There’s more to it than recycling

Waste-watchers can be careful about what they buy, activist says

By Kate Gawf

Pamplin Media Group, Nov 13, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jeanne Roy managed to winnow her nonrecyclable waste down to one can of garbage a year. She shared her secrets at the Unity of Beaverton church last month.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Since Oregon is well-known as a breeding ground for environmental activists, no one’s ever surprised that Jeanne Roy, a leader in the sustainability movement since 1970, is one of ours.

Back in the late ’80s, a city ordinance was passed in Portland banning the use of Styrofoam containers for prepared foods and beverages. Roy was behind that move – working with Recycling Advocates, an activist group she founded – and she’s still at it.

Most recently, Roy has discovered that she is able to reduce her annual output of nonrecyclable garbage to a single garbage can.

She happily revealed her methods last month in a presentation called “Yes You Can!” given at Unity of Beaverton church.

Roy gives Oregonians high points for preferring locally grown food, commuting by bicycle and using green building practices. But we could be doing more, she says, by increasing the amount we recycle and, especially, by changing our habits as consumers.

Most people are more than willing to recycle at the curb, but Roy says we need to go further. Name the most obscure material you can think of, and chances are there’s a place in the Portland metro area that can recycle it.

Those little plastic nets that baby onions come in? Spent athletic shoes? Printer cartridges? Crayons? No need to add any of them to the landfill load.

Questions about how and where to recycle almost anything can be answered by calling the Metro Recycling Information hot line, 503-234-3000, or visiting www.metro-region.org and clicking on “garbage and recycling.”

Another way to reduce waste is to recycle yard debris and food scraps. “Composting is not an easy thing to do,” Roy says. “It’s an art and a science. But I recommend it as a real benefit to the Earth because you’re returning the nutrients to the soil.”

Every purchase is a choice

Another piece of the puzzle is what Roy says can be the hardest part for many people: making consumer choices that reflect your environmental values.

Ask yourself some questions, she says, such as, Do I really need this? How long is it going to last? Is it repairable? Is it something that I’ll use once a year and could simply borrow or rent? Could I buy it used?

“No bigger message can be sent to manufacturers than to refuse to buy their product if it doesn’t meet your minimal packaging standards,” Roy says.

1 | 2 Next Page >>