Have you gone green yet?

To me, going green is just another gimmick to make money for those who are rich. if the people on the planet were serious about going green, then ALL humans would be in on recycling, not just those in America.

I will admit that we recycle plastic and aluminum cans. we attempt to do our part.

Good idea for spahetti jars.

Erm, @john65pennington, people do recycle all over the planet, especially the poor.

As for me, I’ve found my green habits subconsciously change over the past few years. I use far fewer plastic bags, turn of the heating when not needed, drive less and wash out plastics, glasses as metals rather than throw them out. I’m quite pleased about it.

Yes, we recycle through our county’s recycle prorgram. They take glass, metal, paper, #1 & #2 plastic and cardboard. I also save #5 plastic and prescription pill bottles to take to Whole Foods at they have a recycle program for that. I need to get back to composting though as that is a really easy way to recycle.

@john65pennington here is an article from the BBC about recycling in a few countries. Some do it well, some not as well.

To me, recycling isn’t just about throwing it in the bin for pickup. It’s also about re-using and re-purposing things. Like @Frenchfry and her spaghetti jars. Or making dust clothes out of old clothes. I even see quilting as a way to recycle. My mom was raised during the “great depression” and I saw her reuse things all the time.

Here in the UK we are already ‘green’. We have separate bins for cans,plastic and bottles, another bin for garden waste, another bin for paper and cardboard and yet another bin for non-recyclable waste. This is collected each week from our driveway.
I love this way of dealing with our waste…. everyone should recycle!

We recycle, use cloth shopping bags, and switched to CFL bulbs wherever possible. They don’t work in some of our older light fixtures. Other things, like making an effort not to waste water or electricity, are habits instilled in us by our parents, who were more concerned with saving on utility bills than being “green,” but they help to serve the same purpose.

I’d like to start composting, and after seeing the simple set-up my sister-in-law has, I think I’ll try it out. She also has a barrel she uses to collect rainwater for watering her garden. We don’t use pesticides.

When we do have plastic bags around the house, we reuse them as garbage bags in the bathroom wastebaskets. I save a lot of glass jars for my son to use in his bug collecting pursuits, and whenever something from the store comes in a reusable container, I keep it for storing leftovers.

@MissAusten That is a awesome idea from watering plants. Cool. Cool whip containers for leftovers works awesome.

I recycle just about everything. I buy locally produced food whenever available. I ride my bike to work three days a week. My company has a large compost bin, so I take compostables in.

And I try to think about how far everything I touch has had to travel before I decide whether to buy it. It’s not enough, but I’m trying.

@partyparty The UK is already green? Are you sure? Yes, from what I’ve seen, they do a much better job at recycling trash, although many people do not compost. Far too many people drive a car or take a taxi when they could walk or take public transportation.

If I had to place a bet, I’d say that most in the US are worse at it than those in the UK, but it is just a guess. It’s a matter of us all learning more about what we can do in our own little ways to go green.

There are varying shades of green. lol

I do save plastic bags and use them as trash liners, and I do not use pesticides or herbicides on my property, toss leftover everything from chicken carcasses to spaghetti, fruits, veggies out to the wildlife and love creating a haven for the wildlife on my property.

The coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks and turkeys clean up any leftovers.

I no longer though, recycle every little thing as I don’t end up with a lot of aluminum cans or others such recycling products.

I do seem to end up with more paper related trash than I think I should be generating for a single person, but..oh well…I do my part in other ways, good enough.

Not fully green, unfortunately. It’s just too difficult as a college student who lives at home with four other people. We’ve been recycling for as long as I can remember. General recycling get picked up Thursday. Plastic bottles and aluminum go to the local recycling center for cash exchange. Any packaging material large enough to be used for shipping (usually, anything shoebox sized or bigger – bubblewrap, newspapers, etc.) goes to my mum who runs auctions on Ebay (she’s a BIG recycler who tosses her gum out the window. Sigh.) And I always look for recycling receptacles to dispose of stuff on campus even if means walking around with an empty bottle for a while.

There are plenty of things I could do to stave my footprint further. Can anyone recommend a good water filter? Nobody in their right mind would drink the tap water here, but I’d feel better about the amount of water I consume if I eliminate the unnecessary plastic packaging it comes in.

I’ve stopped using plastic bags and switched to canvas totes (thankfully, the people at registers are significantly less confused about this as they used to be.) I take public transportation (though that was instigated by a completely non-green reason.) I’ve used thrift stores as a method for recycling since I was a kid – both giving them my old clothes and purchasing theirs. I keep electronics off when they aren’t in use (it drives me CRAZY when people leave things on.) I’ve tried to cut back on how much water I use (shorter showers, turn the tap off while brushing my teeth, etc.)

I’m sure I’m forgetting things, and even more certain that there is more I could be doing. Water is the biggest deal to me since I live in California. I’ve always felt so guilty about water consumption. It’s a bit sad how much we waste.

Paper is the one thing I have struggled with. I buy recycled paper notebooks for classes, but I cannot and will not purchase eBooks over hardbacks. I just can’t.

@Pied_Pfeffer If we don’t dispose of our rubbish in this manner, we are liable to a fine.
I agree about taking taxis or driving rather than walking, but out public transport system leaves much to be desired.
I do compost, save water in a water butt and I also share whatever produce I have surplus with neighbours.
I think each and every one of us should do our utmost to lessen our carbon footprint

We reuse what we can. I’ll reuse jars and plastic containers for as long as I can. I reuse plastic bags as trash can liners and as packing for the care packages I send to my husband. He then uses the plastic bags for his trash. We try to conserve energy as much as possibly by keeping the lights off during the day, unplugging electronics we don’t use often, and have switched to the CFL bulbs were we can. I recycled just about everything I can (paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, aluminum).

I recycle most things and compost what I can (sometimes I am a little lazy about it though). I also make sure to turn off lights when not using them, and try to unplug certain applicances when not in use (like the coffee maker). I use plastic bags for the garbage, paper bags for garbage, recyclables and compost, and those newspaper and produce bags for the cat litter. I will often reuse containers for various things (one of my favorites is using empty tissue boxes to store plastic bags in a drawer, neatly). I try to turn off the water when I brush my teeth and I don’t let the shower run for too long before I get into it. I also save water by doing my laundry when I have large loads (which also saves money). I take public transportation now that I live in a city. I have also, almost entirely, removed plastic bottles from my daily life – I use a Klean Kanteen and a Pur filter for water but will occasionally purchase juice or a bottle of water if I’m out and really thirsty.

I’m hoping to start a business soon and am anxious to make that as green and sustainable as possible as well, I am always looking for new ideas. This is a great question!!

I save tinfoil for re-use, only use the dishwasher when it’s jammed full and the washer only if I have a big load. I also get into the shower asap so I won’t waste water .
None of this will matter in the long run, though. What is going to happen to our planet will happen regardless of my saved tinfoil.

I reuse shopping bags to line the trashcans in the bathrooms. Like you I’ve saved spaghetti sauce jars for a long time. Great for all types of gadgets hubby needs. We save aluminum cans for the burn center. I keep a couple egg cartons to start seeds in before transfering to larger pots or outside. I have a buuter container full of odd buttons I cut off blouses and dresses before trashing them. I don’t call it going green, I call it being thrifty.

We’re vegans, we bike and use public transportation only, we recycle, we grow some veggies, we don’t use plastic bags, we try to shop locally, cook all our own food, my husband’s a genius at making things more sustainable and energy efficient – he has a budding business that does this for others, we compost, we try to throw out as little as possible, we give all old clothing to charity or other people, all the furniture we don’t need we give to neighbors, we support many environmental causes monetarily and with time, we’re raising conscious children.