Although I have the beloved nicknames of “hippie”, “recycle nazi” and a few others, I tend to be proud with my green choices. But I still keep a few of my green habits on the DL.
Why?
Mostly because I try to maintain a low profile and not be the ‘angry green’ girl. Or the weird girl with the green habits. Ready for my reveal of bizarre habits?
- I’ll carry around “trash” around for a little while until I find a recycling bin. Although I try to find recycling bins everywhere, I have snuck a beer can or empty food container in my gym bag or purse on occasion until I get home to a recycling abyss.
- I’ll keep something in my apartment until I can figure out what to do with it. I’ve been more cognizant recently that all trash goes into a landfill – where things aren’t breaking down, decomposing or really effectively being reused. When I write my ‘where can I Wednesday” column, it’s often because I have a product that needs to be disposed – and I have no idea how to responsibly. Right now, I have approximately 6 pairs of shoes in my closet until I can send them to Terracycle or find a used shoe drive. I just hope I don’t look like a green klepto.
- I don’t flush… every time. I tend to go with the philosophy “If it’s yellow, let it mellow”. Having my own bathroom for the last 3 years makes it pretty convenient. I realized my secret green habit was leaked when one my BFFs said “OMG Julie, I’m so sorry I flushed. I know you don’t every time!” As I had to assure her that I did indeed flush my own toilet on occasion. It conserves water so I don’t mind this. Don’t worry though – I clean my bathroom religiously and disguise my habit for guests (especially the overnight type…)
- I find myself picking up trash off the street as I walk through Philly. There’s a sea of litter and debris, so I often pick up a few bottles or empty chip bags until I see a recycling bin or trash can (and often times a few blocks). Sometimes I need to wash my hands ASAP but try to influence others to ‘unlitter us’.
- I’ll spend an unreasonable amount of time reading labels. For example, I search each variety of guilt-ice cream to find the one without high fructose corn syrup or which bath products exclude sodium laurel sulfate/sulfides. Shopping at places other than Whole Foods (which generally doesn’t carry such ingredients), requires me to read every label in the aisle. But sometimes that means standing in front of a food item for 10 minutes to figure out whether the generic brand contains a horrible chemical that the brand name excludes (or vice virsa.)
Readers, what “dirty” green habits do you find yourself getting into? Do you have a sustainable action that’s still in the closet?
Photo: Upper Echelon Records
