Liza Constable

So I’ve been thinking a lot about trash. Two weeks ago, on the BBC I heard a story about a woman in England who spent a month without plastic. That idea rattling around my brain. My mother-in-law, who already uses next to no plastic and creates hardly any garbage — would be hardly impressed. But how many people do you or I know that live like that? I used to be annoyed at the lack of trash cans in her house. Now I see the sense. Not that I think she’s any less compulsive. Nor is this is the first time she’s proved older and wiser…

I finally went to the web yesterday and googled “a month without plastic.” Chris Jeavens didn’t stop using plastic entirely, she only had no new plastic for a month. Shoot… I can do that! What do we use and buy that is plastic, regularly? Granola bars (wrapped in shiny plastic wrappers), cereal (plastic bag inside), Soy-milk (waxed paper with plastic lining, I think), rice-milk has that plastic spout, tofu (comes in plastic tubs), toilet paper (wrapped in plastic).

Alright, so I need to do some research. I can get toilet paper in a box from Seventh Generation, I can get fresh tofu from the co-op, where I can also get bulk items, like shampoo, grains, in my own containers. We can make granola bars. We already use wax paper bags for their lunches – those little sandwich bags no longer live in this house.
But how do I find soymilk that tastes good in a plastic free container? The best tasting soymilk, hands down, is Edensoy. My neighbor once showed me an ad for a soymilk making machine. I wish I could try it without spending lots of money. I bet the container’s made of plastic. But it would cut down on garbage to be making our own.

My mother was an avid recycler from the 60s for as long she could. She even berated them at her senior living community to make it easier for the residents to recycle. I remember flattening the cans. I loved that we did that. We kept compost too. I also want my children to remember what we did, the things that we do to create a better environment.

We are good recyclers, we have our mixed plastics, glass and metal bin under the sink, and another box for mixed paper and box-board (a lot of which we burn in the wood-stove during winter), a bag for magazines, and then another for corrugated cardboard. We deliver it about once or twice a month to the recycling center. They sort the plastics, glass and metal. My only problem is the odd useless plastic bags that accumulate, I get frustrated and toss them. We use the ones we can. This should change. And now it is…

Hannafords, our local large grocery store, takes plastic bags. I always thought it was only for carrier bags, but I don’t know. I guess I should take them all there, and let them sort them out. I am slightly suspicious that they get tossed. Anybody know?

UPDATE:
I started it. Last Friday we went to our monthly Rehobeth (MA) contradance gig, and I brought our own containers for take out food. We went to a pizza place (somewhere around Attleboro), which always pleases the kids and Nat ordered me a salad. I rushed out to the car to get my containers, happily, smugly, and brought them into the pizza joint. The lady said, “what, are you green?”, not unkindly, and I replied, well I’m trying not to acquire any new plastic. At that point I realized, and Nat pointed out to me, that the salads were already made and stored in those thin plastic clear containers. The worst containers. Useless. She said, “these are reusable!” and I said, “no, not really, and besides, I don’t want any new plastic containers.” So, I cancelled my order. I felt bad, but not so bad that I didn’t do it. Nat had a salad, and I went out to the car to get him a plastic fork. The kids were kind of in awe that I was creating a fuss, but fortunately not embarrassed. The other customers waited, watched, and said nothing. I had on my Obama button. They figured I was a freak? Tree-hugging dirt-worshipper?
The next morning we went to our favorite breakfast place, Helen’s, in Concord MA, for pancakes. I didn’t want to use the little half and half plastic things, and asked for a glass of milk for our coffee. Which they brought. Piper ordered chocolate milk (so much for being vegan), which came in a plastic cup with a lid and a plastic straw. Ooch. When she was done with it, I saw that it was “greenware”, and kind of compostable material made from corn or something. So I went up to the waitress at the end, and said. “I love that you are using these,” I held up the greenware cup and top, then I switched to the little creamers, “but why are you still using these?” Her answer was, “that’s the way they come”, to which I replied, “but there could be a little pitcher on the table…” she smiled.
Outside, where they were all waiting, the girls said, “What were you doing? Dad said you were lecturing the waiters about plastic.”

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lovely photo of treed plastic bag (we call’m witches knickers) courtesy of flickr/WYGD