Project Progress

My project is to decrease my trash, reduce my water waste and make choices in the supermarket that are sustainable. So far I have done an OK job. My trash has decreased because I no longer drink water bottles or plastic Gatorade bottles, which were a huge part of my original trash problem. I now use my stainless steel water bottle that was given to me when I first moved into the dorms. I have also used very little paper waste, which was the second most waste I produced. I use a cloth towel to dry my hands or just let them air dry. The new hand dryers in De Neve have made it the best place to go to the restroom because it is the most sustainable. Though it is not as close as the bathroom on my floor, it is the best choice for the environment and I try to use it as much as possible. I thought that I could reduce my meat consumption but I just cannot eat vegetables all the time. I have reduced my consumption of red meat, something that I thought would be impossible. However, there is usually a chicken or vegetarian option that is just as good. Besides, who needs to spend $6 on a Double-Double? As far as water waste, I used to be the worst about leaving the faucet on while brushing my teeth. I now turn the water off while brushing and when I turn it on to rinse, I put it on as little as possible. I also thought that it would be more sustainable to brush my teeth in the shower, which I have done on a few occasions. I have also started showering in the afternoon, when water is least demanded. This has been an adjustment but now I run in the late afternoon and shower right after, which has been good for my health and the environment. For my last part of my project, smart spending at the market, I am very proud. I no longer go to Ralph's because it is mostly food from far away and it is made with many ingredients. Instead, I now go to Trader Joe's. I use the same technique my mom uses which is going to the store every so often rather than going one big trip and buying lots of stuff. I enjoy doing this because its nice to walk down to the store and put all the groceries in my backpack. It makes me feel sustainable. I only buy fruit that is in season and is grown locally. This meant no grapes because they were grown in Chile, which was a big disappointment. However, strawberries are coming back into season so it is a good trade off. I also am buying as organically as I can. Rather than spring for Oreos, I go with the organic chocolate chip cookie. It is less quantity, more expensive, but tastes surprisingly better. It has also encouraged me to eat better. After reading Omnivore's Dilemma and learning more about the industrial food chain, I have tried my best to break the spell that the corporations have us under. This means reading all of the ingredients on packages and trying to pick the one's with the least amount of corn products. This has been extremely difficult because of what Pollan says about the industrial food chain. All in all, my project has been going pretty well.