Plastic

I'm starting with the link (thanks Carrie) this time. Read it, and then we'll talk.

http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we.shtml

Alright. If you didn't read it (which you should), let me sum it up: 25% of the planet is covered in plastic by way of gyres (a giant circular oceanic surface current), which basically suck in the world's discarded plastic, and "except for...small amount[s]...every bit of plastic ever made still exists." That's a lot of effing plastic. On average, Americans toss 185 pounds of plastic per person every year, and plastic production is increasing exponentially, currently around 120 billion pounds (that's every year) in the U.S. alone.

If that's not enough to make one reevaluate the amount of plastic she uses, how about research that shows this discarded plastic is finding its way into our foodsorces and, thus, into our bodies, and the plastics we use to process and store our food is doing the same? This is believed to be a factor in, among other things, the rise in obecesity, cancer, and infertility.

So what are some simple things we can do to reduce our plastic consumption?:

*buy out of need not want
*buy second hand
*when buying new, buy quality so it'll last
*buy closer to the source
*buy products with eco friendly packaging
*why use disposable when there's reusable (think razors, water bottles, and flatware)?
*take your own bags to the grocery store. "Twenty-three countries, including Germany, South Africa, and Australia, have banned, taxed, or restricted the use of plastic bags." Let's catch up to the rest of the world. Vitamin cottage has great bags for 99 cents. They stand on their own for easy loaing and unloading, and they have straps long enough to sling over your shoulder but not so long they drag ground if in your hand. Plus, you probably didn't realize stores like Safeway charge 5 cents per plastic bag. That's money in the bank folks.
*don't use produce bags unless you have to (you don't need them for two apples or a bunch of bananas), and when you do use them, save them and use them next time. They store easily in a paper towel tube.
*Store food in glass or ceramic. Canning jars work great because they come in a varity of sizes and you can see what's in them, and they're reasonably priced.
*use tampons with cardboard applicators and paper wrappers
*do you really need that straw? What about the no-spill lid when you're sitting down to eat?
*Recycle. Notice, however, that recylcling is last on the list. This is because, unlike glass, plastic cannot be continueously melted down and reformed. When recycled, plastic is only used to make products like fleece, carpet, and wood substitute--not more plastic bottles. Thus, recycling plastic doesn't cut down on the need for new plastic to be produced. Check out this website for misconseptions about plastic recycling:
http://www.ecologycenter.org/ptf/misconceptions.html
check out this blog written by a woman going sans plastic for a year:
http://plasticfree.blogspot.com/

Clearly a basic list, but a good starting point of which to run with.

GO PLANET!