Did you know that China produces and discards 45 BILLION* pairs of chopsticks per year? That's the equivalent of 25 million trees! Holy kung pow!It just makes you stop and think about the little things that we take for granted in the name of convenience. Everything from disposable drinking straws, to gelati shovels...er...spoons, to the handfuls of paper napkins that end up in your take out bag - it all adds up!
How can we help? As the song says "Control yourself. Take only what you need." Do you automatically grab a half-dozen packets of ketchup to go with your fries or 3 plastic stir sticks for your venti-non-fat-extra-hot-soy-chai-latte? Start with 1 and go back if you need more. If the guy behind the counter gives you a stack of serviettes the size of a crib mattress, keep one or two and politely pass the rest back. If you find yourself 2 kms down the road when you make the million-napkin discovery, keep them on hand to handle spills in the car or take them into the house to use at dinner. I know...fancy! ;-)
Another method to reduce your dependence on disposables is to pack your own reusables. I have a few spoons (and the occasional fork) that travel with me: one in my car, one in a side pocket of my purse, one on my desk, and one in my lunch bag. (I have heard, too, about people who carry a cloth napkin wherever they go...but I'm not sure I'm quite "there" yet...) Lately I’ve been thinking about toting a cute pair of reusable chopsticks, too…especially after reading the stats above! A quick search on Etsy of “chopstick case” turned up a few cute options….but of course, I’ll probably make my own. Or maybe I'll try these: http://dvice.com/archives/2008/05/stix-glasses-hi.php LOL.
Finally, the number one way to cut the number of disposables in your life is to change your habits. Instead of running for the border at lunchtime, pack a sandwich or a salad in a container. If you are lucky enough to have a fridge at your office, keep full-sized bottles of your most loved condiments on hand and say "no thanks" to single-serve pouches of salad dressing and mustard. Take your morning coffee with you from home instead of automatically swinging through the drive-thru. And if you do eat out, make it an event. Sit down and use real cutlery instead of balancing an order of onion rings on your lap while you negotiate traffic. Not only will you be reducing garbage, you'll be reducing car-emmissions AND eating healthier!
*Plus, another 15 million are exported to Japan, South Korea, and other countries. Source: http://www.fon.org.cn/greenchoice/index_eng.php?var1=content/foodaghealth/shopping/shopping_1.htm
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