Location:Tualatin, Oregon, United States

Name: Margaret

Week: 16

Personal Info:

I live in an apartment with my cat. We’re in a metropolitan area outside the city, that’s not really suburbia, but not really urban.

Margaret’s personal blog:

Total items: 33

Total weight: 4.9 ounces

Items: Recyclable
Starbucks cup
2 bubble mailers
Berries clamshell (from produce box)
Supplement bottle
A random bottle lid that I don’t remember what it was from and why I don’t have the
corresponding bottle
Small ziplock bag from something
Clamshell and fork from Thai take out

Items: Nonrecyclable
Garbage bag
Starbucks lid and straw
2 string cheese wrappers
Bread bag window
Silica gel packet – the silica gel’s not plastic (I don’t think), but printed on it is that
the packaging is Tyvek
Wrapper from mint tin
Fruit leather wrapper (bought pre-challenge)
3 produce stickers
Frozen pizza wrapper
3 envelope windows
Packaging from mascara tube
Pull tab from cardboard mailer
4 lint roller sheets
Snapped rubber band
Twist tie
A little plastic hook thing that I vaguely remember being some kind of packaging

What items can I easily replace with plastic free or less plastic alternatives?
Eating in at the Thai restaurant instead of picking up to go. Actually, lately my coworker and I who go at least a few times a month have been choosing to eat it, for a variety of reasons. It’ll be harder in tax season coming, when it’s hard enough to take 15 minutes away from work to even go pick up food.

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic free alternative doesn’t exist?

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?

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

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?