Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

You use your re-useable bags at the grocery store now, not only because it's better for the environment, but because they are now charging you for a plastic one! At least we all got a chance to start to remember to take them into the store with us.

If you want to make little changes to help the environment, here are a few. Greenpeace has a list of the types of toilet paper, tissues and paper towels that are made from recycled paper. Saving 7,000 tons of paper if we all used these products. Visit Greenpeace's shopper guide. Another suggestion is to go back to cloth hankies, but I'm not prepared to go that far, sorry.

Know the difference when buying items so you know whether they are in fact, good for the environment.

Pre-Consumer recycled comes from left overs of the paper mills but are still derived directly from trees.
Post-consumer recycled means that the original material has been used by consumers and comes from newspapers or other items recovered from blue box systems. This is good as you are rewarding companies that use this resource and are keeping resusable materials out of landfills.
Biodegradable is a term that has become almost meaningless through lack of government regulation. It means that a product will break down and return to its natural components. What it doesn't say if that is months or centuries, or if it has toxic substances that could pollute the land.
Chlorine-free. Chlorine has been used by many paper manufacturers but it is a potentially harmful chemical that seeps into our water systems and is linked to respiratory illnesses. Some recycled paper has chlorine from their original use, the amount in recycled products will decline as more manufacturers move towards other healthy alternatives.
Recyclable. This simply means that you can recycle this product, if you own area allows it.

For more detailed information on paper and recycling, visit the Forest Stewardship Council's site.

It is up to us as consumers to try to buy items without packaging where possible, and reward companies with less packaging or recyclable packaging with our purchasing power.

Do What You Can

But now resident of Ontario have a chance to get rid of some of their waste responsibly with a new $28 million program that allows us to get rid of left over paint, non-rechargeable batteries to participating stores such as Home Depot or Rona. Now before you traipse down to our local stores in Lindsay, I looked up my lindsay postcode and we will have to go to Oshawa or Port Perry for the moment. But it is encouraging. And the best thing about this? We aren't paying for it. In our taxes or to drop things off. It is run by Stewardship Ontario, which is funded by the companies that import or make the materials that are allowed back.

To find out more about what you can dispose of and where the nearest place is, go to dowhatyoucan.ca to learn more.

And don't forget that our own local TAG (Technology Alliance Group) here in Lindsay has had two annual events for the disposal of all your old computers, printers and even old televisions. And they aren't thrown out, they are taken apart and recycled. Read the document report from this wonderful endeavour.

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Do What You Can