My first basic steps in reducing our plastic use has to do with prepping my car:
1) Keep car stocked with reusable shopping bags. I just plan to leave a bag of bags in the trunk. I then have to remember to bring them into the store when I shop. I've noticed I'll remember when I am shopping for food, but I usually don't even think about it when shopping at other types of stores. The other hard thing to remember is to put the bags back in the trunk after I'm done unloading groceries or whatever else. So it is a (fairly) new three step habit to get into: a) put bags in trunk b) remember to take into stores with me 3) remember to put bags back in trunk!
By the way, I got a free bag from these folks. What a neat community project!
(NB: Even better! I've discovered 2 bags I have fold up small enough to comfortably fit in my purse. Even in my effort to remember bags since last Friday, I actually forgot at one point, but then realized I'd put one in my purse! Ta da! Man these little habits are truly hard for me. Is there something wrong with me????)
2) I need to remember to keep a water bottle with me. I am out a lot and need to drink lots of water. So it should be a regular thing to be taking a newly filled water bottle into the car and then remembering to bring it into the house and wash it, to make it ready for next day's use. I also need to keep an extra empty water bottle or two in the car just in case any other passengers get thirsty. I need a place to stow these. We have about a million cup holders in our mini-van, so this really isn't a problem. We should learn to fill these when we find a tap we can use or just fill them at fast food places at the soda machine.
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| I've got the purple one. |
We have various water bottles we've collected over the years. Many are indeed made out of plastic. I have one expensive one that I bought from Whole Foods several years ago. It is great EXCEPT I find it hard to get the cap back on quickly. It is a screw on cap and I have to fight with it a bit to make it twist on evenly. The plastic water bottles are lighter weight and better for taking on hikes or camping. We've had a couple of stainless steel water bottles, but I have to admit I do not like the taste of water that has been left in a stainless steel water bottle for a while. And the bottoms of both bottles got kind of banged up and crushed and one started leaking and the other is so uneven at the bottom it doesn't stand up well on its own.
3) Coffee travel mugs - I need to bring my coffee or tea with me if I want coffee while I'm out. I actually do this about 50% of the time anyway, but I need to make it 100%. Again, an extra travel mug or two is helpful when passengers want a hot drink too. I've never done this but I hear you can ask Starbucks to fill your travel mug for you, or at places like Panera where the coffee is out already in thermoses. I would imagine the only problem is making sure you get the right amount of coffee, so that you aren't paying for a small or tall, but then pouring venti or grande into your mug! I may have to figure out how many ounces are in a travel mug. We have collected a variety of mugs over the years. We have a couple that have lost their caps. I hear you can order new ones! That's a good idea!
Even though most of water bottles and travel mugs we have now are made of plastic, I plan to intentionally use them for a long period of time and be conscientious about always having them available or just going without a drink! (Odds are, I am not going to perish from dehydration or lack of caffeine before I can get back to my own home!). As I need to replace them, I will try to be more conscientious about the plastic.
Just doing these simple things: avoiding plastic bags, avoiding take out cups, straws and disposable plastic lids is a huge step in the right direction in reducing plastic pollution. Everybody needs to try to get into these habits!
The coffee chains over here encourage people to take their own travel cups. Apparently Starbucks even give a discount if you use your own. I really should do that too, but I rarely buy take away coffee and when I do I never think of it. A law was introduced here a year or two ago under which stores have to make a five pence charge for plastic carrier bags. We routinely carry bags in the car now, and I have a couple of folding lightweight bags-in-a-bag I always carry with me. It isn't even as though the charge is that much, but it still makes us think more about using plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could get a law passed here that would either ban or tax bags. Some stores, like Whole Foods, gives you a small discount if you bring your own bags.
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