Week 24 Plastic Waste

I have some catching up to do! This doesn't seem like a lot for 4 weeks worth of plastic-- likely missing some windowed envelopes and fruit stickers. Look for larger items in the coming weeks as I clean out my freezer and run out of things like SHAMPOO (this is a big one).

Laundry detergent scoop: Do 'green' brands like Ecover come without the scoop? I will "tide" myself over by buying the small cardboard boxes of detergent at the laundromat until I figure out my options. Will re-use if I can.

Hair clip: It was in the bottom of my bag. It was old and brittle. It broke. Plastic does that. I got it free at a Swapping Party, so easy come, easy landfill, I guess.

Toothpaste: Very excited to finish up this tube and go with Beth Terry's recommendation of Tom's of Maine SLS-free toothpaste. I like it a lot! Cap goes to Aveda, tube to the landfill.

Bag and sticker from EcoDent dental floss: Very little waste, considering. I still have 2 plastic boxes of floss to finish before starting on the EcoDent. Landfill.

More stickers: fruit and from the Tom's of Maine toothpaste box. Landfill.

Debit card: expired. Cut up, then landfill.

Clothing tags: I purchased several new pairs of underwear. Is this less plastic than if I'd bought a bag of Fruit of the Loom undies? Landfill.

Ice cream taster spoon: I went to the trouble of asking for a cone, then a re-usable cup instead of a plastic one. Would I like to taste the hazelnut? Sure! Two seconds later-- D'oh! Landfill.

Ketchup cup: Next time I order yummy french fries at the Beer Garden, I need to ask for ketchup right on the plate.

Energy Kitchen Cup: This one deserves a letter. The surface is covered with paper, so it looks like paper but is actually STYROFOAM. (Granted I should have stuck with my Kleen Kanteen, but got lazy and was craving a soda.) How can a company that is trading on a healthy image feel OK with using so much plastic packaging and service items? I guess "healthy" and "plastic free alternatives" aren't linked in the public imagination. I wonder if that will change with time. Landfill- after I write that letter.

Bag Tax Action

It looks like the State Assembly will soon see the proposal for a 5-cent tax on plastic shopping bags in NYC.

The city and State of NY already have a bag recycling law for large chain stores, but without a tax it doesn't do much to decrease the number of bags being used and wasted.

It remains to be seen if this will get public approval. Will it be a common sense fund raiser that also does environmental good, or will it be the straw that broke the camel's back in bad financial times? Talk about the huge MTA fare hikes and people complain but shrug, accepting it as inevetible. But a nickel bag tax? Right now could make New Yorkers IRATE.

BTW my favorite, favorite part of NYC's bag recycling law is that stores that take bags for recycling must also offer re-usable bags for sale. More and more people are using them, and it is good to see.

A sign of sea change

You know attitudes are changing when you see an infomercial like this:



I just saw this ad on ESPN during my lunch break. ESPN. That means the company is paying big bucks to saturate their message- they smell big profit.

And I am THRILLED.

A word to the wise, though-- from comments on the YouTube page it seems there has been difficulty getting the canteens from this company delivered after ordering. Other stainless steel bottles are already out there and can be purchased in stores, for instance Kleen Kanteens are at Whole Foods.

Earth Day at Grand Central

Yesterday at lunch I walked by Grand Central and was caught by surprise. There was an Earth Day fair! A big one! I am constantly amazed by this city. Huge events can take place, attracting thousands, and 2 blocks away you wouldn't know it. I should have known about the Earth Day at Grand Central event, but didn't.

It is still going on today until 5pm, so drop by if you are out and about! There are many great booths there, petitions to sign, tap water to sample, drawings to enter, and even a little swag if that is your thing. The fair is on the west side of Grand Central, outdoors.

One of the people I talked to was producer/director Pamela French who is creating short films that ask: "How would you make New York a Greener Apple?" I waited my turn and mentioned a few less-plastic things...I'm afraid I was a little obnoxious. But it was fun!

Check out Pamela's project at www.youtube.com/Agreenerapplenyc

PS- Have you been outside today? It is BEAUTIFUL. Get out there!

Bummer

It looks like we won't be getting our bottle deposit law for a little while yet. Here's fervently hoping any amendments are used only to allow companies to comply, and not to weaken the law.

Heard this morning on public radio:

The expanded bottle deposits were supposed to take effect June 1st, but now Governor Paterson and legislative leaders say it may have to be delayed. It seems the new law has some unintended consequences. It requires that all water bottles sold in New York have a special UPC bar code, so that bottles sold in other states without deposits can't be used to fraudulently collect the nickel deposits from New York redemption centers.

But bottlers, particularly smaller operations, say they can't make all of the necessary changes by then. And some large distributors say they have so much inventory in their warehouses that they can't sell all of the non deposit water bottles in the six or so weeks left before the law is to take effect.

Governor Paterson says he's listened to the companies' concerns, and is looking at ways to delay the implementation of the law.

"We are talking to them," said Paterson "We don't want to do anything to hurt the industry while we are trying to clean up the environment."

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who also received awards, say they are willing to consider delaying the implementation of the law as well, so that bottlers and retailers can comply. Speaker Silver says he's not interested in "hurting businesses", while Senator Smith says there's no harm in correcting a mistake.

Paterson and the leaders say the change could be accomplished through amendments, and believe they won't have to redo the entire bottle deposit law.

Mother Jones Article - I'm a zealot, but a NICE zealot!

I'm thrilled with the article by Elizabeth Royte (and accompanying photo of me by Erica McDonald) that is in the May/June issue of Mother Jones magazine.

There is just one quote that is a little misleading. It isn't even inaccurate, just missing some information that leads the reader to a wrong conclusion. It is probably a case of what came out of my mouth wasn't as clear as what was in my head. The quote:

"Whole Foods will take the No. 5s," she tells me. Who knew that bottle caps were stamped with recycling numbers? "Look," she says. I squint at the tiny white digit on the tiny white cap. "This is a 2," she says. "I'll have to bring that one uptown to Aveda. They take any rigid cap with threads."

Here's the thing. Aveda doesn't take #2 caps. Like the Gimme 5 program at Whole Foods, Aveda takes caps made of #5 polypropyelene. The difference between the programs? Gimme 5 (Whole Foods in partnership with Preserve) accepts any clean used plastic item stamped with a #5 symbol. Aveda takes caps only, and the cap does not need to be stamped with #5-- because any rigid plastic cap with threads is most likely made from #5 PP. For further details on these great programs, check the links provided.

As for softer #2 caps, well for those we are S.O.L. at the moment. Landfill, ahoy.

Sneaky plastic avoidance tactic

Sunday morning I stopped in a coffee shop for a pre-church gig pick-me-up, and didn't have my mug. I sheepishly ordered a paper cup with no lid and turned away the offered stir stick. All of a sudden I made this little apologetic wince and shrug, saying "Yeah sorry, I'm doing the no plastic thing."

Like everybody's doing it.

Maybe if I pretend "the no plastic thing" is all the rage and just everyone is doing it, it will catch on-- even if I only succeed in fooling myself!