This will be my penultimate Burning Man post for the year. I think. (I have one more in mind, but who knows if I’ll get a burning desire to say even more after that? Or less?)
I have a discussion question for you, but first, a little background and lots of pictures. (I don’t think there is any nudity in these photos, but let me know if you see some and I’ll remove it. This blog is rated PG even if my life isn’t always.)
Reducing our plastic footprint was the theme of the Earth Guardians camp this year. Toward that end, we had Annie’s plastic footprint sculpture…
I gave two talks on plastic-free living on and off the playa…
Karima from the Plastic Pollution Coalition was there, taking pictures and working on quantifying Burning Man’s plastic footprint.
So was my friend Tracey whom I camped with last year and who had worked very hard to deplastify her business.
Several people came up to me during the week who … Read the rest
I’m back home from Burning Man and so glad to be able to have my morning green smoothie again. When I wrote that post, I promised a follow up about my blender. Well, here it is.
Back in 2011, I wrote about hanging out with my friend Mark and watching him make homemade ketchup. What I didn’t mention was how impressed I was with his blender.
It’s a Waring Pro MBB518 stainless steel blender. Mark said that even though it only has two speeds, it’s the sturdiest and best blender he’s ever had. But what caught my eye was that there is no plastic at all inside the glass pitcher to come into contact with the food.
See, my current blender, a Kenmore that I’d had for years and that also had a glass pitcher had plastic at the bottom that twisted on and off for cleaning.
I wasn’t crazy about that plastic inside the pitcher, but it wasn’t enough to make me chuck the machine for a new one. And then the bottom started to leak. And … Read the rest
When you read this, I’ll be (hopefully) on the road to Burning Man. Being without a cooking stove for a week will mean a change in my diet… but no change in the way I drink my coffee because I don’t heat it anymore anyway.
Making cold brewed coffee
I think I learned about cold brewed coffee from my friend Tracey TieF (with whom I went to Burning Man last year), and the idea intrigued me. Checking on Google (because that’s my first impulse any time I learn about anything new these days), I learned that brewing coffee cold produces a full-flavored but mellower, less bitter cup.
Some people use a French press to make cold brewed coffee, and in fact Frieling makes one that is entirely plastic-free. Impulsively, I almost bought one a couple of weeks ago, but I thought better of it in time to cancel the order. Because despite some of the products I have endorsed, my plastic-free life is not about buying a bunch of new stuff when I donR… Read the rest
Have you noticed I don’t blog much anymore? I’m averaging about two posts a month, and I’ve been feeling like I’m letting my readers down. (For those of you subscribed to the Show Your Plastic Challenge posts or Community Discussion Group, it may seem like you receive a lot from me, but those posts are written by other people — other awesome, involved, engaged people. You guys rock!)
So I’ve been doing some thinking (which is not in itself news, by the way.) I’ve been pondering why I am blogging so little lately. It’s true that I am incredibly busy these days — with activist work, giving talks, maintaining my accounting job, having a life. I have a list of about 50 blog posts that I would love to write, and no time to actually sit down and write them. Because blog posts generally take me at least 90 minutes of uninterrupted time, if not more, to put together. (Some posts take all … Read the rest
It’s hard to find plastic-free versions of a lot of camping supplies. Plastic makes things lightweight and easy to carry in a backpack. I don’t camp a lot, so usually my strategy to avoid new plastic is to borrow from friends or find things second-hand via Freecycle, Craigslist, yard sales, or thrift stores. At Burning Man last month, I slept in a nylon sleeping bag on a foam pad, both of which I have had for many years. And while the sleeping bag has held up very well and will last me many more years to come, the foam pad was a big fail. Maybe it’s because I’m not as young as I used to be, but I woke up every morning with an aching back, sore in places I didn’t even know I had.
So when the Monterey Bay Aquarium invited me to come and give a presentation during their Plastic Pollution Summit last week — and as a bonus, sleep overnight in the aquarium in the exhibit of my choice — I knew I had to get moving to find an … Read the rest
Here are updates to the book Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too since the book went to press in January 2012. I update this page as new information comes in.
Chapter 3 Plastic Beverage Bottles (Dealing with a Drinking Problem)
Page 82 There is a new, stainless steel alternative to the plastic Cuppow coffee lid that turns a mason jar into a travel mug. The stainless alternative is called EcoJarz. There is no plastic — only stainless steel with a thin silicone ring that keeps the lid leak-proof. Read my post about EcoJarz here.
Page 86 “…but you can also purchase them online through outlets like GreenFeet.com or PristinePlanet.com.” Sadly, GreenFeet.com, which had been in business for years, shut its doors shortly after the book went to press. You can still connect with Valerie Reddeman, the owner, through GreenFeet’s Facebook page. She continues to post use… Read the rest
Last week I learned that you don’t have to travel to Kamilo Beach in Hawaii or Midway Island to find mounds of plastic trash. No, there’s plenty of it just up the California coast at Kehoe Beach, part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. And I got to see it.
Artists Richard Lang and Judith Selby spend their weekends gathering mounds of plastic trash from Kehoe Beach.
From a distance, Kehoe looks pristine. In fact, there are some days when Richard and Judith are all alone on the beach. So you wouldn’t imagine there would be much trash, especially in Marin County where folks are a pretty green bunch. But get closer, and you’re in for a disheartening surprise.
Because of ocean currents, Kehoe ends up a plastic waste dump every year. And Judith and Richard come there to mine the beach for art supplies and help educate people about plastic pollution. I was fortunate to hang out with them last Monday and collect some plastic trash my… Read the rest
Do you think it’s possible to live life without plastic? Wondering how to do it or at least get started? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of steps I took in my own life since beginning this project in 2007.
The list is not meant to be overwhelming but simply to show what is possible. Choose a few that seem doable and that will make the most impact. No one can do it all at once. But we can all get started!
If you still have questions after looking over this list, use the search bar above for more plastic-free ideas. Or read my book Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, your complete guide to living a life with less plastic. And if you like what you see here, please forward this page on to the people you love. We can all make a difference.
Note: If you make a purchase via any product links on this site, I may earn a small percentage to support my plastic-free mission.
How to Live a Plastic-Free Life
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