What the Everyday Ordinary Citizen can do to Save the World. Part I: Recycling is for more than cans.

Imagine, the energy saved by recycling one can will power your TV for 3 hours. Yet so many of us don't recycle bottles and cans or newspapers, even though the infrastructure exists to reimburse many of us for doing so. How fantastic, to make enough off of the raw materials that you can pay the consumer to recycle, as some California plants do!

In Environmental Science I always run into people who say "I wish I could help out but I don't know how" or "I would do all these things but I'm a _____", _____ usually being "mother", "student", "child" or other signifier that in the view of that person justifies their perceived inability to act. In this collection of articles, inspired by the Ecotopian Pioneers Group, I hope to address the crucial disjunct Everyday Ordinary Citizens (EOC's) like you and I see between global problems and our everyday habits.

This article focuses on the concept of Recycling as a means to reduce waste. Most EOC's think of recycling as being limited to paper products, plastics and metals. The purpose of this segment is to highlight ways in which to recycle other everyday materials in order to reduce overall waste as well as the household carbon footprint. While many of these ideas apply more directly to American lifestyles, some can be useful in other contexts as well. Keep in mind that what follows is just a smattering of examples and by no means an exhaustive list.

Containers.

Try placing all of your fruits and vegetables into the same plastic bag while shopping. Many cashiers will sneer at you or handle your food as a result but it has to be washed anyway and people down the distribution line have likely been touching your food already.

When you go shopping, bring your own fabric bags to carry bought items. Consider this as an option for all shopping outings, not just for groceries.

Bring your own coffee mug to your local coffee place or smoothie joint. I've yet to find one that wont fill mine.

Save plastic and paper bags or boxes for reuse as trash bags or when you next move.

Nylon stockings can be used to as strainers in broiling, brewing or making dyes. Newspaper strips placed in a fine mesh bag or nylons and tossed for a few minutes in the washer makes good kitty litter once air-dried. Note that depending on your brand of washer some ink may be left so you should do a few test-washings afterwards to be sure.

Old or melted cups and glasses make good cases or candleholders. Spice jars and margarine cups can be relabeled and reused.

Consider composting.

Cloth:

Old and worn out clothing can be layered and turned into oven mitts or cut apart and used to make new, patchwork garments.

By cutting off the sleeves and top seam of old t-shirts and slitting where the sleeves used to be you can turn them over and use them as skirts.

Consider carrying hankies instead of using tissues and napkins to limit the use of paper products and try using cloth hand towels in the kitchen and bathroom in lieu of paper towels.

Women who are serious about their convictions might consider switching to earth-friendly menstrual products. Some amazing alternatives (including some you may never have considered) can be found at lunapads.com and on a personal note I'd recommend them for a number of reasons.

Amenities:

Consider that most of the electric bill you pay is the immense energy that goes into heating and cooling materials (my father once got mad at me for leaving a light bulb on for three days straight. I flipped him a penny and told him to keep the change) and act accordingly. Find ways to use existing heat to your advantage.

Think about using natural light or airflow, especially if your home is heated disproportionately (air coming up from the basement would be cooler, e.g.) or think about air-drying your hair, even if that means a different style.

Consider the byproducts, such as ice cubes and steam from the kettle, ice can cool a bath or pet water and steam can help you clean. Leave excess water out to evaporate and cool the room.

If you live in a warm clime, use flat stones left in the sun to iron with and consider investing in ovens or baking plates that use solar energy. Some can literally be left in a window to cook.

If you need to defrost a fridge, turn the AC off and let it cool the room. Leave the oven open after you shut it off to warm the room.

Classify you water into types. Potable water is still good for drinking. But some water that you wouldn't want to drink can still be used to nourish to pets and plants. Use a bucket and wash your car with bathwater. It's just soapy water with some skin cells in it, why let it go to waste?

Don't leave the water running on full when waiting for it to warm up or attending to other things.

Consider taking hot water bottles to bed with you at night instead of warming the entire house during the winter. Think about putting on a sweater or letting one room you don't frequent heat the whole house instead of letting multiple rooms heat themselves.

Try to only control the climate of rooms you plan to be in for long periods of time.

Try using left over table salt to cool water in your beverage cooler.

Electronics:

Many common electronics can be recycled easily and in fact many (such as those containing mercury) should never be trashed. Keep in mind that Goodwill will be happy to take most of your possessions off of your hands, given the chance.

Batteries - www.batteryrecycling.com

Compact discs and other Media - www.aureltech.com

Computer disks - www.greendisk.com

Computers, inkjet/laser cartridges - www.sharetechnology.org
Also, printer ink cartridges can frequently be recycled at your local business supply store for no charge - many of them even offer free paper!

Computers and Home Electronics - www.eiae.org

Foam Packing Peanuts and Blocks - www.epspackaging.org

Home Phones - www.reclaimere.com

Reusable Building Materials and large household items - www.2good2toss.com

All eyeglasses and mobile phones can and should be donated to one of multiple organizations that help children and abused women. My favorites are Lenscrafters and Lyons club donations (eyeglasses) and www.collectivegood.com or www.donateaphone.com for cell phones.

More information on this topic can be found on Earth911.org. This list contains many things myself and my friends have tried as well as others I've come up with recently. Doing these things regularly helps me to remember that just because I can live at this level of waste does not mean I have to. Please leave your own ideas and creative solutions in the comments section. This article will be periodically updated with new information.