Skip to main content

Download of my Plastic Free July 2018

Hello peers!

Yes, I realize this is super late- but better than never!

This year, I participated in Plastic Free July with about a dozen people from my former office. I made a pledge to do my best to reduce the amount of single-use plastics I used throughout the entire month.

July snuck up on me, but I made a few immediate changes:

  1. Get a bigger purse- It may feel like you're saving space to have a compact bag where nothing else fits, but having a larger purse allowed me to refuse a plastic bag and place things directly in my handbag like: fruit, convenience store groceries, etc.
  2. Carry a reusable tote-You'd be surprised how many times people use a plastic bag because they forgot their bags at home. Best way to avoid that? Carry one in your now larger purse, leave a couple in the car, an one in your work desk- voila! You've always remembered now!
  3. Carry a reusable straw- I am very excited about my Final Straw (image below) that I ordered- but they won't be fabricated until November- so I grabbed a straw out of one of my reusable tumblers and have been carrying that around.
Some of my observations:

  • You need to note that you want no straw or no bag right when you start interacting with someone, or they will bring you one, assuming.
  • If you bring your own dish/plate/cup to restaurants/cafes, less people stare than you might think!


 Some of my challenges:

  • Airports (work travel)
  • Coffee cup lids
  • Snacks (packaging!)

What small changes could you make to make a big difference?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eating Garbage

Garbage is Beautiful. And let me tell you why. In 2010, the EPA estimated the US produced over 240 million tons of municipal solid waste. That is over four pounds of garbage, per person, per day. We travel through our day throwing things ‘away’. But where do they go? Does your trash go to a landfill, incinerator, or Waste to Energy Plant? Currently in NJ, thirteen counties have solid waste landfills and five counties have resource recovery facilities (incinerators). Of the five counties with resource recovery facilities, three also have landfills to receive waste that cannot be burnt. Eight counties have awarded waste disposal contracts and require that all waste be sent to one facility for disposal. The remaining thirteen counties have a free market system and transporters may send waste out of the county or state. The majority of us don’t know information like this, and don’t care as long as we don’t have to look at it. But if we were forced to look at the garb...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking News- Renewable Energy can STILL power our planet!

Yesterday, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an exciting report about the potential of Renewables and the world energy market. Over 120 world experts produced a scientific document over 1,000 pages long that provides a solution to 'business as usual' carbon emissions. They believe that we could meet the globe's energy needs with 80% renewable energies by mid-century . This would be a socially, politically, and physically strenuous task. If we eliminate all the complications and shift our paradigm, we still have issues like that which Ramon Pichs, Co-Chair of the Working Group III, added: “The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource, but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades. Developing countries have an important stake in this future—this is where most of the 1.4 billion people without access to electricity live yet also where some of the best conditi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Embarking on a Climate Ride...

Well, it's about 5 days until I leave for my Climate Ride. Getting nervous to ride these 300 miles in 5 days. I've been riding, but just have been unable to force myself to do 70 miles on my own. And I've never done a 300 mile bike tour before. I got bike shoes and clips, have fallen over a few times  but am getting the hang of it. Packed plenty of muscle wraps and aleve, udder butter, sunscreen- I think once I get moving I'll be just fine, but until then I will be a nervous wreck! It helps knowing all of the support I have from friends, family, and teachers. Whether they donated to support me, or the cause I'll be thinking of all of you on the ride! Each night, we will hear from speakers and get some lobbying training which I truly hope to use at a meeting down in DC- as of now, the staff haven't been able to confirm a meeting so I really hope I get one! If you haven't checked out the Climate Ride organization, or haven't made a donation ...
Post a Comment
Read more