BlogHer - plastic - Comments

DIY = creativity + control

mindfulmomma — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:04:47 -0500

Hi Siel!

Why do I DIY? First of all, it's a fix for that creative itch - I always get a kick out of making things myself. Second, it gives me control over the materials - I feel better when I use safe, non-toxic and healthy ingredients for my body care, cleaning products & recipes and repurposed materials for my craft projects.

Micaela ( www.mindfulmomma.com )

Thanks for the resources

Candelaria Silva — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:54:07 -0500

These will be useful as I continue to eliminate plastic whereever I can in my life and continue to fix fresh, non-processed food. I've lost a few pounds, am definitely eating less because the food I'm prepareing tastes so much better, and I definitely am saving $.

I use cloth bags religiously! Cloth napkins - haven't purchased paper napkins in nearly a year. No more dryer sheets (I use the resuable dryer balls that may be made of plastic or silicone). Don't purchase bottled water (Use filtered tap water.) Only wash with cold water. Recycle every week and even have s box of old videos that are getting ready to be mailed to the place I found that recyles them.) It's difficult to go deeper. Trying to find places that don't use styrofoam and/or plastic on fish and poultry is difficult.

Anyhow - once you start on this journey it just grows throughout your life!

http://blog.candelarisilva.com

Good and plenty!

plastics are now a major

midnightbliss — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:18:56 -0500

plastics are now a major problem, tons of it are being thrown everyday yet it takes hundreds of years to decompose. doing our own little recycling can go a long way. I also try to collect all the plastics that i use for reusing but there's just so many that I end up having so many plastics.

Kudos for using reusable

greenlagirl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:12:00 -0500

Kudos for using reusable bags :) It's such a simple and easy thing -- easy to remember and work into your daily routine if you just get in the habit!

green LA girl

Shrink wrap's one of my

greenlagirl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:10:02 -0500

Shrink wrap's one of my major pet peeves -- I don't keep any at home. Who needs it when you've got reusable containers?! It's tougher to avoid, though, as you pointed out, at delis and such if there are no un-shrink-wrapped sandwiches and muffins and such. I've eaten so many bananas -- luckily usually wrap-free at coffee shops / delis -- for this exact reason -- though I do occasionally indulge in a plasticky muffin --

green LA girl

Hey AmberS -- I totally

greenlagirl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:07:54 -0500

Hey AmberS -- I totally agree that keeping one's waste is often a serious eye-opener. It's amazing how much disposable plastic -- mostly used to hold / store food products -- comes in and out of our lives!

green LA girl

plastic bags

herblog200 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:22:18 -0500

I totally agree with the above that as a household we also recycle as much as we can and of course re-use all the plastic bags we receive. OK, there is so much more that can be done but we have a car full of the bags when we go shopping.

the hibachi grill website

I carry my own bags

Flightkeeper — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:57:41 -0500

I've collected so many plastic bags from stores that I reuse them as garbage bags. But I still wind up with more plastic than I can reuse. To cut down, I've rolled up all those cloth recycle bags, bound each in a rubber band and used them to carry stuff home when I buy from the store. I put one in all my different bags so that I am never without, they are light and don't take up much space and I have no excuse for taking home plastic. It really is so much more convenient that way and I do feel slightly virtuous. :)

http://flightkeeper.blogspot.com

http://cutefuncool.blogspot.com

Moving to a developing

StephanieSD — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:36:05 -0500

Moving to a developing country has really made me examine both the good and the bad sides of plastic. I feel terrible that we imported so much food in plastic packaging. Some of the packaging can be reused and the locals covet a good plastic container. But the shrink wrap and other "papery" plastics cause a huge problem. So much waste is composted or burned here, but that can't be done to plastic. I've become so aware of everything. Very little goes to waste here.

Stephanie SD

Where in the World Am I?

Plastic and environmentalism and DIY

AmberS — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:49:29 -0500

I think that having a DIY ethic definitely goes hand-in-hand with environmentalism. One or the other may come first for someone depending on their interests, but the other almost always follows at some point.

I recently kept all of my plastic 'waste', recyclable or not, for 2 weeks. I was shocked by how much there was. It was a real eye-opener for me to see it all there, in a pile in my living room. It's definitely caused me to re-evaluate my buying habits.

~ Amber

www.strocel.com

Ziplocs

Lauramunson — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:02:16 -0500

Lauramunson.wordpress.com

We chose to give up plastic sandwich bags last year, and use any plastic bag that we complied from other food packaging, like bread loaf sleeves, and cereal box liners. At first, our kids-- especially our tween, weren't happy about having non-fashion forward lunches at school, but we tought them to take pride in setting a healthy precedent and hopefully a new trend...if not just plain awareness. Now they brag about it. Thanks for all your insights!

Laura

Plastic Toys

soyjoy2008 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:11:44 -0500

Great article! I'd say plastic toys are a big concern for me. Organic, wood toys are terrific, however they are usually not the toys our young children want to play with! Thanks for the the terrific resources!

So many great ideas!

kamigray — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:07:35 -0500

To remember to bring reusable bags, I need to keep them everywhere! I need to get a few more reusable coffee cups and water bottles so I don't get stuck somewhere without one.

Thanks for such a thorough discussion on plastics!

Kami Gray, Author of The Denim Diet: Sixteen Simple Habits to Get You Into Your Dream Pair of Jeans

BLOG: http://blog.kamigray.com/

WEBSITE: http://www.thedenimdiet.com

Freezer bags are my big obstacle right now

AmberS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:30:31 -0500

I've been using re-usable grocery bags for a while. And I've pretty much given up disposable plastic for snacks and lunches. I also buy condiments and dressings in glass rather than plastic, or make my own at home. But freezer bags are presenting a greater challenge.

I buy a lot of food in bulk and in season, and freezing 30 lbs of blueberries (for example) in plastic baggies is the fastest and most space-conscious option. I do have a lot of mason jars I use for canning, but I don't think I could fit as much in my freezer if I used those. I'm not really sure what practical alternatives exist for plastic freezer bags.

~ Amber

www.strocel.com

wow!

CourtneyFoster82 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:55:43 -0500

wow I bet that was great to listen to, my goal is to do something like this in the feature, i am still learning so much though!

Courtney

www.cookingupafamily.com

cookingupafamily@gmail.com

@cookingupfamily