Archive for July, 2007

Point of Return: Where our recycling actually goes

I discovered this video made a year ago via the BYO blog. What really does happen to our recycling after it’s picked up from the curb? Much of it is shipped overseas, when it could be better used to provide jobs and source materials here at home. Using Oakland, Northern California, and the Pacific Rim [...]

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Beth visits the dentist

Meet my dentist, Dr. Michael Parrett. He’s great because he never criticizes or nags or does any of those other annoying things that cause people to avoid the dentist for years. And all his hygienists have the same pleasant, non-threatening chair-side manner. Every time I leave his office, I run my tongue over my teeth [...]

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Week 6 Results: 4.8 oz of plastic

My plastic waste is up a bit this week. Still using things up. This could take a while. I wonder how much plastic we have accumulated in this house. So, here’s the tally. Items used this week but purchased before the plastic project began: 1 Kleenex pocket pack tissue wrapper.Another one. And I still have [...]

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Plastic Farmer’s Market: My letter to Urban Village Farmers’ Market Association

So, we’re supposed to eat locally, right? To save transportation fuel, to support our local farmers, and to limit our pesticide exposure. And I’m very lucky to have a weekly farmer’s market just down the street within walking distance. The irony is that at our small Temescal Farmer’s Market, at least half of the vendors [...]

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What’s Wrong with Plastic Anyway?

Why avoid plastic?  I originally wrote this post in July 2007, just one month into my plastic-free experiment.  It’s now June 2013, and in the past 6 years, I have learned a lot more about plastic — where it comes from and what problems are associated with it.  Here, then, is an updated summary of [...]

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Free plastic (and other items) on Freecycle

Do you all know about your local Freecycle™ group? Freecycle™ is a great way to save plastic, and other items, from the landfill. If you have an item that you no longer need, list it on Freecycle™. There is probably someone else out there who could use it. Need an item and don’t want to [...]

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Plastic Microbeads in Facial Scrubs — We’re Flushing Plastic Down the Drain!

06/10/2013 Update:  Several organizations have waged a campaign to get companies to eliminate polyethylene micro-beads from their facial scrubs.  Please read my updated post to take action and learn about what other kinds of products contain microplastics. Here is the text of my original article from July of 2007, which was updated in December 2011: [...]

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Frozen Entrees: A bigger plastic problem than I knew

For weeks, I’ve been choosing frozen entrees in pressboard trays (Pressware®) over those in plastic trays, thinking that the only plastic waste was the film overwrap. Now, I find out that the cardboard tray itself is coated with a layer of PET plastic. I found this out through a very nice e-mail exchange and telephone [...]

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Week 5 Results: 3.2 oz of plastic

My plastic waste is way down this week. As far as I know, all items are non-recyclable. It’s really eye-opening to see just how much plastic we use that cannot be recycled. Items used this week but purchased before the plastic project began: 1 Kleenex pocket pack tissue wrapper.I still have quite a few of [...]

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And speaking of soy milk…

I just wanted to mention a couple of other alternatives to ready-to-drink soy milk. Alternative #1: Buy powdered soy milk and mix it yourself. I tried this option last week. I bought bulk Giusto’s powdered soy milk from Rainbow Grocery. (Berkeley Bowl also carries it.) I mixed it up before I’d used up my carton [...]

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