We Made It! December 4, 2008

Exactly a year ago, I posted my first blog….it’s been a challenging, exciting, rewarding, insightful, year….I’ve included my first post below, a reminder as we go full steam ahead into this holiday season. There is a time and a place for plastics to exist (i.e hospitals) but in our homes we need to be really wary of the toxic effects and in our world we need to be very worried about the detrimental effects on our earth and our health.

My very first blog, its been a long time coming. it dawned on me today, though, after spending an entire weekend cleaning out the bedroom closets in our home, that it was time to make it a priority to put words on paper (well, computer screen). As a family of five, we have a lot of stuff. my issues with this “stuff”…..i have a few. Most of it is made in China, most of it will never biodegrade, most of it is made of plastic and most of it is just extra crap in our life. So, with this blog i present myself and my fellow readers with a challenge. Can we, as a group, stop accumulating so much plastic stuff? I believe there will be a new found sense of freedom that comes with a pared down closet, playroom, car, office, etc…..And that’s just on a personal note. The state of affairs in the world may just be improved as well.

“Except for the small amount that’s been incinerated–and it’s a very small amount–every bit of plastic ever made still exists.” (Charles Moore)
That is a mind-altering quote. how can this be? Even recyclable plastic, which is a relatively expensive process so therefore not used very often, will never biodegrade (turn back into its Carbon and Hydrogen elements.) Every year 60 Billion tons of plastic are produced. Where is it going to wind up? Best case scenario, recycled. Likely scenario, in our landfills and even more likely scenario, in our oceans. In fact, in the pacific ocean there is vast swath of ocean (twice the size of texas to be exact) that has become known as the “plastic stew.” Here, in a deep, clockwise-turning vortex of air and water, lies a terrible mess of plastic junk, landfill remnants, old tires, nets and ropes, old bath toys….. any type of garbage you can think of collects in this spot. The stuff has no place to go. Really. it has no place to go. Plastic is here forever.

Read more about plastic in our oceans in this article.

We have a choice. It’s clear. When possible use other options. Be frugal in your plastic purchases. Re-use within your home, within your life whenever possible. Plastic toys for kids–dangerous for many reasons. Plastic water bottles, plastic in a microwave, dangerous for all of us. (yes, it does melt into your food) Whether you believe in the green movement or not, just consider the consequences of plastic being here FOREVER.
In future posts i will have websites connecting us to sites that offer non-plastic options for purchase as well as sites that offer creative approaches to getting around this problem. I would LOVE to hear back from readers about sites you have used, ideas you suggest and any other ideas you have related to this issue. I believe with my whole heart in the power of people to make positive changes in this world.

So with that in mind, here goes my idea. I will post a new idea, every week for a year, on how you can SIMPLY choose an alternative item other than plastic or how you can reuse the plastic you have or how you can eliminate a particular plastic item for good. It is SO, SO, SO possible to make a significant change within one year. mark your calendars, your blackberries, set a weekly reminder–check in once a week. do what it takes. join the plastic not being here forever revolution.

At the end of one year, dec. 2008 we will have made 52 significant changes in the battle against plastic.

#52–My gift to you December 4, 2008

When we first moved to California I called my local recycling facility to find out what types of plastic were recycled. I found out all plastics (good news!) were recycled and picked up by trash service except for take-out containers (bad news!). Take out conatiners are made with such a weak compilation of plastics that nothing can be done with them.  That’s scary, especially considering the hot, steaming food that is served in them.  This can’t be good.

We don’t order much take-out but that first week in CA we ate it almost every night. My stash of unrecyclable containers from that week is horrible….I can’t even reuse them b/c I am so worried about what they leach into our food…

 

In order to prevent the need to rely on take-out I’ve come up with a 6 week rotating menu. I’ve used a form of this menu for years because when the kids were really young I found it overwhelming to food shop and cook 3 healthy,varied meals a day for them.  Between tthis menu, an ample stash of trader joe’s frozen foods, and dinner out on saturday nights at our favorite french place in town (with kids!!)

#51–Glass Water Bottles? Yes! November 21, 2008

A very saavy researcher / friend of ours let us know about this idea….portable, reusable glass water bottles. Sounds like an oxy moron, but it is is true. they are 750 ml(the sport bottle size from poland spring, twist off cap, very classy looking!) i have not tried them yet, but I am ordering now. 

 

The price is really reasonable ($24/ 6 and free shipping) and there is an aquakoozy (get it? like one of those beer kozies) that protects the bottle and makes it really easy to carry.

Our friend’s concern is that most stainless steel water bottles are made in China, which doesn’t have a great track record for high safety standards. I have done as much online research as possible and can not find any study that indicates there is an issue with stainless steel but it is worth noting. Also Sigg bottles are lines with aluminum which has been linked to alzheimers. 

 I will continue to use my stainless steel (as will the kids), but the glass bottles will be a great alternative when we are on a long car trip or someplace where I don’t have to worry at all about breakage.

I’m thinking great holiday gifts….you have to check out this site (if only for the novelty of the idea!)

aquasanastore.com

Just in case you haven’t heard the quote in a while, there are between 70-80,000 single- use, plastic water bottles being consumed every day in America alone…….plastic is known to leech, it is not a stable compound, especially when heated(back seat of car), and equally as horrifying plastic never goes away! Those plastic water bottles, besides compromising your health, will never completely disintegrate, but instead break down into “nurdles” that wind up in our air and our ocean and our bodies. Yuck.

#50–Gifts Galore! November 20, 2008

Some of the feedback i am getting recently is that the gift guides are really helpful. It is so encouraging that so many of us are going plastic-free this holiday season….

 

here is a link from a very comprehensive green website:

http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greengifts/

(all different merchants selling responsibly made goods: t-shirts, fair trade, kids toys, body care products, chocolates, coffee, kitchen goods, flowers and seeds, jewelry, sweaters, yarns for knitting, hats and scarves, organic towels….. the list is endless…something for everybody! )

And for the person who is writing from 4plastics411@gmail who wants to know why we all can’t get along: plastics are harming our environment and our children at alarming rates. You suggest I am intending to wipe out technological advancement. I am not.  But I am hoping to eliminate unnecessary and harmful plastic from our lives. For more on that you can check out the earlier posts on this blog. BTW, beware your shower curtain.

#49- Obnoxious? November 15, 2008

So I’m obsessed with the amount of plastic accumulating around our house right now due to the month of birthdays (mine too!)

When i sent out Patrick’s birthday invites to the local bowling alley I almost wrote on the invites, “please no plastic gifts.” But I stopped myself. I’m the new mom around here and the last thing I need is an obnoxious reputation for myself in the new neighborhood. (left my NY reputation behind me) And besides, I assumed, I am in California, I’m sure no one even gives plastic gifts in this state.

Wrong assumption! Much to Patricks delight we have tons of new, shiny plastic birthday toys around! I truly am glad he is so excited (and I am grateful that people even celebrated the new kids’ birthday with him) but I have a hard time stomaching the fact that my offspring are so responsible for so much junk….

Unfortunately for his big brother I am willing to cross the obnoxious line for his upcoming birthday. The email invite I sent out to his 10 friends in kindergarten mentioned that our family is trying to go the green route and “gifts are not expected but if you do choose to please let it be plastic-free and simple.” Hmmm….still not sure if that is obnoxious as I haven’t heard any responses to that yet but I will keep you posted.

Some thoughts I’ve had (we’ve been going to parties too and the holidays are coming up):

• small parties with 5 of kids closest friends
• Group gifts–why not chip in with one or two other families and give a plastic-free gift or that way if it is plastic the damage is less pervasive
• gently used toys (does that sound red neck?)
•  start a great chapter book collection 
• Adopt an animal (world wildlife fund and many other organizations have this now)
• jewelry 
• art supplies (functional plastic?), coloring books, craft materials 
• puzzles, blocks, stuffed animals
• ice cream gift certificates
• cool t-shirt
• construction tools (target has great selection of tools– adult supervision required but super fun)
• board games (without plastic pieces)
• very own stainless steel water bottle
• baking supplies
• gardening set, with the real tools
• automoblox (wooden cars with interchanging pieces)

I think it helps to stock up on a bunch of “good” gifts….

Magiccabin.com

hearthsong.com (really cool toy called bilbo, made of recycled plastic), connectagons, qwirkle,dado cubes,

rosiehippo.com

tjmaxx (lots of good choices)

#48-Are Legos Legal in My World? November 14, 2008

November brings wild happenings around our house as both our boys have their birthdays this month. Torture for the mom trying to go plastic free. The only thing on their list this year is legos. What to do? Since I don’t think I will be able to convince lego- land to go plastic-free (or at least use recycled plastic–that’s brilliant) I am in quite a bind.

I would like to give them wood blocks, a book collection, lots of puzzles, a tool kit, a never-ending hug, a letter that tells them how much I love them. But, my innate mommy-ness (aka common-sense) does not allow me to be the cause of such disappointment on their birthday mornings…..

So they will get legos but I will make myself feel better about it in the meantime….

• No other plastic (including party goods) 
• no wrapping paper, unless homemade or recycled
• tried ebay for a used collection (this didn’t work out but the idea has potential….)
• homemade food and cake (take out food is a major crime in plastic-free land! as are the huge cake containers!)
• a huge hug,a letter telling them how much I love them, and 3 million kisses so they never forget 

I do so love the lego collection….it is SO much fun to build with them and the creations are really cool (indiana jones temple of the lost skull is amazing!!) I am on a mission to convert LEGO to using recycled plastic–what better place to make use of recycled plastic? I’ll keep you informed as to how that goes.

In the meantime, happy building (and no other plastic allowed)

#47-Lethal If Inhaled (not marijuana!) November 2, 2008

The other day the Pest Control Man knocked on my door (new home in CA) to introduce himself and let me know he would be spraying every two weeks to control pests (i.e spiders, ants, termites,  other bugs) from coming into our house (we are renting our home, the owners have a contract with this company). I asked him what he was spraying? “Tenguard.” When I mentioned we had kids and I was concerned that a chemical spray could be dangerous to them he said, “No, not at all. We do this all the time. I have kids, too, and we always spray.” Then he said, “maybe just keep them out of the dirt until it rains and it sinks in…..” (he must not have boys!)

I asked him for the literature on the product which he readily gave me (impressive he even had it in the truck.)  I photocopied 6 pages worth of material on the 3 different products the company uses. The ingredient list looked something like this: fipronil, 5-amino-1(2,6-dichloro-4-(triflouromethyl)phenyl)-4((1,R.S)-triflouromethyl)sulfinyl-1H1pyrazole-3-carbonitrile. 

Here is what I found:

Splashed across the top of the pages: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN

Then there is a box that lists what to do if swallowed, inhaled, on the skin, or in the eyes:

• Immediately call poison control, 
• if unconscious move person to fresh air (note: spray is administered in the fresh air.),
•  if person is not breathing call 911 and then give artificial respiration, preferably by mouth to mouth if possible (note: it really says this)
  
• rinse skin immediately with plenty of water for 15-20 MINUTES

This spray and/ or pellets are sprayed around the perimeter of the house. Maybe the rain comes and washes it away (right into our water supply). Maybe it doesn’t rain and it sits on the ground for quite some time. 

So here we have a “legal” chemical being distributed by a company who believes in their product. They are actually allowed to promote this product and people pay for it!!!  

Today, in the U.S. alone, there are 80,000 chemicals on the market. America’s system for regulating chemicals is not set up to protect our health. The chemical industry is able to block and / or delay public protections by insisting that proof of harm based on precise measurements of exposure and correlated risk must be established. (Environmental Action, Fall 2008). 

Are they kidding? It is impossible  to track the sicknesses, diseases, learning disabilities that stem from a specific chemical when our entire country is one big mass of chemicals.

FRIGHTENING: A recent study performed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found 287 industrial chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of 10 newborn babies. This isn’t fair and it isn’t right. Yet, chemicals pervade until we step up and demand action. It is so important that we the consumers take charge of our own health and situation.

• ASK A LOT OF ?’s
• Don’t believe what a company says (do the research) (ex. au natural make-up companies, most are b.s.)
• Eliminate as many chemicals as possible within your home and life (i.e pesticides, cleaning sprays, make-up, plastic toys and junk, read blog for other ideas)
• Buy organic and green. It makes a difference. (Notice how much easier it is to find green cleaning supplies and how well they work. When the consumer demands, the supply follows).
• General rule of thumb–if you can’t pronounce the ingredients then best idea is to avoid product
• Environmental-action.org (ideas on going chemical-free)

#45–Right back at ya. October 12, 2008

My first blogpost from California……

The other day I asked Patrick’s teacher how we could celebrate his 4 year old birthday, coming up in a few weeks. We had already ordered Pokemon birthday supplies,(all paper goods) which we were ecstatic about using, and I figured add in some mini cupcakes and we were good to go…..

Well, not quite. In this school they have this amazingly impressive, green, HEALTHY system down. They already have re-usable snack- ware (pokemon not invited), and the snack (everyday) should consist of a carbohydrate, a dairy, and a fruit or veggie–even on birthdays! Music to my ears,and surprisingly fine with Patrick. This is what the kids are used to and he is just fine to go along or the ride (consolation to all the bleeding hearts out there: Patrick will get to use pokemon supplies for his out of school bday party, but I am fully expecting to get questioned by someone on that!).

So, next I ask the teacher about bringing in homemade pumpkin bread and organic frozen yogurt tubes, a favorite in our house.  She said “well, that would be ok this time, BUT we are trying to go PLASTIC-FREE in this school.”

Enough said, right back at ya.

#44- A Green Halloween September 29, 2008

Halloween has grown on me now that our kids love it, but I have a really hard time stomaching all the waste….. there’s got to be a better way.

Some of our very basic ideas:

• share, reuse, homemade costumes–its not our kids first choice as we’ve been receiving costume catalogs since July, but if you can get away with borrowing…. (i know there are at least 700 of us who own the chili pepper costume)
• no plastic goody bags
• plastic-free candy–lollipops are kinda low maintenance(except for the cavities!), hershey’s small chocolate bars, hershey kisses, apples,(kinda boring) pencils, 
• party goods–no plastic or styrofoam!!
• homemade decorations

The sites below have fantastic ideas (better than mine) for organic candy to give out, organic food, green party ideas and lots of other great advice.

naturemoms.com

green this halloween

care2.com

kiwimagazine.com– great craft projects!

celebrations.com–good adult party ideas (spiked pumpkin punch!)

 

This is another one of those times, if we all do a little the result is big. Here’s to a green Halloween…..and a couple glasses of spiked pumpkin punch!

#42–Avoiding Produce Bags September 29, 2008

Ok, so this may seem like something little, that’s been my reason for not writing about this……but I keep coming back to this idea b/c it all adds up. A lot of us have become reeeally good at remembering to bring our cloth shopping bags, why not produce bags? First off, I try to use as few as possible when shopping. Do avocados really need to be bagged? bananas? potatoes? If I do use, i try not to tightly knot, then i can easily untie when I get home and stuff produce bag right back into cloth bag for next time. Obviously there are exceptions (my lettuce bags tend to be one-timers), but its really not too tricky to re-use most of these bags…..

A friend, who so sincerely complimented my non-use and re-use of produce bags, sent me this link….

the peaceful company.

They sell cloth produce bags, although a bit pricey ($16 / 3 bags), really functional and very reusable. The site also has other great recycled, reclaimed gift items, household goods, and cleaning supplies.