By Jennifer Jesperson

Plastic drives me crazy. It’s wonderful and terrible.

We need plastic. As I sit in my office and look around – I’m literally surrounded by it. Due to the relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials like wood, stone, leather, paper, metal, glass and ceramic.

Since the 1950’s, one billion tons of plastic has been discarded and it doesn’t decompose. So even when it “breaks down,” it’s still plastic. It’s just smaller.

There is an area that is TWICE THE SIZE of the Continental U.S. in the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan that is full of garbage. The ocean currents push trash, mostly plastic, into a relatively calm area of the Pacific where it just sits. Some of it floats on the surface while the rest settles on to the ocean floor. Scientists have measured the water there and found that pieces of plastic outnumber plankton 6 to 1. It’s a huge problem. And right now, scientists have no idea what to do about it. It’s terrifying.

Think about it. We do need it – we just need to think about what we buy and how we dispose of it.

Paper products bug me too but we need them as well. Let me just tell you that Viva paper towels rock! And they’re not expensive! I should be their spokesperson. I swear, our friend Dan can use one all day! You can literally wring them out and continue to use them. I know I shouldn’t really use them at all, and I try to use cloth when I can, but I am realistic – I have a child and a husband, and four cats. Take my word – try them!

We use cloth napkins every day. They look nice, they feel nice and they’re not made of paper. It’s such a simple thing to do. I do have a napkin holder on the counter with paper napkins but I try not to use them very often.

You really don’t need to buy styrofoam cups or plates. If you need disposable ones, just buy paper. They even make paper cups for coffee now. Many companies have banned packing peanuts – I wish they all would. Our neighbor had a packing peanut “accident” with his trash pick up after Christmas. I am still picking them up from my yard and driveway. If you ship a lot of things, buy a paper shredder and shred all of your junk mail – use that for packing! It’s cheap, easy and you’re kind of killing two birds with one stone!

Green is the new black. Mainstream and high profile designers alike are using eco-friendly materials in their clothing lines. When shopping, check the labels for ingredients like organic cotton and even bamboo. I LOVE my bamboo socks!

Fast Facts:

Each year the United States uses 30 billion plastic and 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring approximately 14 million trees and 12 million barrels of oil.

Americans used 50 billion water bottles in 2006 and sent 38 billion water bottles to landfills, the equivalent of 912 million gallons of oil. If laid end to end, that’s enough bottles to travel from the Earth to the Moon and back 10 times.

If everyone in the U.S. said “no thanks” to ATM receipts, it would save a roll of paper so long it could circle the equator fifteen times.

When in use, the home oven is one of the biggest energy consumers that you own. Turn off the oven for the last few minutes of cooking time. The heating coils will continue to radiate heat, and as long as you keep the door closed, the oven should retain most of its heat for the rest of the cooking period. You can also opt to use a slow cooker (so great for us working parents!) or a toaster oven when possible.

For every 38,000 bills paid online, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved. Using direct payment also saves a person about $150 annually in stamp and check costs and late fees!

That’s it for this month. Remember it is easy being green!