Goodbye Plastic (Okay Sort Of)

Don't worry, Mom, I'm not going cold turkey. It will be a gradual process that may take the rest of my productive years to perfect. However, when I think about the two tall kitchen bags of stuff that we produce every two weeks, I get a nagging feeling -- it's mostly non-recyclable plastic encased in plastic. Our two garbage bags produced every two weeks (or about 50 bags a year) is never going to go away (at least not in the next 400-1000 years). 

I feel very lucky that we live in Portland with its fantastic recycling and municipal composting programs. It is the only reason that we are able to only produce one garbage bag of stuff a week with three adults and a toddler in our household. But when it comes right down to it, recycling isn't enough and we need to shift our habits.

Before you close the browser and roll your eyes while muttering "damn hippie" under your breath, there are also reasons beyond the waste that we generate. The plastic toys that our children play with and the plastic encasing nearly all of the processed food that we eat leech chemicals. Some of these chemicals, like BPA, are known endocrine disruptors and others, like BPA "safe" replacements that are now used for baby bottles, etc., may be even worse. As I've learned, when I buy that BPA-free canned corn, I'm likely just getting an even higher dose of the stuff I am trying to avoid. Ugh. Talk about a total downer.

I started doing research a few months ago about how to start weaning myself off of plastics (and start making choices about which personal care products I use -- but that's an entirely different subject). I found a book, Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, that was exactly what I needed. I read it cover to cover and decided that I needed to start making a shift, not just for the environment, but for our health too. I'm not going to collect all of the plastic that I use each week and count the items, as I have neither the time or the inclination, but I now think about every single item that I purchase at the grocery store and whether its wrapping/box/container is recyclable or not. Realistically, I'm not going to eliminate plastic from our lives. It's not reasonable in today's world, and I'm not going to wear tin foil hats and live like a survivalist. However, I am determined to make a change and one that does not involve being all high and mighty about my "greenness."

Look at me, I'm a flawed being; our nuts/dried fruit/nut butter section of the cupboard is jammed with plastics. Clearly, I have a lot of work to do. Bulk bins, meet Brasilliant. Brasilliant, meet bulk bins. I have my cloth bulk sacks ready to go, but it is so hard to quit Trader Joe's prices and selection (shaking fist). I do feel very lucky that we literally live across the street from Whole Foods and a New Seasons Market is opening five blocks away by the end of the summer, both of which have great bulk selections. Paycheck meet your new home, Whole Foods. It's taken a while, but I've learned to make peace with the 15% increase in our grocery bills, because when it comes right down to it, if I have the choice to walk across the street or get in my car and drive, I'm going to walk every time. 

Wow, that was a long-winded way of saying that I'm going to try to stop using as much plastic. This is my attempt at holding myself accountable. I'm banking on it getting easier with time! It gets easier with time right? Right?