Dishing on Being Green

First of many future blogs on being Green

One of the easiest thing to do is reduce, reuse and recycle.

Plastic Bags:
First, buy the reusable bags whenever possible. There seems to be plenty of stores that carry the $1.00 bag. For example, Publix, Kroger, Target, Home Depot, etc. In fact, I love the Home Depot bags because they are super durable, they stretch from one side of the shopping cart to the other and can carry double the load of those sold by the grocery chains for just 99 cents. They are great bags for the pool and beach, too. At a fraction of the cost of the beach bags sold at retail stores.

However, there are times when one forgets or when bags are given to us regardless. And what do you do with them?

- recycle them at the bins in front of Publix or at Wal-mart
- reuse them to line your trash bins
- use them as doggy poop bags when you are walking your 4 legged friend

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL)
Did you know that if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars annually. They use much less energy and last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

Try replacing 5 of your most used lights in your house and you may even notice a difference in your power bill in the coming months. Additionally, traditional incandescent lights emit so much more heat that your energy bills in the summer should also be reduced!

There have been concerns about the mercury content and where to recycle these bulbs. Thanks to the efforts by Home Depot and Ikea, recycling CFL bulbs are just a quick trip to your local store.

Recycling at Publix
- Plastic bags from stores and from the drycleaners
- Paper bags from the supermarkets, the liquor stores and from takeouts
- Foam Egg cartons, foam food trays and carry out containers (please wash are remove traces of food)

Recycling at Walmart
- Plastic bags from stores and from the drycleaners
- In the spring, Walmart in conjunction with Elmer's will recycle Washable School Glue and Glue-All bottles that are marked with a #1 or #2 recycling symbol.

Recycling in Roswell
And for those who live near Roswell/Alpharetta - Roswell Recycling Center located at 11570 Maxwell Road Alpharetta, GA 30009 is a local drop off center to recycle paper, glass, plastic and metal. Visit http://www.roswellgov.com/index.php/p/28/t/Recycling%20&%20Solid%20Waste for more information on the items that can be recycled.