Grocery shopping the planet friendly way

(NC)—The daunting weekly task of re-stocking the refrigerator and pantry doesn't need to make you glum. In fact, there are many ways to help you make it a truly rewarding and planet-saving experience – you know what they say, once you go green, you never go back.

Try some of these tips for going green in the grocery aisle…

Don't make unnecessary trips - hit all the stores in one trip.

• While you may need the family car to do the big weekly grocery trip, how many times during the week do you hop in the car to pick up milk or bread or something for dinner?
• Plan ahead so you can hit all the stores in one trip – you'll save gas and help the environment.

Choose environmentally friendly products.

• Many companies are trying to be more environmentally conscious – look for brands that offer natural products with little packaging.
• Less packaging reduces the weight needed to ship product and that equals less gas being burned when transporting the products to the stores.
• And, to help you choose the most eco-friendly product, look for a logo or label from a trusted environmental organization that confirms you are purchasing a sound product.

Bag your bag.

• Bring along a cloth or recyclable bag, instead of using the store-supplied plastic bags.
• Canadians use approximately 9 to 15 billion plastic bags each year, according to the not-for-profit organization Greener Footprints, which require energy to manufacture, take years to decompose in landfills, and give off harmful chemicals when they do.

You can visit www.airmiles.ca/myplanet for more tips on going green.

www.newscanada.com