Simplify Sunday- Gimme Five! 

I am kind of a recycling nerd. I hate that I can’t recycle everything, because I get super freaked out by the idea of piles of garbage sitting around for hundreds of years.

Don’t even get me started on the huge pile of plastic in the middle of the ocean. It’s terrifying. It’s going to take over the world!

Anyway, I read a great book (The Zero-Waste Lifestyle by Amy Korst- affiliate link) about living a trash free lifestyle. I don’t think that is particularly achievable for most people- I just have other things that I want to focus on. However, I am incredibly impressed by her.

I did take several things away from it, and one was the Gimme 5 program. Number 5 plastics aren’t recyclable curbside in most communities, but the Gimme 5 program makes it possible. You can either drop your plastics off at a location or mail them in. Whole Foods is one of the participants. So, not fully knowing what to do, I washed and saved all of my number 5 plastics until I had a paper bag full. J was not super impressed with my plastic hoarding, so it was time to take it in.

I’m not great with new things. I like to know exactly what to do, what the rules are, how things are going to play out. This includes something as ridiculous as dropping off a paper bag of plastic.

In my defense… I mean, you guys have been to Whole Foods, right? It’s not really the kind of place where it seems cool to walk in with your bag of garbage and wander around with it. I don’t even really feel that comfortable walking into Whole Foods in the first place. I didn’t even have yoga pants on, and aren’t they required?!

I pulled some nerve out of nowhere and walked in with the bag. I looked for a bin for the plastics, but didn’t see anything. Decided to wander casually around the store. Oh, la la la, I always walk around Whole Foods with my bag of garbage… Of course, in the process, I end up buying $36.06 worth of stuff. None of which was on my grocery list.

Moving on. I realize I am being a psychopath, and go up to customer service and ask the clerk if they participate in the Gimme 5 program. He says yes and takes my stuff. Gives me back my paper bag. That’s it. End of story.

So… In order to simplify my trash output, I nearly gave myself a stroke and spent $36.06. Go me.

However, I now know exactly what to do, and so do you!! All you have to do is save up your number 5 plastics, then take them in to Whole Foods to customer service 🙂 I do feel really good about the fact that those plastics won’t go to a landfill. Obviously the better option would be to not buy them, but we’re talking prescription bottles, peanut butter lids, stuff I need in my life!

You can go to this website to look for a drop off location near you. Does anyone have any other cool recycling tips for me?

Jillian