jenny cares 

What’s in Your Bag? Ideas To Help You Waste Less
adapted from an article by Dave Chameides 23 June 2009
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1. STEEL WATER BOTTLE. The reasons for this are myriad, and I won’t go into them here. This cost me about $15 over a year ago and compared to the money I would have spent on plastic water bottles, I’m way ahead of the game. I went with steel because aluminum and plastic are a little bit scary leaching-wise. And in case I decide to hit the spelunking craze again, I can always use it as a tool to pull myself up into tight spaces.
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2. REUSABLE COFFEE MUG. Bought this for about $10 over three years ago. With coffee shops giving me 10 cents back per fill up, this paid for itself a long time ago so essentially it was free. Make sure to use a good sturdy one that will last.
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3. REUSABLE BAG. I have a small bag that folds into a little pouch, but any will do. I get 5 cents back every time I use it, and will keep heading to the store, so again, its paid for itself and I never have to take another plastic bag.
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4. CUTLERY. Nothing special here, just an old set of metal utensils in a travel toothbrush holder I wasn’t using. I’ve never understood the idea of using a plastic spoon for five minutes and then putting it in some landfill where it will sit for 500 years. If you don’t have an old toothbrush container that fits, you can always just wrap it in an old towel, which I also carry so I don’t’ have to use paper towels when out and about.
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5. REUSABLE BOWL. This one is probably the biggest crowd-pleaser. Its called an Orikaso bowl and sadly the company doesn’t make them anymore. That said, head to any camping supply store and they are chock full of bowls and plates that fold, smoosh, and contort into small spaces.
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So there you have it. The list of things you can carry is endless and only limited by your ingenuity. Take a week and make a mental list of what you are using and disposing of on a daily basis and my guess is you’ll come up with reusable alternatives in no time.
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...Post up about what you carry along in order to waste less and we’ll see who’s got the best ideas.
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VIMEO: What's in Dave's bag...
Whats in Dave's Bag from Sustainable Dave on Vimeo.