Class is over but cloth is still way cooler then plastic!!!!

Let me take this time to reflect…..

My experience as a whole with my PSP has been a success. I catch myself now making a conscious effort to always use a cloth bag instead of plastic ones. I also noticed the two or three times I forgot my cloth bags at least one of the plastic bags has ripped and my groceries have fallen on the ground. Honestly if my own frustration with the plastic bags always breaking was not a factor I am not sure if I would fully commit to only using cloth bags. Although it was nice to be able to carry fewer bags because the cloth bags carry a lot more groceries then the small plastic bags the stores give you.

Plastic Bags are awful….

There are many social and environmental effects of using cloth bags instead of plastic ones. By using cloth bags you are polluting the world less by not filling our landfills with the toxic waste plastic bags emit when they partially break down over time (pg. 1 James). More money is also being put back into our pockets by using cloth versus plastic bags because plastic bags are expensive to make when they are being used so much. Cloth bags are reusable and not only are they used to carry groceries they also can carry clothes, shoes, dishes etc… which plastic bags cannot do for the most part without breaking or ripping.

Too many plastic bags in the world….

On the average a single person uses 500 plastic bags a year so by me using only cloth bags I am reducing my pollution by 500 plastic bags. That means possibly 500 less animals will be killed by me not using these bags (pg. 1 Green). So economically that is 500 more fish that can be harvested and sold by someone as food to make a profit which helps our economy. By me setting an example like many others by only using cloth bags when we buy groceries may lead someone to follow in our footsteps. In some way using cloth bags over plastic bags can be connected economically, socially, and environmentally. We all benefit by cloth bags by saving money, polluting the world less, and being socially happier because we are all working together for the common good. Here is a video of one man that is trying to do his part at saving the environment one less plastic bag at a time http://youtu.be/ZI8gXBZcS2U.

We all gotta work together….

I do not believe that individually if I continue using cloth bags that I will have a large enough global impact. The only way I could have a global impact is if I get others to refrain from using plastic bags as well. If large numbers of people refused to use plastic bags and solely used cloth bags then that would be thousands maybe even millions of less bags in landfills which would result in a healthier safer planet altogether.

Say NOOOOO to plastic bags….

I learned today about the plastic bag ban in Corvallis, OR which should be coming into effect soon which would require everyone to use reusable bags rather than plastic. People who chose to use the plastic bags must pay a fee. With this ban being implemented in the town I currently live in I will more than likely continue with my PSP. I cannot afford not to use reusable cloth bags as a single mother and full-time college student because money is an issue already. I’m not saying by any means that the future ban is the sole motivator because I often worry about how I can make the world a better more sustainable place for my future children once I pass away.

Photo Credits: Gwensmom@Flikr, Bad Bad Magpie@flikr

Cloth Bags for Christmas….

Overall I learned a lot of how harmful using plastic bags can be. I originally chose to do my PSP because I was annoyed with the amount of space all the plastic bags took up under my sink but now I use cloth bags rather than plastic ones to save our planet. I never really thought about how much impact a plastic bag can have on the environment and how much money can be saved by using reusable cloth bags versus plastic bags until I started this project. Now every time I have to resort to using a plastic bag I am usually angered and I feel guilty because I know how much damage this single bag can possible do to our planet. This project has inspired me so for Christmas I am thinking of getting everyone in my family a reusable cloth grocery bag in hopes that they all too will follow in my foot steps and help our planet be more sustainable.

 

Photo By: Chelsea Duffy

 

Reference:

Green, S. (2004, July 22). Don’t Think of a Plastic Bag. 2. Retrieved from http://www.algalita.org/pdf/Action-sheet.pdf

James, K., & Grant , T. (2010, October). LCA of Degradable Plastic Bags. Info House, 17.

Grey to Green: The Future

Three weeks down and the PSP project is going without a hitch.  By far a simpler process than I had expected with great positive results.  With no real maintenance and the washing machine doing all the work, this system is an easy project for any homeowner to begin.  I’ve had no issues with the lawn and or flower garden; all the products that I’ve used to clean the clothes have had no negative effects on the backyard ecosystem.  Tide laundry detergent has done a terrific job not only keeping my clothes clean but my lawn as well! (Joke) Another great side point to this system is that it is total hands free. What I mean is that once the clothes are placed into the washing machine, I don’t’ have to remember to fill the irrigation tank as the washing machine pumps the water to this system automatically.  So, it’s a no nonsense system that performs all the work for you, who could ask for more?  This PSP is great with multiple applications that I want to convert the remaining gray water uses to irrigation or in fact with some added money and time, I would like to reroute the plumbing to allow for reused gray water to be use as toilet water.  The bathroom is one of the largest consumers of indoor water besides the laundry machine.  On average the toilet can use up to 27% of the household water supply and with older toilet using around 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush with leaky toilets wasting about 200 gallons or water every day (http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/indoor.html).  No just image reusing the grey water for this application and think of the impacts that it can provide.  These impacts can be seen not just in America but neighboring counties as well, countries that depend on the water that flows through the United States.

The driving force behind this project that is going to keep me on this path of sustainably is the fact that it is so simple and self regulation that little or no attention is needed on my part to continue the process of collect grey water for irrigation reuse.  The brunt of the work that I have to do is get my clothes dirty and place them into the laundry machine, wow not so difficult.  So, basically the simplicity of this project is what is enabling me to remain sustainable.  It basically comes down to this, if I can do this PSP everyone can.

Benefits to this project are not only monetary but environmental as well.  Yes, the sewer bill is going to be lowered by how much I don’t know yet, but I’ll assume by at least a few dollars over a one month span.  As well, the water bill is going to be reduced, with the amount of water I use daily to keep my lawn and garden green and living the bill is huge.  So by reusing grey water my hope is to reduce the water bill in half and then in the future with recycling grey water for toilet consumption I have hopes to reduce the bill even further.  One good benefit to this system although already kind of mentioned is the reduction of the cost of water for homeowners.  What I mean is that with continued raising populations, the amount of water per person is becoming scarce, with this means increased cost of water t=by the water companies.  This is a simple concept that has supply goes down and demand goes up so does the price.  This is our future; this is what life is going to be like if we as human don’t make the change now.  Think about if you just reduce the usage of water by as much as fifty gallons a day, now compound that annually and that is 18,250 gallons per year.  Now the current population size of the U.S. as of 2012 is 314,131,661 individuals (http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html).  Image if every single person was to reduce their use by at least 50 gallons that would be a savings of 5.73×10¹² gallons annually.  Think of the possibilities especially from a system that is so simple to operate and maintain.  Come on people do your part to live sustainably and provide a future for the rest of the humans on this planet.  The time is now, reuse, reduce and recycle!!!