Earth Day - SPT

The first Earth Day I remember being aware of was in the 80's when there was some increased media attention and a special aired on TV starring all sorts of people from popular programs at that time -- like The Cosby Show. That was also around the same time I started experimenting with natural homemade beauty products -- like an egg white mask, and an oatmeal hair conditioner -- but those experiments did not always end well (like the time I made a face scrub out of peaches and other things and discovered I was allergic to one - or possibly more than one - of the ingredients).

When I was in college the university had recycle bins for paper and cans all over campus. My conscious was heightened at that time and I found that I couldn't throw anything in the regular trash bin that could possibly be recycled. That habit has stayed with me, although I haven't always lived in areas where recycling was so easy.


I'm glad that our county has a curbside recycling program and I find that probably 80% of what we throw away is recyclable. All the paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and containers, aluminum and tin cans, go in the recycle bin. And most of what I toss in the trash is stuff that's biodegradable -- so I could probably use a lesson in composting and really reduce our waste. Our recycle bin is always more full than the regular one. I just recently read that most plastic bottles are recycled and back on the shelf in less than 90 days! Having said that, it's probably better to avoid disposable plastics as much as possible.


One other thing, in honor of going green, I've noticed that a lot of retailers have these compact flourescent light bulbs on sale this week. It's such an easy way to save energy. I replaced a bunch of bulbs a couple months ago and the only difference I noticed was on the reduced power bill.

What are you doing that's "green"?