42 Ways to Not Make Trash — by No Impact Man Colin Beavan

42 Ways to Not Make Trash — by No Impact Man Colin Beavan

(A Timely Re-Post)

Together with his family, Colin Beavan—aka No Impact Man—spent a year trying to live in the middle of New York City without having a negative impact on the environment. One of his first challenges: getting through everyday life without producing trash. Below are some of his favorite tips and tricks.

No soda in cans (which means we’re probably less likely to get cancer from aspartame).
No water in plastic bottles (which means we get to keep our endocrines undisrupted).
No coffee in disposable cups (which means we don’t suffer from the morning sluggishness that comes from overnight caffeine withdrawal).
No throwaway plastic razors and blade cartridges (I’m staging the straightedge razor comeback).
Using non-disposable feminine-hygiene products that aren’t bad for women and are good for the planet.
No Indian food in throwaway takeout tubs.
No Italian food in plastic throwaway tubs.
No Chinese food in plastic throwaway tubs.
Taking our own reusable containers to takeout joints (except that now we’re eating local so this tip is out for us).

Learning From Our Neighbors: Part I

This past weekend I had the opportunity and pleasure of traveling to visit family in Ontario, Canada.  It was a beautiful day, eh?  There were good times, excellent food and it was great to reconnect with cousins and meet brand new ones.  Throughout the course of the afternoon, many discussions were had about the differences between Canada and the U.S. when it comes to health care, recycling, and regulations surrounding food supply. And you know what?  Canadians do a lot of things right when it comes to all of those things. 

Why Eco-Steps Matter

It's no secret that the world population is increasing at alarming rates. As a human race, we consume resources to survive.  And, some of us consume more than others (far beyond what would be considered necessary for survival).

Just recently, I read an article addressing our consumption entitled, "What's Your Consumption Factor?" by Jared Diamond, author of "Collapse," and "Guns, Germs and Steel."  Some of the highlights of the article are that developed nations consume resources at a relative per capita consumption rate of 32 whereas the "rest" of the world consumes at a rate far lower than that-- somewhere around 1.  And, that the disparity in these resource consumption rates is at the root of many of the world's conflicts.  This article uses China as an example of where we are headed with our consumption.  In 2008, China's per capita consumption hovered somewhere around 11.  China has the world's fastest growing economy and four times the population of the United States.  If China's consumption rises to be on par with the US, oil consumption would increase by 106 percent, and world metal consumption would increase by 94 percent.  I don't mean to pick on China or single out any particular nation.  But, it is clear that we all need to start thinking a lot differently about how we consume. 

Looking Good on the Cheap

We all want to look good.  It's part of human nature.  I dare say that what we don't want is to spend a lot of money to look our best.  And the good news is, we don't have to!  With the economic downturn of the past year, second-hand stores, consignment shops, and stores like the Good Will and The Salvation Army have come back into popularity and for good reason.  You can really find some tremendous deals on stylish, gently used clothing while helping people, saving money and being kinder to the planet.  If you haven't already seen The Story of Stuff, check it out and you'll see why shopping just a little differently is much nicer to Mother Nature.  You can look good and feel good too!

It's a Wrap!

It is no secret that we generate a lot of garbage.  In fact, the EPA estimates that the average American throws away 4.5 lbs of garbage per day.  And, it gets even worse during the holidays.  It is estimated that 25 million tons more waste is created during the holidays than over a typical 10-week period.  That's roughly 1 million extra tons of waste per week!  EEK!

In the spirit of taking small, eco-steps to help the environment, here are a few things you can do to help reduce that very large and ugly figure, get creative, and save yourself some time and money in the process.

Re-Run: Small Eco-Steps to Live Better, Preserve the Planet, Save Money and Be Happier

We hear it everyday: Reduce our carbon footprint, eat less meat, turn down the thermostat, put on a sweater, recycle, stop drinking bottled water. If we don't want to literally melt the Earth, we have to do all of these things, plus keep up with our jobs, our daily lives, running the kids here and there-- combining as many trips as possible to avoid emitting CO2. It can be overwhelming to mentally juggle all we already had on our daily plates, let alone throw some more "helpful" ideas to save our planet.

But does it need to be that hard? Well, in a nutshell, no. It does not. Let's face it, no matter where we fall on the "green" spectrum, there is always room for improvement! And that's where this Blog comes in. The objective here is to help people help themselves, help the planet and maybe get a little happier in doing so. So, here is a list of 10 small "eco" steps you can take to do your part for the environment. It's not long, and you can probably pick just one, maybe even two things for starters. But, if you're feeling bold, do them all. It can only help.