Comments on: How many environmentalists does it take to spoil the party?

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:02:12 +0000

Andrew, so glad to hear that you appreciate the archived posts. It’s an automatic plugin that I installed on my blog that chooses one at random each day. It tickles me to see what oldies it will come up with that I’ve forgotten about. :-)

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:21:48 +0000

Hi Beth,

Great post! Thanks for sharing these archived posts on twitter.

I work PT for a small town parks and rec department. After a youth sports game all the kids are handed out snacks and drinks (plastic water bottles or gatorade) and even though the community center has recycle bins in the lobby, most kids (and parents!!!) just throw them in the trash. I try to help as many of these as I can find the recycling, but I am only there 1-2 days a week.

The staff at the community center say they see it all the time. I think rec league sports are great for kids because they learn teamwork and how to support each other in a positive and meaningful way, but it is sad to see the celebration after a game (win or lose) involves so much plastic waste.

By: Eco Yogini

Eco Yogini — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:53:00 +0000

This was interesting. I try to keep my thoughts to myself, but during the facade of Earth Hour last week I couldn’t help but complain to the WWF rep working there. She really couldn’t understand how having hundreds of battery operated, plastic candles, huge speakers with microphones, plastic BPA and normal Tim Horton’s cups AND a gasoline using flame thrower maybe wasn’t so conducive to educating our city about the environment.
Great.
I have also asked local food places why they aren’t following our provinces recycling/composting laws… since it’s the LAW.
Even though I keep quiet mostly since us Canadians are ‘polite’ lol, whenever anyone asks about a reusable bag, my cotton produce bags, etc I tell them why it’s great (eco-wise).
I also cough loudly when I pass through a cloud of smokers and give dirty looks to people leaving their cars idling while they go into a store… juvenile? yes. but my lungs are precious to me, and I don’t want to be exposed to that.
I think focusing my ‘complaints’ towards more political actions may prove to be more productive. So I’m planning on writing a letter to the city (re: Earth Hour and their horrible management of not accepting bioplastics in their composting system). :)

By: MrsHoppes

MrsHoppes — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:25:00 +0000

The biggie for me is baby showers. Not so much the plastic waste (which is annoying in and of itself) but the gifts being all formula/bottle feeding related and nothing supportive of breastfeeding.

It's the same with the hospital bags. You get a diaper bag (from a formula company with their logo) filled with formula coupons, a can of formula, and a bunch of other stuff aimed at setting up a mom to fail at breastfeeding.

Even the "breastfeeding bag" has a logo from the formula company, a formula sample, formula coupons, and instructions on breastfeeding with just enough bad information to set the mom up to fail.

That's my biggest pet peeve.

By: Jeni

Jeni — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:33:00 +0000

I just try to keep in mind the saying “don’t let the best be the enemy of the good.” It was first introduced to me regarding historical accuracy in reenactment settings, but it’s useful for life in general. It’s good to remember that we’re doing the best we can and that change and improvement are progressing, maybe not as fast as we’d like but they are. :D

By: shortystylee

shortystylee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:44:00 +0000

This is why I usually like to have people over at my place! I get to control the amount of waste that is made :)

The only plastic dishes and cups I have are those that are leftover from my dorm and apartment in college, which are definitely reusable and nice to have in case someone with kids comes over.

@Lisa Sharp
I take recyclables out of the trash too, especially at work! I got so tired of the eye rolling that I started recycling bins in my office that I take home and put in my recycling every Friday.

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Hello – I am just surprised that given your in depth blog and personal plastic-free plight that your friends wouldn’t be up to speed on why they shouldn’t bother with a bag of plastic stuff – either that or at least sensitive to the fact that you are doing without and the reasons why.

By: suzanne

suzanne — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Hi Beth–

I just became the chair of the annual teacher appreciation lunch at my kids’ elementary school. I immediately suggested we not use plastic plates/etc but instead set the tables with reusable plates and real cutlery and cloth napkins. I’m sure there were groans all across the neighborhood, but all the return emails have been supportive and positive. I think we’ll be setting an excellent example for the school.

By: Lisa Sharp

Lisa Sharp — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:14:00 +0000

I can't help because I have a hard time dealing with the wastefulness of others.

I have been known to take recyclables out of the trash. Or pick up a cigg bud off the ground (I talked about doing this at the conference on my blog, it was pretty funny).

Normally it leads to rolling of eyes...

By: Condo Blues

Condo Blues — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:38:00 +0000

When I go to events and less lots of wasteful things I try to look at it from a logisticl standpoint. For example, my husband's a runner and most races provide cups of water for runners during the race but bottles at the finish because some runners don't always have a wife to hold their water bottle & stuff during the race :) and need more than a cupful of water to recover afterwards. To keep my head from exploding I look for recycling bins & if they aren't there my husband & I take it home and put it in ours. For swag, I try to get stuff that I can/will reuse even if it's plastic like chip bag clips that we use on flour bags, etc. Since I'm a reuse maven, I might take a fun item like the bottle of bubbles if I can find a reuse for it. I refill the bubble bottles w/ homemade bubble mix (water+dish soap) for the nieces and nephews to play with when they visit.