Much to my girlfriends disapproval I am trying out a little experiment I'm going to see if I can go a whole year without purchasing anything new and then seeing how much of an environmental and financial impact it would make. I got the idea after hearing about some people who pledged not to buy anything new for a year. Then I kinda started to think this might actually be doable after seeing several sights such as freecycle.org and craigslist.org were I have already gotten several great things free of charge. The buyers digest and seven day are a couple of free classified publications.
Being the scientist that I am want to calculate the environmental impact I can make. So for each used item I get I will do my best to report how much energy and natural resources it would take to make a new one. Also being the frugal Vermonter that I am I will compeer how much I paid for the item vs how much it cost new. There are going to make be a couple of exceptions to this rule. I will buy anything new that might be gross used, such as used toilet paper, toothbrushes and food. I will however choose to buy bulk and minimal packaging products when economically feasible. I won't by anything used when safety might be concerned such as helmets and safety gear.
I invite you post your comments, join me for a week month year, offer suggestions or just see how much a difference in your life the REUSE of the three r's (reduce, reuse, recycle) makes.
Cheers,
Jordan Couture
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