Tips: Question it all & Achieve through little steps

I got back from a trip to St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. I came across two things that made me think a bit.

On the way there, my dad and I stopped at a restaurant. Now sorry this was kind of weird of me, but I noticed this in the restroom. They had a single roll of tissue paper wrapped in plastic with  "ECO WISE" printed all over the plastic. This is typical false advertising. It's why I hate the phrases "going green" or "eco-friendly" or anything of that nature. They mislead. Companies know that if they package something in green and plaster the word "ECO" on the front, the public will feel good about themselves for buying the product. They'll think they're doing something good for the world. I urge you to step back and question whether they're misleading you. Is the product wrapped in plastic when it could be wrapped in paper or not packaged at all? If so, they're definitely misleading. So the moral of the story is question everything. Just because something says it's "green" doesn't mean it's good for the planet or sustainable by any means. Find your own alternatives. Reusables are an alternative. Plastic should be avoided. But none of our products are "good for our planet." No matter what, everything we own will end up as trash one day. Eventually it will break. That's why we should buy products that last long and can be repaired (aka avoid plastic). Glass, steel, and metal alternatives can usually be found. Okay I'm done with that rant now.

So then I saw sign at the Missouri Botanical Garden just as my trip was coming to an end.

Now this is something I really really really like, and I wish it'd say this on every trashcan.

"Landfill trash"

That's something to think about, right? Because it's something we hardly think about. Most people throw their trash away and only think about it reaching the garbage can by the curb or the dumpster in the back of their apartment complex. What if everyone had to read where their trash was going every time they threw something away? The landfill. That's where it's going. To rot past your lifetime. So maybe next time you throw something away, think about why you got that trash in the first place. Is there a way to avoid having to throw away that product again? Is there a reusable alternative? Or maybe you can go without it? Try to pare down your trash to only recyclables, but ultimately recycling is still waste, too. It's not super fantastic. There's bleach and shipping and all kinds of other unsustainable practices involved with recycling. So try Bea Johnson's 5 R's.

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot.

And by the way, her book is out! Order it here or even better try to find it at your public library. The Baton Rouge public library system will have one in a few months for sure.

But anyways, question it all. And achieve it through little steps.