Use Netflix To Reduce Waste

Are you a movie fan? I know I am. I would rather watch a good movie than mind-numbing television. Because of this I had a movie habit. I was addicted to DVDs. There were times when I would buy 10 movies a week. Some sit on the shelves unwrapped even though I bought them years ago. We have so many movies in the household that friends come to us before going to Blockbuster. So a few months ago, I started thinking about this excess and realized that I was spending up to $500 a month on plastic disks that I was going to use once, or at most a few times over the rest of my life. There is only so much time to watch movies.

So to cut down, I joined Netflix (www.netflix.com). They deliver the movies I want via the USPS and I send them back and get new ones when done. All for a low fee of about $15.00 a month. This allows me to put the rest of that money in my savings account or to offset the purchase of higher quality foods. The great thing about delivery by USPS is that they are coming to my home 6 days a week anyway, so there is no net carbon gain by my movie rentals as opposed to driving to a local video rental store. Plus, I don’t have to worry about storage or disposing of packaging.

Use Recyclable Batteries

Save money and resources by using widely available rechargeable batteries, many of which can be reused up to 1,000 times.

More than 15 billion batteries are thrown away each year — enough to make a column to the moon and back. That number continues to grow, as we use more and more electronic devices in our lives.

Thanks to a 1996 federal law, batteries no longer contain highly toxic mercury. However, rechargeables are allowed to have less-toxic metals, such as cadmium and lead, so it is imperative (and legally required) that you dispose of them properly. Used rechargeables can be dropped off for recycling at many retailers, or consult Earth911.org for locations. When possible pick lithium-ion or NiMH (nickel metal hydride) rechargeables over NiCd (nickel-cadmium) rechargeable batteries, which contain more toxic metals.