a day in touch with plastic

one day I tracked every time my hand actually touched plastic...here's the overview of what I make contact with on an ordinary day around home...and some personal reflections that came to mind along the way. how close does it compare with your own daily experience?

• turn alarm off on plastic clock. always awake before it goes off actually...babies make great alarm clocks ;)
• turn on a light or two if needed, flipping plastic switches (depends on how much earlier we rise before the sun for our preferred natural light)
  
• brush teeth with plastic tooth brush...do they make toothbrushes that aren't plastic? and lid to the toothpaste is plastic.
  
• wash hands with soap that is in plastic shell dish and turn taps which have plastic handles
• the toilet has a plastic seat
• warm Sasha's formula for her plastic bottle (1st of 4 in the day). still contemplating the worth of replacing these with glass
• make coffee in our plastic coffee maker. we became fair-trade only consumers a few years back...and thankfully there are fair trade brand options with no plastic packaging :)
• toss out yesterdays coffee remnants (we have temporarily fallen off the compost bandwagon...when we're diligent this goes in the compost...having now written this am REALLY feeling compelled to restart the better habit again!) in our plastic garbage can...lined with - you guessed it!- a plastic bag
  we're using up what's left of our plastic bags for garbage bags. since we use cloth for all the shopping now we haven't acquired new ones for a while...but when these run out...then what? hopefully we can get our waste output to zero one day...this has become my new challenge for the long-term. i'm sure it is possible...and it will be a great adventure!
  
• change Sasha's diaper - wipes are in plastic container...touch touch touch throughout the day. and diapers have plastic tabs. alternative may be the diaper free movement...not sure I have patience for this...we'll go back to cloth after she's off anti-biotics in June
• after Sasha has her bottle we play for a while...with her plastic toys (some exceptions...like the really nice wooden block set and bear puzzle...and books of course!)
• Sasha's breakfast, in a plastic bowl with a plastic spoon. I know there are alternatives to this...gettin' on it. My own breakfast, nature's path cereal, comes in a box with plastic inside.
  
• during morning nap time I try to read or write...pen (elements of plastic) & paper version...or on the computer - full of plastic components such as the very keyboard i'm typing on...
  technology is one of those elements in life that simply doesn't come without plastic
• avid lovers of music (and a dose of tv every day) we touch plastic every time we: change the cd or dvd; touch the components to power on/off or other function buttons; use remotes for volume, etc...every piece (except the sturdy 70's amp all our components are connected to!) is made with some degree of plastic
• make some fresh fruit and veg for Sasha's lunch and dinner...using knife, peeler and other utensils with plastic handles
• every in/out of fridge and oven we touch the plastic handles
• out for a walk...if with the stroller we again come in contact with plastic (most of it covered by some fabric so don't always notice) and if it's raining there is the plastic 'bubble' which keeps Sasha warm and dry
• happen to chat on the phone...plastic to the ear baby
• a board game involves using plastic die and player pieces
• bath time for Sasha - open the plastic shower curtain; put the plastic plug in the drain; sit on the plastic no-slip mat; play with the plastic tub toys; working our way through the plastic bottles of baby shampoo we received for Sasha in her 1st year
• showers for us big kids involve the plastic curtain and the left over remnants of shampoo bottles not done yet. I have begun regularly using a shampoo bar from soapworks, and we are experimenting with all the varieties of soap they have too...all with no packaging (therefore no plastic - yeah!) I also have one of those meshy poofs which are made with some kind of plastic fiber
• before bedtime Sasha also has to have her anti-biotics which come in a plastic bottle with a plastic syringe
  

there are lots of other examples I've not listed 'cuz I didn't touch them this day, and this doesn't include Mark and Che's experience in our home either (which of course includes using plastic game controls)

not only our hands come in touch with plastic every day...we touch it with our mouths and bottoms too. (whole new meaning to foot & mouth dis-ease - heh) we touch it, see it, smell it, taste it, and even listen with it.

with good and bad influence - for instance I'm happy to have that clear bubble to keep her dry on long walks but very annoyed at all the litter I see which is plastic (though litter is not really plastics' fault...that is lazy human behaviour) - I'm happy to be using my other 2 senses when it comes to plastic now...thinking about how I really feel about living in such a plastic world...

Reflections on the week

Today Sasha and I went for along walk on a beautiful day. We walked up to the Drive for a quick shop, then walked to False Creek for lunch on the water's edge. After a meeting for CPEN we then had another long walk...so I had lots of time for reflecting on our plastic experiment so far.

I want to express how happy I am that we decided to do this learning project on plastic. We have gathered a lot of information to learn from and share with others...and the best thing of all is the amazing support we have received! Not only from family and friends, but from other amazing people who are just as fed up with all the plastic in the world as we are! ;)

For all the negatives we're learning about, such as the toxins that continue to leach out of some plastics we use often, and the level to which we have been guinea pigs to industries that believe the burden of proof (when it comes to the danger of their products) is on us...we'll cover the negatives in our report...however I am really glad that we'll have positive things to report on as well!! :)

Such as the Zero Waste Campaign. Visit this site to find an abundance of resources to take action in your home or even your community...and beyond. The Zero Waste campaign has been a great source for positive information and hope. I am also appreciative of their tools to help folks be proactive.

Ultimately everyone has to become proactive about sustainable change...though there are a lot of positive changes happening in companies and governments - we need so much more to be happening. So citizens need to add the voices loud and clear. Pressure businesses and governments to do more. Voluntary limits on waste and pollution outputted by industries are not enough, and we have all let profit dictate our circumstances long enough.

The costs to our health and environment are far too great and it's time we stop paying for their neglect! We must ramp up our efforts as citizens who are tired of being told people and our environment are simple externalities - and demand real responsibility from those who are making our lives so "convenient"

One of the biggest actions which would lead to dramatic change is Clean Production
which is a way of designing products and manufacturing processes in harmony with natural ecological cycles. This is the kind of thinking that fills me with hope as it gives us something positive to request...rather than just stating what we want to stop :)

Day Seven

The first sunny day in a long while...and we had a much needed chore day. A day for laundry and cleaning and getting a general tidy back to the home. Being able to open all the windows to let the fresh air in was wonderful!

Since there was no shopping to do, the only plastic acquired by one of us today was the plastic lid and straw of Che's drink - lucky guy was taken to a Canucks game for the grand finale of his spring break! Too bad they lost in over-time, but it was a great game to see live (Mark listened in online, but it was a pay-per-view...how is that accessible to all families? anyways...)

So...final tally...7 days down and 3 successful at acquiring no new plastics.

Even with it being a generally lazy vacation style week for us, and we didn't really need to shop for as much as I thought we might...we still were only 43% successful at acquiring no new plastics!

Our advantages are living within walking distance (for me, walking distance is within an hours walk...I understand this is not realistic to everyone's lifestyle or neighbourhood choices) of a lot of fresh and local options for fruit and vegetables, and a few bakeries.

The challenges are having kids - everything for kids has at least some plastic, and most of it is packaging. Dairy and meat products are also a big challenge. With bulk buying, though it cuts down on a lot of packaging and is beneficial in many ways...because of health and safety regulations (and a lawsuit-happy culture) it is not possible at this time in my area...though I'm still looking into other options...to reuse your own containers to minimize waste.

I have many other thoughts reeling in my mind after this week, and after reflecting a while I'll have more to write about. I will continue to add my favorite tidbits here over the next while as we pull the report together. We've come across some pretty great stuff...good and bad.

Our timeline for the final report is a goal which might require more flexibility...my trip home to Ontario with Sasha is in 2 weeks - feels like tomorrow with all I need to do before we go!

Day Six

We didn't make it to the credit union today so ended up using our debit cards again while out and about. The rain was so heavy in the morning that we decided to take our chances and see how it was after Sasha's afternoon nap...and glad we did! Nice to get out for a nice long walk with bits of sunshine tinting everything gold again :)

I was happy we managed to get a snack and the majority of our needs without plastic, with only a few exceptions...but exceptions none the less. The snack was buns and sesame balls from one of our local Chinese bakeries...and it is a big challenge to get out of there without plastic! Even if you ask for no wrapping, they habitually try to get plastic on your purchase somehow! But we persevered, "no plastic thank you! we don't need the wrapping. no, we don't need the bag thank you!" and we made it out plastic free.

Then our next stop. This is where we acquired toothpaste with a plastic cap, tylenol in a plastic bottle and batteries with plastic as part of its packaging.

While picking up our produce needs Mark had put our potatoes in one of those plastic bags out of habit (it does make it easier to carry things around when they are contained), until I came in and pointed out there was something wrong with the picture...d'oh! So he chose to use a basket instead.

Brown sugar was on the list, but we couldn't find it. And does anyone know where you can get brown sugar not in plastic?

6 days down: 3 successful with no new plastics

Day Five

Another day of hibernation...the wet weather is making it oh so easy to make do with what we have at home ;)

I was wondering earlier in the week why I needed to go to the bank, and yesterday I remembered when we had to chose to use our plastic debit cards...because I had forgotten to go to the bank to take out cash! (only way to spend without plastic) So our credit union is on the list for our adventures for tomorrow...when cabin fever will get us out again if nothing else! lol

We have put time into our research and other project elements though, so we're happy with the progress we're making towards our final report.

We have also established a timeline for it's release...for all you keeners who are chomping at the bit to see what comes out of this experiment of ours:

- for the next few days we continue our cataloging, research, outreach, and tracking choices made around plastic (I actually intend to do this for much longer...but for our official project we're focusing on the week only for now) and draft our letters to government, businesses, etc

- Monday we mail out the letters and summarize the weeks choices (the best we can)

- by end of next week send a follow up email to see if our letters were received and when we might expect a response (if ever)

- draft of report (details including history, development, alternatives, etc as outlined earlier) will be ongoing until my trip to Ontario from April 12-28

- a summary of our findings will be posted before I go so everyone can read it by Earth Day - April 22nd

- the full report will be available May 14th...because I know realistically this is a timeline we can achieve (with a trip, a baby, and a full life), it provides time for replies and time for final proofing and all that jazz.

5 days down: 3 days successful at no new plastics in the home.

Day Four

Today we targeted some more plastic challenges when it comes to consumer choices...and now I really have something to write about!

The first thing is life with a baby...and all the plastic that comes with it. It's not only all the toys which is a concern since they love to put everything in their mouth. (we have some wooden toys which are a good alternative but they are hard to come by and often pricey which limits them as a choice for many) The majority of the toys that were gifted or passed on to Sasha (not to mention the toys her brother has!) through our network of family and friends have at least some element of plastic. Except all the stuffed animals...though some of these have a filler made from recycled fibers of plastic...or plastic eyes and noses.

Diapers and wipes are two things we chose to buy today...and plastic comes along with both of these purchases. When Sasha was born we were using cloth to avoid the disposable kind, but when she ended up on anti-biotics after a urine and kidney infection last June we switched to the non-chlorinated Seventh Generation diapers as we really wanted to keep the moisture from her bottom and minimize our environmental impact because of this choice. We are considering going back to cloth once we are given the okay from the urologist that she is recovered from her deflux procedure and can finally come off the drugs. (if you want to follow along with this adventure in Sasha's life I refer you to our family blog listed in the links to your left)

We have plastic bottles for her formula feeds and have looked into buying glass ones, however she will not need them soon...and of all the varieties of plastic for bottles my findings so far are that the Advent bottles we use are of the best kind you can use for baby. Though we haven't ruled out the glass bottles completely as they would be great things to pass on to another family when we are done.

Her formula (plastic lids) and cereal (recyclable cardboard box is wrapped in cellophane plastic, and has a plastic spout for easy pouring) are other things we chose to buy today which use at least some plastic for the containers. Soon she will be off the formula. So the biggest change would be making our own cereal I suppose with bulk ingredients...if can find a place to obtain bulk without plastic.

Which leads nicely to my conversation with the manager of my corner store - Famous Foods (Mark laughs that I call this my 'corner store' as it's 16 blocks away and uphill the whole way home) I told him a bit about our family project and how we were looking for ways to decrease the number of plastics we bring home.

For those of you unfamiliar with Famous Foods, the majority of their stock is bulk food items, which they package in different sizes - in plastic bags. Omnivores that we are we also frequent this store for our meat as they have hormone free organic everything - chicken, pork, beef, buffalo. But of course all the meat products are wrapped in plastic and Styrofoam.

So first I asked him if it was at all possible to reuse the bags for the bulk items we buy often (like organic sugar and baking goods), and due to health and safety violations this is not possible. Could we bring in our own containers for meat? Absolutely not - again for health and safety reasons which is easily understood when dealing with meat.

(I made the choice not purchase meat today - we still have a few cuts in the freezer. Now we will explore butcher options in our radius as they often wrap in paper...but as this leads to a paper or plastic choice, therefore packaging to contend with, the vegetarian option becomes ever more appealing...)

Then I asked if the bags used for the bulk items were recyclable, which they are not. Had they looked into alternatives which might be? Too expensive.

At this point he had clearly expressed that he can't do anything other than what he is doing (and Famous Foods does a lot really!), and I sensed I had caught him off guard with my questioning...so I expressed my appreciation for his time and for answering my questions. After all, we had never thought to ask all these questions before and you never know if you don't ask right?

His "can't" in mind is translated as 'not able to'...and here are the obstacles as I see them so far:
- alternatives are few and pricey (is it really a surprise that money is an obstacle?!!)
- health and safety concerns (valid when talking about food)
- time (would require research and networking) and often time = more money

The bigger worry for me was that he seemed very turned off this idea because of his focus on people who return bottles without cleaning them. I understand this view - who wants to undertake any kind of initiative which requires reusing things when people can't even wash a bottle before getting their refund on it? I'm sure this is a big frustration to all of the staff who become responsible for rinsing these things for the folks who didn't do it themselves.
So add to the list of obstacles - educating people to be responsible for their role in bottle and container return programs!

Now, what if a hundred (or few hundred) regular customers expressed and interest in a "refill-your-container" program? And what if these wise consumers were willing to pay a small fee for this convenience (just think of the time you save not having to deal with the waste of packaging at all!)

I would like to return one day, not loaded with questions, but armed with a plan of positive action to fill a void for consumers like us who are looking to leave as small a footprint as possible - perhaps a fee based container reuse program where oft purchased goods can be bought without having to constantly deal with its packaging. Maybe if the logistics were figured out for him he might be open to it?

Well, there are still many of my favorite stores I haven't had the chance to ask questions of yet...I'm curious to see how other managers will respond to queries on continuing efforts to minimize packaging further. I suspect there are many who are up to the challenge...especially if other folks keep asking about it too ;)

4 days down: 2 days successful at no new plastics in the home.

Day Three

Another day successful at bringing in no new plastics...but this is really easy when you don't go anywhere! ;)

A grey day which inspired in us a need to cozy up at home and take it easy. It is spring break after...quality time, even of the stay at home kind, is just faboo!

We also had a lovely time with Heath visiting from the island, and I had a meeting at Kensington. Both of these events required no choices to think through about plastic. Though my mind has become quite full from all the research I've done lately on this epidemic detail of our daily lives!

With leftovers to eat and nowhere to go we're not feeling triumphant with our no plastic goal achieved for the day - though we are nicely relaxed for the challenge of tomorrow. We need more food and other things for the home and can procrastinate no further...

3 days down: 2 days successful at no new plastics in the home.

Day Two

I only did a small shop today because Sasha and I had a play day with friends...far more important than grocery shopping! :)

Proud to say I was able to get everything I needed for my yummy veg stew and some fresh bread...all with no trace of plastic today!

That feels good. To meet our needs for sustanence and fulfill the challenge as well. I believe it is much easier to acquire next to no plastics as a vegetarian. (we're ominivores, but we continue to make the effort to eat vegetarian more often than not) Fresh produce can easily be found and purchased without using any plastic. Even best when it's local food to also maximize our sustainability impact ;)

We have a large collection of cloth bags, which we have really become diligent about using which helps keep out new plastic bags. I believe alot of people are making efforts to minimize plastic bag use. What is nice to find is that there are lots of policy choices being made at a local level to rid society of plastic bags all together...especially now that there are so many amazing alternatives!

And living down the street from a great bakery where I can get our bread without the plastic packaging is a total bonus. I truly love that all of our food needs are within walking distance! But let's see by the end of the week what this radius offers when I need something other than vegetables and bread...now that we've established how lucky we are to live so close to a wide variety of produce options.

I would like to share one of the best resources I've come across so far in my hunt for info on all things plastic. www.lifewithoutplastic.com Life Without Plastic (LWP) is the initiative of a couple from Quebec who desired a world without plastic for their baby. They have a great Facts on Plastic section (even better in my mind because it is all Canadian), which includes a table that they continue to update with a break down of the 7 categories of plastic most used. Fabulous!!

They have started a business and are developing an inventory of plastic alternatives, such as lunch ware kits, glass baby bottles, and other stuff made of steel and other materials.

This site is the perfect place to start for a great summary to fill your need to be informed. I am grateful to have found the effort put forth by this wonderful duo as it provides a lot of groundwork we can build on (and I have already informed them that we will pass on all of our info when we're done our project...just in case any of it is useful for their needs)

We believe we're taking a different approach in looking at how often our days our impacted by plastic and what the overall pros and cons of it all are. And we have a large advocacy piece in trying to outreach to companies and government to see what's happening locally and nationally when it comes to plastic and our ability (and political will) to continue working towards healthy and sustainable alternatives.

Anyways...2 days down. 1 day successful at no new plastics in the home.

Day one

Well...the first official day of our family learning project on plastics was pretty low key.

Started stockpiling the resources to explore. Found plenty of great information so far. We're going to be busy on the organizing front.

We are very grateful that a few folks have also shared some good links for us to explore, thought-provoking questions (which we aim to answer by the end of the week if we can) and great ideas to add to our project list of things to do...and a couple of people are even trying to avoid new plastics for a week as well! Very exciting! Thank you for your feedback and support :)

However...we were unsuccessful in our quest for no new plastics in the home today :(

Dairy is a challenge to find without a container of plastic...specifically sour cream. Suggestions? I suppose the obvious is go without...but it was perogies for dinner! And when someone brings you dinner...it doesn't feel right to focus on the plastic content. (thanks again for dinner Mum!)

It is being noted because...well because that's the point of the experiment for us...to see how many times we have a choice, how often we don't...and just how much have we taken this stuff for granted?

Mark and Che did decide to skip purchasing some new dungeons and dragons pieces, which are plastic, and opted to get something of cardboard instead. (You'd have to ask them what it was...I was just impressed they came home plastic free on our first day-LOL)

tomorrow actually requires more of a food shop...produce is easy...have a guess on what is going to be the biggest challenge?

1 day down: 0 days successful with no new plastics

A Week Plastic Free

We are embarking on a family learning journey with a focus on plastic...specifically a life without any new plastic for at least a week - March 19-26. We would like to share our ideas with you. And, when we're done, we're also happy to share our findings with you.

This is the outline of what our final report on our project will include...so far (ideas keep brewing as we talk it out):

- our catalogue of all things plastic in our home + just how much plastic DO we have?

- list of companies we contacted about their plastic outputs and what their path to sustainability goals are + any responses we receive

- which industry produces the most plastic? + which provides the most jobs? + how safe are jobs in the plastic industry?

- the history and development of plastic + the different types of plastics developed + life cycle of plastic

- health and environmental impacts of plastic

- a summary of our daily choices and how we managed through the week of acquiring no new plastics + how many times a day do we actually encounter a choice around plastic?

- copies of our letters to all levels of government on leadership and policy alternatives we would like to see them acting on to reduce the negative impacts of plastics on our society + any responses we receive

- a compilation of information on sustainable alternatives

- a full resource and reference section highlighting best sources of info on all things plastic

- and a compilation of any feedback from folks like you

We would really appreciate it if you are willing to share any research, resources, rants, raves, alternatives info...anything you can think to share as long as it relates to plastic!

We're eager to see how the project evolves. Our goal is to begin our research and have the letters out by the end of our week long experiment (I am tempted however, to see how long we can go with acquiring no new plastic...). We will continue the research while we wait for replies. Once we feel we have enough info to share with others we'll post the 'report' for all to see.

Our daily choices and other info will be posted here for those who want to follow along, and if you decide you would like to experiment for a day or the week, we'd love to hear about your experience!

many thanks and hugs
Kathy, Mark, Che & Sasha
:)

monday we begin...

Shopping for Positive Change goes live

I'm newly inspired as an agent for positive change and eager to motivate folks with my workshop once again. Comfortable in my role as mom now, I've had some time to work on www.shoppingforpositivechange.ca and now the web site is live and ready to view! Though I'm still updating resource content, I can finally direct everyone to my web site for info...feels good to finally have this part done!

now I'll have the time to post some positive thoughts here on this blog occasionally as well...