A friend of mine shared a post about taking a pledge to be plastic free for the month of July.
This is something that I’ve been working on personally for a while now, but I’ve got a long way to go. Locally, recycling plastic isn’t the best and we are a lot more limited than I’d like (though we are getting better). That said, I’ve seen too often lately that even a lot of the plastics that say they can be recycled still end up in landfills because there just aren’t the facilities to process those plastics. I do my best to avoid those, but not many companies are going this route yet, so alternatives are still slim pickings. I am trying to dig in and find those alternatives, though.
So, in the spirit of this pledge, I’ll be doing a few posts throughout July on some of the alternatives I’ve found for some of my bigger plastic uses and what I think about how well they’re working for me. Feel free to jump in and share your own along the way. I’m always up for hearing ideas about how I can reduce or eliminate plastic altogether.
This may seem like barely a drop in the bucket in relation to so many other issues our kids will face in the future, but it is one drop that I can attempt to do something about. There are others as well, but I’m only focusing on the plastic issue here in these posts.
The same thing is happening with easy to recycle glass. If an area doesn’t have a close glass recycle facility, they trash it because it costs more to ship it.
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We we have a company with large containers all around my area where you can take glass. I haven’t yet heard that they aren’t actually recycling that glass. Sheesh, I hope that isn’t the case.
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If they have containers where you take it yourself rather than having it picked up, there’s a good chance they’re recycling. Our county, a pretty wealthy county all things considered, is still picking it up but not recycling.
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I did a bit of research after your comment and the company with the containers is a locally owned company that started it specifically because we didn’t have good options, so ours is definitely recycled. Our last house, we had curbside pick up, so I have no clue where that went. It was before this company started up, so who knows.
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I wish more priority was given to recycling and other means to save the environment. I’m glad that your area stepped up. I wish more would do so.
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Sadly, that is only the glass. While I think we are decent on papers and cans, we have crap options for plastics. They are better than they used to be, but there are still a lot of things that say they are recyclable that we can’t here. It is part of what really pushed me to focus on this. That and my kids (MC the science/biology geek especially) are really getting into this as well because it is important to them.
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That’s good. I wish all of the younger generation would get involved in the environment and wildlife and pay attention to the world around them. It’s so wonderful you’re doing this!
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It’s kind of funny how that ended up turning around. When I first started talking about doing the straws, the kids kind of laughed at me. Then it seems that they both picked something up or heard something in their science class and suddenly they are just as in to doing their part as I am. I’m just glad I’m not having to battle my immediate family to try and do something I think is right. I can’t even mention plastic or straws around my FIL or I end up hearing some truly ignorant Fox News regurgitation about something totally unrelated that just ticks me off. I have no clue how I’d deal with it if it was my Hubby or kids with that attitude.
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It’s funny. We used to have paper straws. I was reminded of that when I saw a mention in a book evidently written by a person who didn’t know that paper straws had once been a thing. I’m afraid a lot of people want convenience and believe that climate change is a hoax and won’t affect them. 😦
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That would be my FIL. Granted, it probably won’t affect him at his age, but you’d think there would be at least a small level of concern for grandkids. I try not to let his attitude get me down and my kids just do their best to ignore it and go about doing what they can, for which I’m grateful.
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I have been concentrating on buying food stuffs in glass or cans and finding other uses for the plastic that I already have. Spray bottles get refilled, plastic containers hold seedlings, recycle the single use plastic at the supermarket etc. It is hard to go completely plastic free depending on where you live and what is available. I always bring my shopping bags as well as cotton produce bags. I do not have access to a bulk store but now that the weather is warmer I go to the local farmers markets for fresh produce, bread, jams and food. Do your best and don’t be afraid to talk about it. We can all do something.
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Thanks! There are a lot of ways I’ve managed and I’m working on others. Gratefully, my kids and Hubby are just as on board as I am, so that helps. Even when they give me crap if I do buy something I’d rather not, but haven’t figured out the other options yet. They keep me honest and on track.
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