BYO Bag

I just came back from shopping and it's so nice that bringing your own bag is so accepted now. Before I left my house, I grabbed an old Express shopping bag and used it at the Gap and the bookstore. Both times the salespeople didn't think anything of it. I don't see a reason for taking home a new bag again, as long as I plan my shopping trips in advance. It's the spur-of-the-moment trips that get you. I keep a few bags in my car for the grocery store, but sometimes they're still in my apartment from my last trip so I am caught bagless. But still, it's a vast improvement over how many bags I used to use (er, waste). I'd collect them in my pantry for those occasions when you need a bag, but that didn't occur very often so the pile kept growing and growing. Now I think it's been months since I brought home a new shopping bag. Not only is that better for the environment, but it means less clutter. And that always makes me happy!

Biodegradable trash bags seemed like a good idea

Sometimes it feels like Americans create so much waste. I found statistics online that showed that while we're recycling more, we're still sending more to our landfills because our waste has almost tripled in the last half-century as our population has grown and society has gotten wealthier, resulting in buying more packaged goods. I think about this a lot. We recycle at work and it's hard to keep up with the bags of plastic containers that topple over in the kitchen and our personal bags of paper next to our desks. It's good that we're recycling but it's still just a lot of stuff. If I'm producing this much as just one person, how do we even have room in our landfills anymore? Then I think about all those plastic bags holding our trash that are sent to landfills. What happens to them? So I decided to do my part to reduce waste, both my recycling more but also cutting back on trash bags. Let me explain ...

When I moved into my apartment, I had to buy trash cans, one of many silly decisions to be made during my grand shopping spree to Target. I wanted a smaller can for trash because when you're conscious about recycling, your recycling container actually fills up faster, with all the plastic containers, beer bottles, newspapers, circulars, etc. My trash is mainly food scraps and those odd items that can't be recycled, like energy bar wrappers (and bottle caps? I've never been able to figure that one out). So after much internal debate and staring at cans trying to imagine the right size I needed, I ended up buying a 13-gallon can for recyclables that sits next to my fridge.

For my trash, I couldn't find one that would fit under my sink so I ended up using a wicker basket I already had. I knew the plan was flawed because wicker and liquid don't mix (I bet you never learned that in driver's ed). I wasn't happy about the occasional leaky trash bag, but it worked well enough. The bigger pain was my determination to not buy trash bags. I used a Trader Joe's reusable shopping bag in my recycling can and it would fill up quickly, but there was still room in the can so the bag would overflow and be a pain to take out. For trash I had no choice so for a while I used the occasional plastic bag I ended up with or the bags holding my newspapers on days when there was a chance of rain (they definitely erred on the safe side because I got those bags a lot, way more than it rained).

But I had planted the seeds of a better plan, one that involved no plastic sent to a landfill, when I saw biodegradable bags for sale in a catalog for Gaiam, which sells eco-friendly items like overpriced organic cotton yoga pants. I was like a child at Christmas pouring through the Sears catalog. I want, I want! I waited for a while and finally last month I decided to order them. They're for composting -- small ones for kitchen compost containers and larger ones for yard waste. But I figured I could use the small ones for my trash, so the bag I sent to the landfill would eventually biodegrade. They're pricier than regular trash bags (about $6 for 25 3-gallon bags) but I wouldn't go through them that quickly. When I did some research online, I found out they sold the same brand, BioBag, at Whole Foods. That made things easier, since I didn't have to pay for shipping.

One person had left a comment saying that the only drawback was they started to decompose a little if left too long before being taken out. The box says "BioBags are shelf stable yet biodegrade quickly when exposed to nature's elements and micro-organisms." They weren't kidding. The first week was fine but the second week there was some liquid in the bag so after five or so days the thin green plastic started to melt right into my wicker basket. Ewwee. The minute I discovered this I rushed the bag off to my apartment's trash bins.

This is where fate comes in, or perhaps the earth sending me a sign to chill out a little. I had just reluctantly bought trash bags for a weekend beach party. I couldn't have opened the box any faster. I put a bag in my larger trash can, converted it to holding my trash, and moved my recycling in the TJ's bag to next to the trash can. No wicker basket. This is a much better plan. No fear of melting bags, plus it's been easier not having to open the cabinet door and lean down to throw away cucumber peels.

I tried making an everyday part of living more environmental, but it's easier and more convenient the old-fashioned, more wasteful way. I'm not sure what to do now with my biodegradable trash bags. The box recommends using them to store produce in your fridge because your veggies will stay fresher longer. But maybe I'll keep them for when I decide to make my life less convenient again and attempt to compost!

A travel mug in the hand is worth ... nothing if you don't use it

Saving the earth is hard work.

My original inspiration for starting this blog was my desire to share the funny things that happened as I attempted to help the environment. In that vein, I present to you my latest gaffe.

I've been trying to not use paper cups when I buy coffee since they aren't recyclable. And in the last year I've made good progress. I used to take my own cup when I bought coffee from the Coffee Bean downstairs from work. And recently I came up with a better system and brought a travel mug to work, so I can order my to-go coffee in a container with a lid. But mainly I try to not buy coffee too often and instead make it at home. I've cut back on my Saturday morning ritual and now just buy coffee whenever I feel like I need it. This morning was one of those days. I had to leave extra time this morning for voting in California's special election (which is another gripe entirely) so I figured I'd buy coffee at the local coffee shop around the corner from my polling place. And I actually remembered to grab a travel mug from my cupboard. Aww, so proud of myself!

What happened next is mostly a blur. I entered an empty polling place, took 10 seconds to vote, was told afterward that I could get free coffee with my "I voted" sticker, grabbed my travel mug from my car and was on my way. Free coffee and no waste. Score! OK, not so much.

In line I got distracted eavesdropping on the kids in front of me talking about an funnily inappropriate song on YouTube using the word f** (but impressed that the kid ordering hot chocolate -- a middle school boy at that -- said "I can understand why gay people don't like that song"), then I completely forgot ... where I was going with this sentence. Just joking, but seriously, that's what happened to my memory. During the two minutes I stood in line, I forgot I was holding my travel mug and ordered my coffee without handing over my mug. I walked away from the counter happy that I didn't have to pull out my wallet. But when I had to put my travel mug down to put milk and sugar in my *** nonrecyclable *** paper cup, well, that's when it hit me. I sheepishly walked out doublefisted -- hot coffee in one hand, empty container in the other. This is where good intentions go to die. I had good intentions by voting, I had good intentions by bringing my mug, I just couldn't quite make it happen. No one said saving the earth was easy, so I'll leave it to the Prius-driving, bus takers of the world. In the meantime, I put my coffee in my cup holder and drove 30 miles to work. I'm blaming Schwarzenegger for the whole thing.

Out of sight, out of mind

During my trash experiment in February, in which I collected my trash for a week to get a better idea of what I throw away and where I could minimize waste, one change I made was to switch to paperless statements. Well, my good intentions almost got me in trouble.

For the past six months I've been paying off some furniture I bought on a Cost Plus credit card (interest free!). It's a fairly new credit card so I'm not that used to paying it. When the statement stopped coming in the mail, it was out of sight, out of mind until today, when, looking over last month's bank statement, seeing April's payment triggered my memory. I had an "Oh god" moment -- had the due date already passed? "Whew." I just looked it up online and it's not due until next week.

The e-mailed bill must have gone to my junk mail. I just went through my junk mail and didn't see it, so I'm guessing I erased it weeks ago without noticing it. Thankfully, this memory game is almost over. I'm one month away from paying the credit card off, which means I just have to remember to pay in June.

For now, I'm off to pay this month's bill online before I forget.

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And in other news, I can cross one more catalog off my list. I called Lego today and had them take me off their mailing list. At Christmas I had ordered a Lego toy online for my nephew, so they sent me their Spring 2009 catalog -- something an adult with no children really has no use for, although it did make me a little nostalgic. It took a few minutes (and one wrong phone call to the Taj Majal resort in Atlantic City) but it was worth it.