AttemptGreen.com

I have always been one to recycle.  I remember as a small child getting our first recycling bin (it was red) and many times having it overflowing with recyclables.  I was surprised that according to the EPA, only 32.5% of our waste is recycled. So I decided to reexamine what I was recycling and what could be recycled.  I admit that over the years I have gotten lazy with recycling.  This is sad because I even have curbside recycling.  The last few years I typically would recycle all pop (soda) cans and sometimes food cans, like those vegetables come in.   I guess I have been contributing to that 32.5% being so low.

How do you know what can and can’t be recycled?  I did a google search for my city and “recycling program” and the city has a website listing services, including what can be recycled.  I also went to Earth911 and typed in paper (a usually accepted item in curbside recycling) and my zip code and it came back stating my city’s curbside recycling as an option.  I thought this was so cool because anyone could type in paper and their zip code and it would list if there was curbside recycling.  I tried out a few zip codes that I know have curbside recycling and got mixed results.  My zip code and my one brother’s listed it properly.  My parents and my in-laws did not list the curbside recycling, yet both of them have it available.  So it doesn’t have 100% of curbside recycling listed, but it does have many.  The additional cool thing is that when you click on the curbside recycling program it will show you what items are accepted and when pick up is.

The curbside recycling in my city accepts tin, steel and aluminum cans (as I have done in the past).  Additionally, glass (clear, brown and green) is accepted and newspaper (which I actually don’t even receive).  I always find the plastics to be the difficult one to understand.  On the bottom of a plastic container it will have the recycling logo, and inside that logo will be a number.  In my city, if it is the number 1 or number 2 plastic, it is recyclable.  There are still many more items that are recyclable, just not through the curbside program but I’ll save that for another post.

With this information, I have been paying closer attention and recycling more. I even had to switch some of the garbage cans in the house around so that the recyclables had a larger can to go in.

When was the last time you looked at what you are recycling? Or more importantly what you are not recycling but could?

Many people around me know, coffee is something that makes my day better. I especially like to go to places like Starbucks and Caribou to get a Latte. Whenever I go to these places they give me yummy a cup full of joy, but that cup is a disposable cup. When the goodness is gone, I’m left with waste to just be thrown away. Now I will give credit that these cups are produced  with post-consumer recycled paper. However, I am going to commit myself to bringing my own cup to ensure that there is no waste (from the cup).  My plan is to carry with me just a standard travel mug, which I probably have 4 or 5 already. Starbucks actually gives a $0.10 discount if you do this. I also asked at Caribou the other day and they said they would totally use a cup that I brought in.

If this seems like something you are interested in doing and not sure how your favorite coffee place will react, just ask.  I bet you they will happily use your cup.  If not, I’d love to know about it.

Have you ever realized how much junk mail you get, that you simply throw away (or hopefully recycle)?  Things like credit card offers and catalogs.  I get tons of them and it is more of a hassle to sort through what is real mail and what is just junk.  I’ve recently figured out how to dramatically decrease the amount of junk mail you receive.  There are 2 websites that take care of most of it and both are completely free to use.  One takes about 2 minutes to fill out and the other is closer to 15 minutes, but so worthwhile!

Credit Card Offers: The first website is called Opt Out Prescreen, and it will take your name off so many credit card offer mailings.  I did this about 6 months ago and went from getting about 2 credit card offers a day to 2 credit card offers a month.  So not only are you reducing the amount of waste generated from all this paper and saving trees, but you also reduce your risk of your personal information getting in the wrong hands.

Catalogs:  This website is called Catalog Choice and this allows you to go through and select which catalogs you wish to no longer receive.  The great thing about this site is that you get to pick and choose which ones you want to receive and which ones you don’t.  There are a couple catalogs I like to receive and actually read, so I did not request to be taken off their mailing lists, but I did request all the clothing catalogs that I never look at. 

Those two websites will get rid of the majority of junk mail, but you will still get some.  Most of these are going to be from direct marketers.  The one I mostly get is the Val-Pak coupons (comes in a blue envelope).  I don’t use these coupons, so to me this is also junk mail.  They have an opt out website as well, that you can remove yourself from their mailing list. 

The one type of junk mail I am still trying to track down how to get rid of is the weekly mailings from my local grocery store.  So if you know how to get rid of this one, please email me and let me know!

Now if you are like me, I typically leave my computer on all the time. Strangely enough, I’m not sure why. Between sleeping and working, I physically can’t be at my computer for roughly 18 hours any given day, which leaves only a possible 6 hours to use my computer. That is a minimum of 18 hours where my computer is on, and “no one is home.” So I’m going to start turning my computer off before I go to bed at night, and only turn it on when I intend on using it.

The average PC can cost you upwards of $90/year in just electric costs if you aren’t careful (according to PCWorld). I found this interesting article over at PCWorld about your computer and peripherals (things like your printer) and how you can change some settings and habits to make it more energy efficient. I do have the energy settings so that my monitor shuts off if I don’t use my computer for 15 minutes. Lastly, we do keep our printer turned off unless we are printing something.

So my first task with living greener is to buy a light bulb. I’m not doing this just because so many green initiatives talk about light bulbs, but because legitimately I have a light bulb that has burnt out. There are numerous websites out there explaining why CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs are so much better than regular incandescent bulbs. One great resources is at the Energy Star website.

I admit that I was somewhat apprehensive to changing my light bulbs to CFLs. Many years ago (back in the mid 90s), my high school had a fund raising program selling similar light bulbs and my dad bought a ton of these. I think he replaced every light bulb in the house that he could. Problem back then was that the fluorescent part gave me terrible headaches.

I talked to my friend Doug about this the other day and he assured me they have changed and are much better. So out to the store I go. I ended up buying a 6-pack of 60Watt equivalent bulbs for $9.88, which is roughly $1.64 per light bulb. So yes, they are a bit more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but I don’t consider that out of a reasonable realm. Especially when the electrical savings is supposed to be $47 over the life of the bulb (9 years). 

I installed two bulbs today, trying them in different light fixtures. First, in the living room because that is the place we have the lights on the most. Yuck! The orange glow was awful and I could see a headache already coming on from the 30 seconds I had the light on. Next I tried it in the hall by the back door, and that looked nice. It actually complimented the color of the walls and was just pleasant. I also tried it in the basement in a table lamp, and that too looked very nice.

SUCCESS! I will be replacing more bulbs in my house, but probably not all of them, until I can get the right light in the living room.

A future follow-up:
From the Energy Star website, “Closing the loop” somewhat concerns me. Yes, there is mercury in CFL light bulbs, but not enough to be harmful to your health (your home thermometer has 100 times more mercury than a light bulb). Let’s consider this for a minute. At some point in the future, after the bulbs have burnt out, I will have to remember to set these aside so they can be taken to a recycling center that will properly dispose of the mercury. How am I going to store these burnt out bulbs? Where will I go to properly recycle them? Will I have to wait as long as a year for my hazardous waste round-up program?

Some answers I’ve found to these questions: IKEA has a take back program (the closest IKEA is 2 hours away, I sense an IKEA run!). A better answer does await however, Earth911.org. I just found this website and it is fantastic! You can put in what you want to recycle and where you live and it will give you a list of places you can go. Look for a post in 9 years, and I’ll let you know how recycling these bulbs go for me.

More information: For a comparison of different brands check out: Popular Mechanics