Anwer and I try to make as many reasonable efforts as we can to be conscious and as environmentally friendly as we can. It is not easy, but we try.
1. No Bag
We try to bring reusable grocery bags or use our backpacks whenever we buy groceries. If we're ever picking up something quick or have to purchase produce in the grocery store, we may come away with a plastic bag. We reuse our plastic bags as much as possible. Considering that every type of produce must be weighed and bagged in most places, I'm making a conservative guess that we have saved over 280 bags in the last year. China loves plastic bags, maybe more than other places. They like to double bag things also. One of the few Chinese phrases I know is how to say I don't want a bag.
2. Minimal packaging and buying in bulk
China has Sam's club. The strange thing about it though is that most things are not necessarily "bulk" packaging. They often just wrap two normal size boxes together, which actually increases packaging and plastic waste. I recently was shopping for toothbrushes at Auchan, which is like the local Super Walmart--it has everything. This is what I was facing:
There were approximately 432 choices in this aisle alone! This did not include the imported tooth care aisle either. Trying to choose the least package wasting, cheapest price, and most likely to actually clean my teeth toothbrush was no easy task.
3. Bring your own take-out dishes
We successfully brought our own take-out dish for the first time last night. We don't eat out a lot/have a lot of leftovers, but we cringe anytime we do because it means a plastic container is coming home with us. Obviously, we can reuse these, but if you saw our tupperware drawer, you'd know we don't need anymore!
4. Bring your own towel
Since I am lucky enough to have a private bathroom in our PE office for the female PE staff, I can bring my own hand towel. This has probably been my largest paper/waste saving effort in the last year. I drink a lot of water, which means I pee a lot. I also wash my hands regularly from dealing with PE equipment and working outside. Assuming that I conservatively use 1 paper towel/time, I've saved approximately 900 paper towels in the last year.
5. Buy local
We don't have the farmer's market scene, Trader Joe's, or other organic options like many Americans have. There are lots of regular vegetable and fruit markets for us to choose from. Prices are cheaper, more variety, and less package and wasting. There are some organic options in grocery stores and through imported places. Buying imported items creates another web of crazy when you consider the carbon footprint that item has. My weakness is cereal. I will always buy cereal until I find a sustainable replacement.
It's sort of like cleaning your house. As soon as you clean one area, you realize how dirty another part is. We're trying, and people are noticing. Our local veg and fruit shops are accustomed to our "no bag" policy and often tell other people about our efforts. I urge you to start small. No bag.
1. No Bag
We try to bring reusable grocery bags or use our backpacks whenever we buy groceries. If we're ever picking up something quick or have to purchase produce in the grocery store, we may come away with a plastic bag. We reuse our plastic bags as much as possible. Considering that every type of produce must be weighed and bagged in most places, I'm making a conservative guess that we have saved over 280 bags in the last year. China loves plastic bags, maybe more than other places. They like to double bag things also. One of the few Chinese phrases I know is how to say I don't want a bag.
2. Minimal packaging and buying in bulk
China has Sam's club. The strange thing about it though is that most things are not necessarily "bulk" packaging. They often just wrap two normal size boxes together, which actually increases packaging and plastic waste. I recently was shopping for toothbrushes at Auchan, which is like the local Super Walmart--it has everything. This is what I was facing:
There were approximately 432 choices in this aisle alone! This did not include the imported tooth care aisle either. Trying to choose the least package wasting, cheapest price, and most likely to actually clean my teeth toothbrush was no easy task.
3. Bring your own take-out dishes
We successfully brought our own take-out dish for the first time last night. We don't eat out a lot/have a lot of leftovers, but we cringe anytime we do because it means a plastic container is coming home with us. Obviously, we can reuse these, but if you saw our tupperware drawer, you'd know we don't need anymore!
4. Bring your own towel
Since I am lucky enough to have a private bathroom in our PE office for the female PE staff, I can bring my own hand towel. This has probably been my largest paper/waste saving effort in the last year. I drink a lot of water, which means I pee a lot. I also wash my hands regularly from dealing with PE equipment and working outside. Assuming that I conservatively use 1 paper towel/time, I've saved approximately 900 paper towels in the last year.
5. Buy local
We don't have the farmer's market scene, Trader Joe's, or other organic options like many Americans have. There are lots of regular vegetable and fruit markets for us to choose from. Prices are cheaper, more variety, and less package and wasting. There are some organic options in grocery stores and through imported places. Buying imported items creates another web of crazy when you consider the carbon footprint that item has. My weakness is cereal. I will always buy cereal until I find a sustainable replacement.
It's sort of like cleaning your house. As soon as you clean one area, you realize how dirty another part is. We're trying, and people are noticing. Our local veg and fruit shops are accustomed to our "no bag" policy and often tell other people about our efforts. I urge you to start small. No bag.
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