diagnosis: polymer anxiety

I love getting emails about plastic:

"hi kerry, i was at a small indian restaurant in inwood yesterday. we ate in the restaurant but they still served us in plastic...container and fork, etc. after our meal, i literally felt like i had consumed plastic. it was really gross. i wonder if there is any truth to that. like how plastic might appear solid, but we do consume trace amounts of it. would be interested in your thoughts"

my thoughts:
When we eat food that's served on plastic, or wrapped in plastic, or sucked up through a plastic straw we consume guilt with every bite and sip.

Even if you think you don't give a hoot about the environment, you are an intelligent person (yes you!) and at some level (subconsious, or if you've been reading this blog, conscious!) you realize that it's a destructive action. This gives the food a bitter aftertaste.

My diagnosis is polymer anxiety, and the best course of treatment is to use less plastic :)

Alan Weisman said it well in his book, The World Without Us:

"Plastic embodies our collective guilt over trashing the environment. Something about plastic feels uneasily permanent. The difference may have to do with what happens outside landfills, where a newspaper gets shredded by wind, cracks in sunlight, and dissolves in rain--if it doesn't burn first."

[Note: Alan goes on to explain newspapers don't biodegrade when they are buried in a landfill away from air and water. But that's a story for another blog. I recommend reading Alan's article Polymers are Forever.]

So my question to you, dear reader, is:

What is ONE THING you can do today to reduce your plastic guilt?