2020 is almost here! Before I start making new resolutions, I figured I should look back on how I did with last years. So how did I do in my quest to save the world? I was definitely not perfect but I really did make some changes! Reduce my plastic use My first area of focus was to reduce my plastic use. While it is really difficult to quit cold turkey I did start paying attention to the plastic in my life and made a lot of small changes to reduce the amount I bring home. My bathroom has had the most changes – gone are shampoo bottles, plastic razors, liquid soap in plastic containers and even our plastic toothbrushes. Watch for future blog posts on the changes I made and even some how to’s for our own liquid soap and eye makeup remover. I plan to work…
said 7.5 billion people. Obviously I’m exaggerating, a little, but only a little. In reality approximately 500 million straws are thrown away every day. In the United States alone. Straws are one of the most commonly found plastic items in ocean cleanups. Straws can’t be recycled, they are too narrow and too lightweight to be sent through mechanical sorters. In the best case they will end up in a landfill where they will break down into smaller pieces, never fully decomposing. Worst case they are left in our ecosystems, even making their way to the oceans. Thinking about the amount of straws I have used and disposed of in my lifetime hurts a little. I can’t do anything about my my past actions, but by being better informed now I can make better choices. I know not everyone uses straws and also that…
Plastic free alternatives in the bathroom So let’s face it. Plastic is everywhere. It is impossible to go through your day without plastics being a part of your life in some way. From your car to your toilet seat, most of the plastic we encounter we don’t give much thought. Plastic has made so much in our lives easier, no doubt about it, but it is becoming an ever increasing problem. I’m all about finding plastic free alternatives and right now I’m focusing on the bathroom. So let’s start with what I think is the easiest, and least expensive, plastic free change I’ve made. Remember when liquid soap wasn’t a thing? All we had was bar soap? Maybe you aren’t old enough, but for me that is all we had growing up. So my…
Not all bags are created equal. Every time we visit a store we are making an impact on the environment in a myriad of ways. Currently the most talked about way is through how we choose to take our purchases home. In my last post we talked about how inexpensive plastic is to manufacture, so it makes sense that plastic bags became so popular and widespread. Now they are facing much controversy, New York just became the second state after California to pass a statewide ban, all of Hawaii’s counties have banned plastic bags resulting in a statewide ban, hundreds of US cities have implemented bans as well. What is surprising is that when considering the manufacturing process plastic bags actually have the smallest ecological footprint. Paper bags use 4 times as much water to manufacture, cotton is also a crop that requires a lot of water as…
My wild Saturday night consisted of grocery shopping, who knew it would end up resembling a horror movie? I head to my local organic, emphasis on healthy food, supermarket. I am tackling my commitment to eating less red meat and I’m buying ground turkey and even tofu! Fruits, veggies, my choices are looking AMAZING! As I’m putting my items up on the conveyor belt I start to comment on the plastic packaging. By the time I get to the end I realize that EVERYTHING I bought came in a plastic package. Everything Now most of it is recyclable, and recycle I will, but I have a couple issues with recycling… First, contamination is a huge problem, it’s a complicated system to make sure you are putting the right products into your recycling bin. How many people do you think truly do the research…
Ok, I won’t really be saving the whole world, but I will at least be trying my best to do my part. Here are things I’m going to be focusing on this year to make a difference, no matter how small. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt Reduce Plastic Use On my quest to become plastic free the first step is to start paying attention to the plastic in my life, then start cutting it out – one step at a time. ’m still working on eliminating plastic bags and plastic straws and also drastically cutting back on drink containers. I wish I could say that I am already 100% successful but I am an imperfect human being doing my best. Next up is examining my plastic consumption while grocery shopping. This has definitely been an eye opener. Once…
When do you put up your Christmas tree? I know a lot of people who put up their tree right after Thanksgiving, but we are more of a last minute family. My son’s birthday is on December 18, so we generally wait until at least December 19 to put up our tree. It’s better that way anyway, poor thing doesn’t stand a chance to survive the season if we get it too early – plus they are usually half off! I had considered an artificial tree this year, but which is worse? Cutting down a tree or buying a plastic one? An artificial tree may last me 5 years, that’s saving 5 real trees! Of course when I’m finished with my artificial tree it will sit in a landfill forever while my real tree can become mulch.Artificial trees are…
I admit it, I have a problem. I drink a lot of soda, far too much, and fountain drinks are my weakness. I have managed to cut back, but not eliminate my soda intake. I have been very successful at avoiding polystyrene cups and by staying away from the drive through I am able to use reusable cups. Not plastic free, but I have definitely reduced my plastic use considerably! Next on my list is drinking straws. With 500 million straws being used every day in the US, I decided to join the 2018 plastic straw ban bandwagon. Plastic straws are among the top 10 plastics found in our oceans. They are a single use non recyclable plastic. We use them for only minutes and then toss them. There has been a lot of talk about straws, including how banning plastic straws is just a band aid. My thoughts? “…
I just dropped off what I hope is my last load of plastic bags for recycle! Years ago I bought reusable bags but I only managed to use them sporadically. Anyone else had that problem? Forgot them in the house, forgot them in the car, forgot I had them at all… I admit it was laziness, going plastic free takes commitment, I’m going to have to teach myself some new habits! Those old bags were also difficult to store and difficult to use, so I started my renewed efforts by looking to see what “advancements” have been made in the reusable bag market… I came across these Grab Bags, they clip right into your cart – the price was right and reviews were good! They even make insulated ones! I admit, we forgot them in the car… after a brief “we…
“Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.” ― Sylvia A. Earle, The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One Right now, according to Smithsonian Ocean, it is estimated that there are 5.25 TRILLION plastic particles or 244,000 metric tons of plastic in the world’s oceans. That is a lot of plastic! Some of you may be thinking, “What’s the big deal? I live a thousand miles from the ocean – it isn’t my problem.” But it is, it is all of our problems. Approximately 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic are…
