{"id":7743,"date":"2021-06-21T15:49:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T19:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/?p=7743"},"modified":"2024-06-13T13:08:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T17:08:41","slug":"365238-reducing-single-use-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/365238-reducing-single-use-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"365+#238: Reducing Single Use Plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living Lightly<\/em> on planet earth is a broad theme which encompasses personal lifestyle, consumption of goods, and use of money \u2013 all enveloped in an interior spirituality of simplicity, humility, justice, and care for humanity – indeed care for all creation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lately I have focused especially on care for creation. By now most folk are well familiar with the 3 R’s of the environmental mantra: Reduce<\/strong>, Reuse<\/strong>, Recycle<\/strong>. In an effort to make this a manageable task, I narrowed it down to the subtopic of plastic pollution which adds two more R\u2019s \u2013 Rethink<\/strong> and Refuse<\/strong>. But this too became such a huge field of study, that I limited it even further to reducing Single Use Plastics (SUPs) as a sub-focus.<\/p>\n

WHERE TO START?<\/strong>
\nTo reduce SUPs we can start at the top or at the bottom:
\nThe Top: Supply<\/u> \u2013 Reduce the supply of plastic at the source \u2013 the mining of petrochemicals through fracking<\/a><\/span> and turning this into plastic at \u201ccracker<\/a><\/span>\u201d plants. Often this means getting involved in the political process of influencing government policies.
\nThe Bottom: Demand<\/u> \u2013 Reducing the demand to buy single use plastic products would reduce the incentive to create more supply.<\/p>\n

Here I will start at the bottom because buying stuff, especially groceries, impacts most people\u2019s daily life. Following is a collection of ideas and resources which I hope will help an ordinary person\/shopper to make a positive difference. One person, multiplied by many people trying their best, can make a world of difference.<\/p>\n

RETHINK: <\/strong>Before buying anything \u2013 Think! Is there another way? Two examples from my life:
\n1. Instead of buying the #5 plastic containers of yogurt, I started making my own yogurt.
\n2. Instead of buying alfalfa sprouts in a plastic clamshell, I started growing them in a glass jar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>REFUSE:\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1. Skip the Stuff<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\n2. 20 Ways to Refuse Single Use Products <\/strong>by Kathy Downey: REFUSE – Downey<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (Includes a sample restaurant note.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

REDUCE:<\/strong>
\n1. Single Use Plastics 101<\/strong><\/a> by National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)<\/span>
\n2. Plastic-Free Living Product Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/span> by A-Z Plastics Coalition
\n3. ECO-Friendly Household Products<\/a><\/span><\/strong> by Susan Vogt\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

REUSE:
\n<\/strong>Grocery bags, food & drink containers, glass jars, old clothes as rags, repair stuff, cloth napkins, books, cloth diapers, print on both sides of paper… This is an evolving list. Add your favorites.<\/p>\n

RECYLE:
\n<\/strong>1. Chasing Arrows chart<\/a><\/strong><\/span> – What do all those numbers and letters in a triangle mean?
\n2. What do Plastic Recycling Symbols Really Mean?<\/a> <\/strong>–<\/span> more in depth article
\n<\/span><\/span>3,<\/span> How to Recycle like a Responsible Human<\/strong><\/a><\/span> by Phoebe Lapine (helpful recycling summary)
\n4. Cincinnati area: Rumpke curbside flyer<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0& Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

EXTRA: VIDEOS<\/strong>\u00a0for those who learn best by watching
\n1. 16 short videos on Plastic<\/a><\/strong><\/span> collected by Cj Willie of Earth Connection<\/a><\/span>.
\n2. Also, The Story of Plastic<\/em><\/strong> (1 hr. 35 min. film). Click here<\/a><\/span><\/strong> for trailer.
\n3. Recording of my June 29, hour long Webinar on Reducing Single Use Plastics<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

UPDATE<\/strong> Check out a summary of 64 Ways to Reduce Plastic – adapted by SV<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REFUSE
\nWe often use the terms reduce, reuse, and recycle in an
\nattempt to reduce our carbon footprint but consider the
\nstronger cousin of reduce – REFUSE.
\nOften we accept items we don\u2019t need from restaurants or stores that find their way immediately to the
\ngarbage can. If we do not need in the first place, REFUSE them, then we also don\u2019t need to find ways of
\nreusing or recycling them.
\nConsider the Following:
\n1) REFUSE unnecessary plastic silverware, plates, napkins, or sauces when ordering food for
\ndelivery or take out.
\n2) REFUSE excess plastic wrappings when carrying out from Restaurants. EX: plastic wrapping, etc.
\n3) REFUSE straws at Restaurants politely. If you don\u2019t drink water, let the server know.
\n4) Offer positive feedback for Sustainable Practices at restaurants to encourage continued use
\n5) Consider giving the manager of the restaurant the sample letter below. Simply acknowledge
\nyour enjoyment of the restaurant and ask manager to consider adopting sustainable practices.
\n6) Take reusable bags to the grocery store or other retail stores to use.
\n7) REFUSE plastic bags when buying produce at the Grocery Store.
\n8) Select sturdy and washable utensils and tableware for picnics and parties
\n9) Use washable clothes napkins instead of paper napkins
\n10) Use sponges and dishcloths instead of paper towels.
\n11) Refill Cleaning Supplies in Bottle from Bulk Refill Liquids.
\n12) Use rechargeable batteries
\n13) Bring Reusable Mugs to the coffee shop with you.
\n14) Reuse Printed Pages and Junk Mail for scratch paper
\n15) Use Handkerchiefs instead of paper tissue.
\n16) Borrow or Rent tools that you don\u2019t often use such as ladders, tillers, tables for parties, tools.
\n17) Consider using cloth diapers.
\n18) Use Reusable Dryer Balls instead of dryer sheets.
\n19) Don\u2019t treat \u201cbest used before\u201d dates as absolute, check food to see if bad (non-meat\/dairy).
\n20) Freeze excess leftovers rather than dumping it in the garbage. DEAR RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT,
\nI very much enjoy your food & service. In addition, I am very concerned about the welfare of our
\nplanet. In the future, I plan to patronize business and order food from businesses and restaurants that
\nfollow environmentally healthy practices. Please consider the following things.
\n1) Styrofoam plates and cups remain in landfills forever. They break down into small particles but
\nnever go away. They pollute our land and our waterways forever. Approximately 1400 tons of
\nStyrofoam are buried each day in U.S. landfills. When burned, carbon black and carbon
\nmonoxide are released into the air.
\n2) Plastic bags and plates are also not biodegradable. Animals and birds become tangled in the
\ntrash and can suffocate or become permanently harmed.
\n3) Plastic silverware is considered one of the most harmful items to oceanic sea life. It breaks
\ninto small sharp pieces that clog the stomachs of birds, fish and other animals.
\n4) Plastic straws break down into ever smaller particles releasing chemicals into the soil, air and
\nwater that are harmful to people and wildlife.
\nThere are small things that your restaurant can do to be more sustainable which I look forward and
\nappreciate. Please consider the following:
\n1) Use paper bags instead of plastic bags.
\n2) Use paper or cardboard plates and cups instead of plastic or Styrofoam
\n3) Consider biodegradable straws.
\n4) Don\u2019t dispense plastic cutlery unless the consumer asks for it.
\n5) Consider biodegradable cutlery.
\n6) Use cardboard clamshells instead of Styrofoam or wrap food in aluminum foil.
\nThank for the above considerations.
\nSincerely,
\n______________________________ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[52,6],"class_list":["post-7743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-days-365","tag-plastics","tag-recycling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7743"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9056,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743\/revisions\/9056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}