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Fight Manipulation: Plastic Recycling
I just read NPR's "How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled", 9/11/20, thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Grumpy Rumblings.
Summary: since at least 1974, those in the oil and plastics industry knew "There is serious doubt that [recycling plastic] can ever be made viable on an economic basis." Admittedly, they hoped it would become economically viable with lots of people working on it. Or maybe they didn't, because they wanted to sell virgin plastic. Either way, they spent millions telling us to recycle so we'd feel better about plastic. They even lobbied states to require the recycling symbol to "appear on all plastic — even if there was no way to economically recycle it," and most of the public did not use this information to sort plastic but to assume it was all recyclable. Unfortunately, plastic degrades "during the initial fabrication, through aging, and in any reclamation process" and the different kinds can't just be melted together but must be sorted, which is not cheap.
You've probably heard most of this. So how do we fight the manipulation?
Here are some things I've heard:
* Single-use plastic is more of a problem than buying plastic things that you actually want to use. If you've ever tried to do a no-plastic challenge, you know that practically everything you buy comes in plastic. And that's not counting disposable dishes and silverware. So you can a) try to minimize this and b) encourage companies to give you more plastic-free choices.
* #1 and #2 plastic actually is recyclable--go ahead and throw that in the recycling bin. Put the others in the trash. It feels bad to make this much trash, but you are not the one making it. You are just refusing to be manipulated into thinking it's recyclable anymore.
* When you do use plastic, larger containers use less plastic per unit volume than smaller containers.
In an ideal world, I would sift through my trash to see what all kinds of plasting I'm tossing, then organize it by source from most to least volume or most to least dangerous to sea life, then prioritize any changes based on the highest volume. Yeah, I'm not that good.
Treehugger provides "A Beginner's Guide to Plastic-Free Living".
Below are some of my experiences with their categories.
Grocery Shopping - Bring Your Own Bag
I bring my own bag most of the time. Becoming a person who does this required several steps for me: 1) Get bags. 2) Remember to bring them to the store. 3) Remember take them with me into the store. 4) Remember to hand them to the bagger (if the bagger is not me). (Also, remember to wash them regularly.)
I do not bring my own produce bags at this time. Mostly I just don't use produce bags at all. Robin has some fancy ones, but he weighs the produce before putting it in the bag.
Grocery Shopping - Buy in Bulk
I bring jars (favorite: peanut butter jars) to Wheatsville for bulk purchases. You weigh your container empty and write that weight (aka "tare") on a tag, then fill the jar and write the product number on the tag. I also refill my Dr. Bronner's soap container there and used to refill my conditioner container there before I stopped using that sort of conditioner. They did not allow this during the height of covid but are allowing it again. I have not tried this at Whole Foods.
For bulk spices at HEB, I'm still using their plastic bags.
Grocery Shopping - Opt for a Produce Subscription Box
No, I'm way too picky. This is where the author also recommends mesh bags or no bags at all for produce. I usually do no bags at all. Robin sometimes uses mesh bags, and he'll weigh the produce and get the sticker first, then put the produce in the bag.
I do buy loads of produce pre-packaged in plastic because organic produce is more likely to be packed in bags than loose. Pluse I buy bagged salads, mushrooms, frozen produce.
Grocery Shopping - Refill Your Milk Jars
No. I do not know how to do this.
I have switched from plastic gallon jugs to cardboard half-gallon cartons, but because I can buy them only in the smaller size, it costs more. I also buy yogurt and cheese in plastic. Um, at least my butter is in paper. I leave one stick in a butter dish on the counter to stay soft. I use salted butter which can handle this treatment better than unsalted.
Grocery Shopping - Buy Your Bread From Bakeries
Nope. I buy it in plastic. At least I make my own quick breads, mostly from flour bought in paper bags.
In Norway I would do this. They had plain bread in the grocery stores, and you could put it into a slicing machine and then slide it into a paper bag. So cool!
Grocery Shopping - Buy Your Meat From Butchers
Nope. I'm trying to buy less meat to fight global warming, but I still buy sliced turkey in plastic, tuna in cans, and other meat as part of things in cans or frozen food.
I have heard of people successfully requesting that deli staff at ordinary grocery stores use the containers they brought instead of plastic bags, but I am not that brave. I know that just asking can help encourage businesses to change, but I am usually not that brave or charismatic.
Grocery Shopping - Other dietary staples
I get my peanut butter, mustard, salsa, spaghetti sauce and lemon curd (from Trader Joe's) in glass jars; candy bars in foil and paper; and eggs in cardboard.
But I get my (no-sugar) mayonnaise in a plastic jar and chocolate chips in a plastic bag.
Bathroom Products - Buy Bar Soap
We have switched back from liquid soap to bar soap. It lasts way, way longer. You do have to take some care to keep it from getting soggy, though. In the shower I use Dr. Bronner's--I refill my big plastic bottle at Wheatsville food coop.
I still get dish soap, laundry soap, and the vinegar I use in the laundry in plastic bottles, though.
Bathroom Products - Shampoo Alternatives
I've switched to Ethique's Pinkalicious shampoo. It supposedly has the same pH as hair, unlike most shampoos. That's probably why I (almost?) don't need to use conditioner. I love it and will never go back.
You just get your hair wet, rub the bar against your head in three strokes and then maybe down your hair a couple of times if you have long hair, then rub it around like regular shampoo. (It does take a few more seconds than using liquid shampoo.) I store it in a drawstring bag hanging on the shower curtain hook at the end of the tub opposite the shower head to keep it from getting gloppy.
I do the same for The Guardian conditioner, though I might be allergic. I've also just poured plain vinegar over my hair as a conditioner. I do buy this in a large plastic bottle and then store it in a re-usable bottle.
I also find their deodorant to work better than my old favorites. I have the heart-shaped solid that looks like a soap bar--I like it best when my underarms are still a bit damp from the shower. But they now have a stick version that I'll try next.
Bathroom Products - Moisturizers
My only moisturizer is also sunscreen and it comes in a plastic bottle, but I use it only on my face. My other sunscreen also comes in plastic, but I use it only when I'll be out in the sun a lot. So I don't use much of these.
Bathroom Products - Other Staples
My toothpaste and dental floss come in a plastic containers, but last a pretty long time. I've tried permanent razors where you just buy new blades, but they actually broke before I could get new blades. I just buy plastic razors now, but they last a long time.
I've looked into Who Gives A Crap toilet paper packed in paper, not plastic. The wrappers are super cute (stripes and polka dots, not poopy blobs). But I'm settling for HEB's new and affordable Field and Future recycled toilet paper which comes in huge rolls.
I don't use many cosmetics, but when I do, they come in plastic. Even the Vaselline that I sometimes use for lip balm.
Food on the Go - Pack Your Own Food
I do this to save money sometimes, but I do like to eat out and during covid, I did order take-out with all the piles of resulting plastic. We did ask them not to give us silverware, ketchup packets, etc.
Everything I like at McDonalds does come in paper, but I try not to eat there anymore for health reasons.
I do have a big metal water bottle that I bring lots of places with me.
Food on the Go - Keep a Kit in Your Car
We don't do that, but if we're getting take-out to eat in the parking lot (still as fresh as possible), we do bring our own silverware and cloth napkins.
We did recently get this (admittedly plastic) silverware set from IKEA. Robin has a set at work and a set in his bag. I have a set in my suitcase (they let you bring plastic knives through airports, and they are so handy).
I do not ask them if they will put the food in my own container, like No Impact Man does, because I am not brave and I assume they will think it's a health code violation.
Food on the Go - Dine in Instead of Taking Out
We do this when there's no covid. I prefer not to have a straw but sometimes I don't tell the wait staff in time and am too lazy to tell them after they already dropped one on the table for me.
Other Strategies I Like
I use permanent containers for leftovers. Admittedly, these do not squoosh down smaller as you eat the contents; on the other hand the sturdiness helps keep the food inside from getting squooshed. I am famous for bringing containers to restaurants, though sometimes I forget or am caught off-guard.
I sub paper sandwich bags (from Wheatsville) for plastic ones most of the time. I still use plastic baggies to store some things, like game pieces, where I want to see what's inside. At least that's not single-use. These are not waterproof like zipper bags, but they're fine for giving away cookies.
I try to start at thrift stores for some things--those things tend to have less packaging (plus they're cheaper and anything I buy was on its way to a landfill).
I tell myself to write letters thanking companies that switch away from plastic--I want to thank Trader Joe's for switching their frozen macaroni and cheese from plastic to cardboard, for example.
I have friends who have found thin, stackable (admittedly plastic) plates for parties that they can have a million of and put in the dishwasher afterwards instead of using disposable plates. I love that!
Treehugger also has 10 Tips for Living With Less Plastic, more appropriate if your goal is to reduce your own exposure.
Any tips or concerns you would like to share?
Summary: since at least 1974, those in the oil and plastics industry knew "There is serious doubt that [recycling plastic] can ever be made viable on an economic basis." Admittedly, they hoped it would become economically viable with lots of people working on it. Or maybe they didn't, because they wanted to sell virgin plastic. Either way, they spent millions telling us to recycle so we'd feel better about plastic. They even lobbied states to require the recycling symbol to "appear on all plastic — even if there was no way to economically recycle it," and most of the public did not use this information to sort plastic but to assume it was all recyclable. Unfortunately, plastic degrades "during the initial fabrication, through aging, and in any reclamation process" and the different kinds can't just be melted together but must be sorted, which is not cheap.
You've probably heard most of this. So how do we fight the manipulation?
Here are some things I've heard:
* Single-use plastic is more of a problem than buying plastic things that you actually want to use. If you've ever tried to do a no-plastic challenge, you know that practically everything you buy comes in plastic. And that's not counting disposable dishes and silverware. So you can a) try to minimize this and b) encourage companies to give you more plastic-free choices.
* #1 and #2 plastic actually is recyclable--go ahead and throw that in the recycling bin. Put the others in the trash. It feels bad to make this much trash, but you are not the one making it. You are just refusing to be manipulated into thinking it's recyclable anymore.
* When you do use plastic, larger containers use less plastic per unit volume than smaller containers.
In an ideal world, I would sift through my trash to see what all kinds of plasting I'm tossing, then organize it by source from most to least volume or most to least dangerous to sea life, then prioritize any changes based on the highest volume. Yeah, I'm not that good.
Treehugger provides "A Beginner's Guide to Plastic-Free Living".
Below are some of my experiences with their categories.
Grocery Shopping - Bring Your Own Bag
I bring my own bag most of the time. Becoming a person who does this required several steps for me: 1) Get bags. 2) Remember to bring them to the store. 3) Remember take them with me into the store. 4) Remember to hand them to the bagger (if the bagger is not me). (Also, remember to wash them regularly.)
I do not bring my own produce bags at this time. Mostly I just don't use produce bags at all. Robin has some fancy ones, but he weighs the produce before putting it in the bag.
Grocery Shopping - Buy in Bulk
I bring jars (favorite: peanut butter jars) to Wheatsville for bulk purchases. You weigh your container empty and write that weight (aka "tare") on a tag, then fill the jar and write the product number on the tag. I also refill my Dr. Bronner's soap container there and used to refill my conditioner container there before I stopped using that sort of conditioner. They did not allow this during the height of covid but are allowing it again. I have not tried this at Whole Foods.
For bulk spices at HEB, I'm still using their plastic bags.
Grocery Shopping - Opt for a Produce Subscription Box
No, I'm way too picky. This is where the author also recommends mesh bags or no bags at all for produce. I usually do no bags at all. Robin sometimes uses mesh bags, and he'll weigh the produce and get the sticker first, then put the produce in the bag.
I do buy loads of produce pre-packaged in plastic because organic produce is more likely to be packed in bags than loose. Pluse I buy bagged salads, mushrooms, frozen produce.
Grocery Shopping - Refill Your Milk Jars
No. I do not know how to do this.
I have switched from plastic gallon jugs to cardboard half-gallon cartons, but because I can buy them only in the smaller size, it costs more. I also buy yogurt and cheese in plastic. Um, at least my butter is in paper. I leave one stick in a butter dish on the counter to stay soft. I use salted butter which can handle this treatment better than unsalted.
Grocery Shopping - Buy Your Bread From Bakeries
Nope. I buy it in plastic. At least I make my own quick breads, mostly from flour bought in paper bags.
In Norway I would do this. They had plain bread in the grocery stores, and you could put it into a slicing machine and then slide it into a paper bag. So cool!
Grocery Shopping - Buy Your Meat From Butchers
Nope. I'm trying to buy less meat to fight global warming, but I still buy sliced turkey in plastic, tuna in cans, and other meat as part of things in cans or frozen food.
I have heard of people successfully requesting that deli staff at ordinary grocery stores use the containers they brought instead of plastic bags, but I am not that brave. I know that just asking can help encourage businesses to change, but I am usually not that brave or charismatic.
Grocery Shopping - Other dietary staples
I get my peanut butter, mustard, salsa, spaghetti sauce and lemon curd (from Trader Joe's) in glass jars; candy bars in foil and paper; and eggs in cardboard.
But I get my (no-sugar) mayonnaise in a plastic jar and chocolate chips in a plastic bag.
Bathroom Products - Buy Bar Soap
We have switched back from liquid soap to bar soap. It lasts way, way longer. You do have to take some care to keep it from getting soggy, though. In the shower I use Dr. Bronner's--I refill my big plastic bottle at Wheatsville food coop.
I still get dish soap, laundry soap, and the vinegar I use in the laundry in plastic bottles, though.
Bathroom Products - Shampoo Alternatives
I've switched to Ethique's Pinkalicious shampoo. It supposedly has the same pH as hair, unlike most shampoos. That's probably why I (almost?) don't need to use conditioner. I love it and will never go back.
You just get your hair wet, rub the bar against your head in three strokes and then maybe down your hair a couple of times if you have long hair, then rub it around like regular shampoo. (It does take a few more seconds than using liquid shampoo.) I store it in a drawstring bag hanging on the shower curtain hook at the end of the tub opposite the shower head to keep it from getting gloppy.
I do the same for The Guardian conditioner, though I might be allergic. I've also just poured plain vinegar over my hair as a conditioner. I do buy this in a large plastic bottle and then store it in a re-usable bottle.
I also find their deodorant to work better than my old favorites. I have the heart-shaped solid that looks like a soap bar--I like it best when my underarms are still a bit damp from the shower. But they now have a stick version that I'll try next.
Bathroom Products - Moisturizers
My only moisturizer is also sunscreen and it comes in a plastic bottle, but I use it only on my face. My other sunscreen also comes in plastic, but I use it only when I'll be out in the sun a lot. So I don't use much of these.
Bathroom Products - Other Staples
My toothpaste and dental floss come in a plastic containers, but last a pretty long time. I've tried permanent razors where you just buy new blades, but they actually broke before I could get new blades. I just buy plastic razors now, but they last a long time.
I've looked into Who Gives A Crap toilet paper packed in paper, not plastic. The wrappers are super cute (stripes and polka dots, not poopy blobs). But I'm settling for HEB's new and affordable Field and Future recycled toilet paper which comes in huge rolls.
I don't use many cosmetics, but when I do, they come in plastic. Even the Vaselline that I sometimes use for lip balm.
Food on the Go - Pack Your Own Food
I do this to save money sometimes, but I do like to eat out and during covid, I did order take-out with all the piles of resulting plastic. We did ask them not to give us silverware, ketchup packets, etc.
Everything I like at McDonalds does come in paper, but I try not to eat there anymore for health reasons.
I do have a big metal water bottle that I bring lots of places with me.
Food on the Go - Keep a Kit in Your Car
We don't do that, but if we're getting take-out to eat in the parking lot (still as fresh as possible), we do bring our own silverware and cloth napkins.
We did recently get this (admittedly plastic) silverware set from IKEA. Robin has a set at work and a set in his bag. I have a set in my suitcase (they let you bring plastic knives through airports, and they are so handy).
I do not ask them if they will put the food in my own container, like No Impact Man does, because I am not brave and I assume they will think it's a health code violation.
Food on the Go - Dine in Instead of Taking Out
We do this when there's no covid. I prefer not to have a straw but sometimes I don't tell the wait staff in time and am too lazy to tell them after they already dropped one on the table for me.
Other Strategies I Like
I use permanent containers for leftovers. Admittedly, these do not squoosh down smaller as you eat the contents; on the other hand the sturdiness helps keep the food inside from getting squooshed. I am famous for bringing containers to restaurants, though sometimes I forget or am caught off-guard.
I sub paper sandwich bags (from Wheatsville) for plastic ones most of the time. I still use plastic baggies to store some things, like game pieces, where I want to see what's inside. At least that's not single-use. These are not waterproof like zipper bags, but they're fine for giving away cookies.
I try to start at thrift stores for some things--those things tend to have less packaging (plus they're cheaper and anything I buy was on its way to a landfill).
I tell myself to write letters thanking companies that switch away from plastic--I want to thank Trader Joe's for switching their frozen macaroni and cheese from plastic to cardboard, for example.
I have friends who have found thin, stackable (admittedly plastic) plates for parties that they can have a million of and put in the dishwasher afterwards instead of using disposable plates. I love that!
Treehugger also has 10 Tips for Living With Less Plastic, more appropriate if your goal is to reduce your own exposure.
Any tips or concerns you would like to share?
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