Everyone has to have their bottled water now. If you let someone know you are drinking water from the tap, they look at you like you're crazy or like you've been living under a rock for the past decade. Why does the majority of consumers have the conception that bottled water is so much better for you than tap water. How did we get here? How do we get back to tap? 
                                                                  
  Many brands of bottled water only contain filtered tap water. Consumers are still paying for filtered tap water which 90% of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label. Plastic bottles are extremely harmful to our environment. Even though there is a growing number of companies using recycled plastic bottles to manufacture their products, its still not enough to keep up with the number we are consuming. It requires non-renewable resources to create plastic bottles and 75% of them still end up in landfills.

  You can filter your own water and purchase reusable containers to transport it to work or other activities away from home. Camelbak offers many different types of bottles all of which are BPA-Free. Another brand of well made water bottles worth considering is Sigg. Filtering your own tap water is easy and affordable. Many water filtering systems can attach right to your faucet. You can get started with the Brita faucet filter system and electronic filter-change indicator.

  If everyone living in NYC gave up purchasing bottled water for one year we could save 1.328 billion plastic bottles from ending up in landfills. Its extremely obvious that this is a small lifestyle change that could have an enormous impact on our environment. Please start reducing the number of plastic bottles you use, it can really make a difference.

               

    Reduce, Reuse, And Recycle. We hear and see those words everywhere lately. Why is recycling so important? Recycling prohibits materials from being wasted by reprocessing them into new products. The average American produces 4.5 pounds of trash each day. Our landfills are overloaded; currently it takes an area the size of Ohio to dump all of our waste each year. If everyone in this country would just separate the paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum items from their trash and recycled them, we could reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 75%. Recycling is the most significant task we can integrate into our daily routines.
   Alright, we've established how important recycling is to our planet. Where do we go from here? The first thing is to get in contact with your local recycling center. They can supply you with information on what kinds of materials are accepted in your area. Not all materials are recycled in all areas. Some municipals offer curb side service, while in other areas you will have to transport the recyclables yourself. Next, you will need to acquire some recycling bins. You don't absolutely have to have fancy recycling bins, any washable plastic container or trash can will do. Cardboard boxes work great and they are recyclable as well. Label bins with accepted items and special instructions to insure all contents will be properly recycled. The number of bins needed will be determined by the number of different materials to be collected.
 
   Now you need to decide exactly what materials you want to start recycling. It’s probably best to start with the top four: paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum. 

   Let’s start with paper, which almost all types can be recycled. The highest grade of recyclable paper is white office paper. To be included in this category the paper has to be clean white sheets usually from printers and copiers. Other sub-categories of paper include: newspaper, phonebooks, corrugated cardboard and mixed paper. Mixed paper is all types of paper not previously covered including: magazines, packaging, contaminated white paper, and even envelopes with plastic windows.
   Plastic comes in many different forms and is made largely from synthetic material, which is composed mostly of petroleum. With the proper knowledge a large number of plastics can be recycled. Knowing what types of plastics to collect is somewhat confusing. Plastics are marked with a variety of codes and the ones that are collected depend on your local recycling center. Even though it is more difficult, please don't give up on plastic.
   Everyday more than 12 million glass bottles and jars are recycled in America. Most soda bottles, food containers, beer, wine, and liquor bottles, and juice containers can be recycled. Throw out any mixed color and broken glass, as well as ceramics, it can contaminate the recycling process. Make sure all collected glass is rinsed clean.
   Aluminum cans are the premier example of a recyclable waste. Recycling aluminum requires less than 5% of the energy originally used to make it. Make sure the cans you are collecting are aluminum, most aluminum is clearly marked. Smashing the cans is not required but does save space. By recycling just one aluminum can, we save enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning about three and a half hours.

                                          

  Reducing consumption, Reusing what can't be reduced, and RECYCLING what can't be reused may go against the norms of a consumer based society, but it can fit right in with the life of an individual seeking to achieve green living. For more information on environmental issues and alternative solutions visit www.greenplanetz.com.

    Everyone is becoming overwhelmed with trying to achieve a greener lifestyle. Some are spending all of their free time on big time-consuming eco-friendly projects. Others are becoming frustrated with the inconvenience of trying to reduce their carbon footprint. While still others are not doing anything because they feel green living is to complicated or just don't want the added responsibility in the their already hectic lives. It doesn't have to be so difficult. I mean, if you have the time to save the earth in one day, that's great, more power to you! But not everyone can find the time to do that. Some people need to take smaller, more simple steps to becoming green. It doesn't have to be a sudden transformation, if you try to do to much to quickly it can feel overwhelming and even hinder your progress.  The same applies if you are trying to encourage others to start thinking green. Each week I will be posting "The Little Green Things", a list of simple everyday steps to achieving a greener lifestyle. 

                                                       THE LITTLE GREEN THINGS

                                                           Around Your Home

• Take Shorter Showers - Two minutes off your shower time conserves more than ten gallons of water
• Turn off the Tap while Brushing Teeth - You can save up to five gallons of water a day
• Shaving - Brush your teeth while your waiting for the water to warm up to shave
• Switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs - only when your old ones burn out
• Recycle Phone Books - Or call and stop phone book delivery, use an online directory instead
• Clean your Dryer Lint Screen - And don't overload it, you'll save 5% on your electric bill
• Energy Efficient Washing - Use the warm and cold cycles on your washer, stay away from the HOT
• Water Heaters - Wrap it with an insulating blanket and set the thermostat no higher than 120 degrees
• Toilets - Try to flush one less time per day, you'll save an average of 4.5 gallons of water a day
• Bathtub - Plug the drain before turning the water on, you'll save 3-4 gallons of water
• Shower Curtain - Avoid using plastic liners, PVC plastic waste is not recyclable
• Dishwasher - Run full loads to save energy, don't pre-rinse your dishes
• Hand washing - Turn off the tap while you scrub, use the tap only while rinsing
• Trash Bags - reuse leftover plastic bags as can liners, check into eco-friendly liners
• RECYCLE - If everyone just separated the paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum items from their trash and recycled them, we could decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills by 75%

    This is just a list of some simple steps to take around the home in achieving a greener lifestyle. There are many other things that can be done as well. We will explore more of them in future postings. Visit www.greenplanetz.com for more information.

    

Technorati Profile

How hard is it not to throw trash out the window of your car? Is it really that difficult to dispose of one's trash properly? Is it that inconvenient to recycle? When I was very young I remember seeing a commercial about pollution featuring a native american. This commercial had a profound and lasting affect on me and to this day when I think about litter I think of that commercial. The following video is a copy of that commercial:




Maybe if someone is watching this for the first time it may leave a lasting impression with you as it did with me. When you think about litter, its one of the forms of pollution we have the most control over as a society. If everyone did their part and persuaded others to do the same the problem would not exist. You have to set an example especially for the young people. If they are educated and given these kinds a values now they will carry it with them throughout their lives. The solution seems so easy but we have yet to solve it or implement it. If anyone has any suggestions or solutions for littering or this video, please leave your comments. Also visit www.greenplanetz.com  or email me at: donn@greenplanetz.com 

                                                                          

    Would you like a bag for that? If you are lucky you may here that before you get plastic bags forced on you. It doesn't matter the quantity or the size of what you are getting, cashiers try to plastic bag it before you can say a word. I would like to think that most of them don't even realize that they are doing it. Or maybe they are just tired of people asking for an unneeded bag, so they bag anything and everything. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting the blame on cashiers for our plastic bag addiction. Lets put the blame where it really belongs. The store owners? Maybe to some extent, but they will be a later topic of discussion. The guilty ones I'm referring to now are the end users, the group with the real power to make a serious change, the CUSTOMERS!! I can continue to complain about how plastic bags are constantly forced on us over and over again by apathetic store owners and cashiers, but we are the ones with the ability to just say no, after all the customer is always right! Right? I promise you if you walk up to the register with your items and your own reusable bags(especially the ones with environmental literature on them) the cashier will not even attempt to ask if want a plastic bag. Some bigger grocery stores are even giving discounts to customers that bring their own reusable bags. If all stores could be persuaded to follow suit more and more customers would wake up and start using them. Its amazing how many people can be persuaded to do the right thing if there is a monetary bonus in it for them. I guess money really does talk. Ok, back to the customer or us! We can really make a difference if we all started using our own reusable tote bags for all our shopping needs. I'm not going to quote all the statistics about how bad plastic bags are for our environment or how many animals they kill every year, I'm sure you all have heard it over and over again. Instead I'm just going to simply ask you to please consider using reusable tote bags to reduce or even eliminate your dependency on plastic bags and encourage your family and friends to do the same. And the next time the kid behind the counter asks, "Do you need a bag, man?" JUST SAY NO!!!

                                                             

This is the birth of EcoBlog, a blogcast sponsored by greenplanetz.com. We hope to provide relevent information on enviromental issues and alternative solutions to encourage green living. We also want to get the word out about websites and blogs that provide earth-friendly products and services and/or environmental information. The most important goal is to post the simple everyday steps to achieving a greener lifestyle. We welcome any comments or suggestions, visit www.greenplanetz.com.