Each year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide, and unfortunately most of them are left sitting in landfills and oceans. There are actually some areas of the Pacific ocean that have more small pieces of plastic than food.

Luckily, there are many businesses all over the world that are stepping up and taking action toward making a change. There are some that have a “green checkout line” that is meant for people who carry their own reusable bag, and then there are those who have banned plastic bags all together, which makes a huge difference. If every business followed suit, it would at least stop the problem in it’s tracks instead of continuing to add more and more useless waste to our beautiful planet.

The movement that is being spread is widely known as B.Y.O.B – Bring Your Own Bag, and some stores now post the green acronym on their shop windows proudly.

Another major problem on the planet is our fascination with drinking from bottled water. Recent studies show that filters tap water is just as healthy as the well-marketed expensive stuff that comes in a long-lasting plastic. But yourself a metal water bottle, and an affordable tap filter, and you have just saved yourself a ton of money and can feel good about what you have done for the environment.

And what about paper?

There are so many ways that we waste tons of paper that our society simply doesn’t require anymore:

• Phone books, newspapers, junk mail, etc.
  For those of us who have the Internet at our fingertips, there is no reason to have a 200 pound paper phone book when any phone number listing can be found online. Also, if you have paper deliveries that you don’t want, then contact the companies and tell them to stop (newspapers, junk mail, etc. )
• Digital Books And Music
  It simply is necessary to use trees for our reading pleasure at this point. Again, we have the Internet, and if you don’t want to read online, then at least pick up a used copy of the book you want and then pass it on when you’re finished. Music is already taking a turn in this direction with downloads becoming more popular each year. We don’t need all that packaging anymore. Plus, both of these ideas saves us all money.
• Stop printing
  Whether it’s at work or at home, don’t print what doesn’t need to be printed. Share files online with co-workers instead of wasting the paper, or at least use the economy setting on the printer to use less ink and print on both sides when you can

There has been a recent movement towards drastically reducing our use of paper and plastic, and it really isn’t an inconvenience to jump on board. In fact, many of the ideas will save you money and the impact it will have on the planet is well worth it. With any luck, the question “paper or plastic?” will soon be history.

Many people seem to still think that going green or at least living a greener lifestyle will cost them a lot more money than they are currently spending. Some even think it’s a scam, but in reality, there are several small changes you can make in your life that will will save yo a ton of money and have a positive impact on the environment.

Let’s take a look at 8 simple ways that you can achieve a greener lifestyle that will actually save you money:

1. Drink from reusable water bottles
   Plastic in landfills is one of the biggest problems and water bottles is one of the major culprits.
2. Install energy efficient, compact fluorescent light bulbs
   These light bulbs are actually a tad more expensive than the regular ones, but they’ll outlast them by up to 20 times
3. Turn the thermostat down a couple degrees and snuggle up with a sweater and a hot chocolate
   Turning the heat down just a few degrees throughout the year can add up to hundreds of dollars in savings and you may not even notice the difference in temperature. If you do, just throw on a sweater and snuggle with your mate!
4. Always wash clothes in cold water
   This is recommended for most of your clothing anyway. Why waste the hot water? Less chance of shrinkage and damage, and cuts down the hot water bill.
   
5. Hang clothes to dry in the summer for that summer fresh smell
   Who doesn’t love throwing on a tshirt that smells like the sunny outdoors? That’s Mother Nature saying thank you!
6. Replace shower heads with low flow models
   This may cost you a few extra bucks initially, but you’ll save a lot more than you spend in the long run.
7. Carpool to work
   Save money on gas, and enjoy a coffee on the way to work with a co-worker!
8. Use public transportation
   Save even more money on gas, and read a good book on the way to work.

If every single one of us put all 8 of these simple green steps into action, it would have a humongous impact on the environment. Lead by example and save yourself some money in doing so.