Comments on: Attack of the Plastic Packaging

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:25:13 +0000

That is eye opening! I think it’s funny that you washed the fast food containers before photographing them…did you bleach those suckers??? They are CLEAN!

By: Missy @ The Marketing Mama

Missy @ The Marketing Mama — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:31:31 +0000

Honestly, I expected to see more in your pic… not to discount your learnings or anything. Based on my recycling alone, I think my plastic use totally is more than yours. hmmm..

By: Lady M

Lady M — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:12:18 +0000

My freshman year in college, there were two guys who did a quarter-long experiment and carried everything that they used that couldn’t be recycled or composed. (Obviously easier as a single student than an adult with children!)

This forced them to choose only food not wrapped in non-reusable or recyclable wrappings, and so forth. I think the heaviest thing with which they got stuck was a bicycle fender, when one of them got in a bike accident had had to replace the fender. Other than that, they did very well, and the paper wrote about what they’d learned from their choices.

That takes a lot more commitment than I can make these days, but the small steps we’re making in our households are starting to have momentum.

By: Laura

Laura — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:39:46 +0000

Pictures are worth a thousand words, aren’t they? In addition to all the wasted resources, I think of all the TIME I waste by trying to open up all this garbage all the time. I got so irritated every time I’m in some part of the house trying to open a new package and find that I need scissors to break a seal. I know manufacturers think we all need to be protected from those sinister package tamperers, but I really wish I had a dollar for every time I needed to open something like that. So aggravating AND wasteful.

By: Marylke

Marylke — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:51:00 +0000

Way to go, Amber! I'm trying as hard as I can, too, but it takes constant awareness (and remembering to bring the bags) and determination. It's amazing what can be done. You're also setting a great example for your children and other families.

By: Joan

Joan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Wow!! It's impressive and scarey. Thanks for sharing your experiment with pictures. I may try it myself as I think I'm pretty good with the 3 R's.??

By: pomomama aka ebbandflo

pomomama aka ebbandflo — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:38:22 +0000

We have a huge new recycling bin, collected every 2 weeks, from PoMo and we fill it. I’m not too antsy about plastic grocery bags as they are either recycled in the bin, or we use them to line the waste bin in the kitchen. And I now keep our re-usable grocery bags in the car so there’s no excuse for the trips to the store. ANother investment was a purse-sized tote bag (alot of stores now sell them) so I’m never ‘caught short’ on quick trips out shopping.
But the trade off is that water is used to wash the reusable bags, and also to rinse off the recyclables before they go in the bin. In an area of water rationing this would be a bad plan, and I’m not that convinced that it’s any better here.
Does anyone have any impact data on all this recycling/re-using stuff we’re (and note, it usually falls to the woman in the house to set up the green timetable for the family – yet another job to add to the list gals) adding in? I’d like to see what we’re really saving, factoring in extra water use, extra truck usage for collecting, recycling factory emissions and so on, potential food poisoning and toxin hazards, ….
You don;t get something for nothing after all

By: Green Mamma

Green Mamma — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:40:48 +0000

I’d be interested to see how much plastic my family accumulated, including the non-recyclables. Each weekend when we collect our debris and recyclables for the week, my husband always comments that most of what we put at the curb is recyclable, with just a bag of garbage for the week . . . but now that you’ve shown us your family’s experiment, I have to wonder how much of our weekly “garbage” is full of plastic.

Great idea. Great post.

By: Emily R

Emily R — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:55:59 +0000

astonishing, isn’t it?

By: Alexis

Alexis — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:13:15 +0000

Interesting. It’s awfully tempting to feel sanctimonious because we recycle/reuse as much as we can, but it’s a real eye opener to see how much plastic is still generated, even if a family is careful and conscious about the choices they’re making. This post has inspired me to do the same and see how much plastic my family’s using. If we all did this, I’ll betcha it would knock a lot of people (myself included) off their high horses…

Thanks for sharing this with us!