Kim Stama

All month long I have kept a log of the plastic waste I was creating. And what it came down to, for the most part, was convenience and volume. If I forgot to make lunch and wanted something, healthy or not, it was in plastic - sandwiches, salads,  and anything microwavable. If I wanted something other that water, it was more readily available in plastic than a can, or not offered in a can at all (think Gatorade when sick, etc.). If I didn't want to be wasteful and buy a large volume of something, the smaller option was in plastic (think lettuce heads). Avoiding straws and plastic cutlery for me is extremely easy because I've never been comfortable using those items and carry my own reusable straw. But I had to budget time to meal prep and get my coffee using my reusable cup on the weekends to avoid the plastic. If I wanted fruit from the grocery store, my availability is plastic-wrapped or plastic cartons due to market availability near where I live. I can rarely get a head of lettuce outside of plastic bags and don't tend to use enough fast enough for it to not be wasteful. I could buy milk in glass cartons but glass is mostly not recyclable around here too and the price is much higher and only in large bottles. So all in all, my plastic waste was reduced this month but a great deal, but I still had it - my milk half gallons/quarts, energy bar wrappers, sandwich containers, lettuce bags, large bottles of seltzer water - these were my culprits. Now that I am more aware, I will be more conscious.

What concerns me is how we measure the value of time over the volume of our waste.

My family recently rented a house and packed the Keruig to save time on all the different types of beverages they wanted - tea, dark roast, blonde, hot chocolate. To them, this was not only a time saver but a saver on gas from going to the coffee shop that was 10 miles away each day and money in buying each individual beverage type in large quantity. But the K-cups add up. At home, the coffee drinkers use the reusable cup and fill it with their ground coffee, and the tera drinkers use their seeping bags, but this was more to pack and less convenient for this trip. Plastic made it convenient and helped keep the hoards of ants out of the food. This was and is a stressful thought. 

This is not easy when out of the office or on the go, so the habit will definitely take time. I always carry my reusable straw, its the cold cups that's tough to think about. When at the office, its easy to use the tumbler on my desk or mug in the cabinet and make coffee in the kitchen. But mobile ordering saves several minutes with the rush of the coffee shops in the morning on the weekends and I don't have enough of a caffeine habit to have a coffee maker at home. Time is something I am willing to trade off for the waste, because I can see how fast those cups add up. 

I was up in Maine last week and they have banned plastic straws, cups and bags. They are not quite to using reusables but but instead purchasing compostable PLA cold cups and paper straws, without setting up the market to be able to readily provide composting services to these businesses. I think this is an unfortunate circumstance of not setting up the infrastructure to be successful. This is a big reason I love my reusables and teaching our staff their benefits. 

Fresh fruit and veggies are inherently healthier options than packages snacks for me and for my family. We stocked bananas, watermelon and all sorts of berries for our family vacation - which also make quick and better snack options for my 14-month-old nephew.