PlasticLess.com

I just stumbled on a site called celsias that has a section called Actions that’s all about people making small but important changes in their lives. There is a social aspect to this, each change appears in a list that shows how many people are pledging to do it and how many people want to do it. Members and tasks have some kind of system of degrees that I don’t understand.

As of today, 39 celsias members are not using plastic bags. That’s a good start

This blog is about reducing our personal consumption of plastic. So far, it has been a hodgepodge of old ideas and new ideas. Old ideas can make a lot of sense, most of the time. Plastic has only become a ubiquitous part of our lives in the last few generations. Before that, other materials were doing just fine at meeting our needs… or were they?

You need to be very cautious about antique items that contain dangerous materials like lead and mercury. I would suggest a ‘better safe than sorry” approach with regards to old cookware, utensils and serving dishes. Even decorative antiques can pose health risks. Looking into the issue of lead poisoning was very depressing for me. I did not know that a proposed ban on lead paint went before the US House of Representatives in 1910 and that it took 68 years before the Consumer Product Safety Commission eventually banned it. Over 4000 tonnes of lead paint had been slapped on walls and toys and various other things in the interim.

I wonder if the push and pull related to chemicals leaching from plastic drinking containers will drag on that long? Actually, I am certain that it will not. Things move faster in the information age. Several companies removed products containing Bisphenol A as soon as the issue started making headlines. Interestingly, I think the scandal about lead in products made in China may has sensitized the media and consumers in such a way as to catalyze the reaction to Bisphenol A.

Another depressing issue involves the modern low watt light bulb. Al Gore et al. want to ban incandescent light bulbs in homes. The present alternative is a CFL that contains mercury. They also contain more plastic than a typical incandescent bulb.

Proponents of these efficient bulbs say that the fact that they contain more hazardous materials and the fact that they take more energy to produce are more than offset by the energy savings. I am worried about the environmental impact of their production because they are presently made in China. I am also worried about the mercury. There have been advances, with some bulbs having 1/5 the amount of mercury of typical CFLs.

I have personal experience with cheap CFLs that did not have the long life that is touted by their promoters. The answer might be higher standards. Right now, they are trying to compete with standard light bulbs. When legislation kicks in this will be less of an issue.

Ok, I think people have a right to express themselves with their yard. If a lady wants to have a cluttered up front yard, it’s her business.

I am free to express my opinion. In my opinion, a government should consider passing laws against things that use up resources and pollute the environment while serving no useful purpose. It should be against the law to produce or import pink flamingos. Auto racing should be against the law. Drinking straws should be against the law.

The good news is that they are launching a new television channel that is completely related to environmental topics.

The bad news is that it is a load of crap just like the rest of television.

One program will feature Tom Green hosting an environmentally themed game show. I get it. His last name is GREEN. Maybe CNN Money should track down Eddy Money and get him to host a show too.

Here is a link where you can watch Tom driving an old Lincoln Continental for no particular reason.

The primary focus of this blog is to advocate and discuss reducing plastic waste. However, the biggest news related to plastic today is BPA and its potential health risks. After reading a very long article about BPA in the National Post, I am confused. Some experts say that using the chemical in containers benefits human health by separating food from from metals and microbes. Other experts say that BPA leaching into our food and water is a clear and present danger to babies and fetuses.

While its hard to decide what governments should do, we can all make a personal effort to simply avoid plastic and plastic lined food containers as much as possible. If you are pregnant or if you have young children, it is especially important to play it safe while the scientists on both sides continue to debate.

First off, I want to welcome a new blog to my blogroll… Plastic Bag Watch is a very focussed blog dealing primarily with banning campaigns throughout the UK. Here is a neat map that he used to show many of these campaigns:

View Larger Map

The most interesting post on this blog for me was a commentary on EU laws standing in the way of outright bans of plastic bags. I myself am quite perturbed that the EU is forcing Malta to stop requiring local beverage companies to use returnable glass. This will be a step backwards as far as I am concerned as the businesses will undoubtedly go for the cheaper plastic. This will only add to the already prevalent problem of litter.

Bisphenol A is a chemical that is present in small quantities in liquids that are bottled using plastic. It is presently under scrutiny because of health risks, especially for children. The province of Ontario in Canada is studying the issue and a province wide ban is not off the table. Some private companies that are branded as green are not waiting for government action. MEC pulled plastic drinking bottles off the shelves long ago and Lululemon Athletica Inc. has acrylic bottles made without Bisphenol A arriving in 2008 to replace the plastic bottles that they are selling now. They have not taken bottles off the shelves. While studies are linking the chemical to problems such as infertility and cancer, manufacturers and retailers counter that consumers would never be exposed to dangerous levels of the toxin through normal use of their products. I’m having a feeling of deja vu … remmber the lead in the miniblinds last century?

Source:Canadianpress.google.com

I am not a regular at Starbucks. In fact, I live in one of the few places in the World that does not have Starbucks…yet.

I was surprised to hear that they ever sold plastic children’s cups that were made in China. From the description, they sound like the kind of thing that McDonald’s gives away with a Happy Meal. Giving things away would devalue the brand, so Starbucks was selling them for about $6.

Now they are recalling them because they can easily break and then the small parts present a choking hazard. If you bought one of the 250,000 cups, you might want to think a little more carefully about how to spend the $6 the second time. See if you can find a half pound of Fair Trade Organic Coffee from a local roaster who will sell it to you in a paper bag.

This is a US story. Coca Cola is announcing a multi million dollar effort to create recycling facilities that are capable of handling all the plastic beverage containers that it produces.

The company is even contributing $6 million for curbside collection programs.

Vote with your dollars for beverages that are made locally and packaged in reusable glass containers. Carbonated beverages with high fructose corn syrup are not something we should be consuming regularly anyway.

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