It’s been a while since we last posted. Happy July!
We always try really hard to use as little plastic as possible, and have for years. We reuse (and reuse and reuse), refuse, recycle everything we can. So, of course, the “Plastic Free July” challenge was right up our alley. I’m not sure if we are using any less, but we are keeping track of it all now. Probably we are using less, since having to save it for the end of the week (my rule) or write it down really makes one think!
One week in, I think we did ok. Here is a picture of the plastic trash we generated in week 1. Huh, it suddenly looks like a lot.
- 2 pasta bags. These were the last ones we had. I’m searching for boxed pasta, but not having much luck here. Make my own? Doubt it. Do without? Maybe. Keep looking? Yes.
- 2 plastic bags that came with a telephone we bought after ours was blown up by lightning. The phone blew up in June, so is not included here.
- 1 cliff bar wrapper.
- Cap and safety tape from a 5 gallon bottled water garrafon. We have to drink bottled water here (we only use 5-gallon returnable jugs, no single use bottles). I don’t think we have a way around this.
- Twist tie from spinach, which I can avoid in the future as some veggie stands use pieces of palm leaf to tie them.
- The wrapper tape from a pineapple. Again, I’ll look for ones without it.
- A piece of a cheese wrapper from a block of mozzarella. A girl’s gotta have pizza now and then.
- A piece of a cheese wrapper from a block of goat cheese. Yes, the pizza.
- Cap and innards from a Tetra Pack juice box.
- A bag that had pickled onions in it. Came with carnitas we bought in our own container. They slipped in to our (reusable, non-plastic) bag.
- Not pictured. Three old bags (like the pasta bag) thrown away with bathroom trash in them. We can’t flush paper – you’re welcome! I know you are thanking me for not including a picture!
Wow, listed out it sounds like a lot too!
Two things going to recycle, if we don’t find a use for the vinegar bottle. Caps are going to an arts and crafts project at the Ayotlcalli Summer Camp for kids. The turtle camp is making a sculpture from trash and found items.
Something we have always done to offset our footprint on the planet, is collecting trash when we walk on the beach or when walking on the street to town. It’s almost all plastic, so I am giving it a mention. Below left is typical for a walk on the beach. On the right is from the road on Sunday night after the weekend. Beer and soda can holders. We recycle what we can, put what we can into the arts and crafts pile, and trash what is left. After cutting up those pesky plastic can holders, they go into the trash.
More beach things for the camp art project. Yes, we actually found a toy turtle, which will go to the turtle camp art project. I wanted to say “How cool is that???”, but then. DUH, it was trash someone left on the beach!!!
Fishing line reels, spool from thread, straws, baseball cap bill, and various bottle caps.
When we fill up our bins with collected recyclable items, we take them to the recycling center. It is conveniently located near the Mercado Municipal where we do our shopping.
- Most of this is beach collection, but I must admit that some of the Taxco mineral water and Victoria beer cans are ours!
Finally, our shopping setup:
Tupper containers, silicon bags, non-plastic plastic bags, and cloth shopping and produce bags. We are able to get fish, meat and local cheese in these reusable containers. I do have some (really old) plastic produce bags that have been used several times. I’ll use them till they are almost dead and then they will go into the bathroom trash collection category. The Coca Cola bottle you see is a returnable. We leave it in the car just in case we get a craving (we limit this for other reasons!).
Fails/struggles this week.
- We needed laundry detergent. The only option here is in a plastic bag! 😦
- Mosquito repellent. Same thing…only in plastic.
- Buying a phone almost killed me…it is made mostly of plastic, of course!
~Patty
Happy Ramblers 