You CAN recycle that water filter!!

How many folks out there have a Brita water pitcher and throw your filters away when it's time to replace them? (A scarier question however is, how many of us keep using the filters in our pitchers long after they expire?? )


Well, I'll fess up that up until a week or so ago, I didn't really think about what to do with these filters... I mean, I've been a Brita pitcher user for at least 8 years or so, ( or however long they've been out) and not once have I lamented over not knowing what to do with the used filters. I guess I figured, one every 3 months, how big a deal is it really?


Until now, of course. Now that I am accountable to the world (or at least 4 of you!) via this blog, I find that I am acutely aware of many things that previously slipped under my radar.


So this past week when I changed my filter, I put the old one aside, remembering that I'd read something somewhere about how to recycle these.... hmmm, where did I see that article? Oh yes, in my favorite magazine, body+soul! I was psyched to find, on page 24 of the July/August issue that you can recycle these filters, "along with any other hard-to-recycle #5 plastics, through Preserve's Gimme 5 program."


Preserve is the company that takes Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups and uses the recycled plastic to make toothbrushes, razors, tablewear, etc.... Check them out at http://preserveproducts.com/ At their site you can find if theWhole Foods near you is a Gimme5 location , or how you can mail your #5 plastics directly to Preserve.

I encourage you to visit their site, as it is also full of information about their process and products, and how they assess their "greenness" through a third party Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). An LCA measures all aspects of a product's sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, usage and disposal process, giving a true measure of the REAL impact of a product on the environment and resources. Daniel Goleman talks about this in his book "Ecological Intelligence"... a great read for those really interested in understanding the impacts of their choices... and the power of their pocketbook.


Ok, now that I've sent you all over the internet for more information I will leave you to consider this: What is one thing that you've been thinking about doing greener... but you just haven't done it yet?

It could be as simple as buying a truly green product to support an authentically sustainable company, or as in depth as working to convince YOUR company to become aware of its carbon footprint.

What would it take for you to move in that direction... starting today? What shift do you need to push you past the point of complacency into action? Can you imagine how empowering it would be to take that action and know that you have acted in accordance with your vision for a better world?

Go ahead, give it a try... and let me know about it.