Let’s face it, we interact with a lot of plastic in this disposable society in which we live. I am talking about the products manufactured with the material as well as their packaging…not the people (ha ha ha).

Sometimes weaning yourself away from plastic is just a matter of being aware of your habits. For example, I see eco-minded folks go to a restaurant and get a straw with their beverage. Using a straw that comes with a drink has become as automatic as the process of pairing certain drinks with them. I have caught myself going through the automatic process a few times recently and it takes a bit of time to break it. I catch myself and say —arg! As if, I forgot about my journey to being more “green”.

The biggest reason to skip the straw: millions end up in landfills each year and they can’t be recycled. In addition, manufacturers wrap most straws in paper. Those are great reasons to preserve resources. So suck it up and skip the straw. I believe in you!

A number of companies offer alternatives to plastic straws and are surprisingly cost effective. The company Aardvark® Straws has helped take the paper straw back into the mainstream consciousness. You can even compost or recycle these chlorine free paper straws that come in a variety of sizes to suit your needs. It does not end there. A quick internet search will provide you with several companies that specialize in straws made from bamboo and glass if you heart desires.

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To bag, in this sense of the word, is to keep. It is amazing how many uses you can find for something. In this entry I wanted to share 10 ways you can reuse a paper bag and extend its usable life-cycle. That is, until you recycle it and start the process over again.

So here it goes……

1.  Take it with you the next time you get take out. I have been guilty of watching employees of my favorite food establishments filling a paper bag (yes and sometimes plastic) with a to-go meal for the family, or just me. Now, I take a medium-sized paper bag with a handle on it. It works great.  Of course, plan ahead if you picking up food for a large group. Hey, it works great for other shopping runs too.

2.  Protect your paperbacks (and other books too). Some do it only to protect their borrowed school books from damage. Others do it to show off their artistic creativity or both.  Reusing a paper bag to cover a book is a great way of extending its reusable life-cycle before being recycled again.

3. Wrap a present in style. Cut holes in it like Swiss cheese, paint it, draw on it, or leave it plain. There are many possibilities. I made a pirate map on a paper bag, crumpled it up to give it an aged look, included a birthday wish on the paper, and wrapped the gift with it. You save money on paper, a card, and resources too.

4. The grocery/shopping bag that keeps on giving. Well, this one is obvious and helps my list get to 10. Reusing and recycling a paper bag can eliminate the possibility of it ending up in landfills that already receive a ridiculous amount of paper. According to Environmental Paper Network: “Approximately 40% of the municipal waste stream is paper and paper products.”

5. Countless craft projects. Make a kite, cut out snowflakes, a hat, and puppets, create holiday decorations, or use it as bark for that tree you are making for your school play. What have you seen done?

6.  Contain your recycled paper. On trash/recycling day I see, and pick up, a lot of paper that gets blown out of recycle bins. An easy solution, use a paper bag to hold smaller pieces of recycled paper products so they don’t become an eyesore and make it to the recycling center.

7. Protect your floor or counter. This reuse and then recycle trick works best with dry spills. You can cut open a bag and place it on the counter or use as a doormat.  The paper can catch the loose stuff and can then be easily disposed of properly with little cleanup.

8.  Enjoy fruit faster. Is your local farmers market, or grocery store, out of fruit that is at the peak of your preferred ripeness?  A few fruits that ripen faster in a paper bag include plums, pears, bananas, nectarines, and peaches to name a few.

9.  Lists that last. Do you buy the same items at the grocery each time? Well, even if you don’t you can cut the bag into smaller pieces. Use the scraps as shopping lists (and reuse them) or write notes to family or friends.

10. Make your sales stand out. Many of you do a great job using old garage/yard sale signs for other events. Why paint over the old wording. A few paper grocery bags and some tape can recover the old sign for use again. Lemonade 25¢, Yard Sale this Sunday, Welcome Home, Happy Birthday, Go Cubs!!  — o.k. I think you get the point.

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O.K. I don’t have over one hundred myths about paper. But, you may be surprised by this one.

I had a whole bunch of old utility and credit card bill stubs I had been saving. The reason, I was worried about recycling them with personal information on it and I was being a pack rat and keeping stuff unnecessarily. So, I bought a paper shredder for just such a thing.

Before I made the investment in protecting my privacy I did some research. I found that, on the first of each month, a town near me not only accepts shredded paper documents (the traditional strips all the way to the confetti kind) they also recycle it!

So, I felt a bit of relief knowing that my shredded paper could still go to future iterations of paper products rather than a blob taking up landfill space.

Why you will make a difference: Expanding your thinking with what you can recycle is huge and can save a lot of trees from being destroyed.
Even envelopes with the little plastic windows can still be placed in the recycle bin. Yes, paper with staples too (if you forget to remove them). Foreign material like plastic and metal gets removed when the paper is converted back into pulp, goes through a de-inking process, and is then screened for unwanted stuff.

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According to a recent article published by stopglobalwarming.org, 4 million tons of gift bags and wrapping paper are thrown in the trash during our wintertime holiday celebrations. WOW!

Their tips: “try skipping the gift wrap and cut back on holiday waste. Use the least amount of packaging and wrapping as possible, or try alternatives to paper gift wrapping. Newspaper, fabric scraps, scarves, reusable boxes, tins and jars are great wrapping ideas. If you do buy wrapping paper, always choose recycled and save wrap and bows for re-use next year.”

If you have not already checked out their site, I highly recommend it. There are nearly a million and a quarter folks (including me) who have joined the Stop Global Warming Virtual March.

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Hi there. I was going to the store to replace my doorbell and noticed a determined group of people partnering to remove trash and other undesirables from the road’s shoulder. What a great opportunity to write and provide a big “hats off” to those dedicated folks that load up those telltale orange bags with litter. Or perhaps a 21 bag salute is more fitting.

Chances are good that your State’s Adopt-A-Highway program still has a stretch of road near you with your name on it. Adopt-A-Highway programs provide a great opportunity for individuals, clubs, for-profit/non-profit organizations and business, and even sororities/fraternities to step up with their good, environmentally conscious, deeds.

Hey, you get a small workout too! In most cases it’s a two-mile stretch to maintain. Typically it includes the options of removing trash, mowing/weeding, and even the potential of planting shrubs, flowers, and trees.

Don’t worry about the bags and safety vests. My research found that the Department of Transportation in your state would likely provide the bags, vests, and will even pick up and dispose of the bags that folks fill. If you don’t like getting out there and doing it yourself you just may be able to wrangle up some eager volunteers and/or work-for-hire folks that will help with the cause.

I am certainly going to look into volunteering for a cleanup in my area.

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