We did it!

Well, we made it! A month of avoiding single-use plastic, and we mostly succeeded, with some exceptions. We learned how to reduce our plastic consumption habit considerably, and most of out newly-adopted habits will stay with us. It's been fun, challenging, frustrating, and time-consuming, but it's been worth it, definitely.

What are we sticking with?

• Bulk snacks, flours, sugar, spices, oils and vinegars, coffee, tea, granola, most pastas
• No-plastic versions of laundry and dish detergent, and bulk refills of dish soap
• Bar hand soap and shaving soap, shampoo, and bulk lotion
• Plastic free toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes, dental floss
• Plastic-free packaged meats, seafood, poultry, deli meats, sliced cheese
• Plastic free produce (except for the little plastic sticky labels)
• Breads from the bakery (or homemade)
• Condiments in glass jars/bottles with metal caps, or homemade

What will we probably still buy sometimes?

• Five-Hour Energy (Thom never had plans to give this up)
• Tennis balls (although I have just ordered Wilson balls in 100% recyclable paper containers - very exciting!)
• Potato chips
• Cases of canned cat food
• Milk and juice in cartons with the small plastic caps
• Boxed pasta in cardboard with little plastic windows
• Condiments with plastic caps
• Makeup for me, and some skincare products
• Products ordered online that are delivered in some amount of plastic packaging, although we will be cutting back as much as we can

Our single-use plastic usage at the end of the month. The latest additions included remnants from a cat food order and our tennis ball habit.

Progress Week Three

Time to check in our progress after three weeks, and the disposable plastic continues to grow... Unfortunately, Thom's new shaving kit came in plastic packaging. But we're doing okay (although Thom might consider switching to beer in growlers). The next challenge coming up is to see how we do while traveling!

Our disposable plastic after three weeks

Disposable plastic after two weeks

Personal Care Plastics

A very large percentage of personal care products are encased in single-use plastic packaging. We have already switched brands for some products, and are also trying out new products to make sure they will work for us. For me, it meant that on February 1, I put all my plastic-encased personal care products into a sack, which I stored away (note that my frugal side does not allow me to throw those items away, but rather, when it comes time to replace them, I will make plastic-free choices, or at least plastic-reduced choices).

Basically, anything medical-related is most likely (> 99%) going to involve plastic packaging, which includes my meds and the contact lens solution. I like the deodorant, made by Booda Organics, and the bulk body lotion from Eco Collective is very nice. The dental floss was made by Georganics, and we'll continue using it. I'm probably not going to switch my Lancôme or Ever skincare products, but they are mostly glass jars with plastic caps. Not perfect, but not 100% plastic, either. I haven't made up my mind about the conditioning shampoo bar - it is from Dulse & Rugosa, derived from kelp, so it is supposed to be good for the scalp, but I'm not sure whether it is conditioning enough, although my hair is soft and shiny. One bar will last, a long time, though! As for the other hair care products, I am using a dry spray-on conditioner for non-shampoo days, which is in a metal can with a plastic cap. The other Aveda hair products are in storage for the time being - and I really don't think I need them, since I have the moisturizing oil.

As for shaving, Thom has bought a shaving kit (which came in plastic of course) with shaving soap and a brush, and an old-fashioned metal razor with replaceable blades. I don't use a razor that often (thank you, genes), but my nephew Troy recommended the Leaf Shave razor, which I am planning to try out - they are all about plastic-free, including the packaging.

It can be a tricky thing to switch up personal care brands, but, although we cannot go completely away from plastic packaging, we can make a lot of progress in that direction - wish us luck!

Progress Week Two

A few more disposable plastic items crept into our lives this week. We now have three disposable plastic bags in the tub: one wrapper for a live basil plant (I just really wanted some fresh basil, dammit!), one empty bag of birdseed, and one bag that was wrapping a frozen sheet of puff pastry. I could have sworn the puff pastry was wrapped in paper, but I might have put plastic on it when I used the first one. I don't remember.

There is also a clear plastic box that an individual-sized cheesecake came in, that Thom brought home from work yesterday (Valentine's Day) - the wife of one of his coworkers had made them for everyone. This isn't something that we would buy, and what do you do when someone gives you a gift, and it contains disposable plastic? Say "thank you - that is very nice."

The other new item is the empty lotion container, but we have switched to a bulk shea butter lotion that we like, so we won't be buying plastic-encased lotion anymore.

Disposable plastic items after 2 weeks. We used up a tube of lotion, bought some live basil, and used up a bag of birdseed. Thom was gifted a small Valentine's Day cheesecake, which came in a plastic box.

Disposable plastic items after 1 week.

The birdseed bag is a tricky issue, because I looked around quite a bit online before making a few phone calls. There was one company that was very dedicated to the plastic-free concept, and had several brands that came in paper bags - woohoo! The downside is that they are located in Glasgow, Scotland - wanh wanh… Wild Birds Unlimited in Lake Forest Park has lots of selections, but nothing that doesn't come in a plastic bag. However, the guy I spoke with directed me to Skagit Wild Bird Supply in Mount Vernon WA, which he remembered as selling bulk birdseed, "but that was years ago." Well, I called them and Robin (perfect name for working in the bird supply business) told m that yes, they do sell bulk birdseed, as well as paper sacks. There also happens to be a brewery in Mount Vernon that I've been meaning to try, so... road trip!

Condiment City

Condiments seem to be a mixed bag, in that there are lots of plastic options but also lots of glass options. Here is my refrigerator door today, with each container marked according to type (milk, which I used up this morning, comes in a cardboard carton with no cap). The goal here is to reduce the red star containers as much as possible.

Anyway, red star containers include:

• Anchovy paste - I can make this from metal-tinned whole anchovies
• Dijon mustard - I will buy it in a jar next time (I have tried making it, but I have not been able to get it quite right)
• Ketchup - there are glass bottle + metal cap versions
• Newman's Own ranch dressing - I can make a ranch dressing (we don't go through it very fast, so it's better if I make small amounts as we need it)
• Maple syrup - PCC Market has bulk maple syrup, so I can refill this
• Sriracha - I don't think there are glass bottle versions, but I will look!

I have been making my own balsamic vinaigrette for at least six months now, and I just tried my hand at homemade mayo and it passed! The homemade mayonnaise was surprisingly easy to make, and I started off with a half-recipe (in case it was horrible), and did fiddle with the ingredient amounts here and there to make it taste as close to Best Foods (Hellman's) as possible. But it was very easy and keeps in the refrigerator for two weeks. Score!

What is striking to me is that we are all strongly encouraged to use plastic because of its convenience. I am unusual because I have the time and inclination to make my own foods and condiments, but most people just don't have that kind of time. Is there a way to give ourselves a bit more time each day? I don't know...

Snacks!

If you browse the snack aisle in any grocery store, it is wall-to-wall plastic. Dried fruits, nuts, chips of all kinds, cookies, everything in plastic or plastic composite packaging. There are a few tortilla chip brands that come in paper bags with little plastic windows, so those are available as a last resort. Although I love to cook, making chips is really a hassle when buying them is so easy - they are everywhere! I could make my own tortilla chips of course, but tortillas all come in PLASTIC bags. So I could make my own tortillas. Which I actually do sometimes, having a tortilla press. Anyway...

The bulk aisle of most stores, Whole Foods included, has snacks but these are mostly in the form of nuts and dried fruits. Thom likes peanuts but not other nuts, and he's not big on dried fruit. So I was really happy when I went to Ballard Market and saw the selections they had. They remodeled the store in 2018 and the bulk foods section is the largest I've seen so far (although Central Market, part of the same group, is even larger - I will have to check that out). It's also nice that they encourage you to bring your own container. They provide plastic bags but I brought my own paper ones.

The picture below is only half of the snack section - the other half has lots of dried fruits, a half wall of nuts of all kinds, and lots of seeds, too. But in this section, there in the bottom row, fifth bin from the left, are peanut butter stuffed pretzels, which are a big hit with Thom. Lots of other great options, too.

Jackpot!

In addition to the snack-and-candy section shown here, there are legumes, rices and grains, a few pastas, flours, sugars, salts, spices, chocolate of many forms and hues, coffees and teas, and a wall of olive oils and vinegars. This is the place to be!

Progress Week One

We didn't do too badly over the week! Thom is sticking with his 5-hour Energy drinks, as he has not found an acceptable substitute. There are a couple of beer four-pack lids, but we could switch to using growlers, and some brands we like come in cardboard packs. We decided to keep with his preferred juice, which is Dole Pineapple-Orange-Banana, which is in a milk carton-type container, but the small pouring spout is plastic. We looked in many stores and could not find an acceptable substitute in a glass bottle. I was happy that the Knudsen Low-Sodium "Very Veggie" juice in the glass bottle actually tastes better than the V-8 Low Sodium in the plastic bottle. Twice as expensive, though. :(



Day Eight: our disposable plastic usage so far.

We know which stores carry which kinds of items. We are getting used to buying in bulk, and asking the butcher and deli staff to wrap without plastic. We are not using packaged or frozen foods*, but luckily I have the time and inclination to cook. We still go out to eat about once or twice a week. We are doing better than I expected, but it is still a challenge.



This was us on Day One.

 

*… well, excluding the occasional frozen king crab that I bought direct from Trident foods in December - it came in a cardboard box with 10 pounds of king crab legs inside a large plastic bag.