Here are some of the small green steps you can try with your family this year:

Use Cloth Napkins

Remove Plastic Beverage Lids

Smart Paint Disposal

Refillable Liquid Hand Soap

Silicone Baking Cups

Ditch the Air Fresheners

We also do a fair amount of tree hugging around here. So far, we’ve hugged many different trees:

• Cedar
• Heirloom Peach Tree
• Almond
• Autumn Trees
• Lemon
• The Pumpkin Tree
• Binary Tree
• The Chocolate Tree
• Sugar Maple
• Edible Tree
• Douglas Fir
• Red Flowering Dogwood

Wow. That’s a lot of tree love. Anyone else notice how many food-minded trees I hug? I must like snacks.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I’m going to assume you recycle your plastic bottles (correct). The deal is that lids are not a disposable part of that bottle of water or cranberry juice you purchase.

At one recycling plant I used to frequent in New Mexico, one of the workers told me that if they find a bottle with a lid they toss it in the garbage. Great recycling plant huh. I’ve heard other green folks mention this problem with their town’s recycling centers. One flick of your wrist to toss the cap before you recycle will save a lot of plastic bottles from being trashed.

Turn your one small step into a larger, smarter eco-step:

Don’t buy beverages with lids at all. This is a much larger step for another post; but I will say that all those tiny lids add up. You can buy frozen juice in recyclable containers and save on lids; you can buy drinks in aluminum cans which are recyclable, you can use tap water and refill a hip refillable water bottle.

But for now try the small step of not tossing bottles with lids into the recycling. Already only about 12% of water bottles in the U.S. are recycled — don’t let your bottle add to that trash for one little lid.

Here’s a fascinating story, with video and slides, about one fellow who used two plastic water bottle for four years.

Don’t forget, all your small steps add up to a healthy happy planet.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family