8 Products You Didn’t Know Were Made From Oil

There are times when we catch posts on other blogs that make us kick ourselves saying, why didn’t we think of that? This is one of them. The Green Routine came up with a great list of 8 products you didn’t know were made from oil.  It’s almost insidious, the way petroleum has crept into the ingredients of so many items that we use on a daily basis.  Well, time to make changes – lots of them! We can’t keep using oil like it’s a never-ending resource.  Here are a few of the items on The Green Routine’s list – get the rest at TheGreenRoutine.com.

1. Paper Cups – Paper cups are coated with plastic or wax in order to make them waterproof. We know plastic is derived from oil or natural gas, but did you know most wax is too? The type of wax used to waterproof paper cups is polyolefin wax — which is a polymer derived from oil or natural gas.
2. Candles – Speaking of wax, did you know that candles are also made from polyolefin wax? A natural alternative to burning polyolefin wax candles are beeswax candles.
3. Fruits & Vegetables – That wax coating on your store bought fruits and vegetables is (you guessed it) also made from petroleum. Another good reason to shop at the local farmer’s market!
4. Reusable Shopping Bags – Many reusable shopping bags on the market today are ironically made from the same oil derived materials they are designed to replace. Reusable shopping bags are typically made from non-woven polypropylene — PP or resin ID code 5 for short. While these bags are recyclable, I would recommend purchasing a heavy duty canvas reusable bag instead. Canvas reusable bags are made from cotton, and last longer.

Link [TheGreenRoutine]
Photo credit: Flickr user nestor galina

The Secret Culprit of Oil Consumption: Plastic Bags & Bottles

If you’re upset about the price of oil, your first instinct might be to point your finger at the usual suspects: the war, suburban housewives driving Hummers to the grocery store and oil companies that are taking the record profits and laughing all the way to the bank. While they’re definitely culpable, one thing you may not have thought of is your own contribution, even if you don’t own a car. Water bottles and plastic bags are a surprising culprit.

The Business Shrink has it:

The most reliable statistics from the Pacific Institute put America’s love affair with water bottles at 31.2 billion liters of water in 2006. Due to negative press on the possible health effects of the use, most people are aware water bottles are sold in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. In order to manufacture these bottles over 900,000 tons of plastic is needed. The mainstream manufacturing process that produces PET bottles requires a combination of natural gas and petroleum. The petroleum requirement is where the statistics show that America’s obsession could be hurting their wallets at the gas pump.

Bottom line, the production of 31.2 billion liters of water for the U.S. bottled water market took roughly 17.6 million barrels of oil.

America also uses an astounding 100 billion plastic bags per year, and it takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce them. When you add in worldwide consumption, we could save 120 million barrels of oil annually by switching to reusable bags.

Bottled water and all of these mountains of plastic bags are easy addictions to kick. Faucet-mounted filters, reusable bottles and reusable bags make it really easy to avoid consumption of so much petroleum. Honestly, what’s the problem here? Why do people have such a hard time making such a simple switch?

I’ve been carrying a set of cute little reusable bags to the grocery store for years now, and when I first started, the baggers would look at me like I was out of my mind and then acted like filling my bags instead of the plastic ones was some kind of insurmountable chore. Now they’re used to it though, and the more people start doing it, the more expected it will be.

Link [Business Shrink]

Photo credit: Flickr user klynslis