Just to update people who would like to attend the Bag it showing at SJSU this coming Tuesday, we now have a facebook page for the event, which is at https://www.facebook.com/events/215601728551544/?ref=ts. If you are coming, please join the event by hitting the button in the top right. There should also be an option on the top right to “invite friends” on facebook, so if you are willing to do that to help spread the word please do, even if you yourself cannot make it to the event but would like to support us! The more the merrier, and we could definitely use help letting people know about the event.

Finally, I would really like to apologize, especially to Beth Terry, because I just read back through this post and caught that the time was listed as 6pm. We will definitely be there by 6pm setting up and answering questions, so you are welcome to get there at the time, but the event has actually been advertised on all our fliers as 6:30pm, so we won’t start the film till then. But again, feel free to show up anytime between 6-6:30pm. Thank you and sorry for not catching that earlier!!

LAST thing, I promise. The room is 225/229 and if anyone is lost or confused trying to get the event you can call my cell at 650-388-8264 to find us.

Thank you so much everyone for your support, hope to see many of you there!!

Ahhh! It wasn’t on my PBS station! I shall have to bug them about that!

Hi Amy Beckerman Zarndt. They meant that the film Bag It was on PBS, and I have a brief cameo in the movie.

One of the comments on your blog said something about you being on PBS last week. What’d I miss!? I didn’t see anything listed in my local PBS guide. Do tell — perhaps it will be rerun?

My burning question is: How comes the chasing arrows are on all plastics?? How is that allowed?

I liked Bag It page. I already like yours. I’m not on twitter. & I can’t share anything else about plastic today on my wall for fear of loosing my friends! :-)

(because I’m talking about a local restaurant who from now is: giving people free water in glass. No longer giving out straws unless asked. Spent a fortune on paper bags! exciting!)

Okay, I’ve liked “Bag It” on FB and shared it on my wall, I had already liked your FB page some time ago and just now shared it as a great resource on my wall. Here’s one of my current questions about plastic — I want more clear information about these new compostable, biodegradable, and other alternative plastics that are popping up. Businesses are trying to do good by using them, but when I encounter them I don’t know what to do with them! I avoid them when possible, but what is the real scoop about them? I hear that some of them only work in industrial composting sites, what does that mean!? You get the idea. Thanks for all you do!

Ha! It was such a nice surprise to see you in the movie!

Great DVD!

Bag-It is an amazing movie. Everyone can learn something from watching it. i have asked all my friends to see it!

I run. I used to run barefoot, but then I developed a foot problem that requires me to wear shoes for any distances. I found some good forefoot running shoes (great for the joints and feet!), but there is plastic all over those things! What’s a girl to do? (Love the site — been reading forever through my rss feed!)

I watched your program on PBS last nite. Really interesting..I didn’t know that there are things under the ocean and snips of things getting into the marine life. Not good. Then the experiment you did was fascinating. I was wondering if there’s going to be or is there a list of all the things your Dr would have to test for to find out if you are bearing all these extras in your body. Also I was wondering if that interferes with breastfeeding. What are the “normal” levels for these contaminents, I know zero is preferable. So then if a mom is positive for this stuff can she safely breastfeed?
I did all your likes and postings for my own welfare as I want to keep up with this as a nurse and lactation consultant. And to spread the word. Plan on buying your book for my Kindle Fire thru Amazon.

Hi Beth,

I would love to win a copy of Bag It! I just followed @plasticfreeBeth on twitter.

My biggest challenge is that my husband is not anywhere near as committed as I am regarding reducing our use of plastic (and I myself am still at an early stage). We live in the same household, so it’s an issue. He ‘humours’ me, but that’s as far as it goes. How can I persuade him to be more committed to removing plastic from our lives?

would love to win this dvd, how do i find an alternative to plastic garbage bags? I saw a cloth liner for the trash can lid but need a bag to but trash in?? how do you avoid items placed in plastic i.e pens/pencil sets?

I liked both Bag It and My Plastic-free Life on Facebook, sharing both pages. I really want to win a copy of Bag It! I’ve been trying to reduce my family’s plastic use for years, and it’s harder than I expected. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten a chance to see the film yet, but I am really looking forward to it! I’ve been really trying to get up on my green actions, and I figured the week leading up to Earth Day would be the perfect chance!

I would love to win a copy of Bag It too. I know that reducing the amount of plastic you purchase is the ideal but when you do have plastic and you recycle it, what really happens to it when it leaves your curb for the “recycling depot”? How much of what I recycle do they actually reuse? Perhaps the film addresses these questions, I don’t know as I haven’t seen it yet. It sounds really good. Can’t wait!

I would love to win a copy of Bag It. My question is: what is the deal with those bottles that say ‘plant plastic’- e.g. Dasani has these now..is it really any better for the earth than regular plastic? Also, I liked Bagit FB page, and I shared it on my Page. thanks- I love your blog; it inspired me to make a number of changes (gave up bottled shampoo, gave up plastic bottled juices, gave up pretty much all plastic packaged personal care products, switch food brands that use glass- mustard, peanut butter, etc). I take pictures of ‘before’ and ‘after’ and have a Facebook album of my switches to help give my friends ideas.

Oh, sorry, I didn’t answer your question. I actually can’t do any of those things because I’m not on Facebook or Twitter or do any sort of social networking. I’m a fuddy duddy. But I just watched the movie last night after seeing this post and I LOVED it. So I went ahead and bought a copy (downloaded it rather than buying the DVD.)

P.S. Regarding Bag it, in the film, was I the only one who saw her privates sort of during the part when they filmed her giving birth? Was I also the only one who wondered why they included the birth scene in it at all? Kind of random but still a five star documentary overall…

Hi Beth,

I just discovered this website a few days ago and love it. I had the same idea to do this (give up plastic and then blog about it) in 2008 but I’m happy to see you beat me to the punch and you did it so much better than I ever could. But I still want to give up plastic and track my progress, albeit not on a web blog or anything. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

LauraY

Hello,
I liked Bag It on facebook and I had already liked your page on facebook :)
My question is:
In trying to avoid BPA, I’ve thought of going to some boxed soups/broths instead of canned, but then again I’m not sure if they can be recycled. My sister seems to think they can, but how? Do you have information on that, and what do you do when it comes to soups or tuna for that matter? I’m torn between health and wanting to have zero waste. Currently we are doing cans when we need to since we know they can be recycled.
Would love the Bag It video! Thank you for your blog!

I would like to find a way to avoid polyester clothes. I farm and am constantly tearing up my clothes. I mend what I can, but the patches are iron on with some sort of goey coating that comes from who knows where. Most of my light duty clothes are bought second hand, but there is no replacement for real work boots, rubber boots, blalclavas, and gloves. My work coat is duct on the outside but the lining is synthetic, same thing with my coveralls. (Can Doc Martins be re-soled? What do you do with the old soles?) I need a material that is washable, affordable, durable, and eco-friendly. It would be nice if the clothes were sized for women. Why work so hard trying to preserve my fam, then turn around and wear petro-nasties?!

If I were to win, I would share the video with the patrons at our farmers’ maket, then I would pass it around to other vendors, and encourage them to share it with their friends and family, I would share it with my friends and family, and finally I would donate it to my local library so others could learn from it.

So I swim for exercise and so far the only ‘organic’ types of bathing suits I can find are bikinis or halter top one pieces. Frankly, these don’t hold up well against the butterfly stroke or race dives, and I was wondering if there might be anyplace out there that I have missed that actually sells competitive swimwear that’s made of earth-friendly materials (or alternatives that you might suggest)? Also, I just realized that most goggles make the plastic list too. Hmmm.

I also did the following:
*Liked “Bag It” on Facebook
*Liked “My Plastic-Free Life” on Facebook
*Followed @bagitmovie on Twitter
*Followed @plasticfreebeth on Twitter
*Tweeted: Win a free copy of @BagItMovie courtesy of @PlasticfreeBeth and @NewVideoDigital THIS LINK. To enter, simply RT.

In Malaysia, the way vendors used to wrap up wet takeaway foodstuff was to use a banana leaf. This has almost exclusively given away to plastic bags because of the convenience and the fact that it is perceived to be ‘modern’. There is an intermediary though, the use of ‘waxed’ waterproof paper. But am not sure what combination of chemicals go into making this.. and hence, what the impact is on the environment. Do you have any info on waterproofed paper?
I did these:
Like Bag It’s Facebook page.
Follow @BagItMovie on Twitter.
RT’ed your BagIt tweet
Like MyPlasticFreeLife Facebook page.
Follow @PlasticfreeBeth on Twitter.
Thanks!

How do you take leftovers home from eating out? And do your really not use plastic or buy things with plastic pkgs….I would like to be plastic free but in todays world, I find it a bit impossible.

I gladly shared your link and liked you on FB!

My question:
What kind of incentives do you think need to be put in place in order to motivate consumers to reduce their uses and consumption of plastics?
I did the following (I actually did this before this contest!)
* Like “Bag It” on Facebook
* Like MyPlasticFreeLife on Facebook

I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time! I can’t wait to see it and share it with others. Thanks for holding the giveaway!

I want to know how to better buy groceries. I buy in bulk as often as I can, but I haven’t figured out a way to avoid plastic in the bulk section. I don’t want to bring in my own jars as they weigh so much and bulk is usually by the pound.

I’d love to see the movie….wondering if the DVD industry will adjust to create plastic-free packaging in the near future? Would LOVE that! I did all of the following:
Like Bag It’s Facebook page.
Share Bag It’s Facebook page on your wall.
Follow @BagItMovie on Twitter.
Like MyPlasticFreeLife Facebook page.
Share MyPlasticFreeLife’s Facebook page on your wall.
Cheers, Kelly ;)

Hi Beth,

I would like to learn some plastic-free alternatives to having tofu in my diet. I usually see tofu in a plastic tub or wrapped in plastic. I could make my own tofu, but that seems daunting. Any suggestions?

I did the following:
* Like Bag It’s Facebook page.
* Follow @BagItMovie on Twitter.
* Copy and send the following Tweet: RT Win a free copy of @BagItMovie courtesy of @PlasticfreeBeth and @NewVideoDigital
* Like MyPlasticFreeLife Facebook page.
* Follow @PlasticfreeBeth on Twitter.

Thanks!

I still have the same old, same old plastic problem, which is how to store and protect original art without plastic sheets, plastic bags, etc. People don’t want art with fingerprints on it. Glass is too heavy, too fragile and too expensive. Some galleries use cotton gloves, but it is hard to have enough for a crowd and gloves don’t protect paintings in storage. I could ship paintings wrapped in clean cloth, I guess, but that doesn’t help me store of display them plastic-free.

I liked “Bag It” on Facebook and shared it on my wall.

My question is: There are no local groceries that carry bulk foods! I can get produce and meats without plastic, but not grains, cereals, nuts, etc. Any ideas on how to convince merchants to carry bulk items? Kroger, Marsh, Wal-mart, etc?
I Liked BagIt on Facebook
I Liked MyPlasticFreeLife on Facebook
I shared BagIt on Facebook

Love your site!!

Thank you for all you do!

I liked the facebookpage for BagIt

1) I would like to see more articles aimed at people who have limited resources… or tips and alternatives for students who live in dormitories.
If I were to win the movie, I would have my Local Foods Club screen it at school and invite the entire student body.

2) I also followed @PlasticfreeBeth on Twitter.

My questions plastic wise revolve around backpacking. I spend a lot of time backpacking, both for work and pleasure and for long term backpacking trips having a plastic water filter along seems unavoidable. Do you know of any alternatives to plastic water filters for backpacking, other then chemical treatments, which I avoid for the same reasons I want to avoid plastic….

Also I did the following –

Like Bag It’s Facebook page.
Share Bag It’s Facebook page on your wall.
Follow @BagItMovie on Twitter.
Copy and send the following Tweet: Win a free copy of @BagItMovie courtesy of @PlasticfreeBeth and @NewVideoDigital THIS LINK. To enter, simply RT.
Like MyPlasticFreeLife Facebook page.
Follow @PlasticfreeBeth on Twitter.