Any one have a notion what to do with empty DVD cases? I have about 5000 in my shed and would like to get them out of there.

Location:Shepherdsville, Kentucky, United States

Name: Genevieve

Week: 1

Personal Info:

I’m a 37-year-old woman. I live with my mother, 2 cats and an aquarium. We both work in Louisville, which is about a thirty minute drive if traffic is good.

List of plastic items REFUSED this week. (Yay!)

multiple plastic bags

Total items collected: 56

Total weight:

Items: Recyclable
10 #1 water bottles
1 #1 coconut water bottle
1 #1 lemonade bottle
1 #1 shredded romano container
1 #1 pimento cheese container
1 #1 mushroom container
1 #2 shower gel bottle
2 #2 pieces of fill air inflatable packaging
2 #5 yogurt containers
1 #5 psorzema container
1 #6 take home dip container

2 plastic bags

Items: Nonrecyclable
1 medicine bottle
1 crystal geyser wrapper
1 inner seal shredded cheese
1 inner seal psorzema
1 inner seal lemonaide
1 clippy thing to hold bread bag closed
1 bottle top from milk bottle
2 pull tabs from milk bottle tops
2 cd wrappers
4 bags (cookies)
1 bag (kale from farmer’s market)
1 bag (doritos)
1 bag (bean stew mix)
1 bag (bunny grahams)
1 bag (bagged salad)
1 bag (bell peppers)
1 bag (produce)
1 bag (tasty bite chunky chickpeas)
3 wrappers (DVDs)
1 wrapper (pro bar)
1 wrapper (bacon)
1 wrapper (toilet paper)
1 cling wrapper (cheese)
1 cling wrapper (mushrooms)
1 cling wrapper (stew meat)

What items can I easily replace with plastic free or less plastic alternatives?
I need to get a water filter and stop buying bottled water. I’ve known this for some time, but I have no clue how to install it.

I’ve just joined a CSA so we will be getting all our fresh produce in a cardboard box. I also just got some reusable produce bags for produce we might want that isn’t in the box.

I could get the drinkable yogurt in the glass jar again, but then I have to figure out transport if I want it in my lunch.

I could get the bunny grahams in the cardboard box and separate them into snack size portions for lunches at home.

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic free alternative doesn’t exist?
Unknown. I think most (almost all) of this is available in plastic-free alternatives.

I should only buy used CDs and DVDs and thereby avoid most of the plastic packaging.

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
Medicine. I have psoriasis and the cream that works the best comes in a plastic jar (recyclable though). My mom has prescriptions for high blood pressure and arthritis.

The plastic cap on the milk jug. We get milk from JD Country Milk, a local farm here in Kentucky. It comes in a glass jar that they take back but the cap is plastic.

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
I should plan better with lunch/dinner at work so that I don’t have to get snacks at the gas station next door.

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
We just joined a CSA co-op so we will be getting our fresh produce in a cardboard box. I also got some reusable produce bags if there is any produce we need that doesn’t come in the box.

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
None right now. We’ll see what conclusions come after doing this exercise for a while.