All the plastic containers that aren't dealt with by the local recycling plant (numbers 3-6). Clingwrap on anything. Those 'evil' trays and absorbers for meat packs.

Duh! Just woke up! It's the Packaging, Stupid!!!

The National Wildlife Federation.

I used to give them money, and then not only did they bombard me with junk mail, but during the holiday season I received unsolicited Christmas cards and a calendar.

Has anyone told them that if you kill all the trees, the animals will die, too?

A close second: our local "independent newsweekly," which has regularly excoriated the University of California for wanting to chop down 80 oaks to build a new sports center. Now, I'm on the side of the oaks here--but how many trees do they think are chopped down every week to print their free weekly, which prints far more copies than anyone is ever going to read, and then flies around littering the streets for weeks?

The US position on carbon emissions at the Bali conference.

People at the grocery store last week going wild over organic bananas because buying organic helps fight global warming. Guess they didn't notice the fruit was shipped from South America. Tom

The "Paper or Plastic...Neither" bags that Wal-Mart is selling.

1. They are totally a synthetic material.

2. When I bought one, the cashier told me, "We can't get this plastic thing off of the handle, so you will have to use it next time." I pulled out my car keys and popped it off.

3. Then the cashier still puts the stuff in plastic bags and expects me to take it out and put it in the bag cloth one.

One of my big complaints about Wal-Mart is the wasted plastic bags. I have had the cashier bag up a bag of cat food or potatoes. Or they have put one or two items in a bag. I bought 10 things and walked out with 7 bags??? What is up with that?

This didn't happen when we used paper bags....I worked for Wal-Mart years ago. The paper bags stood up and were easier to load. I did hate the paper cuts though. LOL

How about all of the packaging used to sell a toy???? WAY too many screws and wire ties to anchor the toy to a cardboard box that is faced with molded plastic!! Sheesh!!

One of my small green contributions is to buy most of my meat at a butcher shop. They use minimal packaging, and their meats aren't injected with salt and sugar. It does mean going to an extra store. However, if one plans errand running, it doesn't mean going out of one's way or using more gas. Butcher shops often have freezer orders, which can be a good cost savings.

My complaint is the oversized hard plastic packaging, which surrounds just about everything these days, drives me nuts as a consumer. Sometimes it is a real wrestling match to extract the item. Now they make a special tool for cutting through that stuff. A utility knife will do.

I think the oversized packaging is a misguided effort to prevent shoplifting. Yea, shoplifting is an issue for the stores, and for consumers because it ultimately causes price increases. However, it seemed to me that those magnetized strips did a good job of preventing shoplifting. Somebody is getting rich from the creation and sales of this new-fangled packaging.

If the US has a problem with garbage disposal and landfill, why are so many things now packaged in large, non-collapsible containers? That also means using more bags for carting one's purchases out of a store. We've got a problem with our economy and inflation, yet consumers are paying for all of that excessive packaging. And, those super-size drink containers at the fast food places are absolutely ridiculous. I cringe everytime I see people consuming such large drinks.
Lorna

I agree with ScrappyJack about toys. Christmas morning in my house was all about wire cutters and razor blades to get these things open. Not very green or kid friendly.

I very recently ordered 8 pairs of shorts from the J.C. Penney sale catalog. They arrived packaged in an inexplicable combination of 11 plastic bags, each bag with a huge stiff computer-generated sticker on top so they are really unusable for anything else.

Amazon's fun habit of occasionally shipping a single order of several books in multiple shipments to "get it to me faster."

Being stuck in a long bank drive-thru line next to someone in a giant Expedition or Escalade who idles it the entire 20 minutes we sit there. On an ozone warning day. When gas is $3.50 a gallon. And I'm already about to have an asthma attack.

My husband's repeated insistence each week when we shop at Whole Foods that I should buy the asparagus, "because we love asparagus!" Every week we fight when I say I will NOT buy asparagus shipped from Peru, which also happens to taste like cardboard. And every week he still asks.

Gosh, I could probably think of dozens more. But I guess that's enough grousing for one evening.

We have a special pick up day for compostable yard waste, it must be in a clear bag, the trucks make an extra trip around town to pick it up and then they neatly deposit it at the local landfill and mix it up with all the other garbage. what is the point of that? also we have a new recycling business (there is no municipally run recycling in my area) they charge you to drop off your recyclables, then make a double profit selling it to the major recylers. consequently, everyone thinks it is a scam and no one wants to participate so all the recyclables end up at the dump (with the compost!!)

I saw my neighbor at the grocery store. She had a ton of paper plates, plastic cups, forks and knives. I asked her if she was having an Easter party or something. She informed me of her great "secret". She doesn't do any dishes anymore. She just purchases plastic everything and they throw them away after dinner. She also gave me her great "tip", to use paper plates in place of a cutting board. I guess it saves SO much time not having to rinse off that cutting board!

I wish I could have come up with something clever to say that would let her know how lazy and wasteful it was, but I was in such shock, I couldn't say anything.

Here is a link that might be useful: backyard farming

Just three days ago I saw for the first time a new commercial out by (I think) Dixie. It was for paper plates. The whole gist of the commercial was that you could be a better mom by using paper plates. The reasoning was that instead of washing dishes after meals, you could be spending time with your kids.

I couldn't believe it! Now they're using guilt to make already-busy moms use disposables!

I say teach the kids some responsibility and let THEM wash the dishes, lol!

But seriously, if you want to be a better parent, I think using resources carefully and trying to keep the planet in shape for future generations will count for more than using paper plates!

Dee

I agree diggerdee. Why not spend that time WITH YOUR KIDS doing the dishes.

Here is a link that might be useful: backyard farming

We are experiencing 50 mph gusts of wind today, yet, while out walking, I saw the town road crew working down the street trying to clean up last fall's leaves with gas powered leaf blowers. Burning a lot of gas & getting nowhere in terms of clean-up.

Individual plastic wrapped prunes.......can you believe the packaging waste?

Yes, I've seen individually plastic-wrapped potatoes too!

I recently saw an on-line article about a new, British (I think) supermarket trying to open some stores here in the states. One of the things they have is plastic-wrapped produce, even things like bananas... Why?

:)
Dee

You would also be going wild over the organic bananas if you knew how many pesticides are used in growing them. It's on the bananas, it's on the ground and gets washed back into the rivers, and they actually end up with the bananas themselves being washed in water to remove those pesticides. That water goes back into the ground. It's an eye-opener and it has nothing to do with global warming.

Advertising "hybrid" SUV's with "amazing" gas mileage of "up to 20 mpg!"

Good lord people, give up the SUV's. 99.99% of you will never use them as they were intended back when they had a justifiable use, heck, most of you won't even let dust settle on them. A standard car carries the same amount of passengers, give or take, and few of us need to tote around 8 people on a 24/7 basis or carry more than a bag of peanuts in our trunk. I'm looking at you Sally Soccermom.

It strikes me as particularly absurd to waste hybrid technology on beasts that are by definition beyond wasteful to the point of being the social version of narcissism, and whose main purpose as far as I can tell seems to focus on impressing others with what you own.

I just don't "get" SUV's. If you're not hunting big game in Africa, or treking around Alaska, then the real true need for one probably borders on 0.

All that said, I am for freedom of choice. So long as they're all for my freedom to mock them. :)

With "green" becoming trendy and commercialized, I just have to laugh at all the products and gadgets being marketed at silly prices to make people think they "need" them so they can have the "necessary supplies" to go green. Just the concept of more spending in the attempt to save.

Expensive organizational bins, carts, & supplies that cost too much money just to separate recyclables.

Compost bins and gadgets, when in reality you can build yourself with stuff in your garage...or just compost right on the ground or in a basic rubbermaid bin or 5-gallon bucket.

I used to live in an apartment, and I also HAD a spouse who didn't agree with the greener side of living, so I do understand there is a time where one might need to invest in something to make it work, but I just see so many marketed and expensive "solutions" that I do laugh sometimes.

Gayle

OKAY!!! I work in retail at a craft store.

TOTALLY not a green place to work.

Some people buy a pack of stickers and YES they have to go in a bag. "I MAY LOSE THEM."

A t-shirt..yep a bag...it may get dirty. If you don't wash that shirt you are stupid..you would not believe how often those things are pulled out and touched by EVERYONE.

A gallon jug of glue or gesso with a handle. YEP..a bag...

A plastic wrapped canvas..oh wait not one bag but 2 of the biggest bags we have.

Oh wait...theres the parents that come in with 5 of their children...each getting a $1.00 item then each one of the little brats have to have their own bag...unless I cut in first...do you want to just carry it..

I HATE PLASTIC BAGS!!!!

The use of paper napkins, paper towels and disposable plates. How lazy does one have to be to not take a few minutes to use a wet cloth to clean up a spill, not to mention how much cleaner it would be, or to use a cloth napkin to wipe your face, or to do dishes.

I believe in moderation, not the "all or nothing" , boycotting attitude that gets us all nowhere. So I freely admit that I shop at the mega chains for retail/groceries. (in most cases I can't afford not to) However, I am most curious as to why, when companies build "bigger and better" super stores, they leave their old stores just sitting empty.....with all of their lights burning..... day and night.....every day and night....

Can we not all compromise, negotiate, and work together to come up with some kind of slightly greener solution?

The local theater's sprinkler system running when its POURING DOWN RAIN!!

I also saw in an article to promote greeness an $80 flower pot that will straddle a deck, porch or balcony rail for those who don't have a yard or can't think of a more efficient, cheaper way to grow a plant on their porch.

I stopped at Walmart and needed another canvas bag. So the clerk put my eggs and bread in the canvas bag I brought into the store, then put the new canvas bag I bought into plastic bag for me to take home.

Packaging is a huge pet peeve. I received a CD set that came in a full color cardboard and then the plastic CD case repeated the full color cover inside. What is the point. Hello?

Ditto on toy packaging. Are they afraid that Barbie is going to attempt a break out in transit? Perhaps we can contact Mattel one person at a time.....you never know. (corporate.communications@mattel.com)

Companies that say they are green but do no
recycling,HD we are green yet in the employees
lounge no cans for recycling ,when the manager
wanted every reciet marked for the survey and this
was not getting done he then procced to make sheets
of paper with the survey info printed on them for
you to staple to the reciept.I asked him how that
was green and how could HD state they were when they
do nothing to promote green within the stores.

Blueangel

It poured rain this evening, then stopped. I heard a noise outside my window, looked out, and the sprinklers next door had turned on. Hello?? Look up in the sky.

And the fact that they're programmed is not an excuse. I've looked into it, and I know there is some gizmo that will factor the rain into their programmed sprinkling.

I just clicked another link on this very Going Green forum, and the sidebar ad is for microwavable pouches of pasta sauce. Wow, ready in 90 seconds!!! It surely takes at least that long to open that old fashioned (recycleable) can and dump it in a microwavable bowl. *roll*

Somebody sitting in the parking lot of the Whole Foods with her engine idling so that she can have air conditioning while she's on her cell phone. (It wasn't even a hot day.) Though it's good that she wasn't driving and talking, I guess.

A friend complaining about his monthly electric bill .
He lives in a much smaller living space than I do .
He and his family leave everything on and running ALL the time .
They even have the air conditioning running full blast with the doors of the patio wide open in Florida in July !!
His bill ? $400
My bill ? $85

I went to Target and I handed the checker my canvas bags. She didn't use them, I was busy chasing after dd. (This happens a lot; I say "please use these bags" but the checkers are so used to the plastic bags that they forget. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had them take the food out of the plastic and then throw the bag away...)

Anyhow, A week later I'm at Trader Joe's. I grabbed the Target bags, and the checker there SCOLDED me for using (re-using) plastic bags! oh well. I do appreciate Trader Joe's not using plastic, but give me a break.

just wanted to toss in my word about SUVs. I drive an explorer with 3rd row. 2 of my sisters-in-law each drive mini-vans. I get the same gas mileage as each of them do. I also have a need to fit 3 carseats, so the idea of driving a small car is out the window.

So, apparently a mini-van is not better than an SUV. And not everyone is able to fit their kids in a small car. Every time I drive, it is with at least 5 people, 7 on the days I take my neices to the zoo with us.

But, all that being said, I only drive maybe 2 days out of the week because I combine errands.

A car dealer in Central Florida is so desperate to get rid of large gas guzzlers that they are offering buy one - get one free . So instead of one large polluting vehicle in your driveway - you can have two ! Can you get any more NOT green ?

When I lived in Colorado, I did know some people who *did* need an SUV, although not always a full sized one. Just needed the all-wheel drive. They lived in places in outlying areas where they had a dirt road and whenever it snowed or rained hard, they either had to use a 4WD in low gear, or stayed at home for several days.

I also knew people who chose to live further from work, either for cheaper housing or to live in the mountains. They had to accept using up a couple of vacation days a year during heavy snowfall.

During the era when minivans became popular, my uncle/aunt had a full-size van. They had three boys and a girl. The high school football teams got the boys to play while still in middle school, and as 10 year olds they weren't allowed to play pee-wee football. And I think football requires a lot of gear. And they were only a couple years apart.

As empty nesters, they've scaled down to a Toyota Matrix, which is essentially a Toyota Corolla station wagon.

However, I've struggled with getting cashiers to get the concept of "I don't need a bag", "Just put everything inside that planter/bag/storage container I am buying"

I lost that today when I brought my Walmart bag in and a cashier put the one item I was buying into a plastic bag and *then* put it into my bag. And then 6 years ago I kept trying to bring bags back for recycling. Despite saying on the bag that they could be recycled, they didn't have that available.

Well, this is laughable but rather just sad. My office does not have a recycling program. The owner of the building (which has 3 companies in it), is contracted with a private waste company that doesn't take recyclables. After seeing my coworkers throw bottles, cans, etc. in the trash for a year (I would carry mine home), I decided to start a recycling program. I purchased two blue bins and placed one upstairs and one downstairs. Works great, people are recycling. After a year of taking care of it myself (bringing the recycling home to be taken care of), I put up volunteer recycling forms, asking others to take turns with me emptying the bins when they are full. Out of about 20 people, only one person volunteered. Seriously, how hard would it be!

Sarah

Good job Sarah! I was at the beach this weekend (in MA) and the trash bins were stuffed to overflowing - lots of recyclables in there. It really bugged me. On the other hand, in RI there are no trash bins at the beach. They hand you a bag when you go in and you take your trash home.

For me, it's got to be the people who are still driving the gigantic SUVs and 2-ton Pickups around, even just to drive themselves to work (i.e. not hauling anything but themselves). I live in what I would consider the "Large Trucks Belt" of the Midwest, and a lot of people commute from here to the Twin Cities in MN about 30 miles each way every day. When I look out into our parking ramp, it is just full of huge SUVs and big hauler pickup trucks. It just makes me think "When are these people going to stop stroking their *egos* with these massive gas-guzzlers?"

This is the part of the country where little 16-year-old girls go joyriding in pink Ford F-250s. Hummer H2's are very popular around here (still).

Ever since gas went over $4/gallon a while ago I have been driving at slower speeds and easing up on the accelerator, and I've managed to squeeze about 4-5 mpg over the manufacturer's highway rating, which makes me happy (I drive a Chevy Malibu, by the way).

Jamba Juice, I work there as a manager. Nearly everything Jamba uses can be recycled. It took me a year to get blue recycling barrels from our city. The district manager told me it was a waste of time. The owner was concerned that they would look tacky (in the back of the building mind you, surrounded by a gate). I bought a blue trash can & took it in myself for the longest time. I rallyed my co-workers for support & got everyone to sign a petition to begin recycling- I got written up! The entire company wastes so much paper it's absurd. They even took away the mug discount (buy a Jamba mug & get 25% off when you bring it back in).

I was nodding in agreement when I read the post from the girl who works for a crafts store. Sounded like the one I used to work for. Having never worked retail before, I was appalled by the waste especially of items that were broken, damaged, opened or some how no longer "fit to sell", that were put in the dumpster. I asked management if we could box those things and perhaps every few weeks, make a donation to a day care or senior center. I even volunteered to do the boxing and deliveries. I was told it was against company policy. So I gave away some leftovers and "trash" from my classes and received dozens of thank you notes from teachers and activity directors. In every case, they said that they had little or NO funds to work with and were so grateful for whatever I gave them. Emboldened, I wrote to the CEO of the company asking if a program of sharing could be implemented for the entire chain. I got an acknowledgement of my letter. Period. I found out later that I was put on a "watch her" list as a potential trouble maker. I doubt that I would ever be allowed to work for that company again should I desire to. Oh, well, their loss.

Huge piles of leaves for the trash with bare, cracking, weed infested flower beds stripped of all their nutrients.

I just saw a commercial for Clorox Green Works products, including the 99% natural cleansing wipes. A nice use-once-and-toss product. Granted, it's biodegradable, but c'mon, what's wrong with a washable towel and some of that fancy green cleaner?

a bunch of people claiming to be "green" chatting away on their computers made of plastics. no, it was the person who complained about the SUV's in the bank drive through while he/she was waiting in the drive through line. Or is it the people who don't realize that trees can be grown as a crop, much like corn, only it takes longer.

All of the the bleeding heart green promoting congressmen flying around in their own private jets. I know security is a concern, but really take a public airplane and practice what you preach! Or at least "plane"-pool since a lot of them go to the same conferences anyway!

Cornus...even worse is all those leaves & flower bed matter stuffed in trash bags for garbage pickup.

I just returned home from a three-day visit from the hospital. During my stay, in an attempt to keep myself sane through the boredom, I considered the ways I could maintain my eco-committed lifestyle away from home. I received some funny looks from the staff while I "saved" every recyclable item that entered my room for the three days: daily newspapers (one someone had the nerve to throw in the garbage for me), plastic food containers/ utensils/ pill cups/papers. I completely filled a "patient's belongings bag" and brought it home. I was pleased to see the tissue and toilet paper were made from 10% post-consumer material. I took them home, as well, since they were opened and would have been thrown away anyways.

"a bunch of people claiming to be "green" chatting away on their computers made of plastics. no, it was the person who complained about the SUV's in the bank drive through while he/she was waiting in the drive through line. Or is it the people who don't realize that trees can be grown as a crop, much like corn, only it takes longer."

Funny. Apparently to some people, environmentalism is an all-or-nothing situation. Apparently you either live naked in the woods and eat twigs and berries, or you support wasting as much of everything as possible. FYI, it's not the plastic that goes into computers that's the problem -- it's the power that they consume. And tree farms are major hogs of land and are nearly as poor at supporting diverse ecosystems as conventional farms are.

Anyway, as for my worst recent example? I recently received two ram chips and 6 SATA cables (each flexible and perhaps double the size of a piece of linguini along each axis) in a 1'x1.5'x2' box.

Most laughable non-green thing you've seen lately:

I only saw it once, but it was a TV ad for 'fortified water' for kids - showed a bunch of 'active' children brandishing PLASTIC water bottles to get their daily dose of water. I thought plastic bottles were practically taboo now. This is what we're teaching our kids - drinking lots of water is good, and to h*ll with the environment in the process? There's something just not right about it. Sheesh.

This isn't exactly laughable, but it's personal and makes me grind my teeth. I work part time for a lawn care company, and on Thursday we worked at a client's house removing mulch. Yep, we scrape off last year's mulch, which has decomposed and become half rotten, and reapply this year's mulch, all pretty and fresh. I mean, who wants that old yucky decaying ORGANIC MATTER on their plant beds, when they can have nice fresh stuff? *insert eye roll here*.

To the good, the county composts the yard waste, so at least it doesn't go in the landfill. Now if they could just have a program to educate the homeowners on the concept of compost .... because in a few weeks, we will be doing the same thing with pinestraw. Take off last year's and throw it away, and put down new stuff. Arghhh!!!!

Mine, similar to mxbarbie. Our township trash haulers prohibit yard waste in the trash container with house garbage and trash. With just the two of us, we often have surplus room for pine logs or pulled invasive weeds.

It all goes to the landfill, the next county over, a hole in the ground.

*sigh*