Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!

I have always been kind of a... recycling nazi. I'm not ashamed of this, but I know some past roommates may have been none too pleased about this - I also know that I was none too pleased with them throwing cans into the trash! In college we didn't even have recycling pick up - I had to take it to the grocery store and return each individual can! Ok, so I got a couple cents a can out of the deal, too, but that's not why I did it (and actually you pay an extra couple cents per can when you buy sodas/beer in New York State, so they give you a few cents back to entice you to return the cans, so you're not making money, just getting your money back).

The wedding industry is SUCH a wasteful industry. Just think about it for a minute, it's true. Think about everything that gets tossed after just one day of use. That's why there are so many green (as in eco-friendly) wedding bloggers and websites out there these days. I'd really like for my wedding to be as eco-conscious as possible, but at some point it almost seems like more trouble than it's worth, to be honest. Not that the earth isn't worth saving, more like me trying to figure out how to get 100+ guests to compost their food and garbage just doesn't seem feasible. My belief is that as long as you are aware of the situation and do what you can, every little bit helps. But that's just me.

I do get pretty happy when I find ways to lessen the effect our wedding has on the environment, I have to admit. And this? This is insanely simple and can be filed under "why didn't I think of that?" or "duh" if you will.

Not only is this eco conscious by having people recycle, but it is so cheap and simple to do. Hello, dollar store laundry baskets? Sticks with signs fool-proofing the process? Thank you Backyard Bride, for the lovely tip. My wallet and mother earth thank you as well. I'm sure my brother won't when he has to take all of our recycling up to the recycling center, but I'll deal with him.

-C
xxx