Milk Cartons Exposed!

I replaced my regular plastic milk-jug purchase with smaller milk cartons, thinking the paper cartons would be better for the environment.  In my research last night I ran across a site that said milk cartons are plastic lined and not recyclable.  As any good internet researcher knows, I never trust one source and decided to look further into it today.

Milk cartons are lined in plastic.  How disappointing.  So much for the half gallon superiority.  (Or 2 quarter gallons because the half gallon had the plastic pour spout.)

One recycling site (http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html)  says, “Milk cartons are plastic laminated inside, even if they don't have a plastic spout.”  And later, “Paper with any sort of contamination or plastic layers can't be recycled.”

I use Waste Management, and looked into their recycling methods and found that they do now recycle milk cartons, although it’s shipped elsewhere and a more involved process.  (http://www.wm.com/about/press-room/pr2009/20090402_WM_and_Tropicana_Launch_National_Recycling_Initiative.pdf) Well, damn. 

There are re-usable jugs at a few of the markets I frequent, although still plastic.  I’ll see if I can find glass milk jugs, too.

I wonder what else I’m taking for granted? 

Plastic: Who Cares? My reasons for trying to reduce my plastic consumption

I will do some research on the actual data, but here’s the impression I get, as accurately as possible.

Chemicals:  Chemicals are known to leach out of plastic bottles into drinks.  BPA is a household word now, although the plastic companies still claim it’s perfectly fine (with a bunch of asterisks following with fine print), there are countries that have banned it, and Wal-Mart & Toys/Babies R Us have both opted not to carry and BPA containing plastics in their stores.  (Companies LISTENING to consumer concerns = YAY CAPITALISM!) 

Okay, the chemical issue is up for debate, I understand.   But why risk poisoning myself if I have other options? 

Pollution:   Yeah, I don’t want to live in a world of trash.  We all seem to think that “throw it away” is a clean, responsible thing to do and keeps our cities from piling up in tons of smelly pollution.  It’s just out of sight, out of mind

What about recycling?  Recycling still involves a lot of processing and energy when I could simply opt not to use the item in the first place.  And a lot of plastics can’t be recycled, or the facilities are limited, or people just don’t.  And it seems it won’t help our water bottles: According to “Tapped” only 10% of PETE (#1 Recyclable on the bottom of the container) can be used from recycled materials – and that must be PRE-consumer.  Again, once it’s been used, even they don’t want it back!

In my research I’ve seen photos of people boating through plastic bottles, bird carcasses full of bottle caps, and word of “gyres” in the ocean the size of the U.S. where the trash of the world seems to collect in a floating plastic whirlpool.  Straws and bottle caps litter shores.  My precious sea turtles (I REALLY love sea turtles and was moved to be able to snorkel near them last year – they’re beautiful creatures!) with all kinds of plastic induced maladies from being wrapped in plastic or ingesting it.  I’m landlocked, so it’s hard to imagine my plastic getting into the ocean, but I’m not terribly impressed by the landfills that rival the Rocky Mountains in size, either.

This stuff is not going away:  Plastic is designed to last forever.  At least a very long time.  Why does my water bottle that I’ll get a few hours’ use from need to last forever?  Oh – so in case it gets dropped.  So it can be super-pressure filled in a factory.  So nobody has to worry about dropping a case and losing their inventory.  And then I can re-use it, too!  Oh, then we’re back to the chemical debate where the re-use of plastics made for single use is considered dangerous.   For my convenience, I leave a piece of plastic that will be here to greet my great, great, great, great grand children!  How nice for them.

Okay, what now? As a tree-hugging capitalist, I want to save the environment and I want to go directly to the companies to vote with my dollar where I see things going as I like, and give feedback where things are going wrong.  We get a vote every single day, with every single dollar we spend.  And it’s so easy now to find the businesses online and send them feedback.  I think this is as important as voting politically to make changes to our capitalist nation.  I also believe in Gandhi’s quote,

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” 

Give Us This Day Our Daily Plastic. . . Taking Stock

Becoming Aware. . .

I kept a list with me for the whole day yesterday, adding to it whenever my hands came across something noticeably plastic.  I'm sure I've missed plenty, but this is what I noticed.  Two full pages worth...  In order of how short the "life span" of the item.

!!!! ONE TIME USE  (Take it out, throw it away – none of these examples are even recyclable)

Plastic Bag on Newspaper

Plastic Window on Bill

Plastic Sleeve for Greeting Card

Swiffer Pad

Produce Bag - Asparagus

1 Diaper

Cereal - plastic bag in box 7 Items

!!! LIFETIME MEASURED IN DAYS  (Grocery store weekly list – mostly recyclable)

Milk Jug

Plastic Produce Bag - Pre-cut Veggies

Veggie Dip

Juice Bottle 4 Items

!! LIFETIME MEASURED IN WEEKS (More long-lasting  groceries – some recyclable)

Toothpaste Tube

Moisturizer Bottle

Chapstick Container

Dog Food Bag

Dish Soap

Sponge

Baby Wipes Container 7 Items

! LIFETIME MEASURED IN MONTHS  (Even longer-lasting groceries – some recyclable)

Shampoo

Conditioner

Shower Curtain

Cell Phone

Pen

Hair Straightener

Make Up Containers

Toothbrush

Lotion Bottle

Spiral on Notebook

Food Storage Containers (leftovers)

Laundry Detergent Container

Dish Brush 13 Items !    31 PLASTIC CONVENIENCE ITEMS USED IN ONE DAY  !

**  LIFETIME MEASURED IN YEARS (Long-term items in household use) Sippy Cup

Multiple Baby Toys

Multiple Kid Toys

Toilet Seat

Computer

Glasses

TV

DVD

DVD Player

Trash Can

Coffee Maker

Shirt

Underwear

Microwave

Garage Door Opener

Jacket

Salt & Pepper Shakers

Battery Charger

Broom

Swiffer Mop

Laundry Basket

Camera

Flash

Memory Card

Dog Dish

Measuring Spoons

Butter Dish

Recipe Book Cover

Knife Handle

Measuring Cup

Ice Cube Tray

Key Coating

Alarm Clock

3 Remote Controls

Scissor Handles 32 Items

*“ASSETS” LIFETIME IN YEARS (Either part of the house or large possessions)

Car (From Dashboard to Bumper and everything in between and on all sides!)

Refrigerator

Dishwasher

Sink Handle

Window Blinds

Washing Machine

Stove Knobs

Drain Pipes

Cords of any electronics

Linoleum Floor

Polyurethane on Wood Floor

Carpet 12 Items !*   75 TOTAL PLASTIC ITEM USE IN ONE DAY   *!

! -the convenience items that I’m looking to replace with non-plastic

* permanent home items that I won’t replace until absolutely necessary.  Plastic is made to last forever, so why replace it just to go “Plastic Free” and add it to the landfill prematurely?

NOTE: I intend to use whatever plastic I currently have repetitively until it falls apart or is a health issue. It’s already here.  I’m hoping not to add NEW plastic to the batch.

The Deli: No Plastic, Please

In hopes of fore-going the plastic wrapping of pre-packaged sliced meats and cheeses, I opted to go straight to the deli.  After seeing the lady behind the counter package previous customers’ meat in plastic, I shot straight from the hip, asking, “Can I have you wrap my items in my own packaging instead of plastic?”  She gave me the scrutinizing look of a woman who doesn’t want to be bothered with excess requests, nor people with extra heads growing out of their bodies, as though I’d just asked if I could have my cat butchered and sliced into lunch meat.

“I know it’s strange, but I’m trying not to use plastic.  Can you pack it in my container?  Or maybe wax paper if you have it?”  I gave her an apologetic, please-humor-me smile.

She gruffly agreed, and as I rustled through my bag to get out my own packaging, she slipped it all into one of her plastic bags anyway, behind my back.  “Oh…” I said with obvious disappointment.  “Do you have wax paper?” 

“No.”

“Well, don’t worry about it, now.  It’s too late,” I said lightly, trying to brush off the insult I felt as she went to cut more of meat, not giving any thought to it, as I’d read in other places that it could be a difficult concept for people to grasp.  She ended up taking the meat out of the plastic anyway, which was a nice effort, though useless.

From behind me an older woman with a canula asked, “Are you allergic to plastic?”  not unpleasantly.  I at least got the chance to tell her about my experiment.  I felt like one of those anti-cigarette commercials that show an asterisk above the heads of those who’ve been enlightened, and could almost see the asterisk appear over her head.  At least she was understanding!  She thought I’d get a better reception for my request from Sunflower Market.

When the deli worker asked about cheese I was ready with my container, but even as I held it out she STILL grabbed ANOTHER plastic bag.  Not even at least using the bag she’d already gotten out for the meat.

“Wait, wait, please…”  she didn’t hear me ducked beneath the glass case, or ignored me.  “Wait!  Stop!  Please don’t put it in the bag!”  I was pleading with as much reserve and dignity as I could.  Maybe I should have gotten on my knees.

“Alright!” she snapped, startling me.  And I gave her the container, both of us flustered.

I thanked her very, very much for using my container and asked her to please, please use the plastic bags she’d taken out for me for another customer.

“You can use them on my order!” volunteered the woman behind me brightly.

"*"

My First Plastic-Free Grocery Shopping Experience

It was a very small shopping trip, just for dinner’s ingredients, but a success!

I almost forgot my canvas bag, and was in reverse out of the driveway before I remembered, but I got it!  I went to King Soopers. 

My grocery list:

Red Onion

Tomato

Ginger

Serrano Pepper

Bread

I also grabbed:

Mangos

Avocados

I didn’t bag any of the fruits & veggies.  Just naked plants in the basket. 

I bought the only bread that they had in an all-paper bag.  A French Baguette.  Happens to be my favorite bread in the world (Indian Naan is a close second), so it wasn’t a bad option for dinner. 

I will definitely have to seek out better bakery options to get my normal whole wheat sandwich bread.  Where am I going to find bread that’s not packaged in plastic?  And how much will I have to pay extra?

Plastic used    =  None

Extra $ Spent  =  $0

Healthier Options = Nada.  White bread baguette doesn’t do anything for my nutrition.  The mango & avocado were an awesome desert though! 

Introducing: Tree-Hugging Capitalist

First of all, let me start by stating my place in the world.  I’m not a patchouli wearing, dreadlock donning hippie.  I’m not even a Democrat.  I believe in taking responsibility for our own actions and having consequences for them. I don’t believe in the government telling me or you what to do with ourselves, our money, our relationships, etc.  (That, I realize, also makes me not-a-Republican.)   I eat meat, I live in a 1970s built house, I have an eight year old son and a couple of dogs and a big screen TV.  I even (gasp) shop at Walmart.  I guess I'm a pretty average American. 

The “greening” I have done in my life and house has more to do with economics and my husband (who could be mistaken for the most red-blooded Republican man alive at first glance) who picked up gardening.  He has an organic garden, because why pay for all that crap?  And we compost our plant foods, because why pay for all that crap?  We use CFLs and try to conserve energy because, well, you get the point. 

Okay, okay, I admit, I don’t hate Earth.  We do recycle, which actually costs us money. I care about the environment.  I live in Colorado because there’s more outdoor activities and more outdoor enthusiasts here than almost anywhere in the U.S.  We’re outdoor fanatics here.  For Christ’s sake, we’re the number one state for scuba diving!!!  (If you don’t understand the irony of this, please refer to your geography books.)  Point is, I love the outdoors and want there to be plenty of it to run to when the government/zombies/aliens take over all of the cities.  (Did I mention I’m a wise-ass, too?)

I’ve labeled my political persuasion: Tree Hugging Capitalist.  I get numbers, I get money (the theory, not the actual mula), I get if businesses have to close, people lose jobs.   I get that the dollar makes the world go ‘round here in these parts.   And I’m a pretty big believer in it.  (We’ll see if it lasts.)  I also believe in keeping the wild wild.  I think that tourons (tourist-morons) approaching wildlife deserve to get maimed, mauled or rabies.  I think that animals need to have their space, too, and there’s no doubt that us humans have chased them into smaller and smaller spaces and infringed on their freedoms to no end.  And I believe that the earth provides so much more than we give her credit for, or can even notice before tearing it down.  I also believe that if it comes to a battle of man vs. earth/nature, there is no DOUBT that nature will win.  We are only destroying ourselves - and some of our fellow species, unfortunately.  She’s been through it all, this earth.  She can handle a little parasite like us coming along.  We can’t.

So that’s me, just normal 34-year-old suburban Coloradan Katy with a slight leaning towards environmental friendliness tampered with some conservative monetary beliefs. 

And then I watched the movie, "Tapped."  I tend to put on my skeptical goggles when watching documentaries, but is there ANYTHING good to be said about plastic?  It's cheap and flexible.  Is it worth it?  I thought recycling was enough.  But that's only one R in the Reduce, Re-use, Recycle combination.  And apparently re-using isn't an option for the one-serving designs.  Dangerous actually.  So I'm left with reduce...