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March 21, 2019

Spring Gardening with Orta Plastic-Free Self-Watering Seed Pots

I first ran across Orta plastic-free self-watering seed pots last Spring at the Temescal Farmers Market in Oakland, CA. I wanted to review it back then, but what with buying a new home in Maryland, caring for my dad, and then the extreme heat of the Maryland summer, it never happened. So, here I am in Spring 2019 trying again.

Anne Fletcher from Orta sent me a plastic-free, zero-waste seed starting kit to review. The kit came with two sizes of self-watering terracotta seed pots (handmade in Oakland, CA), seed starting mix in a paper sack, a and a few packets of seeds.

If the wrapper around the planters looks like plastic, it’s not. It’s actually a type of naturally-translucent vellum paper.

The kit came surrounded by 100% recyclable cardboard “honeycomb pads,” which protected the terracotta pots just fine.

And the seed starting mix came in plain paper without plastic.

I love that Orta explains its plastic-free packaging … Read the rest

March 21, 2019

Why I Love Plastic-Free Bite Toothpaste Bits

Ever since Lush reverted to packaging its Toothy Tabs toothpaste tablets in plastic containers instead of compostable cardboard boxes, I’ve been brushing my teeth with plain baking soda mixed with essential oils. (I pour a bit in the palm of my hand and run my wet toothbrush through it.) This method is fine, and cheap, but I missed the convenience of the tablets, especially while traveling.

Finally — well, okay, I may be a few months late to this party — finally for me, there’s a replacement for Lush Toothy Tabs that doesn’t come in a plastic container and is actually BETTER than the Lush product I used to love! (Bite sent me two bottles to review.)

What are toothpaste bits?

Bite toothpaste bits are little vegan tablets stored in a glass bottle that foam up and quickly become toothpaste when you chew them. Right now, there are only two varieties: Naturally Whitening Mint and Fresh Mint with Activated Charcoal. So, yea… Read the rest

February 16, 2019

Jules Thin Crust – Setting an Example for Zero Waste Restaurants

Last month, the City of Berkeley, CA, unanimously passed the nation’s most ambitious, comprehensive ordinance on disposable plastic foodware to date.  The new law requires that:

Disposable items like utensils, straws, lids, and sleeves may only be provided upon request or at a self-serve station, not automatically. Food vendors must provide compost bins for customers. All disposable takeout foodware must be 100% BPI certified compostable by January 1, 2020. All vendors must charge $0.25 cents for hot and cold takeout cups by January 1, 2020. All eat-in customers must be served foods in reusable foodware by July 1, 2020.

This ordinance is a big win for the plastic-free, zero-waste movement, and it will require big changes for some Berkeley restaurants.  But there are restaurants, whether in or outside Berkeley, that are already ahead of the game.  Last year, I hung out with Heather Clapp of Jules Thin Crust pizza restaurant jus… Read the rest

February 9, 2019

Easy Bulk Shopping with the Goods Holding Company System

Goods Holding Company bulk buying kit

Using our own containers to buy foods from bulk bins is one of the primary ways to avoid plastic packaging while grocery shopping. But it’s not always easy, especially when you’re just beginning your plastic-free journey. First, you have to find shops in your area that offer foods from bulk bins, and then you need to find out how they handle customers’ containers. You only want to pay for what’s inside, so the store needs to have a way to deduct the weight of the container. Some shops prefer customers to weigh their own containers, while other stores like Whole Foods require customers to visit the customer service desk to have their containers weighed by a staff member.

The Solution to Plastic-Free Bulk Shopping

San Francisco plastic pollution activists Eva Holman and Carolyn Box got tired of having to weigh their containers every time they went shopping (yes, you can put a sticker on the jar, but eventually, the sticker w… Read the rest

June 3, 2018

Solid Plastic-Free Shower Gel and Body Wash? What Do You Think?

Last month, I received an email from Carmen Drahl, senior correspondent for Chemical & Engineering News, wanting to know if I had heard about the new solid body wash products from Lush and Bomb Cosmetics, and if so, what I thought about them.  To be honest, I thought she was just talking about bars of soap.  What’s so new about that?  But no.  Actually, just as I learned that liquid soap and solid soap have different chemistries, so too do soap and shower gel.  And as Carmen explained to me the difference between soap and shower gel, I started to get excited… Not for myself, but for my sister and others of her ilk.

A Plastic-Free Solution for the Soap Haters?

… Read the rest
January 31, 2018

How To Move Long Distance Without Plastic

When I left my home in California last month to care for my dad in Maryland, I struggled to figure out how to do it plastic-free.   Moving across the country can involve a lot of disposable plastic if you’re not careful:  plastic bubble wrap inside your boxes, plastic tape to close the boxes, and plastic stretch wrap around everything. Apparently, stretch wrap is now a moving company’s best friend.  In fact, I had the following phone conversation with one of the many moving company reps I spoke to:

Me:  I don’t want my items covered in plastic wrap.  Can you just use reusable moving blankets? Rep:  We do use blankets.  But we have to use plastic wrap over the blankets to protect your furniture.  No reputable company would move your possessions without plastic wrap. Me: How did they do it in the old days? Rep: If they were a good company, they used plastic wrap. Me: I mean, in the days before plastic stretch wrap. Rep:  Good moving com… Read the rest

December 12, 2017

New Guide to Plastic-Free Living from Life Without Plastic

My friends Jay and Chantal, owners of the online shop Life Without Plastic, are brand new book authors!  Their book, Life Without Plastic, was just released today, and I’m very honored to have been asked to write the foreword.  Here’s what I wrote:

Ten years ago, I read an article about ocean plastic pollution – a problem I’d never heard of — and saw the shocking image that changed my life. The photo revealed the decayed carcass of a baby albatross who’d starved with a belly full of plastic, plastic it had been fed by its mother who mistook lighters and toothbrushes and bottle caps floating in the ocean for food. My heart broke as I realized that my personal choices could be causing harm to creatures thousands of miles away, and that very day, I embarked on a mission to see if it would be possible to live without plastic. I created a blog to report on my progress eliminating everyday plastics: disposables like single-use bottles, bags… Read the rest

September 26, 2017

Who Gives a Crap Recycled or Bamboo Toilet Paper without Plastic

Who Gives a Crap plastic-free bamboo toilet paper

The Problem:  Finding 100% recycled or tree-free toilet paper that doesn’t come wrapped in plastic.  Since 2007, my toilet paper of choice has been cardboard cases of Seventh Generation recycled rolls that come individually-wrapped in thin paper wrappers.  I ordered it from Amazon and even had a subscription at one time.  But over the years, I’ve received comments from readers that they would order a case and it would sometimes come with plastic inside.  Or that the plastic-free cases were not always available on Amazon.

A New Solution:  A few months ago, I started seeing Facebook posts about a new brand of toilet paper called Who Gives a Crap.  Funny name.  But it sounded interesting.  The company donates 50% of its profits to provide toilets and sanitation in the developing world.  The toilet paper comes in two versions, bamboo or recycled paper, and is shipped i… Read the rest

July 24, 2017

How to Make Liquid Soap Nuts Laundry Soap Plus Other Plastic-Free Laundry Ideas

Soap nuts laundry liquid

The last time I wrote about doing laundry without plastic was June 17, 2009.  Obama was our new president, and Michael Jackson was still alive (he died a week later).  It’s time for an update.

Plastic-Free Soap Nuts Laundry Soap

Back in the day, we used powdered Ecover laundry detergent, in part because it came in a recyclable cardboard box and was the only brand I’d ever found that came with a cardboard scoop instead of a plastic one.  Those days are over.  Ecover switched to a plastic scoop (why does anyone need a new scoop with every box anyway?), and I no longer recommend it.

There are lots of recipes online for making your own laundry detergent with combinations of various ingredients, but the one that I’ve found to be the simplest to make and work the best in cold water is a liquid soap that requires only 2 ingredients:  soap nuts and water.  You can also add essential oil(s), but that’s totally optional.

The brand of … Read the rest

July 23, 2017

Three Stone Hearth – Much More Than Delicious Food in Returnable Mason Jars

Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley, CA

Local readers may be surprised when I confess that I’ve walked past Three Stone Hearth on University Ave in Berkeley a bunch of times over the years and never gone in.  I didn’t go in because I didn’t know what it was.

If I had gone in, I would have discovered a nearly plastic-free, zero waste mecca full of gloriously delicious food and friendly people.  Thank goodness the shop owners reached out to me this year to come and talk to their customers about my plastic-free journey.  I wish I had known about Three Stone Hearth when I was writing my book because they would have definitely been included!

It’s All About Those Mason Jars

Three Stone Hearth is a Community Supported kitchen (like a CSA for prepared foods) serving up delicious, organic, nutrient-dense foods based on traditional diets.  (Weekly offerings include choices for vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters.) Customers can come to the store to purchase foods … Read the rest