Reduce plastic waste :: PlasticLess.com

Grow is a brand new social bookmarking system that has been launched by AboutMyPlanet.com.

I really like the graphic elements and a news sharing site that is focused on the environment is simply a good idea whose time has come.

Expect to see Plasticless items on GROW soon.

I was stuck in an airport for over 24 hours this week. I wasn’t really confined to the terminal, I took the opportunity to visit a large mall. I have the good fortune of living in an isolated area that doesn’t have huge malls and I was surprised at how alien the mall seemed to me after having avoided them for just a few years. The biggest shock I had was walking into the toy store. It is hard to find anything there that is NOT plastic.

One of my main impressions of the toys in this store chain is that the primary goal in their design is to sell. The post sale use is a distant second. I think the trendiness and lack of real function inherent in the toy industry results in the inevitable disposable quality of these products.

Pete’s Frootique is an iconic store in Nova Scotia, Canada. They are not waiting for municipal governments to step in with regard to plastic bags. After giving ample warning, they will start charging five cents for every shopping bag.

This is the kind of thing that needs to start happening. Pete is not taking that much risk because his business model is unique to the area. He operates two locations that sell the best fresh produce and specialty food items that the World has to offer. He may have suffered some more sales as a result of the 100 Mile Diet craze than he will lose by charging for bags. Actually, Pete may not have lost business with the 100 mile dieters. I have been to his stores and they are well organized and all foods are well identified as to origin, including local produce.

This isn’t that topical. I just happened to find this video showing a recording artist producing her own EP covers for her independent release. I would encourage anyone who is marketing music, movies, software, or whatever you might be marketing in disc form, to go with some kind of paper product. Jewel cases are so yesterday.

U.S. Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR), had a panel examine whether exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) presents a risk to human development and reproduction. This week they unanimously concluded that there is some risk. Some concerns such as effects on reproduction in adult humans were said to have negligible risk.

BPA can be present in very low concentrations in water and drinks that are contained in plastic bottles.

I expect that progressive states like California will soon require some type of warning on bottles. This will have some effect on consumer choices.

Source: Forbes

Pepsi is changing the labeling on its Aqua-Fina bottled water to state that it is produced using a public water supply as its source. Coca Cola’s Dasani is also purified tap water.

Back in 2001, Coke was talking about piping Coke into homes. I think they have abandoned that largely because the statistics and press coverage related to obesity in developed countries would make it unpopular. high fructose corn syrup and flavor and water

I want to suggest that municipalities get together with Coke and Pepsi and put in infrastructure to have metered pure water piped into homes and institutions. The fact that they use some energy and technology to add real and perceived value to the town water before placing it in plastic bottles to sell to consumers is kind of odd when you take a step back. The cost of dealing with the waste created by this process is off loaded to the municipality and ultimately the taxpayer.

The system for piping drinking water to residents would not have to handle the same volumes and pressures that are used for other purposes like bathing, dish washing and laundry.

Most beverage companies require premium sources of water. Public sources of water must meet health standards, but the tap water in many cities will have displeasing tastes. My local water has a relatively high sodium content. It’s great for cooking pasta and safe for brushing teeth. I get water delivered in refillable 19 liter bottles. I would happily pay the same amount for purified water from a tap.

One solution that can reduce or eliminate your need for plastic water bottles is a filtration system. I chose to picture this particular one because it is an option that you can use even if you are in a rental apartment.

If you purchase whole coffee beans in bulk from a roaster, you will not only reduce your plastic use, but you will also have fresher coffee.

The best way to store whole coffee beans is in a ceramic container with a rubber airtight seal.

Don’t take the word bulk too literally, you should ideally only buy enough coffee to last two weeks.

One thing that I do regularly is to do a quick Google search for ‘plastic’ news. Today, I inadvertently typed ‘plasticless’ instead. Not surprisingly, this blog tops the list. Number two is Plasticless Lists.

The goal of this page is to make a list of retailers who have products packaged without plastic. At the moment, there are only a handful of entries and they are all for Vancouver. If you have any shops in your city to add to the list they welcome your input.