Jaime Webster

Last day of Plastic Free July – but the effort does NOT stop here - treating plastic like a drug habit that needs to be kicked can now be all of our lifestyle pledges.

What did we learn during this month to continue on this journey? (besides of course always carrying with you reusable items):

1.) Value plastic waste: sometimes you might still end up getting plastic bags (or other plastic items), despite your best intentions-- do not consider it as waste. Keep that plastic bag in your bike basket for when you need it. Or keep the plastic fork that you got by mistake in your purse for future use.

2.) The market is your friend: find goods at a Farmer’s Markets such as rice, veggies, eggs, fruits without plastic packaging; and 'market stores' such as MOMs have many items in bulk. 

3.) There are hundreds of websites to help on this journey – a google or FB search = Plastic Free Living Tips & Tricks / Plastic-Free Support Groups & more

3.) Perfection is not the aim. It’s about creating consistent alternative habits that you can regularly use in your routine life. To exist without plastic in this decade is NOT possible. (Medical procedures, Rx bottles and plastic water bottles for natural disasters are currently indispensable).  But you CAN make changes to reduce & refuse on a daily basis.

4.) Go step-by-step so you don’t get overwhelmed - rather than see it as a huge inconvenience, treat living plastic free as a fun game!   To navigate the consumer minefield, develop mental maps of places where you can shop for certain items. It may take months, but learn where to get milk in a glass bottle, or where to grind your own peanut butter. Fortune 500 companies, like P&G & Pepsi, now want a piece of the action and are currently testing products like OJ in glass bottles, shampoo in aluminum bottles and other items in refillable non-plastic containers.

5.) You don’t need to be rich to avoid plastic: Some people can’t afford a bamboo kit, but take a fork from home; reuse sauce jars & use bread bags instead of buying ziplocks; reuse shipping (or any bags) instead of buying garbage bags; get free canvas bags at events; and cloth napkins/rags/bar mops + DIY cleaners save $ in the long run.

GOOD LUCK from here on out!!

Does anyone currently bring reusable containers to a grocery store to purchase fresh cheese from the cheese-counter employees? Or maybe at a farmers market?  I'm wondering if this is actually something you can do in MD anywhere.  One of my biggest issues is my love of cheese and my disappointment that 99% of it comes in plastic packaging.  I'm currently only eating laughing cow, but I do have an issue with the foil wrapper on that as well. 

I'm now hyper-aware of how most products at the grocery store are packaged in plastic (or have plastic lids or seals).  Did pretty well yesterday, but the biggest conundrum - hummus! We LOVE hummus and every brand is in a plastic tub.  So.....I bought chickpeas, tahini and an avocado and made my own!  It was easier than I thought and I'm going to try and build this into my routine from now on.   Also gonna to try to get used to Wasa crackers - cardboard consistency but the ONLY crackers that were plastic-free. Oy.
It is so true that you can't 100% avoid plastic 100% of the time.....unless you live in the woods.

Woke up to a VERY well-written article by the TreeHugger blog on our current issue of ‘the illusion of a working plastics recycling system’ and how we begin to fix this mess we’ve all gotten into. Shared it on social media for all to potentially (hopefully) read! 

https://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/recycling-broken-so-we-have-fix-our-disposable-culture.html?fbclid=IwAR2N8HPinV-jH_U7z9zVY_RlWYtHCCyHcZy0D1el_9Ag9QFmQFe-XkIEHng

Best Quote:

“In the meantime, the burden of change comes down to you and me and our communities to refuse unless it’s reusable — to reject the system that has been thrust upon us by ditching disposables and demanding better products and services. Of course, this is difficult for many people, but each and every action you can take does send price signals through the economy. ... Simply put — we need a reusable revolution to get us out of the recycling mess.”

Also - "We need a reusable revolution to us out of this recycling mess"

Info on Terracycle recycling programs - even individual households can request free mail-in pouches for numerous items, many others have local drop-off boxes.  They recycle everything from Hasbro toys to razors, beauty products, water filters, food wrappers...etc.....
https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades

I've seen shoes made from plastic bottles before, nothing I'd care to wear - but these are stylish! https://nothingnew.com/

Sneakers made from 100% recycled plastic (5.6 bottles per pair) AND recycled fishing nets, with recycled rubber soles & cotton. And shipping is carbon neutral.

Its pretty eye-opening that I have a B.S. and an M.S. in environmental studies and yet I too was ignorant to the fact that only 9% of plastic is actually recycled into new products.  I don't think these issues were ever addressed in my grad school classes and I didn't research the data enough on my own.  I stupidly thought that the system worked better than that - it was only when China started refusing materials last fall that I became aware of the global recycling issues.  If I was 'blissfully unaware' of this global problem, we can't assume that the normal American has any idea.  This is why I choose to share Plastic Free July facts on a daily (almost) basis on social media so that I can at least educate my FB friends. My family has also been resistant to listen to me - I'm hoping the FB facts this month help guide them towards alternative actions. (I've been begging my mom to give up ziplock bags for YEARS!) <Insert angry face emoji>
Now I look around our house an am horrified!! at how many plastic products we own.  I thought recycling was the answer (even though I knew not all plastic was recycled - I turned a blind eye) and thought I was doing well by refusing water bottles and plastic bags - but honestly Plastic Free July has REALLY made me aware that I need to do MUCH more to refuse plastic products.  From now on I will concentrate on bulk items and seeking out plastic - free products when shopping.  I realize that becoming plastic free is absolutely impossible BUT I can do my best to be MOSTLY plastic free - we all can!

Bite toothpaste bits arrived!
PROS: Once you bite down, the texture and foam is the same as regular toothpaste, you can’t tell it’s a ‘bit’.  Great mint flavor. And of course awesome packaging. Refills for the jar come in compostable packs.
CONS: Significantly more expensive ($7.50/mo average) and do not contain fluoride. I shopped around a bit and these were less expensive than some other non-plastic brands. But I may do more research to get the cost down.