5 of my Bizarre Secret Green Habits

Although I have the beloved nicknames of “hippie”, “recycle nazi” and a few others, I tend to be proud with my green choices. But I still keep a few of my green habits on the DL.

Why?

Mostly because I try to maintain a low profile and not be the ‘angry green’ girl. Or the weird girl with the green habits. Ready for my reveal of bizarre habits?

1. I’ll carry around “trash” around for a little while until I find a recycling bin. Although I try to find recycling bins everywhere, I have snuck a beer can or empty food container in my gym bag or purse on occasion until I get home to a recycling abyss.
2. I’ll keep something in my apartment until I can figure out what to do with it. I’ve been more cognizant recently that all trash goes into a landfill – where things aren’t breaking down, decomposing or really effectively being reused. When I write my ‘where can I Wednesday” column, it’s often because I have a product that needs to be disposed – and I have no idea how to responsibly. Right now, I have approximately 6 pairs of shoes in my closet until I can send them to Terracycle or find a used shoe drive. I just hope I don’t look like a green klepto.
3. I don’t flush… every time. I tend to go with the philosophy “If it’s yellow, let it mellow”. Having my own bathroom for the last 3 years makes it pretty convenient. I realized my secret green habit was leaked when one my BFFs said “OMG Julie, I’m so sorry I flushed. I know you don’t every time!” As I had to assure her that I did indeed flush my own toilet on occasion. It conserves water so I don’t mind this. Don’t worry though – I clean my bathroom religiously and disguise my habit for guests (especially the overnight type…)
4. I find myself picking up trash off the street as I walk through Philly. There’s a sea of litter and debris, so I often pick up a few bottles or empty chip bags until I see a recycling bin or trash can (and often times a few blocks). Sometimes I need to wash my hands ASAP but try to influence others to ‘unlitter us’.
5. I’ll spend an unreasonable amount of time reading labels. For example, I search each variety of guilt-ice cream to find the one without high fructose corn syrup or which bath products exclude sodium laurel sulfate/sulfides. Shopping at places other than Whole Foods (which generally doesn’t carry such ingredients), requires me to read every label in the aisle. But sometimes that means standing in front of a food item for 10 minutes to figure out whether the generic brand contains a horrible chemical that the brand name excludes (or vice virsa.)

Readers, what “dirty” green habits do you find yourself getting into? Do you have a sustainable action that’s still in the closet?

Photo: Upper Echelon Records

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher