Do you recycle “little things”?

Well, I just requested you as a friend but you might not like my opinion about recycling lol. I actually prefer to use my own glass or bottle for water because I like the big giant tea tumblers, the ones that hold like 24-32 oz. That means I can fill it with ice and water and a straw and not have to keep getting up over and over to refill it. As far as coffee? If I'm working in an office or something? Give me the disposable cardboard or styrofoam. I used to work in an office. A 10 floor office downtown in the rainiest state on the planet. Why is that significant? Well some jerk that works for the company decided to put up this proposal about not using disposable ANYTHING. Overnight, everything disappeared. This meant no paper cups, no plastic silverware, nothing, the company didn't provide any of the things they had been providing for YEARS. I guess it wouldn't be so bad since all I had to do is bring my own big water glass and a big mug for coffee, right? WRONG. Despite working in a primarily female environment, you should have seen how slovenly and messy and sloppy these people were! I started leaving the office with my friend Luke and we'd go HAVE LUNCH ELSEWHERE because it was like playing God with your health to bring anything for lunch that you had to put in the lunchroom fridge. Also, you were gambling with whether it would even BE there at lunchtime when you went to retrieve it. As far as coffee, nobody cleaned the coffeemaker. Some people didn't even know how to brew it right even though it was a foolproof industrial pot and inside the drawers underneath were either regular or decaf pouches and you would just cut off one end, pour the coffee into the dispenser on top, and push the little red button. You didn't even have to measure any coffee or add any water! Some idiot once put two pouches of coffee in there to brew and tried to add water. We had water and coffee grounds all over the floor in there within 2 minutes. Anyway, because nobody ever felt like cleaning up or taking care of their own things and because there was so much theft and other crap going on, I really would much rather have preferred just to keep using disposable everything because then I didn't have to worry that someone was touching/using my cups every time they disappeared. It was inconvenient for me to replace cups that *I* brought because some jerk forgot theirs and decided that since I wasn't in my cubicle, perhaps I didn't need my cup just then.... OR if I left it in the dishrack after washing it... you know, same thing. I never was able to find out who the thief was but you can guarantee I never brought any of the nice mugs I've gotten as gifts, didn't want those broken or stolen! I do recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles myself at home, but I also get money from the recycling centers for doing so. I put that money in my daughter's piggy banks. I look at recycling this way - if the good things outweigh the inconvenience or there IS no inconvenience, do it. If the inconvenience outweighs the good things, it's really a personal decision. I choose NOT to do something that is too inconvenient or causes too much trouble. For instance, I will always own and drive a car. I don't care who else doesn't want to, I always will. If there's another easier, cheaper, more convenient form of transportation in the future, of course I'd switch. But it would have to be BETTER than having a car lol. I DO use the energy efficient (green) light bulbs but they are EXACTLY the same as regular ones. They even cost around the same now but they last longer. Why wouldn't I use them? Now if they were bulky and I had to buy extra parts to make them fit standard lamps and light fixtures, they cost 3 times as much, then no, I would not use them.

when I worked in an office, I always drank out of my mug and I tried to always carry my cup to the cafeteria to get ice rather than have to buy one of theirs. but mostly I tried to bring my ice from home so I didn't even use their ice and when I did that, I ALWAYS brought it in my own insulated mug yes, some days I threw some away, but there again, I threw it away on the grass so the grass got some water (and considering that we seldom were not needing water) it wasn't going to go down the drain, but into the ground. I don't work there any more, so I don't do that any more, but I still try to keep from wasting things and I recycle as much as I can, even bringing home recycleables from my client's.

I like to reuse stuff by 'pimping' it. I sew old clothes into new ones by doing simple things like shortening the sleeves, but I can also use them to make something completely different or cut all kinds of different patches and make a pillowcase out of it or something like that. I also give away to charity if I have stuff that is still ok to use. I've heard though that using plastic coffee cups is better for the environment than a regular cup as the dish soap, especially the ones in a dish washer, end up to be much more chemical and harmfull. I am not sure whether this is true, I heard it around college once by some respectfull professors so they must at least have some good reason for believing so.

sounds good to me!

It is hard, but I am trying also. It is a shame that we have become a disposable country/world. I now pay attention and buy in recycylable containers. I do not drink much coffee, but love Dr. Pepper and I try to take my mug in with me. If not I use the foam container until it starts leaking, then tear it up and put it in the bottom of the next plant I pot. I live in a small town but the schools recycle plastic, tin cans, glass and cardboard as a fund raiser and I use their containers. I can take my aluminum down and get a small amount of money for it, but I do not have much as it cost more to purchase cans than 2 liter bottles. I have learned that one plastic cap in the plastic bottle can ruin the entire recycling process, so I am careful about that too. I think most of the USA has learned to live with less fuel for their cars and we have reduced our the amount we use. I know I only go to town when I have therapy or a doctors appointment and will do everything then. It is bound to be harder to do n a work environment, but think how much money a hospital or other company could save just by cutting out those cups and what that could mean to the landfills. God bless you and good luck at converting the entire hospital.

I dont drink coffee, but I drink a lot of water while I am at work! I, too, use a mug. I feel so much better about it than always having to throw away a cup each time I want a drink! I even do this at home. I try not to ever use paper plates (although we do occasionally). I try to always use reusable cups. I even have a water bottle that I can take with me so I dont have to use the disposable ones! It is cheaper and better for the environment. I do believe every little step we take adds up. It may seem like each person is only doing something small. Sometimes you wonder if turning off that 1 light really makes a difference, but it DOES! One thing that I think is important about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is that it should be done in that order. The first thing you should do is to reduce your waste. This is exactly what you are doing by using a mug rather than the disposable cups. You will always have somethings that cant be done without. The next step is to reuse them! If you got something in the mail in a box, use that box next time you need to mail something. A box was still necessary, but it could be easily used more than once! The last resort is to recycle. Using the box example again, if you recieved 5 packages but arent going to mail anything yourself and you dont need them for storage, recycle them. They can be made into something else. But by doing the first 2 steps first, the amount of recycling will be reduced too. That will eliminate the pollution from the recycling plants as well! I am always glad to see people trying. Sometimes it takes a little bit of coaxing, but people often find that the reduce, reuse, recycle theory is better!