Thursday’s Green Tip!

Today’s green tip has me thinking a little bit about the book I just read, Wake Up and Smell the Planet. My green tip was to reuse aluminum foil but then while I was washing my sheets of aluminum foil, my husband said I was wasting too much water. So by trying to do something good, was I actually doing something bad? Yikes! That’s what the book sort of eludes to…the confusion of trying to go green and how sometimes it can be confusing and humorous at the same time. I actually just starred at my husband for a second and said, “Well, darn it all, at least I’m using non-toxic soap!” Geez, what’s a green and clean mom supposed to do?

That’s when I started doing some research and trying to decide what was better, to recycle or not to recycle the foil? Aluminum foil takes a lot of electricity to produce and it doesn’t exactly break down in the landfills. Probably the best is to just not use aluminum foil but it does such a great job at preserving food because it doesn’t let in light or odors. I use glass storage wear from Ikea or Crate and Barrel for most everything but sometimes I just need some foil. Aluminum foil can be recycled over and over so you should probably check with your local recycling facility or try Earth 911 to find out more about recycling the shiny stuff. If you want to wash it…I guess that’s up to you but I’m not sure if that’s the best option with the water waste (pulling hair out). I’m going to go with buying recycled aluminum foil from here on out and at least know that I’m doing something right. The recycled aluminum foil requires 95% less energy to make. If your local stores don’t sell recycled aluminum foils try using, If You Care or Green Feet.