Archive for January, 2010

Ice Pack, Heating Pad, Rice Sock

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC, commonly known as vinyl), Polyurethane foam (foam rubber), Polyster. All these poly’s. All non-biodegradable plastics. Not so good for our health or that of the planet, right? And yet so many health products are made from these materials. Take electric heating pads and gel ice packs, for example. My cold packs are [...]

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Avatar in 3D: What About the Plastic Glasses?

Last night after work, I went to see the movie Avatar in 3D and, in an effort to save plastic, brought with me the 3D glasses I’d received at another movie. Yes, I thought ahead. I had the idea yesterday morning that I might want to go see that movie and dug through a drawer [...]

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8 Reasons Why Personal Changes Matter

The following is a transcript of my talk at Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics Conference on Saturday. I wish all of you could have been there.  We had speakers on ocean plastic pollution, the chemistry of plastics, the truth about bio-plastics, sustainable activism, extended producer responsibility, cradle to cradle design, and finally my segment on personal [...]

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Finally! My Temescal Farmers’ Market’s Gone Plastic-Free.

They said they’d do it, and now Urban Village Farmers Markets has finally banned plastic bags! Originally scheduled to go into effect on October 1, the ban was pushed to January of this year to give vendors time to research their options and prepare for the change over. Beginning this month, a sign greets patrons as they [...]

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Green Moving Boxes Made from… Plastic?

As you know, I avoid buying plastic products.  Plastics contribute to the degradation of the world’s oceans, harm wildlife, and threaten human health.  But in certain situations, I think that durable plastics can actually be the better alternative to biodegradable materials like cardboard.  No, I didn’t suddenly take a job lobbying for the American Chemistry [...]

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Red Hot Plastic Valentine’s Hug

Valentine’s Day is almost here! We’ve only got about a month to finish our shopping, as Walgreen’s and other drug stores remind us, their aisles suddenly lined in red and pink, overflowing with hearts and bears and sweet treats. On this official day of love, how will Michael know how I feel if I don’t [...]

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Chewing on Plastic? Yum!

I’m not a big gum chewer. I can keep a stick of gum in my mouth for about five minutes, just enough time to suck all the flavor out of it, before I’m tired of chewing and starting to get that chewing gum headache. So it was no hardship to let go of chewing gum [...]

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Contest: Sign up for a Plastic-Free Event

Once again, it’s Julie McCoy, your cruise director here, with several events happening on the Lido deck. The first is a United States event, the next two are specifically Bay Area events, and the last two are activities for everyone no matter where you live.   Join one or more for a chance to win [...]

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Birthday Plastic Report

As I mentioned last week, Thursday was my birthday, and my office mates threw me the traditional birthday lunch, complete with take-out food, some living plant-type thing, ice cream, and presents. I love this celebration but I’m also wary of the amount of plastic I might accumulate. So let’s see how we did this year.

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Deserves Changes contest: I need your votes!

Wow! I wouldn’t ordinarily interrupt my usual blog schedule for something like this, but I am just so pleased and honored. Gail Johnson from GlassDharma, the company that makes the glass drinking straw that I carry with me everywhere to avoid plastic, nominated me a while ago for the Deserves Changes contest. And I’ve just [...]

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