The Do The Reuse Challenge is bing hosted by Aladdin. There are three different challenges and the goal of each is to challenge people to not waste as much and save money at the same time. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!
Challenge one: Coffee Cups. The goal here is:
Those coffeehouse stops can be satisfying, but having your own mug and making coffee at home can feel pretty good too. You'll save money, cut calories, and help keep some of the 23 billion cups Americans are projected to toss this year from reaching landfills.
Challenge two: Water Bottles. The goal here is:
Getting 64 oz of water a day is good for you, but using four disposable bottles to do it? Not so much. Grab a reusable water bottle, and you'll be on your way to a healthy body and a healthy planet. Not to mention the money you'll save!
Challenge three: Food Containers. The goal for this one is:
Food for thought: We each spend about $2,350 a year on takeout lunches. That's a lot of cash, and a lot of trash. Packing your lunch puts the dough back in your pocket and keeps 1.8 million tons of packaging out of landfills. Plus, you're more likely to make healthier food choices!
Now, let me explain why I signed up f or the Food Container challenge.
1) I don't drink coffee...ever. Neither does Husband. This means we can, technically, already say we have 100% achieved the first goal.
2)I'm too cheap to buy water when I can get it out of my tap at home. For those of you who don't think tap water is good enough, let me just say that we finally bought a new fridge that has an ice maker/water filter and I'm now able to fill up my bottles using filtered water. Yay! I can't say I never buy water bottles, but it's pretty darn rare and when I do, I almost always take the bottle home to recycle. Oh..and regarding traveling, no worries, I bring my own bottles with me. Did you know you can bring an empty bottle through airport security and then fill it once you past security? Cheaper and eco-friendly.
3) I'm too cheap to buy lunch everyday. I usually say I can't afford it, because in my mind I can't (even though I suppose technically I could). So this one won't be much of a challenge for me either since I never bring anything in a disposable bags, it all comes in Tupperware. However, I selected this challenge for one reason. Restaurant leftovers. Oh yes...I'm one of those individuals who rarely eats their entire meal when at a restaurant. So what happens? I need the restaurant to provide me a container to take my food home in, I did pay for it afterall. Now while I don't have official numbers, I would guess that 95% of the restaurants I've taken home leftovers from provide me with containers that are not recyclable. What a waste! My goal is to start bringing my own containers when I go out to eat.
I know, some of you will think I'm crazy. I've done this twice and let me tell you that the waiters think I'm crazy right along with you. I even had one, as I was putting the food into my container, ask if I wanted a disposable container. Um..no..that would defeat the whole purpose wouldn't it? I normally carry purses large enough to fit a couple of smallish containers. I try to bring two, one for me and one for Husband. I also bring my own reusable bag to put the containers in once I fill them so the place doesn't try to give me a plastic bag. The two times I did this, I was able to save 3 disposable containers from ending up in a landfill. Fingers crossed I continue to remember my own containers.
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