brand switching in products we use in order to reduce our plastic use impact. In addition, about a month ago I looked into Carnations web page as we use Coffee-Mate Creamer, (sadly we are hooked) we had tried a generic brand because they used a paper-based carton. The product wasn’t nearly as satisfying so I contacted Carnation and asked if there was any consideration for a different container style in the future. They responded with thanking me for my concerns and that they were forwarding my concern to their product development team. This response, for now, was satisfying to me. After watching the one green thing story, I decided to contact another company that we support that uses a considerable amount of plastic in their juice containers.
Recyclable Materials
Yesterday I received a response from them that stated “We appreciate your interest, our packages are is coded as a #7, which is recyclable but not all states have the same recycling process. For more information on each state’s process, we recommend you contact your local recycling center”. Considering that I noted in my letter to them that “I was aware that their containers are recyclable, however, recycling is not always convenient to many, therefore it just doesn’t get done”. I do not find their response to be satisfying. Fortunately, there seem to be alternatives out there to replace their products in my refrigerator.
One Green Thing
So my One Green Thing is that I intend to continue my quest to find and purchase products that use less single-use plastic as well as try to reduce my plastic grocery bag use. Living in a rural area recycling isn’t offered in a weekly pick up and in order to recycle its a trip to the local garbage transfer station or seeking out a recycling dumpster in our area, something that just isn’t easy to accomplish regularly, therefore just reducing my families plastic footprint makes more sense. So I have accepted the challenge. What about you… are you willing to take the “One Green Thing Challenge” and if yes, what is your One Green Thing? Not sure where to start? I invite you to check out the Today show segment and take
