…one plastic bag at a time. And that’s not all.

I’m decreasing my ecological footprint by taking some small steps to reduce waste. For instance, I keep an insulated cup at work for water thereby eliminating the need to use and dispose of a paper cup. I also have a glass mug that I use for coffee. In addition, I recently took a regular spoon to work for my morning yogurt so I wouldn’t have to use a plastic one. I just rinse it off after each use. These are simple and easy steps that when taken together start to add up.

One of the bigger changes I’ve made lately is the, almost complete, switch to compact fluorescent bulbs in my home. CF bulbs use about 1/4 of the electricity of standard incandescents and last much longer. I can light my entire apartment(3 lamps) with CF’s which, when combined, use less power than one standard 100 watt bulb. That’s a huge improvement!

And now for my latest change to help save the world, the purchase of reusable shopping bags. Living and shopping in NYC, one automatically becomes a magnet for bags of all shapes and sizes but in particular, the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag. Using these wasteful items has been bothering me for some time especially since store clerks tend to double bag them whether or not it’s even necessary. But now I’ve begun to end their tyranny over my life.

I bought and started using the Acme Workhorse 1500 reusable shopping bag and it’s already saved me from 4 plastic bags in just two days! The 1500 is about the same size as a standard plastic shopping bag but folds down into an attached pouch that’s about the size of your palm so it’s easy to keep with you. And it’s not only more comfortable to carry than plastic bags but it’s strong enough to hold 25 lbs. That’s a lot of shopping. So to those nasty plastic bags I say “Good Riddance!!”

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