My Sister ranted about the US post office receipt she received.
“I just measured my receipt … 4½” of actual receipt and 8¾” of junk. Each and every person who buys something at the PO gets 8¾” of paper that they don’t need. If the USPO would only print the information that actually relates to your purchase they would not be in debt!”
Think about it. Every bit of paper adds up, right? Kmart (not that I go there very often, thank goodness) does the same thing–adding several inches of unnecessary stuff to extend the receipt. Our grocery store piles on an extra 5″ telling you all about how much money you saved; what rewards points you earn. Seester’s local grocer prints front and back—how slick is that?
I’ve gotten the occasional half-sheet receipt from Amazon, but it’s not the norm. Kohl’s adds several inches to their receipts—in part because they always ask you to complete a survey on your customer experience.
When I buy something at the Apple store, they ask if I want a hard receipt or emailed. Email always works for me.
Recycling
We recycle on garbage days because glass, plastic, cardboard, and aluminum are all accepted curbside. Easy as can be. We save newspapers and magazines and drop them in a collection box at a local church–they make money from it.
At the same time, we buy cases of bottled water. Why? I think they’re more sanitary than our reusable bottles. I allow myself this quirk because we recycle the bottles.
Our greenness fluctuates. I’m happy that we’re making an effort and figure that we’ll continue to find other ways to save our little corner of the earth.
How green are your daily interactions?
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Read: Being frugal
Office Depot continues to be a culprit–2 items and an 18″ receipt. Of course that’s to advertise their recycling program–yes, the one we already participate in.
Updates: Dick’s Sporting Goods. A $3 pair of shoe laces. The receipt was 11″ long. From friends: I stopped at CVS tonight for a prescription and a few other items. The clerk told me that “a few” coupons printed on the receipt. I measured it – 38 ½ “ in length. 38 1/2″ eh? Does that not make you CRAZY? I am going to start ripping off the part I don’t want and leaving it at the cashier counter. I am sick to death of stuffing my purse full of useless… Read more »
Update: We purchase 2 items at Office Depot. We turned in 5 ink cartridges to their recycling program.
Wait for it…
The receipt was 23″ long!
I live in the City of Pittsburgh and there is nothing more frustrating than taking the time to separate our trash from recyclables that are only picked up every other week and then the TRASH guys come by and take the recyclables that are CLEARLY marked as such. So our recycled stuff ends up in the landfill b/c the trash men don’t care. It happens a LOT and even once is too often. I wonder how many other houses they do this with. Then I wonder why I take the time… Read more »
While every little bit helps, laziness accounts for most of what is in the landfills. We have to think about the future generations who are inheriting this magnificent planet. Is it a pain to recycle? Sometimes. So what? Is it more work to cloth diaper a child? Maybe, but it’s also healthier for the child and the environment. Turning out lights? Simple. Limiting the use of chemicals in our homes? It just takes some adjustments. There is so much one can do to live a greener, and healthier, life. Why not… Read more »
Recycling where I live is rather a large hassle. I would have to buy separate garbage cans for glass, aluminum, etc. and then bag it up and haul it all into town. We live in a rural area and the garbage is picked up every Thursday…oh yea, I’ve priced that out – it usually costs me $7 to get rid of one large black bag of garbage. I think that’s atrocious. But…I am bound and determined to at least start recycling one thing….cardboard. It seems that is what we have the… Read more »
We’re all over the map, too. We cloth diaper the babies, buy used clothes as much as possible, and frequent the local farmer’s market…but I’m notorious for leaving lights on all over the house, I use a ridiculous amount of paper towels in my daily life, and I get lazy about my recycling. I think it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the ways you could (which often feels like SHOULD) be saving the planet. I feel like it’s best to focus on a few areas you know you can really… Read more »