Another week in this awesome journey has gone by and I have learned quite a bit.  The green challenge for the week was to learn about packaging and to reduce or eliminate the packaging I use.  I think I did a fairly good job on this week’s green challenge, but there is always room for improvement.  This is a look back at what I learned about packaging and its impact on the environment.

First, I learned about the evils of Styrofoam and that our landfills compromise about 25% of this junk.  Unfortunately, Styrofoam is not very friendly for the environment.  I had previously thought that it was completely unrecyclable, but my friend @Frankejames pointed out that Toronto DOES, in fact, recycle Styrofoam.  It is still not an ideal situation and the world would likely be a better place without it.  When recycled, this type of waste is typically used as filler for other plastics and cannot be re-used on its own.

We also kept track of the packaging waste we brought in and I think I did ok.  There were certainly some things I could have done better with, but I think that our overall intake of packaging has been relatively small.  I know that I cannot eliminate the packaging I use, but we can always improve.

I have looked at paper product in our landfills, food waste in our landfills and now packaging.  Between the three, most of our garbage is accounted for.  My wife and I are on a journey to lessen our impact on the environment and reducing our packaging waste is part of the master plan.  Thanks for reading this week and let me know about your packaging stories in the comment area below.  Also, stay tuned for our next challenge that will be posted later today.

This week’s green challenge is to learn about packaging and its impact on the environment.  In the process I have learned just how horrible Styrofoam is to our landfills and ultimately for the environment.  Well, I am pleased to say that I have not used any Styrofoam or have purchased anything that used Styrofoam as packaging.  I have, however, used some packaging.  Today, I am going to do a small review of the packaging I have accumulated this week…. My naughty list

1. I bought my wife some flowers this week.  No, I did not get in trouble, but like doing this kind of stuff for Ashley on occasion.  It is me paying her off for putting up with me.    Seriously though, there was a wrapping around the flowers was packaging.  There was some paper wrapping which we kept for future use.  Also, there was some plastic wrapping that we had to throw away. 
2. Weather stripping – I bought some weather stripping that had a hard clam plastic wrapping.  This will go into the garbage.  Hopefully, the offset will be made by the energy savings
3. Grocery Shopping – This was likely my biggest contribution to packaging throughout the week.  Here, I accumulated the wrapping for cauliflower, box and wrappers for Popsicles, package for Jell-O, some Gatorade containers, a plastic milk container and a can for Pizza Sauce.   Much of the packaging is due to a special diet I need to follow this week for a medical procedure, but some was not.  Also, much of the packaging will be recycled, but not all.

I think that is about it for the packaging I have brought into my home and know I can still improve.  Tell me your story in the comments area below.

This is an interesting talk about the future of packaging.  Althpough I would like to see a movement to less packaging rather than different packaging, I thought it was a nice listen.  Let me know what you think.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7MGNmmnw68

I really hate throwing away so much garbage just by purchasing products we use every day. Now, even more things are being individually packaged for our convenience. This packaging is taking over our landfills. I seek to find products and companies that reduce their packaging and reduces our waste in the end.

I did find one company in the home cleaning aisle of Target. Method, creates formulas that are biodegradable and derived from natural materials. They are also a very green company because their packaging is made from the most readily recyclable materials. They also offset any CO2 emissions with carbon credits. Their products are never tested on animals, which is something is very important to me when I search for products.

I really love the scent of the lavender one that I purchased. I purchased this product specifically because right next to it in the store was the refills that you would purchase. This cuts out the need to purchase another pump and a reduces the amount of garbage thrown away and plastic products that are manufactured. If you have any other comments about cleaners have reduced their packing leave it in the comments section below.

When given a new green challenge by Ashley, I have found it a useful exercise to examine why following the given task is a good idea.   This week’s green challenge is to reduce the amount of packaging I use and try to eliminate as much packaging as possible.  To eliminate packaging completely is pretty much impossible, but it is certainly a worthwhile endeavor to use as little packaging as possible.

In a previous week, and with the help of our NatureMill composter, we worked to reduce the amount of food waste we produce.   Besides the food that cannot be used or composted, what else is there that goes into the garbage?  Some people put diapers in the garbage.  Most of us have paper waste, but hopefully we are trying to recycle what we can.  What is left?  Packaging.

A good chunk of the packaging in our landfills is Styrofoam.  25% of our landfills are made up of Styrofoam.  I am sure part of this 25% is Styrofoam coffee cups (which could generally be avoided), but part of this is the packaging that we send and receive.  Everything from the Styrofoam eggshells to molded Styrofoam packaging goes straight into the garbage.  This material cannot be disposed of in an eco-friendly way (that I am aware of) and should be avoided.

Besides Styrofoam, which I am learning to be evil, there are other reasons to avoid as much packaging as possible.  If Styrofoam takes up 25% of the landfill, I wonder what the percentage is for all packaging waste.  Even if you buy a product that uses recycled packaging and you recycle it yourself, it still takes resources to recover that material.  Somebody needs to pick up the item in a carbon emitting vehicle, go through an industrial (and likely carbon emitting) process to change the item into whatever, then turn around and transport the item back out to the public.  A recycled product is a way BETTER way to consume, but avoiding the waste packaging product altogether is BEST for the environment. 

Avoiding packaging will always be better for the environment.  I already have some ideas on great ways that we can avoid packaging further and sure I will have a list coming up in the near future.  Please let me know any information you have or what you do to reduce your packaging waste in the comments area below.

It is a new week and time for a new environmentally friendly challenge!  For those just joining me, my wife is greener than me and she has been giving me a new environmental task to research and complete every week.  This is the eleventh week and I have learned quite a bit so far.  This week’s new green challenge is to reduce and try to eliminate the use of packaging.

This might be a difficult task to follow through on completely.  It seems that everything has some sort of packaging.  Even yesterday, when I was at the grocery store, it was difficult to find certain kinds of vegetables that did not have a bag around it.  Having completed some previous tasks that touched on kinds of packaging, I know that this may be a hard one to successfully complete.

This should be an interesting topic to research since packaging likely takes up a good percentage of our land.  Take some time to subscribe to follow this week’s adventure further.  Also, if you have any interesting information for us going into this week, let me know in the comments area below.