For my daughter's 8th birthday, we invited 9 kids over for an outdoor "Adventure Party". It included map & compass navigation, geo-caching (sort of), team building, communication skill building and exercise - all without creating waste. The kids have fun while working on important social skills, and they learn how to use a compass. The Adventure works like a scavenger hunt. Kids are given a starting point and a note with a direction in degrees (go 160° for 45 steps) Here's how I did it:
We live near excellent parks, so we decided we'd have the adventure start from our house, to make drop-off easy, and then bike to the park from there. The invitation asked that guests bring bikes, helmets & compasses. Compasses are actually fairly spendy, so getting kids to bring one or more to share is a good idea.
Several days in advance, I went to the park alone to assess all the features and get the coordinates and steps. With kids as young as 7, you can give them coordinates, but they will need significant focus points. I chose 5 - a cherry tree, concrete stairs, an oak tree, a manhole in the field and a cypress tree.
When choosing the course, add a little extra by using inconspicuous flags to mark the correct location and then hide the next clue "nearby" the flag, but not in plain sight. I hid tiny watermelons in the bushes with the next clue. Kids knew to always start their next reading at the flag, but they had fun 'hunting' for the actual note.
Choose a starting point, then use your compass to find the coordinates to each of your stations. All you need to know is how many degrees and how many steps it takes to get there. Kid steps are smaller, so keep that in mind when pacing off the distances.
Write a list of each kid's name and then while planning activities, think of one thing each kid can carry in a backpack. At the beginning of the adventure, each person is assigned an "Adventure Essential Item", and this makes them feel special and included (kind of like a super power).
Find 5 activities the kids will work on as a team. I found a great resource in the Ultimate Camp Resource website. I modified my activities to work with our park and with the least amount of set-up possible.
Next, I created a map of the park with a sharpie and a big sheet of butcher paper. The map would help the kids get excited about the "Stairs of Doom", the "Hole to Nowhere" and other silly named objects. It also helped me to visualize where I wanted them to go. Having a map oriented fairly correctly helped immensely in writing the story.
Next, I started with the simplest and started writing the story-line. I decided what each kid could contribute to the team and created an entire "creepy" story to go along with the course. At each checkpoint, I had a plan for a "Creature Keeper" person to come out of the bushes and explain the challenge. I'm fortunate to have very enthusiastic neighbors who eagerly helped out with this part by dressing up and playing up the characters.
A list of all the props, games and storyline can be found here.
This one had me stumped for quite some time. How do you create a "treasure" worth finding that is 1) Not cheap plastic doomed for the garbage 2) inexpensive or free 3) not loads of candy?
With some serious focused thought, I came up with the idea of decorating a jar for each kid. That idea morphed into a "Give Jar", which goes along with the idea of "Save", "Spend" "Share" - a money management technique commonly taught to kids. We happened to have 12 of these awesome flip-top jars leftover from our wedding, so with a cleaning, a little paint (we already had gold paint), exactly $0.88 and a couple packs of plastic-free Neccos, we had a treasure!
I had other ideas such as supplies for an outdoor craft project, glass beads, painted rocks ingredients for a baking project, cotton bags, books and metal jewelry & coins from Goodwill.
A little candy goes a long ways, and fortunately Necco still wraps its product in paper. Here are a few other plastic-free winners if you can find them in bulk: Bit O' Honey, Mentos, Rollo, saltwater taffy, Milk Duds, Peppermint Patty. Keep in mind they still probably come in a plastic bag to the store, but at least they're not individually wrapped in plastic.
How can you create a menu that will require the least amount of dirty dishes? Limit the number of dishes each person gets and give them grazing foods. Each kid had an identified mug (BittyMugs with and without ribbon on them) and one plate. For the entire party, they knew which mug was theirs and we used them for water, juice, goldfish, grapes, punch and dessert. I put a pitcher of water on the table and they could help themselves all day long. Here are the snackfoods I put out:
For dinner we made enough pizza crust for 3 pizzas and topped them with mozzerella, pepperoni (from deli in my own container), onion, bell pepper and anchovies (for the daring).
For Punch, I bought $10 worth of Dairy Free Grapefruit Gelato from a local store and mixed it with Blood Orange and Lemonade Soda I found in Glass bottles. This was a delicious tropical float.
After most of the kids arrived for the party, they were milling around nervously and not knowing what to do. I took that opportunity to have everyone get out their compasses and did a quick lesson in our backyard. This pre-lesson is essential to a successful navigation adventure.
As soon as you're ready, gather all the kids with helmets and bikes, make a big deal out of giving them their "Essential Gear" and read off the first note that takes them to the first checkpoint.
Have fun with your adventure!!
]]>So what do you do in this conundrum? You find reusable straws.
We've tried a few different options, and for a long time I thought the solution was going to be in bamboo straws, but I soon realized how difficult it is to see if the bamboo is clean or not. Plus they tend to crack over time with the heat of the dishwasher, and frankly, we just couldn't be bothered with them.
We tried metal straws, and even the fun kind with spoons on the end, but somehow every smoothie, cocktail and glass of water tasted like metal AND we didn't like the feeling of cold metal on our lips.
The all time FAVORITE straw in our family are GlassDharma Glass straws. We've been using our glass straws for months now, and so far we've had great reviews from kids and adults. I love the smooth texture of the glass. The weight of the straw feels fancy and solid, and they're surprisingly quite durable. Plus they're not as cold as the metal straws.
The GlassDharma straws are the original glass straws, a fantastic company to work with, AND if your straws ever break, they'll give you a new one with no questions asked. Now that's good service.
We've recently graduated to the smoothie sized straws, which are just as great for sipping water, smoothies and - as we found out this morning - Cream of Wheat. Our kids eat twice as much Cream of Wheat through a straw - so that's good for an efficient morning!
Since we like these straws so much, we've reached out to GlassDharma so we can bring you the perfect pairing to your BittyMugs!
For a limited time, Wildini is offering TWO 5" Earth Straws with a set of mugs for only $27.00. Get yours now while supplies last.
]]>You've heard of cloth diapers, but have you explored Pull-Ups? I’ve been wanting reusable pull-ups in our house for about 4 years now, as both of my kids are heavy bedwetters.
I found and purchased four pairs of SuperUndies. After searching for used pairs with no-luck due to demand, I went ahead and purchased directly from the website. I had high hopes for these, and at $33/ea, it took some time to justify the cost, but I was determined to stop dropping 2 pull-ups in the garbage every morning. These overnight undies aren't plastic-free, as they are lined with plastic, but they are cheaper and less wasteful than disposables over the long-term.
I am sorry to say this eco-option has NOT been a success in our situation. Both kids are such heavy wetters that the fabric just doesn’t wick the urine away well enough, and we ended up with skin rashes and open sores. To boot, we had leaky pull-ups and many mornings of washing sheets. So unfortunately we’ve had to move back to disposables.
If you have light bedwetters I would still recommend giving these pull-ups a try, as I've had several friends that were successful at ditching the princess overnighters. One advantage to cloth pull-ups is that your kids might not like the bulkiness and will train themselves out of them faster. On the other hand, if you've got heavy bedwetters, it might just be a matter of time until their bodies and hormones can help them wake-up in the middle of the night.
]]>“This is the first week we’ve been able to put plastic recycling and compost from lunches into the city recycling and Food Plus Compost” says Mr. Scott, the school’s custodian. Previous to this week, the recycling and compost bins were so mixed with food and landfill waste that most everything went straight into the dumpsters.
As part of a larger, ongoing initiative from the Bellingham School District, Parkview had recently removed plastic cutlery and straws from the cafeteria, which was an impressive step toward reducing waste. The Whatcom Farm-to-School program has been successfully working to reduce food waste in schools and encourage composting within the district and Re-Sources has an ongoing Green Schools program that helps teachers implement waste and energy reduction curriculum. Principal Mylo Allen commented that furthering the effort with a Plastic Awareness Week would be highly supported by the Parkview community.
All the plastics we generate will remain on earth indefinitely and it’s up to us as consumers to make educated choices about what we’re buying. Simply noticing how much of our food is wrapped in plastic is a step in the right direction. Incidentally, many of the food containers and wrappers are not free of BPA and other similar chemicals. By buying in bulk and portioning food into reusable containers, we can drastically reduce the amount of plastic we generate. We saw so many creative, reusable containers this week and many families are clearly on target with reducing waste where they can.
One strength of the program came from pairing classroom learning about the “why” behind reducing Single Use Plastics and separating waste correctly. They learned that Single Use Plastics (SUPs) include anything we use once and throw away like straws, candy wrappers, juice containers, single-serving snacks, coffee cups, plastic utensils and plastic wrap. Choosing to eliminate these items from our meals and foregoing the minor conveniences they provide is a constant challenge for most people, but is an important issue to address for the sake of the envioronment.
We saw the most reduction in plastic in grade levels where teachers participated in the voluntary exercises and invited the guest speakers. Rodd Pemble from SSC showed students examples of plastic waste and alternatives they could buy instead. Mark Peterson from Sustainable Connections explained what local businesses are doing to reduce food and plastic waste, and how we can ask businesses to make earth-friendly choices like adopting an “only by request” policy for straws.
To help students separate waste in the lunchroom, we created mobiles of real eye-level examples of the trash and recycling students were throwing away. Volunteers Heather Alvis, Mary Alvis, Mardi Solomon, and Cindy Scott from Whatcom Farm-to-School helped manage the waste station. Ideally, we would have student-monitors at each lunch throughout the year, so the school can be self-sustaining and still produce clean recycling and compost.
By counting kids and the number of SUPs in each of the 3 lunches, we were able to compare the ratio of kids to SUPs on Monday and Friday. We calculated an impressive 37% decrease in SUPs for the 2nd lunch. In recognition of their success, 2nd lunch was awarded a “Golden Lunchbox” at the monthly Panda Pride Assembly.
Friday, Plastic Free Day, we left kids to manage waste without adult help and found only a few items in the wrong bins. The compost for all 3 lunches poured into the Food 4 Flowers bin with no plastic. “Look at this” exclaimed Mr. Scott “the compost is 100% clean - amazing!”
After seeing first hand what kids are throwing away, making the following changes would have the biggest impact on waste reduction:
We appreciate the effort from all the Parkview parents and kids who reduced plastics throughout the week and hope to continue seeing a reduction in SUPs and clean waste management for the remainder of the school year.
The success of the week stemmed from support of many teachers, cooperation from custodial and lunchroom staff and Parkview administration. As we move into the new school year, perhaps Plastic Awareness Week can be plugged into the curriculum early on at Parkview, and as a community we can foster an ever increasing appreciation for building sustainable, waste conscious schools across the entire district.
]]>Choose wine that you know has real wooden corks rather than those cheap plastic ones. It’s hard to tell unless you’ve bought the brand before, but you can use CorkWatch by Re-Cork - a database of wines from all over and tells you ‘natural’ or ‘plastic’ corks. You can even add to the database if your wine isn’t listed.
Cork has shown to keep the flavor better in some cases, and the cool thing is that harvesting cork is actually HEALTHY for the trees and supports local commerce in regions like Portugal. According to Corkforest, cork is the most sustainable and renewable forest resource.
Support the cork industry by buying wine and other products that use cork and when you’re done, ship it off to be recycled into new products.
]]>My husband was my hero when he walked in the door with these wool dryer balls. Initially, he was convinced that all natural dryer sheets weren’t polyester, but low and behold, they ARE. Guilty as charged.
Dryer sheets are used to stop static cling and give clothes a fresh scent, so we gave these all natural wool balls a try. They mix up the clothes in the dryer and knock out a good portion of the static cling (not all of it, but enough). You can even add essential oils to get clothes smelling like summer - so far we’ve tried a few drops of rosemary oil and are happy with the results.
You can take your pick of sizes and styles of wool dryer balls on Etsy, and there are several online retailers that carry them. We found our unbleached version at a local grocery store - just make sure they don’t come wrapped in plastic.
]]>Now that I've made about 6 batches of yogurt with this method, I feel it's ok to share my "recipe" for Slow Cooker Plain Yogurt. I put that in quotes, because it's a little too easy to call a recipe. Definitely the easiest slow cooker recipes I've ever used...and ONLY because of that I think I can sustain this.
Did you know that flavored yogurt is loaded with sugar? More grams of sugar are often found in strawberry yogurt than in strawberry ice cream. So if you want the snack without all the sugar, you'll be better off with plain flavor and adding your own fruit & honey.
This recipe makes about a gallon of yogurt. I recently priced out local milk and Nancy's yogurt at the co-op and found that we're saving about $8.50 on this every couple of weeks, so that seems worth it, right?
You Need:
First, Add the milk to the Slow Cooker
Set it on Low for about 4 hours. Check back periodically until it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't let this get too hot, because you'll ruin the batch. Set 2 or 3 timers if you must.
Turn off the slow cooker and remove the insert from the heating element. Twist the lid sideways to let the heat escape and set in a safe place until it cools to 120 degrees F. This takes about 2 hours and I recommend setting a timer. Don't let it get below 120F, otherwise the culture won't work - it's a sad day when you lose your yogurt that way.
Next, gently pour in the yogurt starter you saved from the last batch and lightly stir to combine.
Now set the insert back in the heating element (keeping it turned off) and cover with a towel to encourage very SLOW cooling. This gives all those beneficial bacteria time to grow and thrive. Leave it completely undisturbed overnight, or for a good 8-10 hours.
Now for the fun part. The next morning, uncover your creation! Open the lid and gently stir the now thick yogurt you just made :)
From here, I like to use an immersion blender to mix everything up to an even texture. Alternatively, you could pour this into cheesecloth over a bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 days for thicker yogurt. The only issue with that is that you get a lot of leftover liquid called whey, and it's not very appetizing (although you can put it in smoothies). By mixing with an immersion blender, we get a full gallon of usable yogurt out of the recipe. It IS thinner than store bought yogurt, but flavor is the same.
Finally, use a funnel to pour the yogurt into glass jars.
PRO TIP: It's so frustrating to run completely out of yogurt and to have to buy some at the store to make your own. Include a small 8oz jar in your group and put it in the BACK of your refrigerator so you don't use it. This way you save just enough for the next starter.
And that's it. Now you have plenty of jars of fresh yogurt to use in all kinds of meals and recipes. Enjoy!
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As a reminder, here was my January goal:
Eliminate all plastic grocery bags, sandwich baggies, freezer bags and plastic wrap for food storage.
I actually feel pretty good about meeting my goal for this month. We haven’t had any food storage baggies in the house now for months and I am beginning to forget about them as an option. I pack my daughter’s lunches in reusable containers. She is great about bringing everything home so I can decide what to do with it, including her food scraps. Although I do feel great about this, I am often daunted by what a tiny dent this is actually making. The zero-wasters out there can fit their garbage in a jar. I am still producing a tall kitchen garbage bag every 3-4 days (for 7 people), plus a whole lot more in diapers.
January success story: It can be time consuming and mentally draining, but I have started to research packaging on every item that I buy. This month, I needed orange juice for a recipe. I couldn’t find any sold in glass jars and learned that the paper cartons (Tetrapak) are lined with a layer of, you guessed it, plastic. The frozen juice also has plastic in it. I found a YouTube video about how to break down frozen cans by soaking overnight, removing the plastic film, and recycling each piece. Ugh….what a hassle. So instead I decided to simply skip the OJ entirely. The recipe called for 1 cup and I just skipped it! My pulled pork still turned out great and I had zero anxiety about bringing in another piece of plastic into the house!
January failure: I grocery shop online which adds a huge complication to being plastic free. My local grocery store is pretty good about not using bags but I have to go in on EVERY SINGLE produce item and make a note. It is time intensive to say the least. I am still trying to determine if the convenience is worth it or if I need to just suck it up and actually go to the store. The failure this month happened when someone missed my “no bags” note and still packed in plastic bags. They offered to unpack them for me but also told me that they couldn’t be re-used. I think the biggest fail here is actually on the store. Why isn’t there an option at checkout for bag preference? It would be SO much easier to just say at the end that I am bringing my own or allow me to choose paper!! It is so strange to me that the plastic bag ban where I live does not apply when you order online. Yes, I can make my own personal choices but what about every other customer?
Overall thoughts on going plastic free: I have so many things in use in my home that I have owned before I cared about plastic. My biggest challenge is to stick to only changing one thing a month. With every lifestyle change, there is a cost. And as much as I would love to, I can’t start buying cleaning supplies in jars, natural deodorant or locally made, fresh bread all at once. I have found that these products are out there but they are spendy which is why I have to stick to my plan. I tend to get lost online looking at amazing products only to complete my grocery order with the same old toothpaste in a plastic tube. At times, I long for the days that I cared only about natural ingredients and cost and didn’t consider the packaging. I am trying to give myself grace, take it one step at a time and get excited about each new step. I am super excited for February and what I have found to solve my milk dilemma. More on that to come.
A few more tidbits: I have made a couple of other changes as they have come up outside of my plan.
I’m about to lay out a month by month plan for me and my family, tackling one plastic item each month. This way, I only have to make one major change every 30 days or so and can ease my way through the struggles and loss of convenience that are sure to come.
January – Eliminate all plastic grocery bags, sandwich baggies, freezer bags and plastic wrap for food storage.
I am starting with an easy one since I am basically already doing this. For Christmas, I got some glass refrigerator boxes – perfect for leftovers. I will pack my daughter’s lunches in containers and reusable bags (which I already own) and will continue to refuse baggies and plastic wrap at parties. Finally, I will remember to ALWAYS carry reusable bags in the store, make sure to bring my own when I grocery shop online and as a last resort, insist on paper.
February – Milk
I am lucky to have a dairy about 10 minutes from my house that makes milk in glass bottles. It is a bit more expensive but this expense feels worth it. I am going to build in a weekly stop by me (or someone else in my family who drives right by for work) and transition to milk and coffee milk from Twin Brook Creamery. Added bonus, I get to support a local farm.
March – To-Go Coffee
The only way I will ever buy a coffee from a coffee shop in 2017 is in my own cup. To be successful with this one, I need a great ceramic mug that stays in my car for those unexpected stops. If friends or family offer to bring me a coffee, I will say no thank you. Most of the time, I don’t really need the coffees and will certainly benefit from this line item being removed from my budget.
April – Drinks in Plastic bottles
Refuse all drinks in plastic bottles for me and the kids. Always have water bottles in the car for the kids. Stop buying juice boxes, 2 liter bottles of anything or any other drinks that come in plastic. Try to educate the kids to hopefully make similar choices when they are away from the house. Drink water as much as possible.
May – Plan ahead for restaurants, avoid fast food and takeout as much as possible
It is almost impossible to avoid plastic at fast food restaurants, food courts or for take out. So the best strategy for me is just to avoid most kid friendly restaurants. However, when we do find ourselves eating out, we can choose restaurants that compost everything (like Taco Time or Fiamma Burger in Bellingham), bring our own paper straws and make menu choices that minimize plastic containers. To accomplish this, I will have a few sets of travel silverware in the car so we never have to take the disposable ones.
June – Plastic bags for produce and bulk items
By June, I will have purchased some reusable/mesh bags for produce and will figure out a way to get my bulk items into mason jars. Check out grocery store options (Co-op, Whole Foods and Win-Co) as well as visit farmer’s markets for produce that is not packaged.
July – Soap
Transition all soap in the house to bar soap. I have a friend who makes soap so I was thinking about having a little soap making party to make an annual supply. Research and purchase at bar shampoo.
August – Compost in order to reduce plastic trash bags
We are lucky to have a farm with chickens. It really cuts down on most food waste and wet garbage. However, we can step it up a bit and be sure that no food waste hits the garbage can. By this summer, I plan to assign feeding the chickens as a job to the older kids so that the bowl is emptied each day.
September – Granola bars
One thing I buy regularly that is individually wrapped is granola/protein bars. By September, I plan to research some good recipes and make my own! I will choose one day a month and have a bulk baking day. Luckily, I will have the help of my Dad who is retired. My parents live on our farm and are also interested in less plastic so I envision this as a project we can do together for both our families.
October – Toilet paper, paper towels & cleaning supplies
Research and find brands that do not come in plastic. If I can’t find any paper towels offered this way…make the switch to reusable dish rags. Make easy home-made cleaning supplies and when all else fails…buy Seventh Generation or other eco-friendly brands that at least use recycled plastic.
November – Party supplies and holiday décor
No more balloons or other plastic decorating items. Use only paper to decorate for Christmas or the décor we already have. Reuse happy birthday banners and resist the urge to buy any more Halloween or Christmas décor items. Use natural materials for wreaths and swag! This makes the best decorations anyways.
December – No new plastic for Christmas
This one will be tough which is why I am giving myself a whole year to work towards it. I am not sure that I can do a plastic free Christmas but am going to work really hard to drastically reduce the amount of gifts I buy that are made of or wrapped in plastic. A couple exceptions might be toothbrushes for the kids and second hand toys. Or a gift made of plastic that is durable like legos. I am going to wrap my gifts in recyclable paper (newsprint) and try to limit the amount of gifts for the kids. Move towards experience gifts and family adventure as opposed to more plastic things! I will especially be avoiding anything plastic and disposable like markers, some art supplies, beads, etc.
Wish me luck as I embark on my road to less plastic. I am sure I will need it. And best of luck to you in whichever self improvement areas you are working on!
Happy New Year!
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For years my husband Miguel and I tried to move away from plastic toys, plastic containers and plastic crap, but found it difficult to commit wholeheartedly to going plastic free. Honestly, we didn’t commit to anything, and just felt guilty whenever we fell victim to its lure. We’d go through periods of pushing plastic away via garage sales, Craigslist, Goodwill, landfill or consignment store, threatening never to see it again.
Then we invite it in over and over via grocery shopping, attending conferences, accepting well-meaning gifts, buying an iPhone and getting Thai take-out on busy nights. We recycle everything we can, compost, and make home-cooked meals. But the truth is, we’re kidding ourselves. According to research, the majority of our plastic (even the recycling) is destined for the dump, China, the ocean and Albatross.
In the "real world" there is no "away" and our good-natured recycling is mostly an illusion. By sending it away from our sight, it doesn't really disappear. There are several organizations working on solutions, but the problem is much bigger, and it begins with consumers. We are contributing to the plastic pollution problem every time we buy anything with plastic, and unfortunately, that's almost everything.
Is there any possibility of finding peace again with good ol’ wood, metal, unprocessed food and organic fabrics? Can I live without my Silk Vanilla Creamer? Tea Bags? Cheese? Ziploc bags? I love all that stuff.
I don’t know where I was back in 2011 when Plastic Free was published, but sadly I’m very behind. Being a competitive person, I need to catch up to this PF thing ASAP. Fortunately there is a well seasoned support group with people all over the world that are doing this. I’m only sorry it has taken me so long to commit. Fortunately, I’ve convinced everyone in my house to help. October 2016 marks the beginning of our family’s journey toward being plastic free.
Here is a picture of almost all the plastic I used in 2 weeks. The remains of everything plastic destined for the landfill or recycling because I was here for 2 weeks. It may not seem so bad, but there are many people that don’t generate this much garbage in 4 years! I can change.
The place to start wherever possible is with "Refuse" - the New "R" in Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Refuse single-use plastic.
Plastic disposal & recycling is a problem of an overwhelming scale. However, our family says “We can do this”. And along with many thousands of other plastic-free enthusiasts around the world, we’re ALL IN. Little by little, we are eliminating the beast. Believe me, we know it’s going to take some time to really get to a “professional” level of plastic free sobriety. It’s going to take a lot of self-discipline and forward thinking, and we’re so ready for the struggle and adventure.
With the season of gift-giving just around the corner, we’ve decided to give experiences rather than material gifts. Actually, there has been quite a bit of research done on this topic, and studies show that experiences are more fulfilling and provide more enduring happiness (source).
We've planned a getaway for the 3 days after Christmas to explore a new city, and we've made a list of classes, annual memberships, events and programs we can attend instead of material gifts. With small children, this will be a transition year, so we might not be perfect, but we're going to give it our best shot. We've also created a wishlist of plastic-free containers, utensils and supplies to replace the plastic bags and Tupperware we're using in the kitchen.
Don't be surprised if you get homemade ketchup in your stocking this year Mom.
In her fabulous article “46 Ways to Give Experience instead of Gifts this Year”, Wellness Mama describes the benefits of Experiential gift giving like a pro, along with some practical ideas for receiving and giving gifts.
We will not buy new plastic toys for ourselves or for our children, and we invite or families to support us by not buying plastic for us. We walk a fine line between protecting personal convictions on gift giving while not offending those who do not hold the same convictions we do. By establishing boundaries, giving suggestions, and leading by example, we hope to minimize the undo stress around what and what not to give.
We already have a lot of toys and gadgets that are made of plastic, and our first priority is to use the heck out of them (as long as not for food) and then to slowly give them away responsibly. This includes toys, CDs, polyester, nylon, kits, figurines, electronics and anything stored or wrapped in plastic packaging. The landfill will be our very last option for getting rid of stuff. We will give away and recycle what we can, but most importantly, we will fight the urge to get more stuff we don't really need.
In the spirit of inspiring other kids to think about minimizing plastic, our 7 year old daughter has decided to ask her school to stop using single-use plastics in the lunchroom & elsewhere. She is saddened to see kids taking multiple straws in the lunch line, just to be funny. One-time use plastic cups and silverware being tossed into the garbage daily, and she’s ready to raise her hand with alternative ideas.
If this article has inspired you to think about your use of plastics, I encourage you to check out Plastic Free by Beth Terry. Her writing style is comforting and not at all disparaging, which I really appreciated. Everyone is in a unique place in deciding how far they are willing to go, and you have to make the decisions that feel right to you. No doubt you’ll find something of value in this book, no matter where you stand on the issues.
What is your biggest challenge with eliminating single-use plastics in your life?
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