Archive for August, 2009
Basilbias-Week Number Seven
Udon Noodle Tape and Top of Bag
I now buy all my pasta in bulk except for Udon and Soba noodles, which I haven’t been able to find unencumbered by plastic yet.
Produce Tape
Kale, Spinach and Cilantro Tags
I sure ate my leafy greens this week.
Windowed Baguette Bag
The last one!
Two Tempeh Bags
Lunch was vegan tempeh Ruebens on pumpernickel bagels for four days straight. They were just that good (See Vegan with A Vengeance for the kick-ass recipe…)
Pickle Jar Seal
Bamboo Oil Seal
I’m following the directions on my new, eco-friendly bamboo cutting boards, to be dedicated to fruit-slicing only. While I’m at it, I decided to oil up my long-abused wooden utensils as well.
Plastic Bag from To-Go Boxes
From a supposedly-green vegan Asian restaurant we went to before seeing Spinnerette. I didn’t plan ahead and I couldn’t finish my food…I learned from their informative table signage, however, that the plastic bag they’d just given me will remain in the environment indefinitely if I throw it out (I’ll be recycling it.)
Canola Oil Seal and Lid
Muffin Cups Container
This must date from the eighties. My mother found it in the back of her cupboard when we were cleaning them out, and gave it to me, as I had just gotten Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I finally used the muffin cups up this week, with some fabulous vanilla-blueberry-lemon cupcakes.
Empty Thread Spool
Trader Joe’s Vanilla Bottle & Cap
This is exactly why I don’t shop at Trader Joe’s: the packaging. It’s on everything, even the produce. Why would you put vanilla extract in plastic, when the extra weight of glass keeps the bottle from tipping over? Needless to say, I didn’t buy this.
Apple Cider Vinegar Cap & Seal
Total Items: 20
Total Weight: 1.75 oz
Basilbias- Week Number Six
Windowed Baguette Bag
From the farmer’s market. Why it needed a window, I don’t know, since it was displayed sans bag. If I ever remember, I’m bringing this back to put my next loaf in. And when I’m feeling really ambitious, I’m going to make reusable bread storage bags. I have them all planned out in my head. One will be baguette-shaped and one loaf-shaped.
Ginger Thin Cookie Bag
The least packaging-intensive vegan cookie available at the market near my work. Bought by my super-thoughtful friend on a day we were in desperate need of cookies and tea.
Tea Box Wrapper
See above.
Test Scrap from Messenger Bag
From the bag I’m attempting to make out of an old vinyl sign.
Two Windowed Envelopes
Peach Sticker
Lemon Sticker
Garden Burger Bag
Not GardenBurger brand. Although their name would suggest otherwise, those aren’t vegan. Bought for a last minute 4th of July barbeque. Normally, I would have made them from scratch.
Cat Food Bag
The food that we used to feed our cats, which came in a paper bag, got recalled. After trying Organix (the only other brand that comes in paper at Pet Food Express) with disastrous results, we settled for Halo. Which comes in plastic.[1]
Total Items: 11
Total Weight: 2.25 oz
[1] I haven’t been very good about keeping track of the plastic waste our cats generate, since my very efficient roommate is mostly in charge of that department. But I’m trying to catch the bags their food and litter come in before she fills them with used litter and throws them out. (We recently switched to eco-friendly litter (Feline Pine) which also comes in plastic. Naturally.)
BillieRyder – Plastic Trash Eating Challenge – Week #11
Another 1lb lost which makes for 7lbs in 11 weeks. I really have been surprised at the weight loss. I am not known for losing weight at even a modest rate without hard work. Now, it has been hard work to reduce my plastic but that is not the hard work I am referring to. I am referring to the hard work of monitoring my food to practically the mouthful. No monitoring of that type is involved. No dieting has actually been involved.
Weight: 1oz Items: 13
4 x Hot Chocolate pots
plastic from pasta box
2 x milk caps
2 x milk zippers
olive oil pour spout
3 x tea bags
So my items of plastic are from work, pasta, milk, olive oil and tea. Except for the luxury of work these are all pretty basic food items. I am still using up tea that is in my cupboard. Once that is done, I don’t think I will ever need to buy individually wrapped tea bags again. I hope to buy in bulk. I tried buying chamomile flowers in bulk. That was completely nasty. Apparently, my tea needs to be made from more than just the flowers. Ideas anyone?
Replace?
Eventually the tea. I have a few more weeks of tea bag plastic left before I will be switching over.
Give up?
I am simply not ready to give up the hot chocolate at work.
Conclusions?
Could it be true that the stuff wrapped in plastic is simply not good for you – even if it seems healthy? I am seriously amazed that I have lost weight without limiting my food intake. We did takeout KFC this weekend (with 1 piece of plastic in the entire dinner) and I have to say that I ended up not feeling well the next day. Since my diet is drastically different, I wonder if foods like KFC are going to end up off my dinner menu because they are simply too processed at this point.
BillieRyder – Plastic Trash Eating Challenge – Week #10
I lost 2 lbs last week! This brings me to a total of 6lbs in 10 weeks. I was even able to get into a pair of pants that previously wouldn’t do up. I am seeing some results here!!!!
Weight: 1 oz Items: 10
Cracker sleeve
5 x hot chocolate pots
2 milk lids + 2 zippers
Well… this week is where you are seeing what I WON’T give up. I managed to get rid of ALL of my plastic beyond what I guess is the bare minimum. Sadly, my husband broke the glass jar that the milk comes in so that won’t be getting recycled. And now he wants me to buy milk in a plastic jug. He says the glass jar is too much hassle and the kids can’t get their own cereal in the mornings.
Conclusions?
I really miss some things. I would like to make lasagna for instance *sigh* I know I will eventually break down and make the lasagna. I am not Beth. I can certainly be mindful of my plastic trash but I don’t see myself giving up certain foods for all time just because I can’t see how to get around the issue of its wrapping.
BillieRyder – Plastic Trash Eating Challenge – Week #9
Zero weight loss again. I chalk this up to travel. In fact, I spent at least half of the week on travel and thought I did pretty good.
Items: 16 Weight: 3/4 oz
Thai Kitchen Soup – 3 items in total
2 forks
1 spoon
Animal crackers packet
Ginger tea
wrapper for bottle of Starbucks Mocha
plastic bag for strawberry tea bags
individual butter container
baking powder foil
baking powder lid
milk zipper
2 x hot chocolate pots
A lot of this came from travel but I think I did pretty good considering that plastic outside of my house is my downfall. The plastic spoon and fork came from eating at the hotel and the client’s cafeteria. I could have brought my fork from the hotel to the client’s cafeteria but didn’t know I needed to. The next day I brought it but ended up having soup and picking up the spoon instead. I never intended on eating the Animal Crackers but ended up eating them because I got a horrible stomach sickness while on travel and needed to eat something – anything – that wouldn’t cause me to throw up on the plane. The butter came about because I was on layover and once again needed to put something into my stomach that wouldn’t upset it. I chose a baked potato – plain – except for the bit of butter I used on it.
What can I easily replace?
The baking powder won’t be showing up again. I discovered (right after I bought it of course) that I can buy this in bulk.
Conclusions?
You really do cheat while on travel. Sure, I didn’t actually consume tons of plastic but I am sure my restaurant dinners originally came in plastic just like it would if I had of prepared the same things at home. But since I didn’t prepare the food, I can only look at the end product which had no plastic. I ate all kinds of things that I wouldn’t have been able to eat at home and enjoyed every single bite – well… until I got horribly sick the day before I had to leave.
BillieRyder – Plastic Trash Eating Challenge – Week #8
Zero weight loss so on to the tally.
Items: 19 Weight: 6.5 oz
Ketchup bottle and cap – recyclable
Costco bulk salt plastic wrap
Havarti Cheese wrapper
ice cream film
5 x Hot Chocolate plastic tubs
2 x milk caps + zippers
Celestial Season tea sampler bag
ketchup foil
2 x soy sauce take-out packets
candy wrapper
styrofoam tray for 4lbs of pork ribs
The soy sauce take-out packets are on my list not because I get Chinese takeout but because my husband gets Chinese take-out and we end up with all these d*mn packets. The frugal part of me thinks I should be using these packets before using my bottle of soy sauce. I used two of them for my soy sauce in a recipe.
What can I easily get rid of?
The ice cream plastic film will no longer show up. I have sourced plastic free ice cream. Since all else seems to come in plastic, this is my junk food treat.
Celestial tea sampler bag: I am using up the ancient tea in my cupboard before moving on to plastic free tea. A few more of these will show up over the weeks.
If I was by myself, I would have bought the salt non-bulk. I use almost no salt but my husband uses a lot so I decided to buy it in bulk to save money. You can’t be all things at all times and in this case I couldn’t be frugal and plastic-free.
What would I give up?
Nothing as usual. I read an article on Green Phone Booth that talked about varieties of sustainability and I have to agree with it. If this is a sacrifice 24×7 with no foreseeable end in sight – I would be putting an end in sight. I have made changes. Instead of 20 candy wrappers in a week, I am down to 1 candy wrapper every couple of weeks. I can sustain this.
Eventually, I suspect that I will be able to get rid of the hot chocolate pots from work… just not now.
Other conclusions?
No other conclusions this week.
