Christmas Wrapping the Eco-Friendly Way.

It is black friday and many people where out and about shopping for Christmas.... I for one was at work. But I did do a little online shopping after. I must admit I didn't get all "green" or "eco-friendly" gifts.... but one thing I did think about was wrapping paper... Every year I feel like so much wrapping paper. Can it be recycled?  The answer is no! Typical gift wrap should not be put in recycling! 

Most wrapping papers can't ne recycled because they are dyed, laminated, or contain non-paper additives. Also typical wrapping paper's fibers are too short to be recycled. But tearing into gift wrap is one the the memorable and best parts of Christmas! So what is the answer... Well most obvious answer is re-use. If some one has already used a bag or wrapping paper you should continue to get as much use out of it as possible before it must end up in a landfill for the rest of it eternity!! If you don't have any used paper of gift bags news paper and biodegradable ribbon is a good option. There are also websites that sell eco-friendly wrapping options.

For example Wrapply and Green Field Paper create wrapping papers and gift bags that are made with recycled newsprint and a safe soy based, recyclable ink. Unlike material in most gift wraps newsprint can be recycled up to 7 times.

Here I have added some pictures of papers from wrapply and green field paper as well as a idea of a gift wrapped in newspaper and biodegradable ribbons. 

Plastic films... more then just grocery bags!

Day one of my journey to help the planet. It is a Sunday afternoon and I am cleaning my apartment. I recycle a fair amount already so I have my stack of boxes and bottles next to my trash can. But there is still a lot that can't just be thrown in the recycling bins... like thin plastic films (plastic bags, plastic wrap etc...). So what do you do with all of it? 

I think a fair amount of people know you can't just throw plastic bags in a recycling bin but why? Well after a tich of research I found out it is because plastic films, like polyethylene film that makes up grocery bags, will jam recycling machinery. But just because you can throw that plastic bag in the recycling bin doesn't mean it needs to end up in the trash! Did you know you can drop off most plastic films at national drop off locations where they can be recycled and reused? And it is not as complex as you may think! Drop of locations are at most grocery stores! There is one at our safe way in town. So instead of throwing away your bubble wrap, plastic air pillow use in packaging, plastic wraps, sandwich bags etc... return them to the grocery store with you on your next trip. It is that easy!

Did you know? 
Worldwide, a trillion single-use plastic bags are used each year, nearly 2 million each minute.  - Earth Policy Institute

But there is some good news!
As of 2012, America's recycling of plastic bags and film increased by 56% since 2005! 
- Keep America Beautiful.ORG

But just keep in mind recycling is good but reducing is even better!!I know some times we forget our cloth bags at home or we order something in the mail and it comes with excessive plastic packaging but keep in mind, even if you recycle your plastic films "the amount of energy required to make 12 plastic shopping bags could drive a car for a mile." (Earth Policy Institute) So remember to bring your cloth bags with you when shopping and try to buy products with as little plastic wrapping as possible! Some thing I still need to work on... bellow is a picture of all the thing I had that I can take with me to the bag drop off next time I go to the store!