I got a call Wednesday afternoon from my dad, and he had an urgent inquiry for me. He told me he had just left an airport bathroom, washed his hands and was faced with a dilemma: Would it be more eco-friendly to use the hand dryer or the paper towels?
We went back and forth pondering this conundrum, and he told me that while I was all about living a more greener life, I failed to address these kinds of problems. Perhaps he just wanted a written explanation because he's getting old and would probably forget whatever I told him after a few minutes, but I thought there are probably times when people come to a crossroads in their decision-making, and I am here to facilitate the problem.
One of the biggest factors for decision-making should be waste reduction. When you throw something away, you are discarding the energy it took to make that item as well as using energy to take it to the landfill and dispose of it. When you are using energy (electricity, water, etc.), you are utilizing an energy resource. Most electricity in Southeast Ohio, for instance, comes from coal-fired power plants. This means that when you are using that electricity, you are feeding into a power source that pollutes the environment.
Personally, when met with a decision to reduce waste or reduce energy use, I choose to reduce waste. For example, it takes less water to use liquid-free hand soap, but the process of creating the packaging takes oil and other resources, not to mention creates a lot of waste when people discard the empty containers. Simply wash your hands and turn off the water between the lathering part and the rinsing part of said process and you're golden.
A trip to the grocery store can also be quite daunting. Buying foods that are locally grown or grown close to where you live is a great way to reduce the impact shipping would have and it also supports the local economy. Look at how your food is packaged, and stay away from items that are packaged two or three times over when in fact one kind of packaging would have done just fine. Of course, foods in packages that are recyclable have priority, but don't forget that with items like deli meats or produce, you could bring your own containers as well.
Also, another trick Grist ([url=www.grist.org]www.grist.org[/url]) recommends is weighing your possibilities ' literally. Plastic isn't great for the environment, but recycled paper and cardboard can actually be worse, so take some time to see which item is heavier and opt for the lighter material. When it's cereal box versus cereal bag, opt for the bag and recycle it when you're done. Plus, the generic stuff comes in plastic bags ' it's half the price but tastes the same!
Now the big one ' aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles. In terms of recycling, aluminum is by far the easiest material to recycle out of the three. According to a report from the California Department of Conservation, recycling aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy it would take to create a new aluminum can from scratch, hence it takes about 5 percent the energy to recycle aluminum than it does to make it anew. For plastic, it takes about 30 percent of the original energy to recycle it and glass comes in at a distant third with recycling taking 70 percent of the original energy used to make the glass bottle.
Here's a visual: California recycled 3.64 billion aluminum cans between January and June of 2007. This is the equivalent of saving 1.9 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel 183,000 cars in one year. Although the plastic reduction level was pretty high, recycling about two billion bottles saved 280,000 barrels of oil, enough to fuel 26,000 cars in one year. Glass wasn't far behind, saving 220,000 barrels of oil by recycling 1.13 billion bottles ' an amount equal to 20,000 cars on the roadway each year. From these data, I conclude that aluminum cans far surpass glass and plastic bottles when it comes to recycling value.
Waste reduction, packaging materials and how far away the product was made are key elements in deciding what to buy to be friendlier to the environment. Reusing something that needs to be washed after it is reused several times is more beneficial energy-wise than buying a ton of disposable products because the latter is going to generate more waste and require more energy be put into making replacements.
The fact that my dad even came to this quandary makes me happy because it means he is thinking with a greener mentality, and that's what I hope for in everyone. I can spot a seed of change in someone when they don't just purchase or use what's convenient, but a switch in their head filters out choices that are the least environmentally-sound.
I like to wipe my hands on my pants or just let them air dry, but in case you're on your way to an important meeting or have your midterm paper in your hands ready to turn in, use the air dryer. Overall, according to a study conducted by [url=http://www.treehugger.com/]www.treehugger.com[/url], the impact of the dryer is less than that of the paper towel. Don't worry, my dad used the air dryer, too.
Cathy Wilson is a junior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at cw224805@ohiou.edu.
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Cathy Wilson
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