plastic bag (existing) - used old produce bag for litterbox duty and backyard poop scoop (my neighbor might start to hate me if I only poop scoop every 3 days (which is what I am trialing for litter boxes and seems to be good), but it is so dry here that as long as it doesn’t rain (or sprinklers go off) the poop dries super fast and doesn’t really smell. He doesn’t have lawn on that side anyway (his garage partially abuts my backyard), so… ?)
soda concentrate (existing) - used some of the cola concentrate in my SodaStream water last night because I had a craving (normally I just do fizzy water + juice or juice concentrate (maybe occasionally a little flavored vodka )). I got the extracts for free from the lady I got the SodaStream from (I didn’t ask for them and she just gave them to me); I wouldn’t have bought them otherwise and they were free, but still plastic. There’s still quite a lot left in the bottle. (Also discovered that even when craving soda, the generic “cola” still sucks.)
laundry detergent (new) - used the fancy eco packaged liquid for Doggo’s potty pad
Nothing new purchased.
Half and half still is ok though past its “best by” date. I either have to make that ice cream or cross my fingers it lasts a few more days.
Total hit from yesterday’s barbecue is better than expected. I mentioned our plasticky outlay the other day, and of course people definitely brought more than enough plastic-covered things, but I set out regular plates and silverware and so folks used up a ton of that! And at least most of the plastic used was recyclable cups. The hard hit here was definitely in the meats.
We are using Who Gives a Crap which I believe is sold globally. It depends how you feel about it being manufactured in China I suppose. The company puts an argument forward that, at least for the Australian market, environmentally it is no worse than manufacturing locally and having to rely much more heavily on road transport for distribution vs container ship.
Band-aid (chop mushrooms, not your thumb, save the planet)
Midol
Floss
Ear plugs (some kind of foam?)
Electronics: Cell phone, laptop, chargers, headphones, bike share
Bathroom/personal: Toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, hand soap, comb, hair tie
Kitchen: Kettle, dishwashing liquid, hand soap, sponge, reusable food containers, disposable pasta bag
Slinky
Wearable: Backpack, vinyl purse, sneakers, flip flops, cardigan, reflective jacket (thanks @Bracken_Joy!) , bra, underwear, socks?, helmet (have parts that are either rubber or plastic)
Mattress? (wonder what’s in it)
Avoided
Plastic water bottle, packaged snacks
Thermal receipt (no purchases)
Chapstick, sunscreen, lotion, body wash from a bottle, razor/shaving cream, shampoo, shower curtain
This is mostly for when I/we run out of our current supply of consumables. Harder to sell when it affects my roommates and might be more expensive, but listing personal and household anyway.
Bar soap instead of hand soap in pump bottle
Bar shampoo/conditioner (my hair doesn’t even like the generic Head and Shoulders, so might be hard to find bar versions that work for me)
Powdered/disc dishwasher soap?
Powdered laundry detergent?
Shaving cream alternative?
TP: buy the ones wrapped in paper without inside paper cylinder
Oils and such from bulk bin
No more bagged pasta - either do bulk bin pasta/rice or boxed pasta worst case
Compostable sponge?
Compostable floss? If I find a good brand
How to find drugs that aren’t in plastic? Midol, melatonin, etc.
cola (existing) - had a glass of the generic cola I made yesterday using concentrate
spray coconut oil (existing) - used the last of the can
popcorn seasoning (existing) - used the last of one of the flavors (declutter win!)
zip ties (existing) - I needed to move a piece of wire fencing from one area of the garden to a completely separate area of the garden, so I had to cut the zip ties (6) securing it in place. I need the fencing to be strong because it supports plants that get huge, so I opted to use new zip ties in the new location rather than just tying it with string. (Honestly, if I tied it with string I would have probably had to use zip ties in a month anyway as the plants got heavier and I needed it to be more secure, so… ?)
Nothing new purchased.
I wanted ramen yesterday, but the noodles (which I have) are packaged in plastic (the seasoning paste is homemade (although it does use miso, which comes in plastic…)). I don’t think you can get them not wrapped in plastic, honestly. I reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaly want ramen. I am willing to make pasta noodles but not sure I want to tackle udon or ramen noodles by hand. I could go to a local ramen place and get some (it’s really good), but it’s not a good use of resources just for that - my restaurant spending is pretty limited these days to when people visit or super special occasions. (And I don’t miss it, I can make most things better at home. The exceptions are what I go out for (like sushi).)
Yesterday I went to a fancy carbon free hippy ville restaurant. My leftovers are packaged in not-plastic.
Then I went to the hospital and consumed a lot of justified single use plastic. Everything is okay and I feel no guilt about that plastic. But it’s why we need to reduce the other plastic
I forgot I signed up for an REI membership, and the card came in the mail today. I smacked myself in the head, expecting a plastic card. But it’s paper! Still wasteful, but at least it’s easier to recycle.
I soooo agree with this and have been thinking about this a lot.
I was browsing plasticfree Instagram posts and came across some where multiple people were making the poster (their friend) feel bad for refusing plastic straws , because they (the commenters) had to use sterile plastic straws daily for medical reasons and were upset that plastic free July was eclipsing their needs in their socialedia circles. It was very interesting as an observer. And really sad. Like, my trying to reduce ALL my waste is FOR the people i work with every day that HAVE NO CHOICE but to use items tailor made for them. Plastic is by far the best material for SO MANY uses. But for me? I can drink from a glass. So that is the better choice for ME. The two sides of the Doing Better coin are not exclusive --we all have a right to live and use the materials that best fit the job at hand. It’s the mindless throwaway culture that is wrong, not the use of plastic itself.
I USED A PLASTIC FORK I’M SORRY. I didn’t bring cutlery to a music festival, because I was bringing snacks, and obviously I wasn’t going to buy any food. But I got into a VIP section with free food and I couldn’t eat chocolate cake with my hands…
Chapstick, also at the VIP section. I felt like this would be thrown out otherwise, and I do use Chapstick… Bad excuse? Leave it on the table? Do they gather up unused party favors at the end of the night and use them for the next event?
Protein shaker bottle and protein powder (off Buy Nothing, so allowed)
coffee filters (existing) - I keep forgetting every day, but the coffee filters come packaged in a plastic bag. I used to have a reusable filter (for a long time) but I eventually couldn’t clean it well anymore and I got rid of it.
lemon juice (existing) - for tzatziki, I used my big container of canning lemon juice because I didn’t have any lemons on hand
olive oil (existing) - for tzatziki and pancakes, I’m using my giant jug; for pancakes, I can use olive oil (or any other kind of vegetable oil, I suppose), coconut oil (in a plastic container) or butter - I rotate between them and this time I used olive oil (oops). I don’t have an issue with cholesterol, so I could get and use more butter, although this will be more expensive.
Themapen (new!) - I ordered a Thermapen and it came on Saturday! It has a plastic housing, and the packaging was mostly paper and cardboard, but the inner (display) box has a plastic window and a plastic insert to keep the unit safe. The 4th of July sale made it wise to order this during July rather than waiting, and I’ve been considering getting this for a long time.
Bought a plastic tub of Bitchin’ Sauce for D&D. I just need to start making a variation of this – it’s a really straightforward ingredients list (water, almonds, grapeseed oil, noonch, liquid aminos, garlic, spices, salt). I need to replace the broken bowl for my food processor and just get this going…
Forgot to bring tupperware for leftover food when I went out to lunch with a friend who’s in town. This is going to be a really hard one to turn into a habit, since it’s sooo ingrained in me not to bring anything like that.
We ran out of juice, so I made a big hug of fruit tisane. Everyone agreed it’s delicious. The mix comes in a plastic bag but it’s a lot less overall - makes many, many hugs worth for much less than the plastic of 1 juice bottle.
Positive: I wrapped my peanut butter sandwiches in a beeswax cloth instead of a using a sandwich bag.
Negative: We actually walked our dogs for once and they each did 2 shits at different times = 4 bags. I’m ok with this on the balance of dog happiness.
I purchased the groceries for our week of dinners today. Almost plastic free for the things we needed to buy.
There were some produce stickers and tags. Also a thermal receipt because we spent more than $30 (I think that is the cut off).
I bought salmon which is in plastic but got it from the counter rather than off the self so it’s significantly less packaging. I also purchased baby wipes which certainly aren’t plastic free. I’m still interested in switching to cloth, but not prepared.
We took the train to Coles because I know I’ve seen them sell bread with just a tag and no plastic bag, but not that Coles. Next week I’ll try the Coles in the other direction down the line.
Next week the toddler’s ballet lessons start again which is right near a bunch of bulk stores so we can stock up on a few things then if I am organised.
I also used the plastic free solid shampoo and conditioner (ethique brand) for the first time this morning and it is excellent. I am very pleased.
I don’t think it will work to wash henna from my hair when I dye it so I’ve kept what was left of my old liquid shampoo for that purpose, but otherwise my initial thoughts is it is much better than what I was using previously.
That’s good to know, I bought some a month or so ago to try out when they had a half price sale online but I haven’t tried it yet. I’m using up a Lush shampoo bar that was gifted to me but I don’t really like that much.
This was a danger, since I walked into Fred Meyer by habit on my way back from a park. But I didn’t have any containers for bulk bins, I didn’t want to buy any packaged snacks, even in paper, and I didn’t need food since I have chili at home. I looped around and went right back out the door.
Used (existing)
Floss
Ear plugs (some kind of foam?)
Electronics: Cell phone, laptop, char gers , headphones, HOP card
coffee filters (existing) - I’ll probably not continue to put this every day as I drink coffee every day. (Also, a bag of filters contains like 200 filters, so I buy, at best, 2 bags per year, and it is the bag which is at issue.)
shampoo and conditioner (existing) - I only wash my hair about once a week, and today was the day. I use fancy color-protecting stuff, and am not sure bar shampoo would even work for me at this point. I buy about 1 bottle of the shampoo and 1 bottle of conditioner per year since I don’t use it every day.
tissues (existing) - it occurred to me today that the box of Kleenex has a little plastic window. I typically use only 1 or 2 per day unless allergies are flaring up (and I have been throwing them in the compost), which means one box lasts me (typically) 2-3 months.
Cortizone-10 (existing) - I have intermittent psoriasis that I can more or less manage with Cortizone-10 rather than getting higher strength prescription stuff. I have been experiencing a little flare up so will probably be using this for a few days.
fuse (existing) - I had to replace the fuse on my AC yesterday. I had already replaced one a few years ago, so I had another on hand (they only came in 2-packs at the hardware store). The package had a little plastic window.
Doggo poop bag (existing) - from walk
Thoughts:
It seems like every day I realize or think of a new thing that I use daily or regularly.
One week in and I have not generated very much plastic waste yet. A visual representation:
Plus the rice bag which I threw away before thinking of photo documenting. (The aerosol can is not plastic but is recyclable.) The lid is plastic but not recyclable. And the coffee bags will be thrown in the garbage as I think they are plastic coated paper but not recyclable I’ll probably keep the half and half container though to use as a DIY cloche in the garden, and the ACV bottle for my homemade apple scrap vinegar. I am not sure what happened to the zip ties I clipped… CATS WHAT DID YOU DO!!!)
(ETA: I realized the packaging from my new Thermapen is also not in there yet. It’s not a ton, though.)
My (big) garbage can has in it a couple of dog walk poop bags, two bags from cleaning out the litter boxes, and one bigger bag (a compost bag) from when I had to completely dump one of the litter boxes the other day because the Majestic Derp managed to kick the entire thing over. (I mean, yes, he is big-ish, and the box is the small one, but like, HOOOOOOOWWWWWWW???) My kitchen garbage bag has almost nothing in it (mostly pet fur from brushings (I could maybe compost, but I don’t know), floor detritus from sweeping the kitchen (ditto), paper towels with cleaner on them, and a few other bits and bobs. Garbage day is tomorrow so I’ll empty the bathroom garbage into it (also mostly empty) and do a supplemental litter box scoop out, but it still won’t fill it, probably by not even half. It is a grocery store plastic bag.)
I use plastic or plastic-containing stuff on a daily basis, but I don’t use it up on a daily basis. Almost everything here (except the half and half container) have been kicking around for a while, and even it and the juice concentrate takes me a week or two to get through.
?)
)). I got the extracts for free from the lady I got the SodaStream from (I didn’t ask for them and she just gave them to me); I wouldn’t have bought them otherwise and they were free, but still plastic. There’s still quite a lot left in the bottle. (Also discovered that even when craving soda, the generic “cola” still sucks.)
I am willing to make pasta noodles but not sure I want to tackle udon or ramen noodles by hand. I could go to a local ramen place and get some (it’s really good), but it’s not a good use of resources just for that - my restaurant spending is pretty limited these days to when people visit or super special occasions. (And I don’t miss it, I can make most things better at home. The exceptions are what I go out for (like sushi).)
