Traveling Green with Road Trip Recycling
Posted by Chad Norman June 26th, 2007 .
I just got back from the Catskill Mountains - and if it hadn’t been for my buddy’s awesome wedding, the notable absence of wifi and cell access would have been unbearable. It’s weird being disconnected now. So even though my Go Green tethers were cut, I still had my Go Green game face on.
I’m piloting a week-long family road trip in July, so my plan was to focus on road recycling. To keep it simple, I tossed a milk crate in the back and left with the best intentions. As the drive to Callicoon Center progressed, the bin began to fill up with all kinds of stuff: Coke bottles, Google Maps directions, a Fig Newton box, Diet Dr. Pepper cans, etc. This was easy.
By the time I got home on Monday morning, the crate had a fair amount of recycling in it. It’s weird thinking that a couple of years ago, I would have just tossed all of this road debris in a gas station trashcan. Now that I’m through the recycling looking glass, seeing those receptacles stuffed to the brim with non-trash is a little worrisome.
As I transferred my quarry from crate to blue bin, I kept thinking about what else I could have done. I think carbon offsets might be next. Maybe I can get that setup before the July trip. Anyhoo, happy green traveling everyone!
Previously on Go Green:
5 Responses to “Traveling Green with Road Trip Recycling”
- 1 Pingback on Nov 25th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
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Were you going to recycle those Fig Newton boxes here in Chas? ‘Cos I thought that you couldn’t recycle that sort of box - I don’t know what you call it - only office-type paper, newspaper, and cardboard.
They’re called “Paperboard Packaging Containers”, and are found everywhere in your house. Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, soda/beer boxes, and lots of store-bought products. I believe they just started this a few months ago. It makes a huge impact.
Paperboard is now recycled (curbside) just like magazines.
I applaud the road trip recycling effort, and I offer the suggestion to take it a step further. A water bottle that can be refilled gets rid of (by my count) nine drink containers. I won’t pretend caffeine isn’t a road trip necessary, so make a 1 or 2 liter purchase prior to traveling. Either pack it in a cooler with a cup or take a small cooler with ice and use it for packing other road trip treats/meals as well as your ice. Planning ahead allows you to eat and drink what you want and when you want. It will cut down on all of the packaging that comes with purchases made at every stop along the way and you will feel better upon arrival at your destination from eating food with some nutritional value (if that is your thing).
Happy trails.
That’s so true Bachman. I carry a reusable water bottle with me at all times - so you’ll notice there are no water bottles in my road trip crate. In fact, I pledged to have a water bottle-free summer (and future) in a blog post a couple months ago. It hasn’t even been that hard!
http://www.gogreencharleston.org/2007/04/30/put-down-that-bottled-water/