Category: BYO

Carrying Our Own Containers: Powerful Action or Pointless Inconvenience?

“Do you ever get embarrassed?” A journalist, following my plastic-free life, put that question to me as I handed the butcher my stainless steel pot. I was buying ground meat for my homemade cat food. In my own container. Waste-free. “No,” I answered flippantly. “I haven’t been embarrassed about anything since [...]

Read the full post.

Bread: Buy It, Store It, Keep It Fresh Without Plastic

Whoever coined the expression “the best thing since sliced bread” must have worked for the plastics industry. According to the American Scientist article Twists, Tags, and Ties excerpted in The Encyclopedia Britannica Online,
A machine to slice an entire loaf of bread in a single operation was invented by Otto Rohwedder, of Davenport, Iowa, who [...]

Read the full post.

Life Without Plastic’s New Insulated Lunch Bag

Update: The first 5 buyers of an insulated lunch bag from Life Without Plastic will receive 10% off. Enter the code FPFBAG into the coupon code field during checkout.
Yesterday, I hinted at how I carried home my ice cream from Tara’s in an insulated nearly plastic-free bag. Now, perhaps you have already figured out a [...]

Read the full post.

Eating Ice Cream for Breakfast — Plastic-Free & Zero Waste

Did you know that Saturday was International Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day? Well, it was. Unfortunately, since I’m trying to avoid ice cream packaging waste (All ice cream containers are lined with plastic), I didn’t have any in the house.  And I could tell my freezer was feeling a little sad.
So, remembering [...]

Read the full post.

Thanksgiving, Buy Nothing Day, & My Travel Mug

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. This post is not really about today but tomorrow:  the day the media insists on calling “Black Friday.”  I’m choosing instead to honor “Buy Nothing Day.” And to celebrate Buy Nothing Day, I am not going to replace my lost travel mug. And I’m not just going to [...]

Read the full post.

Say No to Fake Plastic Wishbones & Other Thanksgiving Waste

Fake plastic wishbones?  Around Thanksgiving time last year, I read a post by blogger Rejin from Urban Botany blasting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for promoting plastic Lucky Break Wishbones .  She wrote:
Hasn’t PETA ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? They claim these wishbones and their packages are recyclable, but [...]

Read the full post.

Year 3, Month 4 Results: 4.7 oz of Plastic Waste

This weekend in L.A., helping to launch the Plastic Pollution Coalition and joining in 350.org events, was amazing. I have so much to share with you! But first, something that is long overdue:  my monthly plastic tally for the month ending 10/15/09. The total plastic is down.  Way down. Although there [...]

Read the full post.

Plastic-Free Intermission

After seeing two Broadway musicals this past week (Wicked, for the second time, and Rent, for the fifth) I just have one quick and easy tip to share today.  Skip the plastic wine cups during theater intermissions. Bring your own reusable beverage container.

I came prepared with two of the stainless steel wine “glasses” [...]

Read the full post.

Outside Lands Rocks with Less Plastic

Don’t get me wrong. There was still a ton of plastic waste to be recycled from the Outside Lands Music Festival that took place this weekend in Golden Gate Park.
But less than last year. Because instead of providing only bottled water, the festival organizers listened to the feedback from last year’s [...]

Read the full post.

My Green Chicago Trip, Part 1: Hostel vs. Hotel

So, I’ve been blogging (whining) about the Blogher Conference in Chicago, but did you know I stayed a few more days to hang out and see the city? This was my vacation, and wow did I need one.
During the conference, I roomed with Micaela Preston (Mindful Momma) at the Chicago Sheraton, the [...]

Read the full post.

Earlier Posts »