The blog formerly known as   Fake Plastic Fish

Monthly Archives: April 2014

April 18, 2014

Learning How to Fix a Broken Zipper Saved My Plastic Backpack

My poor backpack. I’ve been carrying it around for over ten years, and finally, one of the main zippers stopped zipping.

 

Or, I should say, one of the sliders stopped working.  Fortunately, this backpack has two sliders, so I could still close the zipper using the other slider, but I always had to remember which side to zip from so I didn’t accidentally sling the backpack over my back, thinking the zipper was closed, and empty all the contents onto the sidewalk.  No big deal, but I just prayed that the other slider would hold up and keep working.  I had no idea what to do about it, and it seemed stupid to send a perfectly good backpack to the landfill just because of a little thing like a zipper.  Remember… I can still use the plastic I already had before I started this project.  I just can’t buy new plastic.

Fortunately for me and my zipper, the Hercules Library chose my book Plastic-Free for their “Book to Action”… Read the rest

April 16, 2014

Is Saving Money a Good Reason to Go Plastic-Free?

When I give talks, one question people frequently ask is whether it costs more money to go plastic-free. My answer: a few things cost more initially, but in general, I save money living this way.  In fact, I was thinking about adding a whole section to my plastic-free presentation about ways to save money.  But I haven’t done it because I got to thinking… is that actually a good strategy?  Or could it backfire?  I’ll explain what I mean later in this post.  I’d love to get your feedback.  But first, yes, there really are ways to save money.  Here are just a few…

Plastic-Free Ways to Save Money

A really good quality water bottle made from stainless steel or glass might be a bit pricey, but I save money in the long run because bottled water actually costs more per gallon than gasoline!  A 32-pack of Aquafina is $35 today on Amazon, which means I would make back the cost of a Klean Kanteen water bottle in about a month if … Read the rest

April 11, 2014

Why You Should Sign My Petition — Even If You Don’t Own a Vita-Mix Blender

If you haven’t yet signed and shared the Vitamix petition I created and blogged about last October because you don’t own one of these high speed blenders and don’t plan to buy one, here are a few reasons to sign and share it anyway.

I myself don’t own a Vita-Mix.  As I gushed last September, I’m in love with my Waring Pro with its all glass and metal pitcher.  My blender may not be as fast, but it gets the job done without adding toxic chemicals to my smoothies.  So you would think I wouldn’t care about what material Vita-Mix’s pitcher is made from.  But the fact is, we are all affected by plastics on this planet, whether directly or indirectly.  This point was driven whom a few weeks ago during a week-long meditation retreat on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

Plastic in Paradise

The Hui Ho’olana is a retreat center located in the center of the center of the center: the very center of Molokai, which is… Read the rest

April 8, 2014

100 Percent Pure(ish): Tina Ngata Is Going Plastic Free in Paradise

I love meeting people from around the world who are taking the plastic-free challenge in a very public way.  The more people do this, the easier it will become for others to get started.   I especially enjoy learning about how people around the world see the issue of plastic and what challenges they face.  Here is a guest post from Tina Ngata, an indigenous Māori woman living in New Zealand who calls herself “The Non-Plastic Māori.”  I hope you will be as inspired by her as I am.

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Here, in Aotearoa (New Zealand), we enjoy a relatively high environmental profile, for a long time coined by the phrase 100% Pure. We are the land of pure, deep lakes fed by springs, of pristine environments and virgin forests.

Here’s the thing… it’s sortakinda not true – at all.… Read the rest