Great Green Idea: Green Living: Disposable Options for Green Living

Disposable Options for Green Living

Many years ago disposable products became all the rage. Enter the world of paper plates, cups, napkins and many other products that were made specifically to get rid of. Now we realize that we are throwing money and resources down the drain. Never fear, disposal options are here.

Dispose No More

Eliminate the "Throw and Go" method by cutting back on the disposable products you use. Your trash may leave your home each week but it just goes to a landfill that can contain waste for years and years. Instead of piling up the paper plates, napkins and other products you throw away with an absent mind, limit your consumption of disposable products. Buying disposable items is not way to live greener. Remember purchase sustainable, long lasting products. Cut down on the disposal products you buy, by starting small. Buy handkerchiefs instead of disposal tissues. Cut up old t-shirts, work shirts and flannel shirts to make homemade rags instead of using paper towels or other disposable towels that are used for cleaning. Just by reducing these two resources, you save money, paper and reduce disposing of disposables.

Diaper Duty

After disposal diapers hit the market, cloth diapers went out the window with the ole heave, ho. Cloth diapers are making a comeback. Cloth diapers with wool covers are sure way to reduce disposal goods. Granted, you will have to laundry diapers everyday but a simple method of soak and wash can reduce the labor of washing cloth diapers. Maybe you just can't get with the thought of using cloth diapers. There are some safe disposal diaper options. Seventh Generation and G Diapers offer non-toxic disposable diapers that are made from biodegradable material. Biodegradable material is material that in a reasonable time breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass and goes back into the natural environment.

Dispose the Green Way

Here are some statistics on disposal products. Each year, in the United States of America, 64 billion paper cups and plates, 73 billion Styrofoam plates and cups and a whopping 190 billion plastic containers and bottles are thrown away. You have it admit disposal products such as these are convenient. For this simple reason there is a huge market for these types of goods. You can keep the convenience of these products and still reduce disposal. Choose instead, biodegradable, compostable or sustainable products. Compostable materials are biodegradable but once they break down, they give valuable nutrients back to soil for trees and plants to grow. Sustainable products have the durability to last indefinitely at a certain level and are generally renewable. WorldCentric, StalkMarket and Verterra offer dinnerware made from fallen leaves and water, sugarcane fiber, corn and bamboo.