Say No To Singles

I'm amazed at all the ridiculous single use products you've collected here, who the hell needs an individually wrapped dehydrated plumb? The hygienic Jelly-beans I get from the memories of restaurant mints that we were told were mostly pee from patrons who never could figure out how to share considerately.

Aside from the green connotations of doing with less and creating less waste, I remember my mother's own personal insistence that she would not buy the individually wrapped snack packs, chips, tiny cereal boxes. None of it. It was stupid, wasteful and expensive in her opinion. She had precious little time for doting over our school lunches but convenience of the single serving never got the best of her. There isn't much excuse for the extra packaging and now reusables have become commercially available as well as easy to DIY with online tutorails.

For the mothers hit with the "pre-packaged only" in schools, I got blindsided by that one last year in preschool (religious consideration and not allergy related). I replied that I was tired of all the sugar and crap that comes pre-packaged and have been crafting small non-food gifts for my daughter to share with her schoolmates for her birthday this year. (Homemade play-doughs, fabric scrap friendship bracelets and recycled felt pencil toppers)

Sidenote, the banana saver makes my husband giggle and ice comes individually out of the reusable trays.

www.SaraInAkko.blogspot.com ( http://www.SaraInAkko.blogspot.com )

Life in the Middle East, with craft and spice

To use less packaging, we buy bulk at Costco and divide up into reusable containers. Works great and less waste!

@Jenna, please avoid the landfill. What's useless to one person might be truly handy for someone else. Donate to thrift stores, offer on Freecycle, etc. Or use the stuff you already have. If you purchased that avocado holder, use the heck out of it. And then maybe next time, try and ask yourself if you really need the next unitasking item.

@Suebob, totally with you on the Lunchables. And can they really be considered food in the first place?

@AMNichols School requirements seem to be a challenge for a lot of parents. I recently got into an email discussion with a green mom whose son's teacher prohibited stainless steel bottles because they "made too much noise when dropped on the floor" and insisted the kids drink out of plastic. I guess it's a matter of choosing your battles.

@Jill, if you use an efficient dishwasher, I think the issue becomes a no-brainer. You're going to use fewer resources cleaning out some reusable containers than constantly buying new throwaways. In my next BlogHer post (to be published very soon) I include a list of plastic-free lunch container ideas.

@IsleDance, you inspire me too with your non-consumerist ways.

@Cynematic, as long as the soy wax comes from organic, non-GMO soy, right? Also, I wonder about using beeswax instead. BTW, I'll be writing up a review of several reusable cloth "baggie" options on Fake Plastic Fish, probably next week.

@Angie, reusing is always better than recycling. But also, what you may not know is that a lot of those container ships actually do go back full -- with our "recycling" trash. That's right. A lot of what people think is getting recycled in the U.S. is actually shipped back to China, where much of it is burned for fuel.

Beth Terry@fakeplasticfish
Live Life with Less Plastic! ( http://fakeplasticfish.com )
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the containers from the deli and yogurt containers as tupperware. I completely agree with the kitchen clutter, and cheap plastic crap in general. I just read about the big barge that comes from China with junk and goes back empty! In no other country would a giant across the Pacific barge pay the gas to go back empty. But we support their crap, and now storage companies are such big business. My sister-in-law manages a U-store-it place, and when people default, they clean it out to try and scavenge something to sell, and they are always filled with cheap China crap, paper and never anything of use that you couldn't go pick up at the dollar store.

Eclectic Recipes ( http://eclecticrecipes.com )

Remember me? Biodegradable unbleached recycled soy-waxed paper lady? Still yearning for it.

My holy grail is unbleached recycled paper treated with soy wax, all biodegradable. If it came in an envelope or pocket shape? Heaven.

Kid's snacks are the most troublesome part of getting plastic-free for moms who hate single-serving packaging. I'm mostly down to the reusable/washable bento box containers and steel snack-sized Thermos bottle. But it's a tough nut to crack.

Cynematic
P i l l o w b o o k ( http://cynematic.wordpress.com )

You motivate me, always, and help me see more than I ever knew - and still need to remind myself of. And my Gah, I had no idea much of this stuff even existed.

One Friday night, I loaded up my life and headed out... ( http://isledance.blogspot.com )

You are right - I know you are right. This is one of those examples where I know how right you are and still, I get weak and use items that are variations on the same theme.

So - how do you kick the habit? What are the better alternatives, esp. when it comes to kids and convenience? What are the tradeoffs to consider (in addition to just mucking up the world with more plastic junk)?

Totally serious. I want to be more virtuous in this regard, but there's no question - I often stand there thinking, "well, which is worse? using the ziploc to put the goldfish in, washing a separate container that is just for the goldfish for my kid's lunch or snack, or the bag the pre-packaged goldfish come in?"

Do you have an EZ equivalizer or something!?

Jill Writes Like She Talks ( http://www.writeslikeshetalks.com )

In The Arena: Jill Miller Zimon, Pepper Pike City Council Member ( http://jillmillerzimon.blogspot.com )

At back to school night I was informed that any party snacks must be 1) store bought and 2) individually wrapped. I understand it's a food safety issue, especially for kids with allergies. (I have a nut allergic daughter myself.) What can you do?

Find me at This Mama Cooks, This Mama Cooks Reviews or at The Write Spot.

I just hate to see people eating Lunchables. You can't pack some cheese, lunchmeat and crackers without this huge plastic tray wrapped in cardboard? It makes me crazy.

We use reusable sandwich/snack bags and we've had most of our tupperware like stuff since 2004 when we got engaged. I was thinking that we don't use much single serving stuff until that last category. We don't have an avocado holder (though I eat avocados like mad). I think we have a few things that fall in that category... but we don't use them.

So the question is: what do you do when you clean out your cupboards and find single serving plastic stuff that you aren't going to use (and/or have never used)? Will recycling take some of these or are they just landfill stuffs?

Contributing Editor Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )) blogs at Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ). She is a freelance writer and newspaper photographer.