I’ve always been into the environment. Spending time outdoors. Preserving natural surroundings. Reducing litter. Recycling.

Lately I’ve become more committed to reducing my footprint on the environment.

All through college, my roommate and I separated our trash from recyclables and either trekked them down the hall (freshman year) or drove them to county recycling drop offs (the other three years).

I even started grocery shopping with reusable bags.

My ultimate goal is to eliminate sending anything to the landfill. While I realize this is not really practical in our society, I can do my best to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Unfortunately, many organic and low-impact products are expensive, and I’m not made of money. But if I can’t afford to buy the products exclusively, I can at least focus on products sold in containers made from recycled materials and that are recyclable themselves.

When I eventually move, I want to set up a system for my recyclables (and even for No. 5 plastics – I read somewhere that some Whole Foods have drop-off points for them). I also want to focus on biodegradable trash bags for non-recyclable waste. Do you have any idea how long plastic takes to decompose?

And one day I would like to compost as way to get rid of food products that will biodegrade perfectly on their own.

I realize I may sound like a crazy person. But these are little things I can do that have little impact on my day-to-day life. I’m not giving up showering, selling my car or moving to a commune (at least not yet). I’m just trying to be more mindful of my personal impact.

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