Plastic Free Becomes the Norm: Groceries

I haul in my canvas bag stuffed full of more bags: canvas, plastic, organic cotton, paper.  And a few sheets of wax paper & aluminum foil.  At Whole Foods no-one bats an eye. 

I head for the bulk section.  Ah, my sweet trail mix, nuts, even crackers (a true novel delight), granola, rice, whole wheat flour, beans, lentils, raisins. . . I fill the re-used plastic bags, some paper bags and the cotton bags with the scoopfuls and move onto the produce section.

I save two plastic bags for the produce section: One for bulk carrots, one for apples.  This helps the checkout person to not fumble with half a dozen single items.  Plus, carrots get soft if not wrapped in plastic.  If I'm thoughtful enough, I'll line the plastic with paper so the food doesn't make direct contact.  I'm not always that thoughtful.  A lot of the organics are wrapped in plastic already, making them off limits for my plastic free attempts. But I still strive to buy organic, more now than ever.  I mean, how can I decide not to wrap my food in plastic because of the chemicals, and then accept pesticides on my produce?  Broccoli is usually only wrapped in a rubber band, as is asparagus.  (Does rubber count as plastic?  I'll have to look into that...)  Onions, potatoes, a melon, papaya maybe this week, or perhaps some kiwi?  Ooh, and yes, mango.  Apparently I don't mind my food travelling thousands of miles to get to my plate.

Onto the "innards" of the store: The cardboard boxes inevitably lined in plastic or containing a plastic bag, or maybe a little plastic tray so the cookies stay just perfectly placed.  All off limits, but I look anyway, just to see if I missed something before.  Applesauce, juice (pomegranate, blueberry, acai - only expensive organic juices come in glass bottles, so I get novel with it), and that's about it. 

I ogle the frozen section, full of plastic wrapped processed foods.  Yes, even organic is processed if it's frozen.  And I don't ogle the frozen whole foods.  The chilled dairy section full of plastics I pass on: sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, most cheese.  Whole Foods has a local farm who supplies milk in glass bottles - it's less than half a gallon. 

At the cheese section, the employee behind the counter now recognizes me and tells me what he's planning on slicing today.  He gives me kudos for my efforts and happily accepts whatever I give him to wrap the cheese in.  I haven't turned down an offer yet. 

The meat section is plastic wrapped, but there's a counter and they will gladly cut and wrap some meat in butcher paper, (or my waxed paper when I discovered the butcher paper is plastic lined).  We eat maybe 2 dinners a week with meat so the cost isn't prohibitive.  Someone mentioned the other days as "vegetarian" days to me recently, which sounded odd.  "Vegetarian" rings a deprived note in my brain, and offends me on some level.  Eggplant parmigiana doesn't seem like a "vegetarian" dinner in the way I think of the word.  All that cheese and frying... That's not deprivation, or healthy!  While they cut & wrap the meat, I get some unground coffee.  The choices are all organic, so even my coffee is organic now.  It's costly, yet the amount I don't spend on junk food and instead spend on produce (much less) makes up for the splurges of good meat and coffee.  This week I delighted in finding natural wax paper sandwich bags in a cardboard box while waiting on the meat.

The canvas grocery bags go up first to the cashier, along with last week's milk jug that I get $1.50 back on for returning.  Then the bags of bulk foods.  The produce tends to roll around on the belt, a mismatch of raw plants.  I get $1.00 off for bringing 10 bags of my own.  The whole shopping trip fills only three canvas bags since they have at least twice or three times the capacity of a plastic grocery bag. 

My bill comes to about $130 this week, including the extravagant purchase of an all metal "To Go" stackable Tupperware replacement.  A couple months ago I would have spent $150 at Walmart on supposedly "less expensive" food and the fruits and veggies would have generally gone to waste since chips and granola bars are so much more convenient and tasty.  That's just me, though.  I don't think everyone's food bill goes down when they switch to health food stores.  I am convinced that eating fresh foods is cheaper than processed at this point though.  I'm not sure exactly how... But our refrigerator is bare by the end of each week, which I see as a good thing.  That means we're eating all the food instead of saving it for science experiments to see what kind of decomposition happens in the fridge.  And my husband has been amazed numerous times at how I can pull a meal out of "There's nothing to eat!"

Paper or Plastic?

Neither. Use canvas.

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Oh, wait, I still want to know about paper vs. plastic!  There are also other things to consider... What if my use of cardboard, paper bagged items, etc are actually having a worse effect on the environment than if I just went with plastic as usual?  What if this is all for NOTHING?? 

I'm finding information that says that paper bags/items actually can be worse for the environment!?  Whaaaaat?  So, let's break it down a little.  The best source I found was here: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/paper-bags-or-plastic-bags-everything-you-need-to-know.php?page=5

So I geeked out and created my own spreadsheet, since the article's conclusion was inconclusive.  I found that paper has a slight leaning towards better if you simply measure issue per issue.  (Red=Bad, Green=Greener)  Paper wins by a slight margin. 

	Paper	Plastic
Toxic Emissions to Produce	MORE	LESS
Transportation Cost/Fuel	MORE	LESS
Capacity per Bag	MORE	LESS
Energy to Create	MORE	LESS
Recycling Integrity	Good	"Downcycled"
Compostable	Yes	No
Base Composition	Trees - Renewable	Oil - Non-renewable

But I still don't think I can stand behind deciding "paper" at the checkout as a recommendation.  "I brought my own" is best!  Even if you just bring back in the paper OR plastic bags you already have.  (Why doesn't anyone consider THIS an option? Oh, yeah, then they can't sell you the canvas bag.)

Meanwhile, I'm buying in bulk as much as possible (which is quite a lot!) and re-using the bags I already have, both paper and plastic, until they're unusable.  Surprisingly, despite the fact that plastic is made to last for thousands of years, the bags break, get holes and become useless rather quickly.  I recycle everything I can once I feel I've used it to its fullest (until it's in shreds) and have been lining some plastic bags with worn down paper bags to prevent any possible "leaching" issues. I've been slowly replacing the "disposable" bulk bags with organic cotton bags- reusable, of course.

Plant Based Plastics!

I’ve been hearing about it: Plant based plastics, also being touted as “environmentally friendly” plastics.  I am skeptical to believe anything I read without a little investigation.  What makes them environmentally friendly?  Are they actually green?  Will they put an end to my plastic boycott?  What’s the deal?

Coca Cola has a 30% plant based plastic bottle, Heinz is jumping on that bandwagon, and just this week, Pepsi announced that they've created the first ever 100% plant based bottle!  (They’re calling it “No Plastic,” which seems to be a bit of a stretch – no pun intended.)  The competition over environmental friendliness intensifies.

Okay, so I’ve done a little researching, and understand that the process is new and there’s not public information out there yet on this specific process, as far as I know.  (Disclaimer!) So here are my findings…

Bioplastic is biodegradable.  Or is it?  Plastics made from plants or other biological materials, are touted by How Stuff Works  as “biodegradable and better for the environment.”  (http://science.howstuffworks.com/plastic.htm)  Yet, according to USA Today, the plant based plastic which Pepsi’s created “is not biodegradable or compostable.”  At least it’s recyclable. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2011-03-15-pepsi-natural-bottle.htm)  So is regular PET plastic (#1 on the bottom of your bottle).  So far, not much difference.  Just another plastic that will be thrown out by most and stick around for centuries.  (Neutral Finding)

One Pittsburg study claims that bioplastics are not only as bad, but maybe even worse for the environment than regular plastics. The refining and production process create a lot of toxic bi-products. (http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/Landis_polymers_LCA)  “Biopolymers were among the more prolific polluters on the path to production, the LCA revealed. The team attributed this to agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, extensive land use for farming, and the intense chemical processing needed to convert plants into plastic.”  However, Pepsi is making their bioplastic from biological waste that would otherwise be thrown away, so that takes care of the farming issues.  But the chemical processing is more intensive than regular plastic creation. (Negetive Finding)

Plastic is made from oil.  Plant based plastic is not.  “Bioplastics have the advantage of being produced from renewable resources (bacteria, plants) rather than nonrenewable resources (oil, natural gas).” (How Stuff Works)  Now THAT’s something to brag about!  Less dependency on oil is a good thing, is it not?  Although others argue that using food based plants cannot be sustainable because, well, it’s food.  (Positive Finding)

There’s rumor that the bioplastics are cleaner, so may be chemically safer.  I’ll wait for more information on that.

So my conclusion is…  Yay for capitalism making these two monster companies (Coca Cola & Pepsi) consider the environment and battle it out!  I think it's great that these moguls are getting in on the public demand for "green" goods, even if it's just smoke and mirrors for the time being...  This is overall an improvement on plastic in my opinion.  However, I’m still opting to go without plastics, and am disappointed that the products aren’t biodegradable, nor compostable.  

I am thinking glass and aluminum are still better. . . But that’s another research project.

(THANK YOU, BRIAN, FOR SENDING ME THE LINK ABOUT PEPSI'S NEW BOTTLE!)

Three Weeks of Plastic Reduction

Reviewing the last three weeks, I wanted to record some of the changes I’ve made.  A lot of these are not convenient at all and sometimes expensive, and others are very simple while actually saving money.  All have reduced my plastic consumption… I hope!  I always seem to get surprise plastic where I don’t expect it!

1.       Re-used the plastic bags I already have (cereal, rice, produce, crackers, etc) for purchasing bulk & produce items

2.       Bought produce un-bagged (Even a dozen carrots – maybe I’ll re-use a bag for that next time for the clerk’s sake!)

3.       Bought meat from the counter wrapped in butcher paper

4.       Brought my own containers to the deli for lunch meat & cheese

5.       Washed & re-used glass jars instead of Tupperware

6.       Made bread from scratch

7.       Found milk in glass containers at Whole Foods!  (Yay!)

8.       Bought bread from a bakery before it was bagged, and got a paper bag instead

9.       Bought bulk items, re-using my own containers/bags:

·         Nuts

·         Snacks

·         Rice

·         Beans

·         Flour

·         Cereal

·         Dried fruit

·         Popcorn

10.   Actually remembered to bring my own canvas grocery bags from home (Some stores even gave me a few cents off for this effort!)

11.   House cleaning with baking soda (cardboard box) & vinegar (glass bottle- although plastic lid)

12.   Cleaned myself with baking soda & vinegar

·         Baking Soda:

§ Shampoo

§ Body wash

§ Deoderant

§ Toothpaste (only every other brushing -  Can’t quite give up on that

§ Dry Shampoo (Try: a little greasy?  Rub in some baking soda at your scalp & see how it works for you!)

·         Vinegar

§ Hair Rinse

§ Body wash

13.   Bought plastic free, chlorine free feminine  products

14.   Made my juice from concentrate

15.   Eating way more fruits and veggies  for snacks and smoothies

16.   Home-made muffins instead of granola/cereal bars in lunches

17.   Opted out of straws & lids at restaurants

18.   Already owned Tupperware instead of sandwich baggies

19.   Made my own chips: Potato & Kale  (Surprisingly tasty, actually!)

20.   Bought wax paper to replace saran wrap in some cases

 

And some nice side-effects of the efforts:

1.       Eating healthier, fresher food

2.       New relationship with food: Spending the time & energy on it makes it far less appealing to down a few hours’ worth of work in a TV sitting.

3.       Avoiding unknown chemicals in toiletries and processed foods

4.       Spending the same amount of money on less food, but not wasting so much of it (How many of your fresh fruits and vegetables end up in the trash after going bad in the fridge?  I had a lot more before!)

5.       Avoiding toxic cleaning fumes 

6.       Teaching my son by example

7.       Spreading awareness with every question about plastic and through this blog (I decided to blog about this from the beginning because I feel it’s important to share the information I learn.)

8.       Only one bag of trash this week (Normally about 2, already low due to recycling & composting)

9.       Only one recycling container (Usually 2 and overflowing!)  Most of it is from remnants of plastic still lingering around the house

 

I’m not keeping track to brag, or to show off  'my footprint is smaller than yours’.  I’m doing this to give examples of changes that have an effect.  I don’t expect anyone else to give up all plastics, and don’t assume I’ll be able to.  This is an experiment in living without new plastic to see just how difficult it is.  I have time to shop different places, money to spend at natural food stores which are admittedly more expensive, and the interest in changing things up to an extreme that I don’t expect anyone else does.  In doing so, I hope to bring awareness to some people, and maybe influence a person or two to make some small changes.  And, let’s face it, I’m absolutely fascinated by this process and just want to share some of the ideas that I had no clue about until I started researching it!

Extreme No Plastic

I've been plastic aware for about two weeks now.  And because I'm me, I go extreme.  So I pushed the pendulum over to the other side and tried out no plastics for a bit...  As much as possible.  Including anything that comes in plastic.  Here are some experiments in non-edibles that I've tried over the last couple of weeks:

Shampoo replaced with Baking Soda
         I tried it out in just its gritty state and have been using it to wash my face also. 

Conditioner replaced with Vinegar, Oatmeal and Vitamin E oil
         A rinsing of vinegar/water mix
         Then a rinsing of oatmeal - water & oatmeal blended, then strained through cheesecloth - super silky!
         And a couple drops of Vitamin E after the shower gets the comb through

Shaving Cream replaced with aforementioned Oatmeal blend (Did I mention super silky?)  Oh, but you have to refrigerate it or it goes bad after a couple of days.
        
Deodorant replaced with Baking Soda
         Brushed it on with a blush brush under my arms. 

Make-up - I still used my eye liner - but used jewelry to make myself feel pretty

Moisturizer replaced with Vitamin E oil

Bath & Kitchen cleaners replaced with Baking Soda & Vinegar - works in the toilet, too.

Yes, really. I know, I think I've stepped over the line of normal behavior.  But the wild thing is: It all works! And well! 

I have thin hair and dry skin, both of which appreciated not being stripped by normal cleansers.  The baking soda for deodorant worked great, even after a long day when I'd normally be stinky, I was in better shape than normal!  The make-up, well, there I'm a little odd - I didn't even wear make-up on my wedding day, so giving up make-up isn't too huge a deal, even though I do wear it religiously now.

Extra Bonus: All environmentally friendly, and no excess chemicals absorbed through my skin!

I do want to research baking soda more to find out what it's made from and how. 

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.”