Weapons of Mass Reduction: Eco-Friendly Ideas to Combat Unnecessary Waste

There are a lot of little things that are turning our home into a sty. Likewise, there are a lot of little things we can do that'll help revamp our home into a bitchin' crib [like MTV's.. only not filthy but eco-fresh. ..um, hey hey heeyy!].

Corporate and personal responsibility are at the epicenter of making potential considerable change.

Shout out to..


Java [&tea] Sippers, Bring Your Own Cup! - The whole 'Bring your own [grocery] bag' is heavily marketed already. And yes, you should do it. But what about coffee cups? With the explosion of the coffee industry, Star$$[your$alary]$$ and all, did you ever think about how much waste is produced by the trendy, caffeine industry?


According to BetaCup:

The amount of solid waste created and valuable resources consumed throughout the process of manufacturing and drinking coffee is an escalating problem:

58 billion paper cups are thrown away (not recycled) every year.
20 million trees are cut down in the process of manufacturing paper cups.
12 billion gallons of water is approximately how much is used in the process.
53,000 homes could be powered with the energy we consume through our paper cup consumption, according to the Environmental Defense Organization.

To the industry's credit, some are rewarding customers for bringing their own cup— so take advantage! And though bringing your own cup isn't always feasible, those who should be particularly mindful [because it is (feasible)] are 'regulars', office workers, and others who go out specifically for a cup— like diet, it's not what we do once-in-while but what we do on a repeated basis that has more significant consequences.



Corporate (Tech), Stop Printing Receipts <$5! - Nobody wants them anyway. And for those that do, make them available upon request. Ok, maybe it'll cost a little extra to make some coding changes to the registers, but think about the $$$ you'll save on paper&ink.



Snacker/Nosher/Eater, Skip the Bag, Go Straight for the Grub! - Have you ever see someone buy something to eat, have it put in a small paper/plastic bag to go, only for them to walk out of the store to immediately throw the bag out and bite away? It's unnerving.

Hand donuts to cops like ice cream cones, with the paper used to grab them; hand bagel sandwiches to breakfast-goers in just the paper they're already wrapped in; heck, get real plateware if customers are eating on the premises.

As for consumers, make saying, 'I don't need a bag, thank you', second nature, which should be easy because half of the phrase, 'thank you', should already be. Idontneedabagidontneedabagidontneedabag.. Thank you.



School Food Students, Bring Your Own Utensils! That is, Parents/Teachers, Teach&Enable Them To Do So! - Did you know individually-wrapped sporks are used every day at lunch during the school year? What if.. students brought their own utensils to the cafeteria, just like they bring their own pencils to the classroom? Imagine the amount of plastic [waste] our schools, government, and Earth could save from doing so.


These are but a few small ideas that could lead to big impacts. Share them. Do them. And..

If you are interested in campaigning any of them, email HealthyButJuicy [at] gmail [dot] com!

If you have more ideas, share them with HealthyButJuicy and its readers in the comments section below!


Happy Healthy Juicy Kermit Lied, It IS Easy Being Green!