To be are not to be green
In a world gone “green”, everyone these days seems to be on the re-purpose, re-use and recycle, ban wagon. Yet do we truly understand what works, what does not, what is hype, what is real and just what does “going green” really mean?
We can start with the simplest of questions asked every time we visit almost any store – paper or plastic? Of course, this is a huge debate and has been for quite some time. Lets look at them one at a time.
Plastic bags are made from petroleum. Yep, you guessed it – oil. Now to be fair it must be mentioned that plastic is made of a by-product of oil refining.
However, it accounts for approximately 4% of the worlds total oil production. That may not sound like a lot, but when you stop and think about it that is a great deal of oil.
Like paper, plastic bags are recyclable. Unfortunately, it usually is not and simply winds up in a landfill. Plastic does not compost like paper does. It does not breakdown over time and 20 years from now, that plastic bag that you sent to the landfill will still be there. Some stores are actually giving credit to people who re-use their plastic bags, but bottom line is, even if you are recycling your plastic, it can only be remelted and remolded a specific number of times before it winds up in the landfill anyway. And then, yes you guessed it again, it is going to be there for another 20 years.
To be fair, there are down sides to using paper as well. Paper uses a lot of natural resources to make. Not only do we consume vast amounts of fuel to run the trucks that get to and from the trees, the equipment necessary for loggers to fell the trees also uses a lot of fuel. Currently most fuel is still made from non-renewable sources. There is an incredible amount of work and time that goes into taking trees down and processing them into paper.
But looking on the positive side, more and more tree farms are being planted for the sole purpose of eventually using them for paper products and other wood based materials. The environmentalists are also ensuring that here in the U.S. at least, multiple alternatives are being sought for fuel to run the equipment and we are learning everyday about more renewable sources of energy to run the equipment needed to take trees down.
Even more positive, paper is not only recyclable it is 100% biodegradable. If it does make its way to a landfill, it will eventually decompose and be returned to the soil. More people are recycling paper everyday. You can even toss it directly into your own composting bin and next year it will be part of the soil you use in your garden or yard. Nearly every major (and many minor) community nationwide has paper-recycling areas where not nearly as many have those for recycling plastics.
You have made your decision. You are doing the environmentally friendly thing to do and are using paper when checking out at the grocery store rather than plastic. This is wonderful. You have also taken other major steps as well to ensure we have environmentally friendly materials in your home. When redoing those floors, you decided that bamboo flooring or some form of natural stone was the better choice - to man made carpeting. All of the newer appliances you have purchased are energy saving and cost effective.
So I have to ask, why do you still have those fake, plastic based and laminated countertops in the kitchen and the bathroom? Formica may be pretty and they can now make it to actually look almost like granite, which you love, but it is still not natural and is still a man made product that is going to live in the landfill for the next 20 years – not decomposing or helping the environment at all. Isn’t it time for you to change that and make your entire home “green” and environmentally friendly?
