Reduce plastic waste :: PlasticLess.com

I found myself buying a lot of plastic today in the form of two cat carriers. The pragmatic alternative would have been to find the best home possible for our rescued cats in this country. The strong emotions of children sometimes trump pragmatism. We are taking our African cats to Europe.

Alternatives to plastic cat carriers are few and far between. Airlines aren’t in the business of flying pets around. The process and the restrictions are quite a hurdle and there are stories of airlines refusing to take a pet on board because the carrier isn’t on the list of approved ones. I had to go to the biggest department store in the capital city of Tunis to find approved carriers. They were quite expensive

If you never plan on flying with your pet, there are a host of plastic free options for carrying it. You can get a Cardboard Pet Carrier. These are inexpensive and are adequate for trips to the vet, etc.. I have fashioned free cardboard boxes into cat carriers on several occasions with zero injuries. There was an unfortunate escape while I was driving. With a particularly bad cat this could have turned ugly. The real cardboard pet carriers have superior gluing and, importantly, no staples.

A wicker pet carrier has the advantage of doubling as a bed when you are not traveling with your cat.

I honestly think anyone who is concerned with sustainability should think long and hard before getting pets. Our cats were rescued from the street. One of ours was tiny and sick and starving and approached Catherine and me when we were sitting outside at the local cafe. He is now the head of our household.

I saved a kitten from almost certain death yesterday. Catherine and I were sitting at our local cafe in the early morning and a tiny black and white kitten approached us on unsteady legs. It seemed to be imploring us.

We have a vet clinic next door. I went over with the kitten and my youngest daughter. The vet asked if we were going to keep it at our house or if we wanted her to find a place for it. Catherine surmised that this may have been a euphemistic discussion and that the other place was more like a better place. Anyway, the kitten was running a temperature and it had diarrhea (on the vet table, ew). The vet gave it a shot and prescribed some oral antibiotic. Here’s where the inevitable plastic comes in. I had to get a syringe to administer the medicine and on top of that there was a plastic 5ml spoon in the box with the medicine.

I don’t have any advice to dispense related to this anecdote. I do have a kitty photo. I have heard that websites with pictures of cats are very popular on the internet.

I have made the case against making babies from a few different angles on this blog and elsewhere. It’s always a good way to stimulate discussion. I am personally responsible for one pregnancy. If and when you create a human, you will need to buy or borrow things that have been designed to contain and transport them safely.

Moses’ parents supposedly stuck him in a reed basket and sent him floating down the Nile, I don’t personally recommend that method of child carrying even though it was very plasticless.

Parents in many countries are now required by law to place young children in age appropriate car seats. 15 years ago, I borrowed two infant car seats from some community program. I returned them once my babies reached the minimum weight requirement for the next step up in car seats. As far as I know, all baby car seats are made from plastic. The best thing that you can do to reduce environmental impact is to borrow a seat from a family member or a community program. You should read up on proper installation and adjustment of these things. Having one doesn’t make your baby safe, you have to use it correctly.

Green Baby Guide says that car seats up to six years old are safe as long as all the parts are there and in good condition. It’s better to say thanks but no thanks to family and friends that offer you anything older or in any way worn out.

If you have to buy a new car seat, take good care of it and save all the packaging and user manuals for the next owner.

Our baby carriage was a crazily overpriced metal framed Italian job. I was assured that they had a high resale value. I have conveniently forgotten whether that was true. I was impressed by the quality. We lived on a road with a gravel shoulder, so those crappy little strollers with the little plastic wheels weren’t going to cut it.

If you want to do what is best for your baby and also better for the planet you have a lot of options to choose from.

Lots of people swear by baby slings. I have never used one, so I can’t really vouch for them. There have been safety concerns. Most injuries that have occurred are the result of improper use.

Photo Credit: AMCDawes

I did a lot of baby carrying without a sling. I once made the terrible mistake of attempting to walk down my unfinished wooden basement steps while wearing wool socks. I had a baby in my arms. I managed to fall in such a way as to gently plop the baby one step up from where my head landed with less gentleness and about four steps up from the where my ass landed without even a hint of gentleness. Carrying babies with your bare hands might be the greenest choice, but it is not the safest.

Combination car seat/strollers didn’t exist when I had babies. They are plastic, but they are one hunk of plastic that does the job of two. They also meet the requirements for taking on board an airplane. If anybody has had good or bad experience with one of these, please comment.

First things first, I think that the vast majority of the 44% of Americans and 30% of Canadians that own dogs shouldn’t. That is simply too many dogs. Many of them are left alone all day and develop separation anxiety. Many of them are purchased for children who quickly lose interest in their companion. In my opinion, the best alternative to using a plastic bag to pick up dog poop is to never get a dog in the first place. If Barack Obama hadn’t made a promise to his kids, I would have been busily advocating for a pet free White House. I just recently had a talk with my kids explaining that we were definitely not getting a dog. When my kids were much younger, we did own a black lab-like mutt that came from the SPCA. Buddy lived a great life with us until his epilepsy became untenable and I made the decision to have him put down. When I lived out in the country, it never crossed my mind to pick up after him.

Not picking up after your dog at all is an alternative to using plastic bags. If you live out in the country this might be the logical choice. If you live in a community with strict laws and/or entrenched social norms related to dog poop it might be a bad choice.

If you have a dog already and have a legal, moral and/or social obligation to pick up dog feces, you can get biodegradable poop bags. They are made from corn and degrade completely in just a couple of weeks. I can think of one thing that would make this product better. The compostable plastic industry should come to some kind of consensus about labeling so that their product won’t be confused with regular plastic. I know some people who used to get really mad when dog walkers would toss a plastic bag of poop in their municipal compost bin. The workers would see the plastic and refuse to empty the bin. I think these black compostable bags would cause the same problem.