The Month of the Plastic: Day 1

I have decided to kick off my little project with plastic: the vicious insurmountable demon of the waste world.  It seems fitting as this TED talk played a large role in getting me thinking about actually kicking my posterior into gear and doing something.

The plan is to eliminate single use plastic from my life.  To make my goal somewhat realistic, I'm going restrict single use to products that only get used once.  I get multiple uses out of my phone, nalgene, and shampoo bottle, so they don't count (for now).  Plastic bags, food packaging, styrofoam, plastics bottles, and so many many other things, count.

To make things slightly more interesting, I am going to take my little experiment to work with me.  I'm a font end manager at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I fully intend to abuse my power and let my cashiers know that I expect them to be thrifty with their bag use and offer alternatives to plastic bagging our customer's merchandise.

This is going to mean a month of...
...no soda, unless it's from the fountain.
...hauling my own bags around, in case the store doesn't have paper.
...ringing my own container when I eat out.
...passing on the single serving yogurt cup.
...nagging cashiers.
...washing zip-lock baggies.
...being extra careful when I grocery shop.
...researching alternatives.

It's going to be a royal pain in the posterior.  Gotta start somewhere though, right?