A different New Years resolution
Jan. 2nd, 2022 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkA few years ago I read about somebody who vowed to give up plastic for a year as her way of fighting pollution or global warming or something. I was impressed with the idea at the time, and briefly thought "Maybe I should do that!" until I actually thought about what that would entail. But I feel increasingly guilty every time I regard the ridiculous pile of plastic left behind by one salad kit. Surely I could do better.
So I'm resolving to use LESS plastic this year. I'm not willing to give up all packaged foods, cancel my newspaper subscription, brush my teeth with baking soda, and bake all my own bread. But surely I can find a way to make a salad that doesn't require 4 plastic sleeves inside another larger plastic sleeve inside a plastic bag, right?
I should probably do less ordering from Amazon (although I'm not even going to think about that until the latest pandemic surge abates). But even if you shop only in brick-and-mortar stores, almost everything on the shelves is sheathed in plastic film, stuffed in a plastic bag, or embedded in a plastic clamshell.
Any suggestions, folks?
So I'm resolving to use LESS plastic this year. I'm not willing to give up all packaged foods, cancel my newspaper subscription, brush my teeth with baking soda, and bake all my own bread. But surely I can find a way to make a salad that doesn't require 4 plastic sleeves inside another larger plastic sleeve inside a plastic bag, right?
I should probably do less ordering from Amazon (although I'm not even going to think about that until the latest pandemic surge abates). But even if you shop only in brick-and-mortar stores, almost everything on the shelves is sheathed in plastic film, stuffed in a plastic bag, or embedded in a plastic clamshell.
Any suggestions, folks?
no subject
Date: 2022-01-02 11:19 pm (UTC)Of course, if there's actually a reasonable choice between more and less plastic (where the "less plastic" option is neither prohibitively expensive, nor horribly inconvenient, nor terribly inferior), go for the less plastic option.
I am trying Stasher bags starting this month. Their website is broken at the moment (New Year's certificate problems?), but here they are at Target:
https://www.target.com/p/stasher-pocket-silicone-accessories-bag-set-8211-clear-38-aqua-8211-2pk/-/A-81412839#lnk=sametab
I am not yet convinced that they are better than plastic containers or ziploc bags. They take for-freaking-ever to get dry, that's the main problem. But at least they stay propped open to dry, unlike when you try to reuse ziploc bags, which tend to flop over.
I *was* impressed by how they shipped. They come in a stiff paper envelope, just right in there without anything extra. They don't wrap each one in a plastic bag, surrounded by a clamshell, with syrofoam around it, in a huge mostly-empty cardboard box, which is kinda the standard we've come to expect. So it feels good to get them, at least.
I'm trying to think of what products I buy frequently for which I have any choice about the level of packaging. Um. I mean, if you buy in larger containers, that usually reduces the packaging. Like a gallon of milk has less plastic around it than two half-gallons. Ditto different sized cereal boxes. (But I'm not going to buy the scammy 20oz Cheerios size which is always priced much worse than the 18oz size for the epsilon reduction in packaging.)
Big yogurt tubs are better than individual serving yogurts *IF* you serve out the same amount from the big tub as the individual serving. If the big tub makes you overconsume, it doesn't help anyone.
Let's see. Usually whole chickens are wrapped in a single plastic bag, whereas the same weight of chicken parts has much more plastic wrap, plus several styrofoam boats, and that nasty absorbent stuff. If you buy frozen chicken parts, it's usually just in a plastic bag without the other layers, so that's a middle ground.
Anything you're willing to get as a powder and mix yourself instead of buying as a liquid is a huge environmental win in both packaging and fuel. It most likely also saves you money.
The veggies from the CSA came all together in one huge plastic bag (in a box that they take back and reuse), which was the right size to reuse as a kitchen garbage bag. Joining a CSA is probably an environmental win *if* you're going to eat most of what they send you. Ours let us do a lot of customization, so wastage could be reduced. YMMV depending on local CSAs.
Choose plastic bags over plastic jars/tubs/containers when possible. This is a choice for popcorn from Target for whatever reason. The bags use much thinner plastic.
Going back to the rant at the top, though, donate to organizations that promote a carbon tax, taxes on plastic, rules that require companies to take back and deal with the waste they produce, etc. This moves the cost to companies and incentivizes them to use less plastic, carbon, etc. I know about the Citizen's Climate Lobby:
https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
They only focus on carbon. I'd like to know about ones that work on other external costs (like plastic waste) that need to be shifted from the consumer to the producers.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 12:46 am (UTC)That's pretty much my plan.
I realize that one person using less plastic has no significant effect, but if more people chose the less plasticky option I assume that stores would provide more of that. There is really no reason to buy bell peppers wrapped in plastic and snuggled into a styrofoam tray, but we sometimes just do that out of laziness even when there are loose bell peppers available right in the same store. It's partly about being aware.
In the summer, Farmers Markets are a good option, although it can be surprising challenging to stop the vendors from just dropping their produce into a plastic bag even when you are standing there holding your cloth bag open. We tried a CSA once, but it turned out to be mostly bok choy. I'd rather choose my own produce.
I'm planning to start shopping at my local coop more often. Pretty much anything that can be sold in bulk is sold in bulk there, even distilled water. I use a lot of that in my CPAP and wince every time I throw away another gallon-sized plastic bottle.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 01:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 11:41 pm (UTC)My thoughts on the plastic waste are "Buy less stuff" in the first place. Eating less meat ends up being less plastic. Using freecycle or BuyNothing for "stuff" ends up being less waste. You and Matt are both right that it's not a big impact until corporations take responsibility, but at least it's not so demoralizing to look at a garbage bag full of single use shit.
I saw a waste management expert on a video about "wishcycling" and cutting down on trash waste in general. She implored people to re-use everything at least once. That's a challenge, and it does discourage buying it in the first place if I can't think of any way to re-use it.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 05:07 am (UTC)Meat is by no means the only fresh food that is sold wrapped in plastic. In fact, I was able to buy meat wrapped in butcher paper when I bought it at the Cub meat counter, but if I wanted fresh berries the only option was clamshell packaging. And if I went with frozen berries instead... more plastic. It is possible to get enough to eat without touching plastic, but the options are surprisingly limited, at least in a modern American supermarket.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 02:04 pm (UTC)It is possible to get toothpaste powder, Microcenter sells electronics in cardboard packaging, but I understand those are just examples and there is still some stuff that's impossible to get without plastic. Berries is a great example.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 04:12 pm (UTC)Another class of food that is virtually impossible to get without plastic is dairy products (other than milk, which does come in recyclable cartons). Cottage cheese, yogurt, soft goat cheeses, hard cheese, all in plastic.
And then there is bread. It is possible to buy artisanal bread in unwrapped loaves, but I don't actually like most of those breads. I don't want rye or sourdough or French baguettes, just a nice loaf of sliced whole wheat. Crackers come in cardboard boxes, but with an inner sleeve of something plastic that may or may not be recyclable. I also like bagels, which come in bags at the stores I shop in. Maybe I should start buying bagels at bagel shops, where I think you can buy them packed in cardboard boxes, right? Where's a good bagel shop? I like chewy bagels, not the big bready ones you sometimes find in the Midwest.
This is where I start down the path of make my own bread! Make yogurt at home! Hell, when we were very poor new parents we did both of those things, and even made our own tofu for a while. But we're not poor now and I am no longer sufficiently motivated to do things like that.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 12:34 am (UTC)Without reusable produce bags it doesn't really matter too much whether you buy loose fruits and vegetables, since you end up putting them into plastic bags. I do own some reusable produce bags that I got at the coop, but I don't know where they are. I brought one small reusable bag which I put some romaine lettuce in, so there's that.
Instead of buying pre-packaged meat I bought salmon and beef and chicken breasts at the meat counter. That's sort of satisfying because they wrap the meat in white butcher paper, which is cool and retro. But it would have been more satisfying if the guy working the meat counter actually knew anything about cutting meat.
Anyway, I guess it's a start.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 03:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 05:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 06:19 pm (UTC)On area where I've found it pretty easy to reduce my use of plastic is laundry. Admittedly, I wasn't a big laundry product user before, just liquid detergent and dryer sheets, but I've switched to concentrated detergent sheets/laundry strips and wool dryer balls. The laundry strips I use are from Tru Earth and are pretty good. I've been mail-ordering them, and they come in a recyclable paper sleeve. Do note, though, that if you go with Tru Earth, they send nonstop promotional emails (many with discount codes). I think there are a number of other similar options at this point, though!
I've also found a couple of local bulk food/zero waste stores that allow you to bring and fill your own containers, which is very helpful if you can locate something similar in your area (and the COVID situation is safe enough to allow for in-person shopping).
no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 05:21 am (UTC)In these parts, the logical place to buy bulk food is the food coops. I used to shop at food coops a lot, but fell away from it as they got more yuppified. The one closest to me carries an unnecessary amount of highly expensive packaged food. But they still have those beautiful tall clear towers of different colored beans and lentils, bulk honey and oils and flours of all types, and at least a couple of bins of bulk lettuce and spinach. And I'm pretty sure I can refill my distilled water jugs there. Part of my plan is to go back to shopping there more often.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 06:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 08:12 pm (UTC)Amazon also claims that all of their packaging is recyclable, although it is not always obvious how. I'll do another post on that when I get it figured out.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 11:47 pm (UTC)There is more plastic than recyclers know what to do with right now, and even then, no one wants any of it unless it has a "1" or a "2" in the rotating arrows. There is no market for any number "3" or higher.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 06:15 am (UTC)Laundry detergent bottles were one of my least favorite things even without the plastic issue–I never felt like I could get them empty enough to be able to rinse them out and put them in recycling! I was pretty glad to be free of them for that alone!
no subject
Date: 2022-01-04 06:22 pm (UTC)