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Paper or plastic? The famous grocery store question. I usually opt for canvas, but if you forgot your reusable bag at home, the answer is…well, I’ll let you decide.

Plastic Shopping Bags

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic shopping bags are consumed worldwide.
• Plastics do NOT biodegrade. Rather, they photodegrade, a process in which sunlight breaks down plastic into smaller and smaller pieces.
• It can take up to 1,000 years for a high-density polyethylene plastic bag to break down in the environment.
• Plastic bags are on the top 10 list of most common trash items along the American coastline

Paper Shopping Bags

• Paper bags generate 70 percent more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
• 2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds, making transportation of plastics cheaper & more eco-friendly.
• It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.

Buying organic products from your local farmer’s market should be a no brainer. It helps both the environment and is better for your health all at the same time.

That’s because organic produce is farmed without pesticides or herbicides. So, there are no nasty chemicals or toxics on your yummy fruits & veggies. OSHA, or Occupational Safety & Health Administration, warns that “(pesticides) are an industry hazard because they can irritate the skin, affect the nervous and reproductive systems, and cause cancer.”

Plus buying from local farmers means your food travels less distance, using less gas, and in turn produces less carbon dioxide emissions.

To help find local farmer’s markets in your area, check out Local Harvest or Farmer’s Market.

Need a new scratch pad for making grocery lists, notes or doodling?
Why not make one?
Yeah, make one!

You can do this in two easy steps and by reusing your scrap paper.

Step 1: Depending on the size of the scrap paper, cut it into halves or quarters.

Step 2: You can then staple the paper (blank side up) together to make a little notebook, or punch holes and string the paper together with a little string or twine, or use a clip board and tuck all the scrap paper under the clip for easy note taking.

Everyone is now promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, as a way to save energy and go green. However, improper disposal of the bulbs creates a hazard, due to the small amounts of mercury each bulb contain.

Don’t worry, things are getting easier!

Home Depot now offers a recycling program for taking back your old CFLs in all of its 1,973 U.S. stores, and will accept any maker’s bulbs.

So don’t worry, it’s okay to greenify your home with CFLs, because you can now recycle them conveniently at your local Home Depot Store.

Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap water to cool it for drinking. This has the potential to save 200 to 300 gallons of water per month.

If you eat a lot of pasta, like I do, you always have lots of glass jars in your recycle bin or trash can from all the red sauce. I like to keep my glass containers out of the landfill by reusing.

Here are my top 5 ways to reuse glass jars:
1- Vase: Glass jars make great vases and you can decorate them to match any decor.

2- Paint Container: Just fill with a little paint and away you go. Glass is great for this because it last longer than plastic, and it doesn’t stain.

3- Piggy Bank: Jars make great banks. Simply cut a slot in the lid to put change in, and before you know it, it will be full and time to go to the bank to cash in. You can also decorate your new penny saver to match any decor.

4- Planter: Put pebbles in the bottom of a small jar, then fill with potting soil and a small plant.

5- Candleholder: This is a great project for any size glass jar. Use glass paint to create a stained glass look, then place a soy candle at the bottom for a great glow.

Not all plastics are the same. That’s why there’s a number code on the bottom for recycling.

Below is a breakdown on the plastic recycling codes, including what types of products are usually produced with that plastic in its first life, how to recycle it, and what it can be recycled into for its second life.

Number 1 Plastics - PET or PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate)

1st Life: Soda, water and beer bottles; mouthwash bottles; peanut butter containers; salad dressing and vegetable oil containers; etc.
Recycling: Picked up through most curbside recycling programs.
2nd Life: Polar fleece fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, and occasionally made into new plastic containers

Number 2 Plastics - HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)

1st Life: Milk jugs, juice bottles; bleach, detergent and household cleaner bottles; shampoo bottles; some trash and shopping bags; motor oil bottles; cereal box liners; etc.
Recycling: Picked up through most curbside recycling programs.
2nd Life: Detergent bottles, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, benches, picnic tables, fencing

Number 3 Plastics - PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

1st Life: Window cleaner and detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, clear food packaging, wire jacketing, medical equipment, siding, windows, piping; etc.
Recycling: Rarely recycled because collecting it for recycling is cost-prohibitive. There are not enough items made from the material to warrant factories to recycle it into new products; however some plastic lumber makers will now accept it.
2nd Life: Decks, paneling, mud flaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, mats

Number 4 Plastics - LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene)

1st Life: Squeezable bottles; bread, dry cleaning and shopping bags; tote bags; carpet; etc.
Recycling: Rarely picked up through curbside programs, however some stores will accept plastic shopping bags for recycling.
2nd Life: Trash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, floor tile

Number 5 Plastics - PP (Polypropylene)

1st Life: Syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles, diapers; etc.
Recycling: Picked up through most curbside recycling programs.
2nd Life: Battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins

Number 6 Plastics - PS (Polystyrene)

1st Life: Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, egg cartons, carry-out containers, aspirin bottles, compact disc cases; etc.
Recycling: Picked up through some curbside recycling programs.
2nd Life: Insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, carry-out containers

Number 7 Plastics - Other

1st Life: 3 and 5 gallon water bottles, ‘bullet-proof’ materials, sunglasses, DVDs, iPod and computer cases, signs and displays, nylon; etc.
Recycling: Not traditionally recycled, however some curbside programs now take them.
2nd Life: Plastic lumber, custom-made products

Pay attention to any strange sounds and smells coming from your vehicle. A clogged air filter can increase gas consumption by 10%. With regular maintenance you can extend your car’s life and improve its fuel efficiency.

Do you wear glasses? Do you have old ones laying around the house not really sure what to do with them? Why not Donate them. New Eyes For The Needy recycles donated glasses for distribution to indigent people in developing nations worldwide.

All you have to do is mail your old glasses to New Eyes in a padded envelope or box using the least expensive method of shipping (the cost of shipping is tax-deductible) to their office in New Jersey. That’s it!

For some reason I always have extra socks and can’t find the matching pair. Instead of just tossing those extra socks out, I reuse them.

Here are my top 5 ways to reuse socks:
1- Pet Toy: Get creative & make new toys for your dog by turning your old socks into tugging toys.

2- Dusting: Put one sock over your hand, add some eco-friendly cleaner and dust furniture or window blinds.

3- Cold Compress: Cover a bag of ice to make it more comfortable.

4- Hot Compress: Fill sock with rice, heat in microwave & applied to the body to help relieve pain.

5- Sock Monkey: This is a really fun activity for those rainy days.