NRDC's
This Green Life, February 2008
February 2008
The 3R's Still Rule
Consumer product companies are always selling us a new bill of
goods. The latest is that we can shop our way to a healthier planet. Over the
years, they've also told us that cool cars would make us free and diet soda
would make us popular. But there are some things money -- and advertising --
can't buy, and a clean environment is one of them.
The hard fact is that global warming, deforestation and other
earthly ills cannot be solved by switching brands.
It takes resources to manufacture and transport all products, even
those made from recycled content. At the very least, energy is spent. And
spending resources leaves the world poorer, not better off.
So do what you will if you are itching for something new --
there are no environmental police here -- but don't kid yourself. Buying
nothing is better for the earth than buying green.
There are exceptions, of course. If your current car or
appliance is a terrible energy-waster, you may save resources in the long term
by replacing it with an energy-efficient model. And it's better for your own
health and your family's to replace products that could leach toxins, such as
PVC baby toys.
More often, though, it is greener to follow the old dictum:
reduce, reuse, recycle. I know you've heard it a thousand times before, but
with the "green" word now co-opted in the service of sales, the three
R's are a phrase -- and a principle -- worth reviving.
Reduce. "Reduce" means using fewer resources in the
first place. This is the most effective of the three R's and the place to
begin. It is also, I think, the hardest because it requires letting go of some
very American notions, including: the bigger the better, new trumps old and
convenience is next to godliness.
But you don't need to let go completely or all at once.
"Reduce" is a comparative word. It says: cut back from where you are
now.
When you shop, shop differently. Look for things that will last
-- things that are not just durable and well-made, but useful and beautiful
enough to please you for a long time. The extra money you spend on their
acquisition will be offset by the money you do not spend replacing them.
Don't chase the latest fashions. They will age the fastest.
With electronics, extravagance may pay. A super-charged computer
will still run the software that comes out two years from now, and a large
monitor will accommodate the ever wider webpages that companies will be
building then. Similarly, a cell phone with a full text keypad (or the iPhone)
will see you through the text-messaging era that is upon us.
When you make a purchase, find out how to keep the item in
shape. Then, maintain it accordingly and repair it when necessary.
In addition, try these ways of reducing your use (and abuse) of
resources:
Buy products made from post-consumer recycled materials,
especially paper and bathroom tissue.
Choose electronics and appliances that are energy-efficient. Ditto for
cars, which you can also
share.
Buy stuff made close to home. Less energy was used transporting them to
the store.
Buy used. craigslist and eBay make it easy.
Avoid goods made with materials whose extraction or processing
are especially destructive, such as tropical woods and most gold jewelry.
Avoid overly packaged goods. The packaging is a total
throw-away.
Avoid things made with toxic materials, such as most household
cleansers.
Cut back on water use at home.
Waste less energy on lights and equipment.
Eat less meat.
Reuse. Before you recycle or dispose of anything, consider
whether it has life left in it. A jam jar can store leftovers. Food scraps can
become compost. An old shirt can become a pajama top. An opened envelope can
become a shopping list. A magazine can be shared. DVDs can be traded. A
dishwasher can be repaired. A computer can be upgraded. A car can be resold. A
cell phone can be donated. Returnable bottles can be, well... returned.
Reusing keeps new resources from being used for a while longer,
and old resources from entering the waste stream. It's as important as it is
unglamorous. Think about how you can do it more.
Recycle. Recycling is the "R" that has caught on the
best. Partly, this is because there are so many curbside recycling programs
today (8,660 as of 2006, according to the EPA), which makes recycling so darned
easy. What keeps it from being a total piece of cake is the rules. Every
municipality has its own, and they are not always as straightforward as they
could be.
For example, towns are usually particular about the plastics
they accept for recycling. Most only take packaging made from #1 (PET or PETE)
and #2 (HDPE) resins. You need to look at the bottom of the package for the
chasing arrow symbol and check that the number is right. Some towns are even
more restrictive. New York City, for instance, accepts #2 containers with
necks, but not wide mouths because the two are formed differently and have
different melting points. The wrong kind of plastic can "contaminate"
the whole batch, rendering it garbage as far as the company with the recycling
contract is concerned.
So though it's a pain, try to learn what the recycling rules are
in your own community and follow them whether they make obvious sense or not.
It's the easiest way to do your part.
As to shopping for green products, by all means do -- when you
really need the thing you're shopping for.
—Sheryl Eisenberg
Sheryl
Eisenberg, a
long-time advisor to NRDC, posts a new This Green Life every month. Sheryl makes her home
in Tribeca (NYC), where—along with her children, Sophie and
Gabby, and husband, Peter—she tries to put her environmental
principles into practice. No fooling.
ONLINE
RESOURCES
THE STORY OF
STUFF
The Story
of Stuff
ZUNAFISH
Trade the
Stuff You're Done With for the Stuff You Want
CRAIGSLIST
Local
Classified Ads in 450 Cities
EARTH 911
Find a
Recycling Center
ECOCYCLE
Pay-As-You-Throw
THE CITY OF
NEW YORK
Waste
Less
OTTAWA
CITIZEN
The
Plastic Fantastic Recycling Trap
EPA
Wastes
The
Story of Stuff
is a fascinating video that connects the dots between our consumer society,
global economy and environmental woes. It's both entertaining and eye-opening.
Take a look when you have a moment (it's 20 minutes long) at The Story of Stuff.
Reverse
quarantine.
That's what sociologist Andrew Szasz thinks much of today's green shopping is
about. As he explains in his book Shopping Our Way to Safety, people are, in essence,
quarantining themselves from pervasive environmental problems that seem to them
beyond repair, such as contaminated tap water. But the alternative they choose, such as bottled water, may be
no safer than the problem they're trying to insulate themselves from. Worse, by
choosing a personal "solution" over a societal one, they may be
inadvertently aggravating the problem for all.
Reuse
jars and other
packages to store stuff at home. It's better than recycling them (which uses
energy) and buying a new container to do the same thing.
Appearances
may deceive. The
chasing arrow symbol used on plastic packages is misleading. Because it looks
like a recycling sign, it suggests that the package is recyclable, but that is
not necessarily the case. Recyclability is determined by the type of resin the
plastic is made of, which is indicated by the number inside the arrows. The
numbers go up to 7, but usually only #1 and #2 are recyclable.
To have This
Green Life sent
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---------------------------------
Sheryl
Eisenberg is a web
developer and writer. With her firm, Mixit Productions (http://www.mixitproductions.com), she brought NRDC online in 1996,
designed NRDC's first websites, and continues to develop special web features
for NRDC. She created and, for several years, wrote the Union of Concerned
Scientists' green living column, Greentips, and has designed and contributed
content to many nonprofit sites. © 2008 Natural Resources Defense Council
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