By Megan Willome
At a recent lunch, my husband ordered a cold club sandwich and asked the checker to hold the bag. A man in line asked, “Going green?” “No. I’m just hungry,” my husband responded. Even though he was not declining the bag for environmental reasons, someone thought he was. I remember when the word green referred to a color. Now it’s a lifestyle. For this article, I examined my personal level of greenness. I thought I was doing pretty well. I already use compact fluorescent light bulbs. I print on both sides of paper. I even drink tap water. Much of the information I gathered was geared toward 20-somethings who live in the Northeast corridor. I am 30-something and do not have the option of taking the subway to work. I felt condemned. Maybe you feel the same way. You want to do your part, but you’re not ready to live on Walden Pond. This month I looked at 10 ways I might become a little more green.
1 / GREEN TRASH
It was easy — the City provided the receptacle, and I provided the rest. Now that I have to drive to the processing center, I have become lazy. I decided to try to reduce the number of trash bags I generate. Although I still recycle paper, I’d never tackled plastic. Those tiny numbers printed on the bottom of virtually every container in my home actually mean something. Milk jugs are No. 2 plastic, and water bottles are No. 1. I also rinsed out a handful of cans and glass bottles. Within one week, I reduced my number of garbage bags by two. More recycling meant more frequent trips to the processing center. I learned to take the recycling once a week on the way to my daughter’s piano lesson, so the piles would not overwhelm my garage. If you live within the city limits, you can use the 35-gallon bins for single-stream recycling. Throw in paper, plastics No. 1–7 and aluminum (no glass, please). The blue carts are free and available upon request. Even non-residents can recycle at the Cobbs Convenience Center, open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 751-8536 to ask specific questions.
2 /GREEN ELECTRONICS
Although I have sinned in the past, I am ready to recycle two phones, as well as a computer monitor sitting in my storage shed. I found many businesses around town that accept cell phones, and plenty of websites that accept mail-ins. Some charities want phones for their clients, so find out if yours has a need. Old computers can be recycled at Waco Computer Works, operated by Goodwill Industries at 3334 Franklin Avenue. This location accepts computers, printers and peripherals, like keyboards. Some components will be fixed and resold, while others will be recycled. The number of TVs in landfills will surely increase after analog transmission ends in early 2009. Before you throw away your old set, drop it off at the Cobbs Convenience Center. Residents can recycle TVs for a small fee if they show a current driver’s license and a City of Waco water bill.
3 / GREEN FOOD
My area started one in mid-May, and I purchased blackberries from a nearby farm. I suppose that makes me a “locavore,” 2007’s word of the year as decided by “The New Oxford American Dictionary.” When you buy locally grown produce, you not only eat super fresh food but also leave a smaller carbon footprint by not buying strawberries shipped from South America. The Waco Farmers’ Market also opened for business in May. It meets at the Heart of Texas Fairgrounds, 4601 Bosque Boulevard on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Hours are 8 a.m. to sellout, and it does sell out. Call 863-5165 before you go. If you like your produce organic, check out the Saturday Farm Stand at the World Hunger Farm. Or you can participate in the weekly Community Supported Agriculture Food Club. Learn more by calling 799-5611.
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4 / GREEN GROCERIES
Paper bags consume more energy when they are produced, yet only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled. I am in that 1 percent, but I guess I don’t count. Whole Foods phased out its plastic bags this Earth Day, forcing families to purchase reusable bags. As the designated shopper for a family of four, I wondered how many of those bags I would need for a typical trip. I decided to find out. First I bought five bags at my local grocery store, costing 99 cents each. Then I shopped with a normal-sized list, including two gallons of milk, a 64-ounce carton of orange juice, a frozen pizza, one dozen eggs, two loaves of bread and a few other things. The bags expanded to fit my purchases, and a pouch inside helped separate items. My checker fit everything into only three bags. Now if I can only remember to get my new bags out of the trunk!
5 / GREEN CLEANING
But I threw out my olfactory senses and bought green cleaning products from three different manufacturers. Many of the products did include fragrance, often lemon oil or lavender oil. I purchased one spray cleaner free of perfumes and dyes, and it cleaned my counters as well as the expensive wipes I usually use. Most green products used coconut as a cleaning agent; another used soy. One brand-name product advertised itself as eco-friendly, but it showed its true face when I read the label: chlorine. These products cost between 50 and 100 percent more than traditional brands. Some can be purchased in bulk online. However as the month went by, I found myself reaching for the green cleaners. Did I really want to wash my dishes with something I could not pronounce? When it came time to clean the fish tank, I was glad I had an environmentally friendly product at hand.
6 / GREEN CARS
Instead, I drive a 1999 sedan, that is 63 in dog years. My husband drives a 2000 truck that will probably become my son’s first car. If you are not yet ready to hit the car lot, join me in running your vehicles as efficiently as possible. We keep ours maintained and properly inflate the tires. The trunks are not filled with junk. We don’t idle in line at school or the bank. When we drive into town, we try to combine errands. We drive more slowly and smoothly on the highway. Speaking of the open road, we will drive to Colorado this summer, regardless of gas prices. As I investigate reservations for rental cars, I am considering fuel efficiency. We will need a newer car soon. Recently an acquaintance told me he may trade in his hybrid even though it only has 9,000 miles on it. I’ve got dibs.
7 / GREEN APPLIANCES
This new model carries the Energy Star label, a designation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. High-efficiency washers use less water and spin more efficiently so that clothes need less drying time. The only energy-efficient dryer is a clothesline, but I’m not ready to go that far. My other appliances are fairly new, but I found ways to run them more efficiently, such as washing in cold water, vacuuming dust off the refrigerator coils and letting dishes air-dry overnight. The cheapest appliance is the one you already own. If you are replacing an old appliance consider using a product with the Energy Star label. There are more than 50 categories with green selections. By using these products last year alone, Americans saved $16 billion in utility costs. |
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8 / GREEN UTILITIES
How does my electrical provider measure up? The State of Texas maintains a website called Texas Electric Choice Education Program at www.powertochoose.org. In Waco, the renewable energy content of retail electric providers ranges from zero percent to 100 percent. More companies are drawing a portion or all of their power from renewable sources, such as biomass, solar, water or wind. When we drive through West Texas, we pass several wind farms. We get a thrill watching the tall spires turn a natural resource into electricity. Wouldn’t it be fun to know our power was green? Alas, my own municipality out in the boonies has no such green option. However, the city did host a renewable energy fair, so it’s only a matter of time.
9 / GREEN KIDS
My mother is smiling because glass baby bottles are back in vogue to protect infants from harmful chemicals found in most plastic bottles. Maybe Mom wasn’t so outdated after all — just ahead of her time. Now friends tell me that stores can’t keep glass bottles on the shelves. Mothers also face the disposable versus cloth diaper conundrum. Cloth diapers save the landfill but waste water. On the other hand, working mothers may have no choice but to use disposables as required by their daycares. Manufactures now make eco-friendly disposable diapers, created from chlorine-free wood pulp. However, these diapers do cost more than traditional disposables. I’m just glad my children moved on to soda cans, which are easily recyclable.
10 / GREEN LAWNS
I called my former neighbor for advice, the man Viking Hills Elementary students call “Gardening Dude,” George Suhm. Suhm was the PTA president this year and is a member of the City’s Recycling Advisory Committee. “Composting is like cooking. You need the right ingredients. You should have one part green, like grass clippings for nitrogen, and one part brown, like dry leaves for carbon. Add time, a little water and air,” Suhm said. I started by cheating: I purchased organic compost from a reputable source. Ask your Master Gardener friends for recommendations. Autumn’s leaves still lined the empty flowerbeds, so I raked those and added them. My son salvaged some grass clippings the next time he mowed. Following Suhm’s recommendation, I started an indoor mini-compost bin with food scraps. To compost: banana peels, watermelon rind, coffee grounds, eggshells, tea bags (I have lots of these). Not to compost: meat, bones, dairy. Voila! I am told that within a few months, our organic waste will become rich dirt. In the meantime, I am dreaming of native plants in my empty flower beds. After my month of greener living, I took several online quizzes that asked, “How Green Are You?” One rated me “Getting Greener.” I won’t win any prizes for my efforts. I have not yet planted a tree or built a rainwater collection system. Instead I made small steps in a greener direction, impacting the corner of the environment that I call home. |
