Easy Eco Blog » Reuse

Safe Reusable Shopping Bags – Reusable Produce Bags

easy eco blog — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:00:23 +0000

Reusable Shopping Bags & Types of Reusable Shopping Bags

Using disposable shopping bags means more trash for the nation’s already stuffed landfills. It takes valuable resources to produce these bags and if shoppers could stop using them, it would greatly help the Earth’s environment. As we have noticed in many parts of the World the use of reusable shopping bags is catching on. Hopefully what this means in the future is that we may no longer have a need for single use paper and plastic disposable bags. One reason reusable bags are becoming more popular is because there are many types of them from which you can choose. They are made from a variety of materials and come in many styles, colors and designs. Quite simply, using reusable bags is a simple and fashionable way to go green.

If you really want to be “super green”, choose an organic cotton reusable shopping bag. The cotton used for these bags is grown without the use of pesticides or other harmful chemicals or farming processes. The production of these bags has a low impact on the environment, as does the packing and transport of the bags. They come in a variety of sizes, styles and are a great material choice for a reusable bag. The bags are strong and can hold more than plastic disposable bags, so you can use fewer bags. Every so often you will want to throw them in the washing machine and or hand-wash them, so they do not collect harmful bacteria and germs. Basically though, they are easy to care for.

Canvas bags are another choice in reusable shopping bags. This type of bag is easy to clean and care for. This makes them a great bag for grocery shopping because you can throw them in the washing machine to make sure any drips from leaky meat packages are gone. You do not want to have bacteria lingering in your shopping bag that can your family sick. Many people use the canvas bags for a variety of uses, so this also prevents cross contamination of other items you choose to carry in your bag. Canvas is a durable material that can carry a lot of items.

Hemp is another option. Reusable shopping bags made from this material are incredibly strong and durable. The hemp bags are quite expensive because they are imported from the West. Laws and regulation in the United States concerning marijuana prevent the mass production of hemp products in our country. Hemp is easy to grow and can flourish in poor soil or in places with little water, so it takes little effort. The material is rot resistant and will outlast many other types of bags. It does not matter which type of bag you choose to use as long you use them regularly.

No Matter what reusable shopping bags that you decide on using, the bottom line is that one reusable bag can take 300-500 single use plastic and paper bags out of the grocery store! As a nation of people who respect our Earth it’s a no brainer that we can now all safely “Ditch the Plastic & be Green-Tastic!”

Dangers in Reusable Shopping Bags

Center for Consumer Freedom has a report showing excessive lead levels in 16 of 44 organizations reusable shopping bags. National chains including CVS, Safeway, Bloom, and Walgreens were among those with the high lead levels.

Wall Street Journal has a good article about the reusable shopping bag. It tells us to consider the sources of these bags as many are made from China, the type of material the bag is made with, and the quantity of them you keep.

“Finding a truly green bag is challenging. Plastic totes may be more eco-friendly to manufacture than ones made from cotton or canvas, which can require large amounts of water and energy to produce and may contain harsh chemical dyes. Paper bags, meanwhile, require the destruction of millions of trees and are made in factories that contribute to air and water pollution.

Many of the cheap, reusable bags that retailers favor are produced in Chinese factories and made from nonwoven polypropylene, a form of plastic that requires about 28 times as much energy to produce as the plastic used in standard disposable bags and eight times as much as a paper sack, according to Mr. Sterling, of Natural Capitalism Solutions.”

A recent investigation found that many reusable shopping bags imported from China contain excessive levels of lead and heavy metals. Many of these were sold by national and regional retailers like Winn-Dixie and Publix. Some bags even contained fecal bacteria and E. coli. Be careful where you buy your bag.

The more elaborate the illustrations on the bags, the more likely they contained toxins. Yellow and green paint on bags is a common carrier of lead.

The takeaways:

Look for bags with recycled content, like those from Walmart, Staples, and Target. Best seem to be Walmart’s $1bag has 85% recycled content, the cheaper one has less.
Use the bag! Carry it in your car, leave it in your front seat, or by the front door.
A nylon bag sold by Target with almost no illustrations had almost undetectable levels of lead. Also, the simplest bags from Sweetbay, Walmart and Publix contained little lead.
The major danger of lead in reusable shopping backs is that they will someday end up in the landfill and wash lead into the environment.

Make sure the bag is sturdy and that you will actually use it.

Reusable Produce Bags

EcoSac GardenSac Reusable Produce Bags replace the wasteful plastic bags you have to use in the grocer’s produce section. Hold your salad greens, fruits, and veggies in this reusable sack made of cotton. $5 for 2 at Whole Foods.

They state: “Carbon-neutral shipping, no animal harmed, no animal testing, no animal ingredients, reusable.”

Amazon.com Green Products Section

Amazon.com has a new Green Products section with eco-friendly, safe, and healthy items. It is great that the Internet’s largest e-tailer is getting with the times. They cover eco friendly products from lightbulbs to push mowers to steel water bottles to laptops to solar panels.

How to have a Green Thanksgiving

easy eco blog — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:00:41 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Thanksgiving is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Thanksgiving?

Buy your pumpkins, squash, and other vegetables from a local farmers market or from local sources. Some even carry special Heritage turkeys
Buy organic when possible, except for product on the Clean 15 list
Buy a locally raised organic turkey with no antibiotics, no hormones, free range, raised on vegetarian feed, and no added flavor enhancers or salt
Utilize reusable bags to hold groceries
Don’t over cook or serve too much food
Rent or buy your decorations from used clothing stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
Donate extra food, money, clothing to those in need
Compost the leftovers, pumpkin, squash, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, repurposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Thanksgiving.

Donating Food to the Hungry

The Food Runners are an organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that helps business, organizations and people donate excess food. You call them at 415-929-1866, tell them what you have, and they match you with a party in need.

They work with restaurants, hotels, schools, food services, and private individuals. They are also looking for volunteers.

If you know similar organizations in your area, leave a note with the region and contact information.

Targeting “Zero” Waste or Minimizing Trash

easy eco blog — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:00:00 +0000

A few cities across the United States have significantly reduced the amount of garbage, towards the goal of reaching zero waste. Seattle recycles and composts more than half of its refuse, while even Los Angeles does the same to about two-thirds of its trash. Sending away 77% of its waste from landfills, San Francisco tops all other cities. The rest of the nation greatly lags behind by recycling and composting only about a third of their waste.

Achieving “zero waste” is the target, but it does not really means no waste. Achieving 90% of waste redirected from landfills away from incinerators is very effective, and close enough to zero, according to the Zero Waste International Alliance, an environmental group. Some products in the market can’t be recycled, and consumers keep purchasing them. According to the EPA, in 2009, nearly 234 million tons of garbage, about 4.34 pounds per person, was thrown out by Americans. Roughly 134 millions tons of waste went to landfills, after recycling, composting and incinerating.

San Francisco became the first city in America to require its residents and businesses to compost food starting 2009. With recycling and compost collection being free, less waste into landfills enables citizens to pay less for their garbage curbside collection. At least 65% of the materials in construction sites are mandated for reuse and recycle by construction and demolition crews. Having the nation’s highest waste-diversion rate of 77%, San Francisco by 2020 aims higher to reach the 90% waste goal.

Other municipalities are not optimistic about zero waste as being achievable. They are more likely to implement the typical recycling plans, but are looking at technologies as incineration to eliminate the rest of their waste, and generate energy at the same time.

But in the end, we believe that many cities have done plenty with recycling. It’s the people that need to work harder on reducing the amount of unrecyclable things they buy and reusing what they already have.

An Eco Friendly Green Back to School

easy eco blog — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:00:09 +0000

It is that time of year. Back to school!

Millions of people flood the stores to buy new clothes, backpacks, binders, computers, etc. Here are some tips to save money and be a little more green. Amazon has a back to school sale.

1) Stick with the same wardrobe. Buying a new set of clothes just to wear something new, is wasteful. Also try hand me downs, thrift shops.

2) Reuse school supplies. Look through your garage and dig up those old pens, markers, backpacks, binders, etc that can be reused. You don’t need the latest commercial fade advertised all over your stuff. Donate unwanted items so others can reuse them. If you need a new backpack buy one with natural fibers and skip PVC based ones. (Usually marked as #3)

3) Buy or use a re-usable lunch bag/box. Also pack items in washable plastic containers, reusable utensils, not throwaway plastic bags. Thermos work great for drinks. Forget about juice boxes, use refillable BPA free bottles. Avoid lunch boxes with lead paint, PVC (Usually marked #7) , BPA, or antimicrobial chemicals.

4) Upgrade your computer, do not buy a new one. Add some ram or a bigger hard drive. Clean off junk that is un-necessary. Defragment your hard drive. Consult our Green Electronics Article.

5) Plan eco friendly transportation. Bike or walk to school. Take the bus. Worst case, carpool with a friend.

6) Buy paper goods with high recycled content. Avoid PVC (#3) plastic. Binders, Binder paper, manila folders, notebooks, etc. At least 30% post consumer waste is good.

7) Art supplies can contain many toxic chemicals so stick to water based paints with natural pigments, avoid polymer clays as they contain PVC. Buy natural brushes and pens with recycled materials. Avoid petroleum products by sticking to soy or beeswax crayons. Water based glues are better than toxic ones or rubber cement.

Pencils should be plain wood, not painted, scented, or coated.

9) Cell phones should be low on the radiation scale and should be used with our tips.

Naked Binder, Eco-friendly binders

Naked Binder makes Eco-friendly binders, folders and tab dividers with sustainability and design in mind. Recycled and recyclable, strong as a bull and 130 choices to match your mood, class list or decor, these are the perfect binder for students or educators who care. Priced the same as most vinyl items.

How to have a Green Independence Day or Fourth of July

easy eco blog — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:00:42 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Independence Day or Fourth of July is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Independence Day or Fourth of July.

Buy your meats to be barbecued, vegetables, and other food from a local farmers market or from local sources
Carpool or take public transportation to fireworks, barbecues, picnics or events
Don’t light off fireworks, view public performances of fireworks instead
Rent or buy your decorations and picnic items from used stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
Compost any waste, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, re-purposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Independence Day or Fourth of July.

How to have a Green Father’s Day

easy eco blog — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:00:29 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Father’s Day is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Father’s Day.

Buy your meats to be barbecued, vegetables, and other food from a local farmers market or from local sources
Carpool or take public transportation to picnics or events
Rent or buy your gifts, decorations, and picnic items from used stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
Compost any waste, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, re-purposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Father’s Day.

Lower Your Water Bill Recycle water – Grey Water System on the cheap

easy eco blog — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:00:15 +0000

Grey Water home systems or gray water systems divert waste water from laundry machines, showers, sinks, etc through filtering systems and recycle water onto a home’s landscape irrigation system. Toilet water is not part of a graywater system. These systems are great way to save on water and reuse wastewater and reduce water consumption by 10 to 50%. Some systems require filters, others are more simple, utilizing gravity. Complex graywater systems can filter and disinfect graywater before it is used to flush toilets. They are expensive to have professionally installed, so some renegade sites have popped up with plans on how to roll your own cheaply.

On August 4, 2009, California changed its grey water standards, following Arizona, Texas, and other states. The new code lets you install basic, inexpensive systems yourself, with no permits needed for most. No expensive filters or pumps are needed.

Grey water cannot stagnate or pool up
It cannot make contact with animals or humans
Cannot touch fruits or vegetables, nor can it run into other people’s yard
The pipes need to be several inches underground or under mulch

Grey Water Resources:

This site has more information on Laundry to Mulch Basins systems.

Greywater Guerillas has some gray water suggestions.

Greywater action helps educate homeowners on ways to reuse graywater

Instructables.com has some detailed plans on how to construct them.

You can always catch rainwater with big garbage pails and save the water for less rainy days.

Palo Alto Citywide Yard Sale – Saturday, June 4

easy eco blog — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 07:00:41 +0000

Palo Alto has a Citywide Yard Sale on Saturday, June 4 from 8am to 2pm. Over 370 Palo Alto residents will be holding a sale. The purpose of the yard sale is to encourage Bay Area residents to reduce waste and conserve valuable resources. Buying, selling, and donating used items keeps them out of the landfill, increases their useful life and reduces our carbon footprint.

Repairing Broken Electronics is Green

easy eco blog — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:00:18 +0000

Electronics eventually break down. The dilemma is then repair or replace the item. If you item is under warranty, the decision is easy – get it fixed. Remember that many credit cards will double your manufacturer’s warranty. Check your credit card’s fine print.

ifixit sells replacement parts for many items including Computers, iPods and iPhones and has tutorials on iPod repair, iPhone repair, cell phone repair etc.

Greenerchoices has a guide to Fix it for Nix it on Electronics.

A recent article targeting consumer electronics dealers touts the advantages of repairing Cameras rather than New Sales.

Clearly it is more green to fix what you already have. The amount of resources used to ship, fix, return an item is far less than all the carbon required to create a new, say digital camera from scratch.

Precision Camera estimates that repairing one year’s worth of digital cameras, instead of producing the same number of new digital cameras, is equivalent to removing 1000 SUV’s from the road. This claim was based on a recent “Rethink Repair” environmental study.

Repair is actually a win win situation for retailers as they can earn double the margins over a new camera purchase. Hopefully more shops will offer this alternative to just selling new items.

The downside is that their spending $240 to repair an old $600 10 Megapixel digital camera may not be a wise decision economically. Cameras have fallen in price and advanced in functionality. You would get a far more advanced camera with your new money. The trade offs in being green are always complex and littered with land mines.

Think about donating the item to a repair shop or on Craigslist so someone can use the guts for parts. Recycle electronics that cannot be repaired.

Be sure to read our article:

Extend Battery Life, Laptop Battery Life, iPhone Battery Life

Recycling Paperback Books

easy eco blog — Thu, 19 May 2011 07:00:21 +0000

Recycling Paperback Books is typically done by tossing them in your recycle bin or donating them to a local organizations such as Goodwill. If the book still has value, you can only sell it on craigslist or half.com.

An alternative is to donate them to Operation Paperback. Since 1999 they have been redirecting gently used paperback books and sending them to military members and organizations deployed all over the world. This organization also needs help in providing for shipping costs.

Reading Tree also takes books, DVDs, and CDs and give them away to needy children, libraries, and schools.

Books for America takes books, DVDs, CDs, and laptops for those in need in Washington DC.

Be sure to read our article on the eco-friendly, green aspects of the Kindle book reader.