Comments on: Deplasticize Your Life!

By: dev chilson

dev chilson — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:19:53 +0000

Wow, Starre, maybe we were twins separated at birth. (But I’m old and you sound younger.) I googled “deplasticize my house” on a whim and you popped up first. For all the reasons you mentioned (and a few more, aesthetics for example) I have been reducing the amount of plastic in my life, much to the amusement and occasional irritation of my daughter and husband. I had to laugh when I saw the “put a plate over the bowl of leftovers” idea, because I started doing that a while ago, but I never heard of anyone else doing it!

Anyway, my biggest stumbling block is upholstered furniture and mattresses. I think I found a not-too hard futon place that does use some synthetics as well as cotton, but they swear they have vetted the material and it is benign. I usually buy used couches and chairs, though, and I know they are pure petro by-products…

Would love to hear other people’s thoughts about affordable alternatives to plastic around the house.

Keep up the good work, and thanx.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:21:22 +0000

Wow, Starre, this is such a useful post! I am so aggravated by the useless plastic packaging on everything – I really hate when it’s plastic within plastic! Great work – stumbled.

By: Wash That Plastic Right Out of Your Life

Wash That Plastic Right Out of Your Life — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:02:12 +0000

[...] at Eco-Chick, for example, is no longer content to shy away from plastic bags alone, and has now turned her sights to bigger goals: I haven’t picked up a plastic bag in weeks now*, and I’m looking for a new eco-challenge. I [...]

By: E.R. Dunhill

E.R. Dunhill — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:50:05 +0000

Starre,
Thanks for writing about this. I think your Reason #3 brings up an important flaw in how we engineer and commercialize new materials. In the US (and many other countries) we have a bizarre “innocent until proven guilty” policy with respect to new materials. We cobble together organic molecules into something that doesn’t occur in nature, and then use the new material to store food or hand it to our children to chew on. As our supply-chains become longer and more convoluted, we also blindly trust that the chemical processes that create these materials are being executed perfectly and that no one is trying to save a buck by cutting corners or substituting one polymer for another.
The best way to stop this is to reduce the demand for plastics in packaging and consumer products. Firms also need to be accountable (including holding their suppliers and subcontractors accountable) for their products. We as consumers need to educate ourselves and favor products that make these things happen.
I love to hear that someone else uses cloth napkins. It’s one of the easiest things we can do to reduce waste. I also happen to have a Ka-Bar hobo set (not my term, that’s actually what it’s called), but I’m afraid that if I use it (or one of those hip Brunton titanium sporks), my wife may strangle me in my sleep. Is anyone willing to help me pretend that using a titanium spork is normal? That would be super.