There is an amazing variety of gadgets available to consumers. You are bombarded with voices telling you that you NEED these things. Probably the best tip I could ever give as far as reducing your use of plastic is to stop buying so much stuff. I am just going to go through a quick list of things that you may not need:
- A waffle maker (how many times are you going to use one of these?)
- A plastic skateboard ramp
- A second or third gaming console (tell the kids Retro is cool, get them a funky N64 t-shirt)
- Inflatable beach toys
- A lava lamp
- Plastic Snowmen, reindeer, old guys in red suits
I guess I will stop there. Now that I have made my case for not buying things, I am still going to talk about a product. I really do want you to think twice about whether you have a real use for the product.
I eat yogurt on an almost daily basis. The only locally available yogurt is in the standard foil topped plastic containers. One plastic reduction strategy would be to buy a yogurt maker. This one uses reusable plastic containers. You are buying almost 9 pounds of plastic. You will have to make quite a bit of yogurt to have an impact on your plastic use. Keep in mind that you still have to buy milk and other ingredients in packaged form. My introduction to yogurt makers was actually on a dairy farm and the lady was using raw milk. This is a slight health risk, and as such it is against regulations in some areas. I would jump at the chance to get raw unpackaged milk if I could.
This one is a better choice. It has glass jars. I chose to preface my introduction of these items with my “Do You Really Need It?” spiel because I don’t want anybody to buy something like this if they are not seriously going to use it.
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:36 pm
For anyone who thinks making their own yogurt is a great idea-YOU DON’T NEED A MACHINE to make it. Really you dont. We make it all the time. Bring your milk to boiling in a saucepan, cool down to 110F or there abouts, whisk in some yogurt starter and leave someplace warm for 8 hours. That someplace warm is what the machine does, but you can use an oven with a pilot light, a cooler with slightly hot water in it, a thermos, or a super insulated box. Yogert can be poured from saucepan into class jars either before or after it sets for 8 hours.
Cindy
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
It seems like even a better choice might be a slow cooker with a temperature setting (rather than Hi-med-low). Yay multitasker, boo uni-tasker, to channel Alton Brown.