Location:Shepherdsville, Kentucky, United States

Name: Genevieve

Week: 3

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!)

Plastic bags

Total items collected: 60

Total weight:

Items: Recyclable
9 #1 water bottles
1 #1 shredded romano container
1 #2 perscription bottle
1 #2 envelope from Amazon
3 #3 wrappers from potted herbs
1 #4 bag from around steel pot bought at Goodwill
1 #5 shelled edamame container
1 #5 cool whip container
1 #5 tea concentrate bottle
1 #7 campari organic tomatoes container

Items: Nonrecyclable
1 bunny grahams bag
1 mixed nuts bag
1 seal from the top of the cool whip
1 cling wrap from loaf bought at farmers market
1 bread bag
1 snack bar bag
1 large Doritos bag
1 small Doritos bag
1 crystal Geyser bottled water case wrapper
1 mixed nuts snack bag
2 stellar sweets containers
1 meat tray from pork chops
1 cling wrap from meat
1 bacon wrapper
1 plastic holder from frozen fish food
1 “win pak” cup
1 coffee bag
3 pieces of plastic tape from DVDs/Blu-rays
4 plastic wrap from DVDs/Blu-rays
1 piece plastic packaging from Amazon
2 baby carrots snack bags
1 cat treat bag
1 cat treat bag top
1 crouton bag
2 seal from salad dressing bottle
2 styrofoam packaging pieces from new light fixture
2 electrical caps
1 broken dimmer switch
2 pieces of plastic wrapped wire
NOT PICTURED: 1 aquarium filter cartridge

What items can I easily replace with plastic free or less plastic alternatives?
This is the end of all the bottled water I had around the house, and from now on we will be drinking our filtered tap water in Love Bottles. This is also the last of the individual bunny grahams bags, baby carrots in individual snack bags, Doritos, and coffee in bags. So we might actually see some progress in the next pictures!

I can get the pork chops from the counter instead of the prepacked section (they were in my freezer).

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic free alternative doesn’t exist?
I’m going to try to give up Doritos. This will probably be harder than I think.

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
The aquarium filter. There are options for larger aquariums that I don’t think require the replaceable cartridge, but those setups are out of my price range.

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
Better planning.

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
Giving up Doritos. Also replacing (finally!) the bottled water bottles.

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
Again, boy do we make a lot of trash. Until you see it you really don’t realize it.