Year 2, Week 48, 49, & 50 Results: 4.1 oz of plastic waste

Well, here is three week’s worth of plastic waste. I’m back on track. And your tallies (Show Us Your Plastic Trash Challenge) have been coming in so fast, that I have created a special new place for them. More on that tomorrow.

Plastic used up this week but purchased before the plastic project began:

1 bandaid. I cut my finger with a sharp knife while making my Plastic Sea Monster costume. I really don’t have the energy to explain how this happened. 🙂

Expired Credit Union debit card. I have cancelled this account, mainly because I never use it.

New plastic waste:

8 plastic envelope windows. From Financial West Group, ING Direct, Comcast, PG&E Solar, USE Credit Union, Bay to Breakers, Green Sangha, & a payment from a bookkeeping client. As I’ve mentioned before, I am working to be removed from as many mailing lists as possible. Most of these envelopes were unavoidable. Since I’m on the board of Green Sangha,… Read the rest

Year 2, Week 47 Results: .05 oz of plastic waste

Here’s this week’s tally with a few announcements at the bottom of the post. And a request!

All new plastic waste:

1 plastic envelope window. From Financial West Group. They still do not offer online only statements.

 

1 plastic drinking straw. Doh! I’m usually so diligent about requesting no plastic straw when ordering drinks. But last night, at Herbivore Restaurant in Berkeley, I threw caution and diligence to the wind, impulsively ordering a mai tai and suffering the plastic consequences. Oh, I had my GlassDharma straw with me. But my drink arrived with the unwrapped plastic straw already in it, so I couldn’t send it back to be reused.

That’s it for the week. Announcement: Oakland rocks. I love my city, and next week even more, as the City Council has decided to publicly commend Oakland company Brita, Oakland store Whole Foods, and Oakland resident Beth Terry, for our joint roles in support of Brita water … Read the rest

Year 2, Week 46 Results: 1.8 oz of plastic waste PLUS Earth Day Winner!

I’m back from my meditation retreat, where I slept many, many hours. Felt like I was straddling the line between flu and health. Maybe it was just ordinary tiredness. In any case, the takeaway was a profound lesson: “Don’t push the river.” I know what the phrase means to me. What does it say to you?

Before I get on with the week’s plastic tally, the random winner of the 2009 Earth Day Less Plastic Pledge Giveaway is: Sharonus. Please contact me with your mailing address. You will receive two beautiful GlassDharma drinking straws as well as two ChicoBags kindly donated for this contest by Alline of Milkweed Mercantile who blogs at A Passion For Green Business. You won’t forget and leave your ChicoBags in the car if you carry them in your purse or backpack!

And now, here is this week’s tally. Plastic acquired before the plastic project began:

1 PET plastic jar of Masala Chai instant spiced tea blend plus lid.… Read the rest

Year 2, Week 45 Results: .2 oz of plastic waste

I’m crunched for time today. Working on computer issues at work (remotely) and computer issues at home. So here’s the quick tally for the week. I worked on something special this weekend. Some of my Facebook and Twitter friends have already seen it. I’ll post it here tomorrow.

Oh, and Mrs. Bell … you are a LaundryTree winner. I posted a comment on your blog. I need you to email me your mailing address.

Here’s the tally. Plastic acquired before the plastic project began:

Plastic baggie around an old obsolete instruction manual. Found while organizing my bookshelf.

And here’s the new plastic waste:

Plastic cling wrap. Oh, this stuff is the worst! I was in downtown San Francisco and ordered a sandwich at a deli I’d never been to before. I handed them my stainless steel LunchBot container and asked for my sandwich to be placed inside it. Then, I stopped paying attention. Of course, when I got the sandwich bac… Read the rest

Year 2, Week 44 Results: 1.2 oz of plastic waste & LaundryTree Winners!

Well, it was a plastic-filled week, as you can see. Please read through to the bottom of this post to find out the winners of the LaundryTree soapnuts giveaway!

The tally for last week included all new plastic waste:

6 plastic baggies from purchase of new Canon PowerShot SD780 IS camera. I had to replace the camera that was swiped on Wednesday. Normally, if I lose or break a plastic item, I’ll wait and try to find it used or ask myself if I really need it in the first place. But with no camera, I can’t do this blog. It’s that simple. I replaced my camera the same day I lost it.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t care about the plastic. First of all, I chose the smallest camera I could find. Check it out. This thing is the size of a credit card and will easily fit in my pocket. (I took this photo with my cell phone and had to doctor it in Photoshop to make it as sharp as it is.)

The camera comes in a small cardboard box with molded paper dividers. No St… Read the rest

Year 2, Week 43 Results: .05 oz of plastic waste… Again!

Just so you know, my scale will only weigh in increments of .1 oz. For the past two weeks, it has measured my plastic waste at 0.00, so I am guessing at .05 because I know that reality is somewhere between 0.00 and .1.

The full tally for last week:

Plastic baggies of nuts and bolts for my Fake Plastic Fish display. I’ve spent all weekend getting ready to table at Oakland’s Earth Expo this Wednesday. Normally, I would use Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics display. But this week, it’s not available. So I made my own!

Saturday, I created a 4-panel display board using the front of an old door that Michael found, hinges from Ohmega Salvage (after spending an unsuccessful hour searching through bins of hinges at Urban Ore), and non-toxic zero-VOC stain from Eco Home Improvement. The only new parts were the nuts and bolts which came in little plastic baggies.

Then, I spent yesterday creating my Fake Plastic Sea Monster costume:

Okay… Read the rest

Year 2, Week 42 Results: .05 oz of plastic waste

It was a pretty great week, plastickly speaking. But for some plastic envelope windows, I’d have had almost none. And speaking of envelope windows, various readers have suggested that they are made from glassine and not really plastic. The full answer is that while some envelope windows are indeed made from glassine (a recyclable paper product), others may be made from polystyrene, polypropylene, polyester, or acetate. And nowadays, a few envelope windows are made from compostable PLA. (Reference: The EMA Guide to Envelopes & Mailings [PDF])

The trouble is that you can’t always tell the difference. Some envelopes come printed with content information. For example, the Sierra Club’s mailings always state that the envelope is made from recycled paper and glassine and is fully recyclable. I don’t include those in my tally. But if this information isn’t provided, I have to assume they are plastic.

But … Read the rest

Year 2, Week 41 Results: 14.7 oz of plastic waste

As you can see, I never found a taker for those 16 American Idol DVDs. Did anyone actually think I would? Here’s the full tally for last week:

Plastic purchased before the plastic project began:

16 2007 American Idol DVDs. What was I thinking when I burned the full season of American Idol onto DVDs? Did I really think I would ever watch it again? What a waste of polycarbonate. I can’t even remember who was on the show 2 years ago. But OMG I have 5 words for this season:

Adam Lambert Ring of Fire.

Can I get an “Amen”? Still, while love may be a burning thing that makes a fiery ring, the only place I’ll be burning Adam’s performances is into my own brain.

Melted plastic pot lid knob. I discussed this tragic event in detail a few days ago. Turns out the whole pot is pretty much hosed as well. There are black streaks actually burned into the stainless steel bottom, and I’m afraid to continue using it. *Sigh* Visiting my fri… Read the rest

Your opinion please! Year 2, Week 40 Results: 3.1 oz of plastic waste.

I need your opinion about whether or not to include a particular item in my tally. But first, here is all the rest of the plastic for this week.

Plastic purchased before the plastic project began:

Plastic bottle of Dr. Weil’s Balanced Cal/Mag tablets and plastic cap. As bad as I’ve been about flossing, I’ve been worse about taking my vitamins and minerals. And my doctor is insistent that I need to be taking calcium. So I fished out this bottle from the back of the cupboard. Fortunately, it had not yet expired. I finished it this week. I’ll be switching to New Chapter Organics Bone Strength Take Care formula, which is all organic, from plant sources, and comes in a glass bottle. I already take their Every Woman II multi vitamin, which are so mild you can take them on an empty stomach. The glass bottles, of course, do come with a plastic cap. I emailed New Chapter tonight to see if they had any plans to take them back for recycling.

Plas… Read the rest

Cheese Foolery! Year 2, Week 39 Results: .4 oz of plastic waste.

I really let myself get fooled two weeks ago. In a way that I’m sure Organic Needle will understand! You’ll see what I mean in this week’s tally. All new plastic again this week:

1 ZRNet Internet card. I mentioned this one in my post about plastic gift cards. The company has confirmed that this card is not reloadable or recyclable (being a mix of plastic and paper). *Sigh* I won’t be using the Internet at The Coffee Roastery on Union Street again.

Plastic wrap from a Financial West Group mailing. Yet more plastic from this group. Sending it all back before had no effect, apparently.

1 inner cheese wrapper lining from a block of Trader Joe’s Swiss raw milk cave aged Gruyere. The wrapper looked like paper, I swear. In fact, it was paper — on the outside. Secretly, I knew there would be plastic inside. How could there not be? But I decided to risk it, purely for research purposes, of course, so you guys would not be similar… Read the rest