January 31, 2009
Weekly Tip from the Groundskeeper
There are many ways that each and every one of us can be more environmentally friendly. Many of our everyday actions lead to the destruction of forests, increase of endangered species, and the pollution of the land around us. From now on, I will be putting on my Groundskeeper hat every Saturday to provide a weekly tip to encourage and inspire green living.
This first, very simple tip will help decrease the over-use and resultant pollution of plastic bags. Instead of accepting the bags provided while shopping, bring your own canvas bags when you go. Don’t forget that they are useful at more than just the grocery store, bring them on any shopping trip!
And you don’t have to just get boring old canvas bags, either! You have many stylish options that are still eco-friendly (for example, at Nubius Organics). Another option is to go to your local craft store, pick up some plain canvas bags and some fabric paint and make a project of it! In fact, my brother’s girlfriend printed designs onto special paper and ironed them onto canvas bags for Christmas gifts this year. They were personal, adorable, useful, and eco-friendly! It doesn’t get much better than that!
If you are concerned about the bulk of carrying around a stash of canvas bags, look into other options for more compact re-usable bags. In my area, we use ChicoBags, a very compact bag that has a rather large capacity! Feel free to do some shopping around!
Laura!
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I actually knit 3 expandable cotton bags to take grocery shopping. My roommate and I hardly ever use plastic bags anymore!
Molly
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Instead of using a brown-paper bag for my lunch, or using plastic sandwich bags to contain all of my snacks, I bought a Harry Potter lunch box and some tupperware containers that I can reuse when I pack my lunch.
I also got another Harry Potter lunch box for Christmas.
This is my way of being eco-friendly.
Sash1113
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I love the idea of decorating the bags. You could easily make that a chapter activity or fundraiser! Have stations set up to tie-dye or paint your own bag and charge a small fee. Tag each bag so that people can pick up theirs at the end of the day.