In these past two days I've gone to two different grocery store chains in search of two typical purchases:
TOILET PAPER & PAPER TOWELS
In these two visits to two different stores of different chains I spent about 30 minutes total looking through EVERY brands of paper towel and toilet paper looking for ONE which clearly stated it was made with SOME percentage of recycled paper products but could not find one!! This INFURIATES ME!!!!!!!!!! Usually there's one or two "ecologically friendly" brands available but now, the ones I could count on, namely " Green Forest " brand, (and another I can't remember now) isn't even available anymore.

We humans use SO much of this stuff in our lives (okay, some more than others. ) and THIS is where we can REALLY make a difference! How many rolls of toilet paper and paper towels does and average family of four use per month? You all probably have an estimate on that question. Isn't it environmentally irresponsible of us NOT to used paper products made of recycled paper whenever possible considering how much we use???

Recycled paper products ARE generally a little more expsive but if the difference is only $5-$10 per month isn't this little extra expense worth it?

And to make matters worse, when attending yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner at a relative's house (not my parents' house, thank goodness) with a 20 in attendance, we at off of PLASTIC plates and drank out of PLASTIC cups. And then, after the meal...GUESS WHAT!... we threw away everything! I was absolutely beside myself. And we did the same last year!! Seems to be a new tradition in saving time and effort by throwing away as much as possible. What a "disposible society" we're becoming. Makes me crazy.

At my work, all the restrooms have FOUR air-hand dryers and one paper-towel dispenser. And guess what. Only about 10% of the people I've witnessed use the air-dryers while the other 90% typically yank out 1-2-3-4-sometimes-5 paper towels at a time to dry their hands. (Wow, I'm really rolling here - my heart rate's UP!) People just don't like to use the air-dryers. WHY? "Oh. It drys out my hands!" Well use some f*'in lotion and save a f*'in tree!!!

And what about all those newspapers, magazines, and other papers we throw in the trash daily. I BEG YOU TO RECYCLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!! Make it part of your consciousness. PLEASE!!!!!!!

I'm out. This topic makes me absolutely, RAGING FURIOUS!!

Did you try Wild Oats on Lane Avenue?

Never been to a Wild Oats , sel, but if you think they may have them I'll check into it. Thanks for the tip! I had thought to visit some of the "gourmet grocers", thinking THEY may care enough (and have the clientelle) to sell these somewhat higher priced products.

" I haven\'t got a square to spare. "

Saludos, MadridMan

Really Madridman?!?!

Recycled papel hygienico doesn't sound like such a good idea. Just joking... As for those hand driers though, the person that invented them should have a special place in hell, right next to others with similarly useless inventions. I've never left a place that had one of those contraptions without wiping my hands on my pants. Totally useless.
I do wish the government could find the paperless office though. More and more functions that use to use forms and publications are ending up on a computer. But what good does that do when you can't haul the computer to the job site? And it's not like they're ever going to issue me a laptop. Wouldn't lug it around if I did.
I've been ridiculed for turning paper over and reusing it in laser printers. It does get confusing if there is anything written on the other side.
But overall, I agree with you, except for the hand driers. I'm still trying to think of the other commonly used device out there that I consider as equally useless as the hand drier.

gazpacho wrote: They're totally useless if you give them 5-10 seconds to dry your hands. Usually I have to hit the button a second time and then, in total, after about 25 seconds the hands are dry. And guess what! No waste! Have some patience and let these air dryers do their jobs.

From the lack of response to this topic I can only guess that most people believe as gazpacho does about using (read: wasting) paper products. As a nation we just don't care about our consumerism and waste. Hmph. I think I need a bigger soapbox.

Well, MM...Indiana is right next door. I suppose you have access to a heck of lot of corn cobs!

BTW, not to sound snobbish...but why would anyone use plasticware for Thanksgiving dinner?
That's the time to use your best dinnerware!

OsoMajor wrote: Answer: Simplicity. And that which comes with simplicity is usually WASTE as well. People spend all day cooking and they prefer to spend all afternoon visiting with family and not washing dishes. I can understand the logic (as I can understand the air-dryer versus paper debate) but cannot accept the waste. Imagine what a scene it would make if I (the only one) brought my own plate and silverware!

After spending all day cooking a wonderful meal, I would NEVER waste it on plastic or paper!!! A few years ago I made a new house rule...since I do all the cooking, everyone else does the dishes. This is the one day of the year that my husband washes the pans It was either that or no more cooking so he happily agreed!!

I have plastic plates that are well over 10 years old because I wash them when we do use them. Eventually they crack and do have to be thrown away but they were originally salvaged from a firm picnic years ago.

I wish the world used less plastic everything and more glass and paper!!

I do care MM. In fact we take recycling seriously here. I actually just finished 2 bundles (1 for newspapers and ad materials & another for cardboards and office papers& envelopes) to leave at the front house for collection. Also a recycling crate(bin) for bottles,cans & the likes. It's the least I could do for the enviro. And yes I use hand-dryers too! The trick is to rub your hands for fast drying.

You know guys, you could push the button a second time on the hand-dryer if needed, duh! :p

Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal in our home and it is one of the few times during the year when we bring out the family silver and china. Regards cleaning up, you can bet all the family has to help(except guests of course). But Im not going to hold my nose up if I get invited to someone's home and they use paper plates. Afterall, it's the company and the sharing of the meal that's important.

MM, I commend you for being environmentally concerned. Not a whole lot of folks even give it a second thought. One of my pet peeves is litter and especially when I see people littering. I have approached people when I've seen them being blatantly careless about tossing trash on the ground or street. Hey...this is my neighborhood, do you mind?! Speaking about littering...I saw a food program that featured Spain. In the program the host visited various food kiosks and noticed the locals throwing their used napkins on the ground. When she inquired about it she was told is was customary for the patrons to do so. Is this true?