Geesh, has it really been two weeks since I posted last? Shame on me!
My progress so far has been slow but steady. I'll start with the bad news: I've hit a few bumps on the road. I had one night where I was trapped at work and could not take a full break. Meaning, I couldn't get home to make some food. I had to settle for buying trail mix inconveniently packaged in plastic. (Technically, it took me two sittings to finish the bag, but I don't want to give myself that much leeway.) I stood strong when a coworker offered to buy me a bottle of soda or water. He laughed when I said I couldn't because of my self-inflicted restrictions. "Are you one of those nature-types?"
My latest bump came when I went to the law school with Hasan for the day. When it came time for dinner, take-out was my only option. My food came neatly packaged in plastic and styrofoam. I tried to make myself feel better by using wooden chopsticks instead of plastic silverware, but the damage was done.
I've also had another microwave meal or two that is despicably wrapped in plastic. I haven't made my own microwave meals yet.
Now, for the good news: I think I'm doing pretty well. I've been jumping at every opportunity to refuse using plastic, and so far, so good. I think I am making an impact. At the very least I am being more mindful. There are a surprising number of times when there are no other options to plastic wrapped food and other products. I've given up badgering my coworkers about giving out less bags. The following story illustrates a large part of why. I still ask every customer and a lot of people thank me for doing so.
Today at work, we got a little busy, so I spent some time at a register. I was doing my usual thing, asking everyone "Would you like a bag for this today?" when I got a funny response.
"Why are you asking that? Do you not want to give out bags or something?"
The woman actually seemed interested to hear my answer so I told her, "We don't mind giving out bags at all. They're just kind of bad for the environment so I always ask every customer. Not everyone wants a bag."
"You mean to tell me that people go around just carrying their stuff in their arms without a bag? Stuff like this?" She motioned to her two small, stackable, easily-carried-by-any-normal-person-with-one-arm items.
At this point, I was confused. Is she upset? I wondered. She seems like she is just curious and a little confused. Nearby DC charges five cents per plastic bag, so I was thinking maybe she thought Rockville had jumped on the bandwagon. "Yes, ma'am. Plenty of people carry stuff like this to their car, but I'd be happy to give you a bag today. That's no problem, at all." I bagged her stuff for her.
"But you don't like giving out bags here. Why's that? I think I need to talk to a manager about why you have a problem giving out bags here."
Right about... now, was when I realized that she was piiiiissed. I thought it might be smart to not mention that actually, I am a manager. "We don't have a problem giving out bags, ma'am. I personally don't like giving them out, because it is bad for the environment, which is why I always ask. I just want to give every customer the option. That's all. It's not a problem."
She gave me a cold hard glare/stare and I handed her her bag and told her to have great day. Evidently she then cornered another manager and complained that Bed Bath and Beyond must be cheap if they don't want to give out bags. It got passed up the line and my manager asked me later on what had happened. I told her the story and she asked me "So what did we learn here?"
I didn't have anything nice to say, so I didn't say anything at all.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
The Month of the Plastic: Day 7
Already a week in and I don't feel I have all that much to show for it.
I've washed a ton of ziplock baggies, and I've saved every produce bag that my boyfriend has brought home with the groceries. But the chicken, the ground turkey, the sausages, the cheese, and the lunch meat are all packaged in plastic. I can somewhat get away with the cheese and the lunch meat. Technically, they don't fall into my single-use criteria. For the rest, there is no excuse and no alternative that I know of. Kind of stuck there.
There is one place that I'll admit I need improvement on. The veggies. We have two grocery stores near our apartment: Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Trader Joe's is a little farther but so much cheaper that we do all of our shopping there. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's has a bad habit of packaging all their produce in shrink wrap plastic. I can cut that out by taking two different grocery trips, but I don't have a car, so that ends up being a much bigger pain in the posterior than I'd like. I knew this wasn't going to be easy.
WARNING: TMI FOLLOWS
A friend of mine brought up an interesting question when he read my first few blogs. Since this experiment is going to run a whole month, I will undoubtedly run into the crimson wave at some point. Most ladies use up a substantial amount of single-use plastic products during this week, every month. For me, with a light to average flow and only affected 5 days a month, I would estimate that I was going through a measly 15 tampons, 5 pads, and 5 panty liners a month. Multiply that by the number of months I can expect to menstruate in my lifetime and I could easily go through 7200 tampons, 2400 pads, and 2400 panty liners (less, if I plan to spend 9-18 months of my life pregnant, more if I ever develop a heavier flow). That's a lot of waste going to a landfill.
To answer my friend's question: No, I do not plan to create that single-use plastic waste this month. A menstrual cup such as the Diva Cup or Mooncup is an excellent alternative. I had switched to one months ago, partly due to the waste issue and partly due to the convenience it affords while traveling and working in the bush. I heard about it through friends that sung its praises and I cannot recommend it enough, myself. Any ladies want to try it this month in honor of my/our no single-use commitment?
I've washed a ton of ziplock baggies, and I've saved every produce bag that my boyfriend has brought home with the groceries. But the chicken, the ground turkey, the sausages, the cheese, and the lunch meat are all packaged in plastic. I can somewhat get away with the cheese and the lunch meat. Technically, they don't fall into my single-use criteria. For the rest, there is no excuse and no alternative that I know of. Kind of stuck there.
There is one place that I'll admit I need improvement on. The veggies. We have two grocery stores near our apartment: Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Trader Joe's is a little farther but so much cheaper that we do all of our shopping there. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's has a bad habit of packaging all their produce in shrink wrap plastic. I can cut that out by taking two different grocery trips, but I don't have a car, so that ends up being a much bigger pain in the posterior than I'd like. I knew this wasn't going to be easy.
WARNING: TMI FOLLOWS
A friend of mine brought up an interesting question when he read my first few blogs. Since this experiment is going to run a whole month, I will undoubtedly run into the crimson wave at some point. Most ladies use up a substantial amount of single-use plastic products during this week, every month. For me, with a light to average flow and only affected 5 days a month, I would estimate that I was going through a measly 15 tampons, 5 pads, and 5 panty liners a month. Multiply that by the number of months I can expect to menstruate in my lifetime and I could easily go through 7200 tampons, 2400 pads, and 2400 panty liners (less, if I plan to spend 9-18 months of my life pregnant, more if I ever develop a heavier flow). That's a lot of waste going to a landfill.
To answer my friend's question: No, I do not plan to create that single-use plastic waste this month. A menstrual cup such as the Diva Cup or Mooncup is an excellent alternative. I had switched to one months ago, partly due to the waste issue and partly due to the convenience it affords while traveling and working in the bush. I heard about it through friends that sung its praises and I cannot recommend it enough, myself. Any ladies want to try it this month in honor of my/our no single-use commitment?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Month of the Plastic: Day 3
I'll admit, I'm not off to a great start. Sure I didn't purchase any single-use plastic, but I also didn't do any shopping. I did eat a microwave meal and all the packaging for that was single-use. The worst part was, I didn't even think about it until I threw it away. I grabbed what I had to eat during my break at work, warmed it up and enjoyed every bite of it, without once thinking about how I was throwing my goals out the window immediately. Since then, I haven't been able to come up with a really good alternative to this meal. With only a half hour to feed myself, I don't have many options to start with. I need something quick and easy, which usually means a sandwich, leftovers, or a microwave meal. I can't think of a single microwave meal that is plastic free. Anyone know of any?
I could switch to sandwiches and leftovers instead. I might have to start cooking up meals just to have easy microwaveable leftovers for my break. UGH that sounds like so much work!!!
Oh, and I completely chickened out on abusing my power at work to get my cashiers to offer reusable bags. I got a little bit better yesterday. I mentioned to them how awesome it is that BB&B is donating a dollar for every bag bought, and I told them it would make me really happy if they offered but, I didn't badger or bully them. I only told a select few about the program, too. I did get one of the eight or so customers I rang up to buy a bag, though. That was one small step in the right direction, I suppose.
I could switch to sandwiches and leftovers instead. I might have to start cooking up meals just to have easy microwaveable leftovers for my break. UGH that sounds like so much work!!!
Oh, and I completely chickened out on abusing my power at work to get my cashiers to offer reusable bags. I got a little bit better yesterday. I mentioned to them how awesome it is that BB&B is donating a dollar for every bag bought, and I told them it would make me really happy if they offered but, I didn't badger or bully them. I only told a select few about the program, too. I did get one of the eight or so customers I rang up to buy a bag, though. That was one small step in the right direction, I suppose.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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?
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?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
How I got here
Adjusting back to the modern world has been a challenge, to say the least. After ten months living in the bush at a remote field site, I was pumped to come back and take full advantage of access to unlimited food, entertainment, people, and internet. Then I got back and realized how sheltered I had been in Kenya. The lack of media and our inability to use up resources that were not available had led me to spend ten months hardly thinking about the environment. I was aware that the BP oil spill had happened and I had somehow gotten myself under the impression that it had woken up a person or two. After months home I started realizing how little had changed while I was gone.
I began to get into heated discussions with people close to me and then just those unlucky enough to be cornered by me after a few drinks. Most of these conversations escalated into some sort of exclamation that we're all going to hell in a hand-basket and no one is even bothering to do anything about it. One exceptionally worked-up night, I went into a frenzy complaining about how everyone was willing to sit around talking about the problems, but no one was getting off their lazy posteriors to do the really simple things that would make a great deal of difference if everyone got on the same page and did it.
That's when two things occurred to me. 1) Most people don't do anything because saving the world is a mighty daunting task. 2) I was heading to hell in a hand-basket with the rest of "most people." I was just as daunted and loved sitting around talking about how screwed we all are as much as the next guy. I hadn't gotten off my own posterior in awhile either.
I needed to find a way to light a fire under my posterior, get myself out of the hypocrite hand-basket, and hopefully make some sort of difference. Even if I wasn't going to change the world, I at least needed to change my life if I was going to live with myself. (I'll admit a large part of the motivation lies in being able to talk a big talk without anyone being able to call me out for not walking the big walk.)
Changing your life by altering your behavior is daunting, though. An amazing mentor of mine once made the point that no one can be expected to wake up one morning and suddenly change every part of their wasteful lifestyle. These things must be done one step at a time, until your new behavior becomes habit. To make things less daunting for myself, I'm going to start with one smallish goal a month, one piece of my behavior that I am going to alter for the sake of Mother Earth (and my fellow man, and my children's, children's, children, and all that).
This cliched dip into the world of blogging is going to be a big part of that. I can tell myself a thousand times "next time I'll take a shorter shower" but when it really comes down to it, that shower feels damn good and without someone looking over my shoulder and keeping track of my progress, that "next time" is never going to come.
You are all welcome to stick around and keep me honest. If you want to join in on my little experiment, please feel free, and feel free to share your own progress here as well. We start March 1st.
I began to get into heated discussions with people close to me and then just those unlucky enough to be cornered by me after a few drinks. Most of these conversations escalated into some sort of exclamation that we're all going to hell in a hand-basket and no one is even bothering to do anything about it. One exceptionally worked-up night, I went into a frenzy complaining about how everyone was willing to sit around talking about the problems, but no one was getting off their lazy posteriors to do the really simple things that would make a great deal of difference if everyone got on the same page and did it.
That's when two things occurred to me. 1) Most people don't do anything because saving the world is a mighty daunting task. 2) I was heading to hell in a hand-basket with the rest of "most people." I was just as daunted and loved sitting around talking about how screwed we all are as much as the next guy. I hadn't gotten off my own posterior in awhile either.
I needed to find a way to light a fire under my posterior, get myself out of the hypocrite hand-basket, and hopefully make some sort of difference. Even if I wasn't going to change the world, I at least needed to change my life if I was going to live with myself. (I'll admit a large part of the motivation lies in being able to talk a big talk without anyone being able to call me out for not walking the big walk.)
Changing your life by altering your behavior is daunting, though. An amazing mentor of mine once made the point that no one can be expected to wake up one morning and suddenly change every part of their wasteful lifestyle. These things must be done one step at a time, until your new behavior becomes habit. To make things less daunting for myself, I'm going to start with one smallish goal a month, one piece of my behavior that I am going to alter for the sake of Mother Earth (and my fellow man, and my children's, children's, children, and all that).
This cliched dip into the world of blogging is going to be a big part of that. I can tell myself a thousand times "next time I'll take a shorter shower" but when it really comes down to it, that shower feels damn good and without someone looking over my shoulder and keeping track of my progress, that "next time" is never going to come.
You are all welcome to stick around and keep me honest. If you want to join in on my little experiment, please feel free, and feel free to share your own progress here as well. We start March 1st.
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