[Announce] Day 5: Abandon disposables!

[Robert Waldrop]

30 Days Towards Sustainability

Day 5: Abandon Disposables!

I guess this is the "bad pun" day. Disposables, of 
course, are designed to be abandoned, and that 
indeed is the problem. We are a throw-away society 
and that is a measure of our poor stewardship of 
our wealth.

Replace paper products with durables.

No paper towel can clean as well as a cloth towel. 
In my kitchen I have a big wicker basket of cloth 
towels and napkins. I also have a second basket 
for the towels and napkins for when they have been 
used. When I am cooking, I make sure I have 
several cloth towels handy. I often tuck one into 
my belt so I can wipe or dry my hands on it as 
necessary. If I am simply mopping up a bit of 
water, I hang the towel over the side of the 
wicker basket so it can dry and be used again 
without washing first. If the cloth rag is wet, 
and needs a washing before it can be used again, I 
also hang it on the side of the basket to dry, so 
I don't end up with a smelly basket of moldy 
cloths. Flea markets and garage sales are great 
places to find towels and cloth napkins. Here's a 
link to a site with info about making your own 
cloth napkins:

Make your own cloth napkins!

Remember: six MILLION trees are murdered every 
year to make tissues for people to blow their 
noses with. Carry a cloth handkerchief instead! If 
you have the sniffles, carry two or three 
handkerchiefs.

Diapers

So many parents have told me that cloth diapers 
are superior to disposable diapers that even 
though I myself have no children, I do not 
hesitate to recommend them. First of all, 
manufacturing disposable diapers is not an 
environmentally friendly process, and second of 
all, neither is the popular method of disposal 
(wrapping in black plastic and burying them in the 
ground). And third, children wearing cloth diapers 
usually are toilet trained several months in 
advance of the disposable wearing kids. Every 
parent I've ever known has welcomed the day a 
child is toilet trained with more enthusiasm than 
the Parisians welcoming the Allied troops during 
World War II. Here are some links where you can 
find everything that you need to know about cloth 
diapers.

http://www.thediaperhyena.com/
http://www.diaperjungle.com/sewing-cloth-diapers.html
http://www.fuzbaby.com/makeyourown.htm
http://www.diapersewing.com/
http://www.gentleparenting.com/diaper_wipes_faq.html

Plates, Cups, Utensils

If your church has a dinner and habitually uses 
paper plates and cups, bring your own plate, cup, 
utensils, and then take them home afterwards and 
wash them. Instead of using foam cups for coffee 
at work, bring your own coffee cup from home. Note 
that a quiet example is often more productive than 
a stern lecture. Us United Statesians throw away 
25 BILLION polystyrene cups every year!

Re-use Gift Wrappings

Growing up in southwest Oklahoma in the 1950s and 
1960s, our family routinely recycled bows, 
ribbons, and a lot of wrapping paper from year to 
year. When asked about that, my mother would say, 
"We only used those bows once, it would be foolish 
to throw them away." Actually, some of those bows 
had been used in our family for several years. But 
if you pack them away carefully, they are just 
fine the following year.

Re-fill Water Bottles.

If you buy water in plastic bottles, refill the 
bottles. Not only do you recycle a useful product, 
you save money. You can refill the bottles with 
filtered water. A second alternative is to NOT buy 
water in plastic disposable bottles and instead 
carry water in permanent containers. These can be 
filled with tap water or with filtered water. Note 
that even the most expensive bottled waters are 
usually just tap water that has been filtered.

Ditch the Store-bought Sponges.

Store-bought sponges quickly become breeding 
grounds for bacteria. If you use a used sponge to 
(e.g.) Clean a counter-top, generally you are just 
smearing around even more bacteria to new breeding 
grounds. Using a dish rag or permanent scrub brush 
is a much healthier option - healthy for you and 
your family, and healthy for the environment.

Avoid Plastic Bags.

Buy several cloth totes and take them with you 
when you go shopping.

Glass Bottles

Even glass is considered disposable these days. 
Many people actually throw away glass jars after 
consuming the food that was inside. I did that one 
time. I was about 12 years old. I threw a pickle 
jar into the trash at my grandparent's house. My 
grandfather Glen Waldrop pulled it out of the 
trash, looked at me and said, "Bobby Max, you 
already paid for that glass jar, why would you 
want to throw it away?" Indeed.

Sure, glass can be recycled, and if you won't use 
the jar again, then it should go to the recycling 
bin. But a better idea is to re-use the glass jar. 
A lot of my drinking glasses were once food jars. 
I use glass jars to store dehydrated foods, 
smaller amounts of items I buy in bulk (like 
certified organic whole wheat flour), and cold 
water in the refrigerator.

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I am sure there are many other ideas out there 
about replacements for disposable items in our 
lives. Share them with me and I will tell 
everybody in follow-up emails.

Bob Waldrop

PS.  These articles are being archived at 
http://www.energyconservationinfo.org .  They may 
be freely reposted elsewhere, with credit, thanks!

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