Tap That

Did you know that when you buy that plastic liter bottle of water at the 7-11, you're actually consuming 6 liters of water? Yeah - that's because it takes nearly 5 liters of water to manufacture the plastic bottle holding all that H2O. I saw it on Oprah so it must be true.

Not enough to get you to quit the Evian habit? According to the Green Guide, Americans tossed over 22 BILLION empty plastic bottles into the trash. To produce those bottles alone, the US will drain 1.5 million barrels of oil over the course of just a year. That's a lot of Texas Tea we could be using to power our planes, trains and automobiles ... but instead we're tossing it into the landfill where it will sit for the next thousand years.

Do we seriously still think our tap water isn't safe to drink? Sure, we think we're making the "healthy" choice when we opt for Dasani in lieu of a Coke on our road trips, but what about the refill? What's so wrong with re-using those bottles with cold tap water? Or hey, here's a novel idea: how about we use a little forethought and bring our own bottle with us when we're out and about (maybe it could stow in one of your handy canvas totes?).

I'm all for drinking plenty of water and there are times when I will buy a bottle at the airport, but I refuse to buy plastic bottle after plastic bottle. What am I, too good for the tap?
Not anymore! I have my aluminum Sigg bottle set and ready to go in my carry on for next week's trip. I will fill it up at home and at various stops along the way, because it's just not worth it to create the extra trash.

Plus, the cool leaf design on the jug is a much finer fashion statement.

Damn It Feels Good to Be a Recycla'

Aside from the fact that I was a woman about town in a gas-guzzling Xterra today, I feel pretty good on the eco-living homefront. I trucked my 5 gallon tub of low-grade paperboard (cereal, frozen food, silk, egg cartons), box of unwanted catalogs (which I hope will be declining soon, see recent post about canceling catalog mailings) and a couple of corrugated cardboard boxes to my local recycling center. While there, I noted a new container dedicated to office paper and junk mail. Made a note to start office recycling at aSQUARED Online Marketing, Inc.


Then I headed to Target to procure a couple of personal items and some first aid necessities for upcoming vaca. I handed the check out woman my hideously embarrassing old skool Wild Oats canvas bag and she enthusiastically thanked me for bringing in my own bag! I was shocked. Most of the time I get sideways glances from the checkers like I'm some sort of dirty hippie. Instead this woman went on to tell me about the friend who works at the landfill and how she was absolutely appalled at all the plastic bags that get thrown away (about 100 billion annually in the US of A alone). She even went so far as to tell me all about the reusable bags Target was selling for $1.49.

Yeah for consumer awareness. Now - get your own bag!

EcoBag String Bag - great for produce. $10 each

Recyled SailCloth Bags from VivaTerra - $98
(but you'll want to carry it ALL the time)

Fun Tote - Cotton Canvas Tote from Elsewheres
created by independet artists. $32