Green Living

Save trees-use the library

In my ongoing search to find ways not to “own” things, I fantasize a neighborhood co-op that shares garden tools, yard equipment, even food-canning kettles and vacuum cleaners. Stored in a communal building, all this stuff is checked out when and for the time period folks need it, and returned in an allotted time.

“Absurd!”A cynical friend observed: “It would never work.”

But this isn’t a new idea. It’s been in practice since Benjamin Franklin introduced the institution of the public library to a young United States.

What a concept! Books and information available to anyone who has a card. Resources that you can take away and return when you’re done with them. A community-supported institution that charges no use fee.

My public library system is online, so I go to the Web site (no driving), request a book, and select the branch where I want to pick it up. If it’s available, I walk on over (yes, it’s that close). If it’s out, they send an email when it’s ready for pick-up.

If more people borrowed instead of bought, we’d consume less paper and reduce resources and energy that goes into creating books. Sure, there will always be books that you want to keep on your shelf-whether favorite classics or reference books you turn to a lot. But does everyone who’s intrigued by Oprah’s latest pick have to own their own copy?

Reuse newspaper in the garden

An unseasonable warm spell in March coaxed me into the backyard. The new patch I dug up and filled with compost last fall awaits its first seeds — lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots. As I dug down to measure the depth of the bed, I hit the thick layer of newspaper I put down before winter. I could still make out an article about the Palin-Biden debate.

When it comes to the daily paper, I subscribe to the three Rs — with the emphasis on reduce and reuse before recycle. Reducing by canceling paper delivery some years ago. Reusing in oh, so many ways (I confess to pilfering my supply of daily newsprint from nearby recycling bins.)

Newspapers are a gardener’s greatest green weed suppressor. A thick stack of wet newspapers laid down in a new bed deters weed growth so your plants have a chance to stake their place in the soil. The paper is biodegradable and, according to most garden resources, the soy-based inks — both black and color — contain no toxic chemicals that could harm the soil or plants.

Garden pros do advise you to verify that your daily paper uses soy-based ink rather than a petroleum-based solution. And avoid the glossy color circulars and inserts, which are printed on a different paper stock and may use less Earth-friendly inks.

Cutting back on office paper use saves money

If I were the boss of a company, the first change I’d make (after allowing employees to do their jobs from home wherever possible)? Reduce paper use and abuse. I read that in the United States, we throw away 4 million tons of office paper each year. And that if we cut our usage by 10%, we could avoid 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases a year. Don’t ask me to back up those stats — I can’t find confirmation of either. But I do know there are tons of steps we can take to reduce paper use — and save money as a result.

In my business, the default would be electronic communication wherever possible. And strict rules to guard against paper waste:

• Purchase 100% recycled content paper only.
• Recycle all office paper. No sheets of paper in the trash — ever.
• Print and copy reports and documents double-sided.
• Save waste paper printed on one side and use for draft copies.
• Reduce margins to .75 inches or less.
• Keep to single-line spacing.

And that’s just for starters: I haven’t addressed business mail, periodical subscriptions, and all the other paper products consumed as a course of business. Check out www.changethemargins.com, for more stats on paper use and ideas for cutting back.

The Return of the Handkerchief

I may have mentioned my stubborn resistance to using paper towel. I’ve talked about the virtues of cloth napkins. Fact is, I rebel against wet wipes, single-use cleaning pads, throwaway coffee cups and other unnecessary uses of paper. This includes sacrificing trees to produce tissues for my nose.

            A while back, I dug up a bagful of my grandmother’s old hankies hidden in the recesses of my linen closet: flowery, lacy, embroidered initials. They were so pretty that I wanted to display them. At first, I set them out like hand towels in my guest bath, but most people didn’t get the idea. Then I thought, why not use them for what they were meant to do? These dainty squares of cloth were reusable workhorses. Like cloth diapers, they handled the dirty work, provided gentle protection, and came clean to serve again and again.

            Now, I never go anywhere without a couple hankies tucked in a coat pocket or backpack. I haven’t started coordinating them with my clothes yet-the way Grandma did. But I know she’d be proud of my frugality.

Resource conservation—one gift at a time

It’s happened: I always feared I’d become just like my dad as I got older. But, no, I’ve skipped a generation entirely and turned into my grandmother.

We all used to roll our eyes on gift-giving occasions, as Grandma would carefully loosen ribbons and slip a fingernail under tape so as not to tear the paper. Before she even acknowledged the present, she’d tenderly roll up the ribbon and fold the wrapping so it could be used again.

The reverence-for-paper gene has finally kicked in for me—especially during the holidays. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, household waste increases by 25 percent—and a lot of that is giftwrap. I steer clear of purpose-made wrapping paper—thereby saving lots of money and doing my part to save the trees.

Of course, like Grandma, I reuse the gift bags and boxes that I’ve received from others. But it’s a lot more fun to get creative: old tea tins or canning jars for tiny items; cereal boxes; decorated shoeboxes; comics and magazine pages. Sometimes the wrapping becomes part of the gift: a scarf, guest towel, or pillow cover. Even plain old newspaper and brown bags become festive when block-stamped or sprinkled with glitter.

Friends and family usually are delighted by the ingenuity of my wrap of choice. And if they don’t give it the respect that Grandma would have shown? That’s okay—when they’re focused on their present, I grab the wrappings to reuse another time.