Not fully green, unfortunately. It’s just too difficult as a college student who lives at home with four other people. We’ve been recycling for as long as I can remember. General recycling get picked up Thursday. Plastic bottles and aluminum go to the local recycling center for cash exchange. Any packaging material large enough to be used for shipping (usually, anything shoebox sized or bigger – bubblewrap, newspapers, etc.) goes to my mum who runs auctions on Ebay (she’s a BIG recycler who tosses her gum out the window. Sigh.) And I always look for recycling receptacles to dispose of stuff on campus even if means walking around with an empty bottle for a while.
There are plenty of things I could do to stave my footprint further. Can anyone recommend a good water filter? Nobody in their right mind would drink the tap water here, but I’d feel better about the amount of water I consume if I eliminate the unnecessary plastic packaging it comes in.
I’ve stopped using plastic bags and switched to canvas totes (thankfully, the people at registers are significantly less confused about this as they used to be.) I take public transportation (though that was instigated by a completely non-green reason.) I’ve used thrift stores as a method for recycling since I was a kid – both giving them my old clothes and purchasing theirs. I keep electronics off when they aren’t in use (it drives me CRAZY when people leave things on.) I’ve tried to cut back on how much water I use (shorter showers, turn the tap off while brushing my teeth, etc.)
I’m sure I’m forgetting things, and even more certain that there is more I could be doing. Water is the biggest deal to me since I live in California. I’ve always felt so guilty about water consumption. It’s a bit sad how much we waste.
Paper is the one thing I have struggled with. I buy recycled paper notebooks for classes, but I cannot and will not purchase eBooks over hardbacks. I just can’t.