- Local every day in
Julia Park Tracey is an Alameda writer, mother and urban farmgal.
Green Scene: Plastic Fantastic
It's everywhere. Plastic, that is. It's really, truly in everything we buy, and no wonder America and the planet are choking in plastic debris. Does this sound like a rant? It isn't — yet. It's more of a concerned discussion, with a rallying cry to myself. Self, I say, what are we gonna do about all the plastic in our lives?
Last year, for the month of June, I went on the Food Stamp Challenge and lived on the budget for a family of 4.5 on food stamps for the month. I blogged about it and learned from it, and am still practicing some failsafe food savings. June seems like a good month for a crusade, so what the heck? This year I'm going to work on eliminating plastics from our lives, June 1-30. And it won't be easy.
This morning I went for a cup of coffee and they served it to me with a plastic lid (I brought it home to recycle), plastic stick to stir (I didn't use it) and several little plastic cups with cream (I used them and left them there, doh!). If I go no-plastic, I will have to eschew the cream next time. Because the chance of the happy folks at Carl's Junior recycling those little plastic cups is about a million to one. Nope, I'm pretty sure those little cups will be sitting in a landfill somewhere for the next thousand years or so. Unless, of course, they get blown out of the truck and manage to make their way to a waterway, and so out to the Great Pacific Gyre, aka Plasticland of the Pacific (see photo).
I buy gallons of milk in plastic jugs — it's a better buy than smaller sizes. But it's plastic, right? Which may or may not get into our food and our bodies, etc. Plastic needs fossil fuels to create, produce and transport the goods it packages. I could go on. But you already know this stuff. The dealio is this: I'm going to try and cut out plastics, and will blog on occasion about it. More, if it's amusing, and less, if it's dull. (Let me know in the comments section, please!)
But I figure on having to change my tune on a number of things: my couponing, for one. I get some pretty sweet deals on lunch meat and cheese with coupons, for example. But those are pretty plasticky, packaging-wise. That means I will have to ask for stuff at the deli and have it wrapped in paper only. More expensive? I'm sure it is. And potato chips — those tend to be in plastic bags. Pasta often comes in plastic. Bread comes in plastic. Bagels, shampoo, juice? Bars of soap may be wrapped in paper or boxes but come lashed together with plastic. So do multiples of anything. Our vitamins have the top sealed in plastic. Computer games and printer ink have plastic everywhere in the packaging. Toilet paper comes swathed in plastic, unless you buy individual rolls. Guess I'll be doing that from now on.
We're already pretty good about buying less plastic, or letting in very little. But this is about stepping it up a notch, and then we'll see if we can still eat and pay the rent... What a pity that (once again) ethical living and paying the rent seem to be opposed. Is it more expensive to live without plastic? Can we live better? Or is it more costly and will we have to give up elsewhere to make this scheme work?
Stay tuned.
gwen
10:12 am on Thursday, May 19, 2011
Ratto's in Old Oakland sells pasta, beans and spices in bulk. Good luck!
Beth Terry
12:08 pm on Thursday, May 19, 2011
Hi neighbor! I live in Oakland and have been living plastic-free (meaning buying no new plastic or plastic packaging) since 2007. My blog, http://myplasticfreelife.com, would be a great resource for you. Some things are more expensive, but you save a lot of money in other ways.
Check out my plastic-free guide for ideas to get started: http://plasticfreeguide.com
Let me know if you ever want to meet up.
Julia Park Tracey
5:57 pm on Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thanks, Gwen -- haven't been there yet. Beth, a bunch of people recomended your blog in the past 24 hours. I'll be over for a cup of nonplastic coffee soon. I'm looking forward to this challenge -- last year's Food Stamp Challenge kicked my patoot -- but I'm afraid the plastic monster is everywhere. I sit here feeling totally overwhelmed and haven't even begin yet. But -- what did Mary Poppins say? Half-begun is well done, or something like that? June 1, plastic-a-bye-bye. Until then, I'm thinking, taking mental notes, and wondering how to keep Mr. Husband from shopping at Target...ack.
Frances Montell
9:01 am on Friday, May 20, 2011
Good luck! It also seems that the problem with plastic is not just that there is too much of it, but that we use it for precisely the wrong things. We take this amazing stuff that will last thousands of years and make it into something disposable that we will throw away immediately. What if we figured out a way to use plastic for something that we want to last and last (like houses and furniture), and maybe save a few trees in the process? That's not something that an individual consumer can do, but somehow we have to make the switch from disposable trash to durable goods.
Jon Spangler
11:22 am on Saturday, May 21, 2011
I always take a travel mug (stainless steel inside) to PEET's , have been for years. Ditto for washing and reusing plastic produce and carry bags, which I return to the Farmer's Market. We've been using nylon and canvas shopping bags for 20 years, too. (There are at least a dozen reusable fabric bags in our car most days.)
It is really not very hard to drastically reduce one's use of plastics with a little forethought and some extra labor when washing dishes. We are not plastic-free like Gwen but we avoid using lots of the stuff, which is a good start....
Jon Spangler
11:25 am on Saturday, May 21, 2011
One more thing: If you buy milk in waxed cartons you can use them to hold kitchen compost. When it's full just toss the entire container into your green bin and it all composts.....
Susan Galleymore
11:04 am on Sunday, May 22, 2011
good timing! Ever notice Trader Joe's packaging? (This is pretty much only such grocery store I shop but I'm sure Safeway et al are the same) Yesterday I bought food individually packaged in plastic then placed in a box. Why so much packaging? TJ's is fairly responsive to consumer pressure so let's send 'em letter and suggest they give us a break on the plastic. Same for Safeway.
By the way, cut top should off large plastic milk bottles and use to capture recyclable veggie waste (either for making soup stock later or before you toss into green bins). Here's an article I wrote, Islands in the Landfill: Wasting good Waste: http://www.counterpunch.org/galleymore02022010.html
darrow
12:43 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
you are very brave. i tried to cut back on plastic and sadly, it was too expensive to do the eco friendly walk to alameda natural grocery with my fabric produce bags and had to go back to driving to trader joe's with all their plastic packaging. but not giving up and have still done a lot with other changes. good luck and looking forward to hearing about your experience. thanks for sharing.
Jon Spangler
2:37 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Darrow,
What about riding a bicycle or a tricycle with racks and panniers (saddlebags) or using a small folding shopping cart? Booth would make your groceries easier to carry home without firing up an infernal combustion engine....
I carried home 10# of oranges, 1/2 flat of strawberries, scones, carrots, garlic, kale, spinach, bread, fish, blueberries, and more - enough for the two of us for about a week - on my bike today with front and rear panniers. And I'm no muscleman, either....
darrow
2:59 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
yes. i know that "technically," there are other ways to get it done without driving. but day to day life with my 3 homeschooled kids ages 3 to 7 years old, it takes a tremendous amount of pre planning and sheer grit to go that extra mile with backpacks to get the weekly shopping done. but not ruling it out. just sayin'
Jon Spangler
10:50 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Darrow, I posted what I did because some folks are literally unaware of what can be done ("technically") with a bicycle and your post did not mention other sentient beings being attached to or dependent on you. I apologize for not anticipating that possibility in my response.
Homeschooling three young kids and having them in tow all of the time paints an entirely different story and sets out a slew of additional logistics: I admire your commitment to your kids and understand that you may have other priorities that take precedence over walking with them to the store and back. I wish you all the best...
darrow
8:43 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
thanks jon, i appreciate you sharing the info and hearing what other people are doing/what can be done, is always inspiring and helps to push me a little bit further in the right direction.