Monday, August 4, 2008

a special moment in plastic history

I went to Subway with Nora today and the lady tried to put her sandwich in a plastic bag.

Nora firmly but politely said "I don't need a bag, please."

But Subway is crowded and noisy at lunchtime, and the lady is used to putting everyone's sandwich in a plastic bag, which she was about to do when Nora became The Ferocious and shouted "I don't need a plastic bag!"

Amazing. I was so proud.
--

In my plastic news, I bought a ... oh lord, I don't even know what it's called... a media card? I need it to transfer my music and files from my desktop computer to my laptop.

Said another way, I need a piece of plastic wrapped in plastic to transfer files from one plastic machine to a smaller plastic machine. Too much plastic!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I've been so focused on reading your blog entries (which are great!) that I didn't notice the google ads on the right side of your website until now. Did you know that since google keeps seeing the word "plastic" on your blog, it's placing ads for plastic products?! Is there any way you can choose ads for plastic replacements instead?

plasticfreenyc said...

thanks!

and no, we can't control the google ads. feel free to click on them though, we make money when you click!

from what i understand it just takes time for the ads to become more relevant. but the more we use words like recycle, sustainable, biodegradable, etc etc the better the ads will be.

plasticfreenyc said...

elizabeth,
i'd also love to hear if you've cut back on any plastic.. let us know!!!

kerry

Unknown said...

Kerry,

I have cut back slightly on my plastic use, but can definitely cut back further! Mostly, I've become aware of all the plastic I use every day, especially water bottles (which I reuse for a week or two, but still should get a permanent water bottle instead!) and plastic grocery bags (because I always pick up groceries on my way home from work, and rarely have a good reusable bag with me). Do you have a suggestion for a reusable grocery bag that is lightweight and packs very small so I can carry it around all the time? (Same goes for a small bag I could put fruits and vegetables in instead of using the plastic bags that stores have...)

Thanks!

Elizabeth

plasticfreenyc said...

Hi Elizabeth!

Awesome that you're cutting back on plastic! I really recommend getting a Sigg water bottle, they have them at Whole Foods. Less than $20 and you'll save that money in no time by not buying plastic water bottles. A good investment!

Reusablebags.com is a great resource for all sorts of bagging needs. They have about 30 ultra-compact bags to choose from on this page.. you can fold them up and carry with you always:
http://tinyurl.com/3a8793

I think the Chico brand one looks cute, and it's cheap. Or I tend to carry a fairly big bag around with me, so I usually have room in it for end-of-day purchases.

For produce: for big fruits and vegetables I put them in my basket without a bag and wash them (which I would do anyway) when I get home. For mixed greens or blueberries.. that's tricky. These seem like a pretty good option:
http://tinyurl.com/2k8sml

Also, check out this awesome project to turn old t-shirts into produce bags:
http://tinyurl.com/6zqwkw

Well, that should get you started.
Good luck! let us know how it works out!

Kerry

Nora Borealis said...

damn right i yelled at the subway lady! i didn't want her ruining my delicious, organic subway sandwich with her devious plastic bag. i was eating in in the store!

your blog inspires me. sometimes i slap plastic straws out of people's mouths in public. okay, i don't. but i think about it.