About Me

profile avatarName: Beth Terry
Home: Oakland, CA

Two years ago, recovering from surgery, I read the article and saw the photo that changed my life. The article was “Plastic Ocean” and the photo showed the carcass of a dead sea bird, its belly full of plastic pieces: bottle caps, cigarette lighters, even a toothbrush. I looked at my own life and realized that through my unconscious overconsumption, I was personally contributing the the suffering of creatures I hadn’t even known existed.

dead bird 1 About Me

That week, I committed to stop buying new plastic, and a passion and blog were born: Fake Plastic Fish.

Finding Alternatives

I’ve been blogging away here for over three years now, collecting and tallying my own plastic waste (in 2009, my plastic waste was under 4% of the U.S. average) and researching plastic-free alternatives (see my ongoing Plastic-Free Guide).   I enjoy reviewing alternative products from ethical companies.  Please see my Advertising/Review/PR policy for more information.

Targeting Companies

Personal responsibility is crucial, and I don’t believe we can solve our plastic problem without it.  But even greater results are achieved when consumers come together to demand change from the corporations that produce the stuff.  From the beginning, I took the time to write and call companies asking for less plastic packaging.  And in 2008, I spearheaded a massive campaign, Take Back The Filter, to ask Clorox to take back its plastic Brita water filter cartridges for recycling, as was already being done by the Brita company in Europe. The campaign was a success for all involved, and Brita filters can now be recycled in the U.S. and Canada.

Collecting Plastic

Living with less plastic is really not as hard as it seems, but our awareness of disposable plastic in our lives can be transformative. To that end, I threw down the gauntlet last May and invited Fake Plastic Fish readers to collect and tally their own plastic waste for a week and upload the results to a new Show Your Plastic Trash web site. How can we know where we need to go if we don’t know where we are to begin with? Solving the plastic pollution problem will require more than individual personal actions. But individual actions and personal awareness are essential for creating the kind of world in which we want to live and the impetus to spark bigger actions.

Other places you’ll find me ranting about plastic around the web:

BlogHer — Contributing Editor
Twitter: @fakeplasticfish
FaceBook:  Beth Terry or  Fake Plastic Fish fan page  or  Plastic Crap Wall of Shame
YouTube:  Bethfly
Flickr:  FakePlasticFish

Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I’m a lot preachier than I mean to be, and afterwards I feel like a jerk. Really, I’m no different from anyone else who cares about the planet. 

Feel free contact me directly.

October 19, 2009 by Beth Terry

Comments

17 Comments on About Me

  1. Jeet on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 12:05 pm

    2. Hello!
    I am from India ,I have a keen intrest in knowing about the plastic monster which we have created ourselves.Now finally I got a chance to interact with you .Actually I have an assignment about plastic monster So can you please give me every detail you have or send me sites which would help meto make my project.

  2. Beth Terry on Tue, 20th Oct 2009 2:47 pm

    3. Hi Jeet. I am glad you are working on this project. I have been working on it for over two years. Every detail I have is here on this site or on the sites listed on my right sidebar. I’m not sure what else you are asking for, but please feel free to peruse this site and use the information for your project.

  3. Will Anderson on Sat, 24th Oct 2009 1:26 am

    4. Hi Beth – thank you for your investigative comments on the CR blog. You are right there is much more the consumer should know about Harmless-Dissolve; much more.

    I am very happy to give you all this information and contribute to the great work you are doing through fake plastic fish. Please e mail me or call (I’m happy to call you straight back) so we can take this forward.

    Rest assured Beth, this has passed the EN13432 compostability standard and is totally harmless during degradation and when degraded – its fabulous. And, for someone who has spent most of their life trying to good in the world, its the least I could do as a packaging specialist.

    Look forward to getting to know you.

    Will

  4. Simple Living News Update on Mon, 14th Dec 2009 5:28 am

    5. [...] Fake Plastic Fish [...]

  5. Chandana on Wed, 23rd Dec 2009 5:06 pm

    6. Hi Beth,
    Nice to see others concerned about cruelty to animals and giant garbage patches in our oceans. I think it is time for people like us to unite and take action.

    For every person who is aware of this issue there are hundreds of people who squander away earth’s precious resources. One person’s cut backs are not going to make any big difference. Rather we shall try to make food courts in malls etc install dishwashers and make them use reusable plates, cutlery etc.

    Ikea is a good example, they don’t use plastic cutlery. I want to know the economics of operating a dishwasher in a food court and want to eliminate wastage in a bigger scale than at the individual level.

    Please contact me, we can share ideas and work together towards this goal.

    Thanks,
    Chandana

  6. Beth Terry on Sat, 26th Dec 2009 12:09 pm

    7. Hi Chanda. I completely agree with you that one person’s actions don’t make a difference in the larger picture of creating global change, which is why I have created this blog in order to reach a broader audience.

    I believe that personal action, while not enough, is crucial. When individuals begin changing their own lives, they see the limits that they are up against, and hopefully will be inspired to become active on a bigger scale. Voting for change not only at the polling place but also in the letters they write, store managers they contact, companies they target, etc.

    That is why I created the Take Back The Filter campaign (http://takebackthefilter.org) back in 2008 to ask Brita to take back and recycle their plastic water filter cartridges. And the campaign was successful, due to the participation, on small or larger levels, of other people. We were able to concentrate our individual voices into a campaign for change.

    That is also why I created a discussion board on Fake Plastic Fish for supporters to discuss various ideas for creating change.

    I am looking for another campaign that speaks to me. I want to get involved in making changes in companies that affect me directly. I feel that companies are more willing to listen to their customers because those are the people whose money they rely on. Since I don’t generally eat in food courts, I would like to direct my energies elsewhere, but if you do, I would be happy to share my experiences with how we targeted and succeeded with Brita.

    Finding a company that is already making responsible choices is a great way to start. You can use them as an example to request the same changes from other businesses.

    When we started our campaign, we were able to point to Brita in Europe, which was recycling their cartridges already and had been doing so for many years. Your idea of finding out how Ikea is operating their eatery is a great place to start. Get as much information as you can before starting a campaign.

    Also, it’s good to first target the low hanging fruit. Find a company that seems like it wants to do the right thing, and target them (in a kind way) first. Because once that company makes changes, you can ask other companies to follow their lead. The Clorox Corporation (which owns Brita) was already making environmental strides with their development of Greenworks cleaning products, which had been endorsed by the Sierra Club, and their purchase of natural products companies such as Burt’s Bees. I don’t think we would have been successful targeting a company like Procter & Gamble, their biggest competitor, because that company continues to market the same toxic products without offering alternatives. At least that was the case back then.

    These are just some ideas that come to mind right now. If you are serious about beginning a campaign, I would be happy to give you more ideas.

    Thank you for reaching out to me.

  7. Beth Terry –Saving the Planet by Reducing Plastic Consumption | Plastic Pollution Coalition on Wed, 6th Jan 2010 6:41 am

    8. [...] just published an interview with plastic-free living super hero and star blogger Beth Terry, who is an invaluable advisor to the Plastic Pollution [...]

  8. Rethinking Plastics 201 Conference | Plastic Pollution Coalition on Fri, 15th Jan 2010 6:19 pm

    9. [...] extended producer responsibility, as well as actions that we as individuals can do.  PPC advisor Beth Terry, author of the blog Fake Plastic Fish will be one of the panelists, specializing in the latter [...]

  9. Sudha on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 1:03 pm

    10. Hey Beth

    I hope you dont mind me mentioning your blog in one of my posts under – Co-green blogs segement… :)..take care and hope to interact with you soon!!!! It would be wonderful to have a friend who thinks on the same lines as I do :)…for that matter is a lot advanced in her quest for a greener life than I am :)….

  10. Sudha on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 1:13 pm

    11. here is the link :)\
    http://sudhasrinath.blogspot.com/2010/02/fake-plastic-fish.html

  11. Elizabeth Laul Healey on Sat, 20th Mar 2010 7:38 am

    12. Beth – You are a true inspiration and I love what you are doing!!!! Thanks a million for bringing such awareness!

  12. Kate on Sun, 21st Mar 2010 1:24 pm

    13. Thank you so much! I was so happy to find this site. I’ve realized the importance of recycling after my kids were born. During the first week of recycling paper and plastic the amount of our trash per 2 week period changed from 3 large cans to 1/2!!! It seems like one person can’t make a difference, but if compare 3 cans per two weeks over one year versus 1/2 I think it helps A LOT. If we all do a little it adds up to a lot. The problem is not only plastic. We are obsessed with quantity. I’ve started a business of remaking and reusing old clothes (read unwanted in PERFECT condition) to make new garments. We overstuff our closets with things we never wear (hey, it was on sale!), get bored with it and then replace it with more stuff we don’t need. Think about all the energy and resources that goes into making it! I agree, a lot needs to change in our society, but I think it all starts with each and every one of us.

  13. Boot Camp Day Two: Kick To Go Waste To The Curb | Your Daily Thread - YDT on Wed, 7th Apr 2010 10:23 am

    14. [...] Keep a waste log: In photographic or written form, document your trash for a week. The results could shock you into big-time changes, as it did for the blogger behind Fake Plastic Fish. [...]

  14. Brenna on Tue, 18th May 2010 2:49 pm

    15. Hi Beth-

    As I was reading through your plastic-free guide, I noticed that you mentioned Berkeley often…and so I had to see where you reside! YAY! You live in the Bay Area, I like in SF. Just yesterday I started a blog, recording all the plastic I use everyday, hope to cut it down to almost none I realized I kept talking about how our society need to cut back, but never told myself to do it. Its quite shocking how many materials are plastic that I just don’t even think of. yuck.
    Anyhow, so glad I found your site! I would love to get more involved in the community as well, so let me know if there is anything I can do to help rather then just my own duties to rid my life of plastic.

    Thanks,

    Brenna

  15. Eco-John on Fri, 28th May 2010 3:06 pm

    16. Beth,

    What a wonderful blog you write! i have only just found it today, but I am enthralled by it! I am a fairly recent eco convert but in case I was in any doubt, this has well and truly sealed the deal. I’ve taken the liberty of sharing your blog on a forum I frequent (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18149730) and, although the initial reaction has attracted the normal frostiness, I hope to convince at least a few people to think twice before they get that straw in their soda!

    Keep up the great work!

    John

  16. Day In The Life Of Best Of Mother Earth – Best of Mother Earth on Thu, 17th Jun 2010 10:29 am

    17. [...] our host Beth Terry of   Fake Plastic Fish suggested the topic, I found myself thinking — shoot — what am [...]

  17. Store it without plastic on Tue, 24th Aug 2010 3:04 am

    18. [...] serious about getting into a life with as little as possible then you’ve got to visit ‘Fake Plastic Fish’ – Beth Terry, she’s my [...]

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