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 filter recycling. The recognition will take place at the City Council meeting on May 19, 6pm, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. YOU ARE ALL INVITED! Would love to see other Bay Area supporters there. Here’s a copy of the agenda (PDF) .

Request: I’m looking for guest bloggers to fill in for me here. With the weather getting nicer and nicer, I’m feeling less inclined to spend a whole lot of time in front of the computer. I’d love to hear from you about your own efforts to live with less plastic and what challenges you face. Care to share? Tomorrow, I’ll toss out a specific challenge. In the mean time, don’t be shy. No one is expecting perfection. Just honesty. I’d especially love to hear from people who don’t have blogs of their own. What do you say?

Related posts:
Find out what envelope windows are made from.
All about glass drinking straws..
History of Take Back The Filter Brita recycling campaign.