Day 330 of our Green Year: Banning Styrofoam

Over the course of 330 days, we have done many things. Some have been obvious, some have been obscure. I had thought we were through all the obvious items, months ago, but it turns out that we forgot something. It is banning Styrofoam.

In many ways, we have banned Styrofoam though a variety of methods, including not using take out containers and using take out containers from home instead. However, we have never come right out and banned Styrofoam.

Well, today is the day that we officially make Styrofoam something we do not have in our home. We don't get Styrofoam take-out containers and we limit our packaging so we don't have to deal with Styrofoam packing. If something does come in the Styrofoam, then we crush up the Styrofoam so that we can reuse it as packaging material. We don't use Styrofoam cups or plates either, and this banning will ensure no one else in this house does either.

Many items have Styrofoam in them, and that means we have to be very vigilant to ensure that we do not add to how much Styrofoam.

Styrofoam leaves a lot of harmful items in the air when burned, and it lasts for quite a long time. It is a main reason why we use reusable cups for our coffees, and now the rest of Styrofoam is banned in our hosue

Day 32 of our Green Year: Reusable Takeout

When you go out for something to eat and you bring home what is left in a Styrofoam container, what do you do with it? When you go to McDonald's or Subway, what do you do with the paper wrapping, plastic bags and more?
If you are like most people, you simply throw it away and before all of this, Layla and I were the same way. However, Our Green Year is all about changing the way we deal with our day-to-day lives and understanding how everything we do affects the environment.

So, as part of our Green Year, Layla and I have decided to do away with these containers. From now on when we go out for supper and there is food left over, it goes in a Tupperware container. When we go out to Subway, as we sometimes like to do, we will be putting the subs, without the paper, in the containers. Doing this can eliminate large amounts of waste in your home because you only use the paper, bags and Styrofoam for a few hours at most. By spending only $10 to $20, you can get the containers you need to never worry about how your food wrapping is affecting the environment.

You should probably get used to not having take-out containers, the Styrofoam ones at least. San Francisco has banned them out right, as has China, and I am sure the rest of the United States and Canada won't be far behind.

Thank you again to the Trail Daily Times for their wonderful story on us today. It is nice to see we can get the word out on what we are doing.

Remember, we will be posting pictures of our readers doing green things, so if you have any, send them to us at crwbaird@gmail.com and if you have any suggestions, let us know.