I frequent a particular chain of Chinese restaurants in SLO County, and have observed something puzzling and dismaying. About half of the customers order food for takeout, but eat it in the restaurants. Then their Styrofoam container and plastic grocery bag go into the trash.
 Styrofoam is not recyclable; plastic bags are, but won’t be recycled if they’re in the trash. both kinds of packaging are derived from petroleum, a problematic and dwindling resource. What a few people do may seem insignificant, but billions of these two products are produced each year. Landfill space is problematic in many places.
 What do children, who have a great stake in a livable planet, learn from this waste?
 The restaurants offer paper plates, which can biodegrade, and are recyclable (although, sadly, this chain lacks recycling bins). It’s time for a re-issue of the bestseller 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Planet. This is one
This article appears in Jun 17-24, 2010.