November 2010 Plastic Waste Tally

1.6 oz Plastic Waste [1.6 oz new/0 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

November brought new clothes (see below), a TEDx presentation, and all kinds of nutty experiments that I’ll be writing about in December. It also means 2010 is almost over. I had hoped to keep my plastic waste under 2 pounds this year (last year’s was 3.7 pounds) but sadly, that’s not going to happen. I’m already up to 1.99, and ironically, part of November’s plastic waste is the indirect result of the TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch conference early this month.

Not really. I’m making excuses, as you’ll see.

Beth’s November plastic waste collection

Plastic purchased before June 15 2007 and used up in the last month (.5 oz):

Nothing. This month, it’s all new plastic.

New plastic waste (1.6 oz):

Plastic packing tape from package ordered from Hempest.com. I am aware of the stereotype that women love to shop for clothes and wi… Read the rest

Good News! October 2010 Plastic Waste Tally

3.7 oz Plastic Waste [3.2 oz new/.5 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

I’ll get to October’s plastic tally in a minute, but first, a little story…

I finally got to deduct some items from my plastic collection! Every couple of months I end up with a plastic bottle of Balance IT cat supplement, which we use in our homemade cat food. I’m fairly okay with that plastic bottle because the homemade food is so much healthier for Soots and Arya and because we only go through one every couple of months. Carrying our own stainless steel pot to the butcher shop for ground meat means we avoid all the cans and bags we would have wasted buying processed food.

Still, the supplement automatically comes with two new plastic scoops in each bottle.

Two scoops every two months might not seem like much plastic when you consider that all the scoops pictured up above (from multiple years) only weigh 2.1 ounces. But what irritates me is that just like the plas… Read the rest

September 2010 Plastic Waste Tally

2.1 oz Plastic Waste [2.0 oz new/.1 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

Thanks to everyone who offered to guest post for me while my eyes heal. I’m still staying off the computer as much as possible. If I haven’t responded to your offer, I will. I am just using the computer in little spurts. Anyway, here is…

Beth’s September plastic waste collection

Plastic purchased before June 15 2007 and used up in the last month (.1 oz):

Plastic cap & seal from bottle of hot chili olive oil. This was a bottle we had stored unopened in our refrigerator for a very, very long time. It was still good! So I opened it and used it up in the last few months. Nowadays, we buy our olive oil in bulk from either Whole Foods or the Pasta Shop in Oakland. We bring our own bottle to refill each time.

New plastic waste (2.0 oz):

7 pieces of plastic plus one plastic twist tie from Logitech webcam package. Read about all the overpacking for this product here. As I mention… Read the rest

August 2010 Plastic Waste Tally

4.2 oz Plastic Waste [4.2 oz new/0 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

I like looking at my plastic collection at the end of each month because it reminds me of some of the experiences I had. August’s collection is about fun times in New York City and even more fun times in my laundry room.

Beth’s August plastic waste collection

New plastic waste (4.2 oz):

Plastic NY City Metro Card. Like BART tickets out here in the Bay Area, NYC Metro cards are refillable, but they are also made from plastic and can’t be recycled. Plastic drink cup, straw, and condiment cup and lid. You rarely ever see this kind of stuff in my tally. I thought I was doing so well, until Heather Clisby and I took a break from the BlogHer conference. Downstairs at Ha! Comedy Club, we laughed our heads off and, in compliance with the 2 item minimum, ordered snacks and drinks. My mozzarella sticks came with a plastic container of tomato sauce, and my sparkling water (which I ins… Read the rest

July 2010 Plastic Waste Tally, sponsored by Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

2.5 oz Plastic Waste [2.5 oz new/0 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

(Hanging head in shame, delicious shame.) During last month’s road trip with my dad, I managed to avoid all plastic cups, spoons, forks, knives, straws, containers, bottles, and yet the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos got the better of me. Here’s how it went down:

Dad: [Returning from the gas station mini mart] I got us a treat.

Me: Oh, I can’t eat those.

Dad: You don’t like them?

Me: Love them and all their preservative-laden, artificially-flavored and colored goodness. It’s the plastic bag.

Dad: Oh, right. [Smacks forehead.] Well, I guess I’ll have to eat them.

Me: Oh okay, just one…

And what started with one Cheeto snuck from one bag turned into an orgy of Cheetos delight. My dad would buy a new bag of them, and I’d munch out, until finally, towards the end of a long exhausting trip, I bought the Cheetos myself. It was a Cheetos bender. I&… Read the rest

June 2010 Plastic Waste Tally

2.8 oz Plastic Waste [1.7 oz new/1.1 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

Happy Summer everybody.

Beth’s June plastic waste collection

Plastic purchased before June 15 2007 and used up in the last month (1.1 oz):

Melatonin bottle and cap. I’ve had this bottle since before June of 2007, and it still worked!  I switched to melatonin after my prescription sleeping pills ran out and, wanting to avoid another plastic bottle, I decided not to get them refilled.  Now that the melatonin is gone, I’ve got some other natural sleep remedies to use up (glass bottles with plastic caps) and once those are gone, I’m going to try some teas that were recommended by Facebook friends.  I’ll report back when I figure out what works for me,  and yes, I know all about sleep hygiene, and yes I know that mine sucks, and yes I’m working on it, but also? My problem is more like a sleep phobia, so please don’t tell me I just need to go to bed at t… Read the rest

May 2010 Plastic Waste Tally

5.3 oz Plastic Waste [3.5 oz new/1.8 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

I’ve had very little sleep in the last few days, so this post is going to be short and sweet.  Here’s the plastic collection tally for the month of May.

Beth’s May plastic waste collection

Plastic purchased before June 15 2007 and used up in the last month (1.8 oz):

Plastic bag found stashed in the back of a closet. Yeah, I see you plastic bag.  You can’t hide from me. Yet another set of broken ear phones. No one will fess up to it, but we all know that a certain cat eats plastic.  I’m just saying. Broken plastic hair band. This one’s my fault.  As soon as I stepped on it I heard my mom’s voice: Hair bands don’t belong on the floor, do they? Plastic lip balm container. I have about 3 more of these that I bought way back before June 2007.  Shows how often I use lip balm.  But once they are gone, I’ll switch to Organic Essence’s plast… Read the rest

Reducing Plastic Waste: April 2010 Collection Results

5.5 oz Plastic Waste [4.7 oz new/0.8 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

Well, while I was away at my meditation retreat, the mice played around with my blog.  The blog hacking mice. A Fake Plastic Fish reader sent an email to let me know that my home page was redirecting to a suspicious phishing site. And isn’t it lucky I was sneaking peeks at my email while I was supposed to be avoiding communication with the outside world? I’m just saying.

The good news is that my WordPress fixer dude guy got on it right away and cleared out the malicious code, so we are back in business. The bad news is that the Discussion Forum had to go. He thinks that is where the security hole might have been since the software used to create that forum had not been updated in a very long time. So I need to find a replacement. Fortunately, all your posts are saved. Unfortunately, it’ll probably take me a while to get through all the other important items on my “To-Do… Read the rest

Reducing Plastic Waste: March 2010 Collection Results

4.0 oz Plastic Waste [.2 oz new/3.8 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

Holy cow!  Lady Gaga called today.  Seriously.  I’ll tell you all about it at the bottom of this post.  For now, here is:

Beth’s March plastic waste collection

If it hadn’t been for that silly broken digital scale, my total plastic waste for the month would have been under half an ounce.

What I learned this month:

1) Duct tape will not repair a ripped up slipper sole. See below. Your suggestions requested.

2) I don’t need milk on my cereal; water works just fine. Really. That and a little maple syrup and I’m good to go. No more plastic milk bottle caps. My Facebook friends thought the idea was gross. I say, don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.

3) I can get through a head cold without prescription or OTC cough medicine. And I have no shame about posting photos of water running out my nose.

4) I can relieve a headache with acupressure (just dis… Read the rest

Reducing Plastic Waste: February 2010 Collection Results

6.9oz Plastic Waste [5 oz new/1.9 oz acquired prior to June 2007]

For some reason, February felt like a very, very long month. Gray drizzly days.  And we don’t even get snow here.

Welcome to those who are discovering this blog after watching the segment on ABC7 morning news today.  Every month I collect and tally my plastic waste to see how far I’ve come and what still needs to be done. As I mentioned in my post “8 Reasons Why Personal Changes Matter,” it’s only after looking at our own waste and trying very hard to find alternatives that we can see clearly where the limits are and what companies we need to target or civil actions to engage in. So, here’s February’s tally:… Read the rest