Ugly Juice Crowned Recycling Queen or Whatever

At the party, I actually won the contest for best outfit made of recycled materials! How funny is that? I was given a crown and a title, which I've forgotten. I mean to find out my title because I am now reigning whatever it was, and I need to come back next year to crown the next winner. Also, I'm going to put it on my resume.

When I was awarded my crown and robe, they asked me to say a few words. I took the opportunity to let the audience know that they can call the phone company and request that books not be delivered, and provided other information about how to properly recycle them. I feel like the phone book issue has come full circle.

Oh, the best part of the whole thing was when a woman approached me to compliment my dress. She admired the components and checked out how it was put together, then asked me if I was a student. I told her I was. She said that she just knew I had to be a student, and she wished more schools would encourage the use of recycled materials in their projects, etc. etc. I realized she thought I was a design student. She asked where I went to school, and I revealed that I'm actually a law student. Environmental law, at least? Um, no...not really, no. Not at all.

But now that you mention it, the recycling situation (or lack thereof) in the legal profession generally drives me nuts. That is, what I've found in my own limited experience. I was finally successful in getting paper recycling in my old office, and not a day went by that I wasn't fishing someone's coffee cup or lunch wrapper out of it. At school, people throw away their plastic soda bottles in the garbage right next to the recycling can. And most of all, people in the legal field generate huge amounts of paper waste. While the average office worker generates 10,000 sheets of paper waste per year, I would wager a guess that the average legal professional (particualarly law students who can print stuff up for free on Westlaw) wastes at least five times that. If you've followed my rant thus far, let me suggest some solutions. First of all, many printers and copiers have two-sided printing available. Plus, you can set your printer to print your document with two or four sheets per page. Just go to your printing preferences and adjust accordingly. By printing a document two-sided and four-up, I could turn a 40-page brief into a 5 page document. It's a lot easier to look over that way, too. I would also suggest supporting Kinko's, which is actually a green business. All of their paper is, at a minimum, made of 30% post-consumer waste.

The environmental law society at my school is talking about creating a "Wall of Shame" next year. Students caught failing to recycle their bottles, paper, etc., will find their names on the wall. I love the idea.



Jessica's dress is made of astroturf left over from their porch and vintage fabric. Jo Lynn, an editor, made her dress of VHS tape.