Comments on: Week 18 Results: 5.6 oz of plastic, I think. http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/ Think we can't live without plastic? Think again. In 2007 I committed to stop buying any new plastic & I've almost succeeded! Won't you join me? Let's see what plastic-free looks like in 2012... for the health of our bodies, our oceans, our planet. ~Beth Terry Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:53:29 +0000 hourly 1 By: Margaret http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-35722 Margaret Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:46:08 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-35722 I’m pro-handkerchiefs.

Benefits:
*Softer – your nose doesn’t get raw over several days of having a cold
*It’s thicker, so you won’t blow all the way through like you could tear a tissue
*As you reuse it, you use a different spot (just like I would use different spots of a tissue, not just throw it out after one blow)

]]> By: Tracey http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-31732 Tracey Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:57:12 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-31732 Hi Alix,

I completely agree with you that we have to consider the importance of saving trees. In my practice, I strive to consider all of the impacts, human and environmental, of what I use.

When it comes to packaging, I prefer people to bring their own containers of course, but mail order is a problem. I could refuse to do it, but then I would not survive as a business, and I couldn’t help people get off plastic, harmful cosmetics, contraceptives etc. So I thought through my options and chose to use only reused boxes, bubble wrap, envelopes etc, to wrap in discarded posters, and to use paper tape to stick everything together. I don’t use more than I need to, and I use less than I would plastic tape because it sticks really well to other paper.

I use 100% recycled content labels that are off cuts from my product labeling, and the paper tape is un-bleached high post consumer content recycled. The whole wrapper is then recyclable as paper, so I hope that none of it ends up in the landfill, but if it did, it’s far safer than plastic. To date, the ONLY packaging for mail order item I have bought new is paper tape. I go through a roll per year.

My clients even bring back their paper bags with handles for reuse.

I do believe that Beth has a similar respect for resources, including trees.

*Now if I can only get off my butt and install the metal bidet toilet adaptor thing-y, I can spare the 100% recycled content toilet paper, too!*

Love & RRRevolution, Tracey

]]> By: Alix http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-31673 Alix Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:18:14 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-31673 I’ve started using hankies because although “a few recycled paper tissues” may not seem to make a difference, over time, with everyone using tissues, they make for a lot of forest. I cut up an old t-shirt I didn’t like and got plenty of hankies to last me between laundry cycles. I use them when I’m sick, too, taking about three a day with me because that’s when I would normally go through the most tissues. Another bonus to hankerchiefs is that after a few days of being sick, my face isn’t at all raw and miserable as it is when I use tissues. The snot doesn’t get anwhere, and it’s just as clean to cycle through a few hankies as it is to sacrifice a bunch of trees by using tissues. They’ve also come in handy for me when I have to pick up my hot glass jar that I use as a thermos.
This hanky issue brings up one of the few things that bother me about this blog and a few others. I feel that in the extreme decision to eliminate plastic, the importance of saving trees and not using paper products has been forgotten. I’ve seen a few examples where a paper product has been chosen in order to avoid plastic. For example, paper tape or paper packaging. I’m surprised that there has been no effort to avoid these items as well, considering the fact that all disposable products, regardless of what they are made of, are harmful for the environment.

]]> By: Julia http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-31592 Julia Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:10:13 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-31592 I don’t remember how I stumbled across your website, but before I did I was living the average American life, and now I use baking soda as deodorant (etc.). You can reach the unconverted. I think most people want to do good in this world. As long as someone feels that reducing their plastic consumption is good, you’re providing the tools to do so.

]]> By: Fake Plastic Fish http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-1945 Fake Plastic Fish Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:22:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-1945 Hi Skeizix. I don’t have any data on the hanky issue. I’d imagine that if you’re just using it for your own runny nose over and over and that if you’re not actually sick, it wouldn’t be a problem. Please so let me know if you find actual data.

]]> By: skeizix http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-1942 skeizix Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:33:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-1942 This is my first time posting a comment to a blog, so if this is in the wrong spot, I apologize. This comment is in regards to the whole hanky issue. I don’t get sick very often, but always seem to have a runny nose. I realized the other day that I go through a lot of kleenex. This is not good for the environment or my wallet. I used to have a professor who used a hanky and I thought it was so gross, now I’m starting to see where he’s coming from. The thing that always seems to come up is the issue of them being unhygeinic. I’ve tried to find solid evidence that they are, but I can’t. I can only find personal opinions. I can see that if you’re sick, reusing an hanky might not be a good idea, but if you’re just using it for occasional nose wipes, is it really that bad? Have you been able to find any good evidence on the pros and cons of using a hanky? I’ll continue my search, but please let me know if you come across anything. Love the blog :)
skeizix

]]> By: Kat http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-525 Kat Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:08:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-525 If you think about all the machines (and people) who’ve touched disposable tissues before you, and all the dirty and dusty trucks and warehouses they’ve been in before you bought them…I’d think a soft clean hankie, washed at home in hot water, might seem a little more appealing! ;)

]]> By: Anonymous http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-522 Anonymous Thu, 25 Oct 2007 21:45:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-522 Just want to echo the “you are making a difference” piece! I’ve been more and more aware of the plastic I throw away (and extremely frustrated by the limitations of the NYC recycling program!)and that is really because of reading blogs like yours.

Plus, I find your posts really educational and hands on, which makes me go from “ooh, bad plastic” to “ah, good non-plastic alternative”

Please keep up the great work and realize that you really are a pioneer and explorer, but the settlers will come too..it just takes time!

]]> By: axelle http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-513 axelle Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:18:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-513 When I was a kid, milk came from the milkman and it came in glass bottles. The bottle had a cap that was made of a waxed heavy paper. The cap sort of pleated itself around the top of the bottle. Inside, at the mouth of the bottle, was a disc with a tab stapled to it. You pulled on the tab and out came the disc. When you opened a new bottle of milk, you’d shake it to mix up the cream on top, then take off that pleated cap & throw it away. The disc was what you used to keep the bottle covered.

You can make hankies out of anything – an old silk shirt, a piece of sheet, or even a wool sweater. You can wash your hankie when you wash your hands or take a shower or do the dishes. I love my hankies, and tie the pretty ones around my wrist so they’re handy for my ever-drippy nose.

]]> By: Britta http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/10/week-18-results-56-oz-of-plastic-i/comment-page-1/#comment-500 Britta Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:33:00 +0000 http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/10/week-18-results-5-6-oz-of-plastic-i-think/#comment-500 I’m no where near as “advanced” as you are on the plastic front, but just two months ago switched to handkerchiefs. It’s working out really well. I guess I don’t see the unhygienic part to it. You don’t use the same area twice and it goes into the wash. If people got along fine with this for hundreds of years, I’m not sure the advent of disposable tissues was all that important.

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