Elizabeth
Johns Hopkins University
ecampb18
Project Green Challenge: Paper Greener Challenge
1. Product: Soy milk container
Alternative:
Product: Glass Milk Bottle
Brand: StanPac
Impact: Using a glass bottle would be better for the environment because I can reuse
it (I could purchase soymilk by filling up my bottle if I could find a store that sells
soy milk like this which I’m sure could be a health foods store). Furthermore, if I
were to want to throw it away, glass is easier to recycle than paper.
2. Product: Paper Plates (for a work party)
Alternative:
Product: Disposable bamboo plates
Brand: Bambu Verneerware Plates
Impact: Bamboo is an environmentally friendly alternative to trees and cotton since
it grows quickly (so it is easily renewable), requires little water, and can easily be
grown organically
3. Product: Paper Napkins
Alternative:
Product: Reusable cotton napkins
Company: Etsy
Environmental Impact: Reusable napkins are better for the environment than paper
napkins because they can be reused which reduces waste, would not require the
destruction of trees to be made, and is made from cotton which is more easily
renewed than trees.
4. Product: Cardboard Packaging
Alternative:
Product: Not Box
Brand: Not Box
Environmental Impact: The Not Box is a reusable box that can be used for shipping
and other purposes instead of conventional cardboard boxes. It can be used multiple
times, which creates less waste and requires fewer resources.
5. Product: Printer Paper
Alternative:
Product: Microsoft Word Document
Brand: Microsoft
Environmental Impact: Instead of writing the notes that I had written to someone
on a piece of paper, I could have written it in a word document and emailed it to the
person I was writing too. This would conserve both the resources that go into
producing the paper and the waste produced form the note.
6. Product: Paper Towels:
Alternative:
Product: Reusable Food Service Towel
Company: Ecolab Proforce
Environmental Impact: These reusable towels are made from cotton which is more
easily grown than trees. Furthermore, since they are reusable, waste from
disposable towels would be eliminated.
7. Product: Notebook
Alternative:
Product: Google Docs
Company: Google
Environmental Impact: Instead of taking notes in a notebook, I could organize my
notes through Google Docs. In addition to being free, Google Docs would not require
paper, which reduces waste and resources needed to produce paper.
8. Product: Toilet Paper
Alternative:
Product: Treeless toilet paper
Brand: EarthSmart
Environmental Impact: Treeless toilet paper is made from plants that can be
regrown annually, which means they are a resource that can replaced more easily
than trees.
9. Product: Tea
Alternative:
Product: Organic, Loose-leaf tea
Brand: The Tea Spot
Environmental Impact: In addition to being organic ( and thus not requiring any
chemicals or pesticides to be grown), this tea does not use the paper and resources
that the tea bag and individual pack that traditional tea bags are packaged in
10. Product: Textbooks
Alternative:
Product: Kindle
Company: Amazon
Environmental Impact: Instead of using traditional paper textbooks, I should try to
purchase eBooks. Buying textbooks in an online format conserves both the
resources that go into shipping the book to me, and the trees needed to produce the
paper for the product.