Plastic, plastic everywhere

Well, I am back from my grocery shopping. How did I do? Not so well.

I gave in to a few temptations but managed to curtail only a few unwanted plastic purchases by just not buying what I wanted. I walked past the salad dressings when I discovered that even my favorite, Newman’s, has gone to plastic bottles. I had Ed swap out his plastic milk jug for the paperboard one. Same for our coffee cream. I could not resist the bag of romaine hearts on sale for half the price of the loose lettuce. I also bought the convenient pre-washed bag of greens.

Going down my receipt it looks dismal. I always knew there are obvious unwanted plastic purchases that came with the food I intended to buy, but I did not know just how ingrained it was in my shopping habits.

I am not going to count, at least for now, the tiny plastic stickers found on each and every piece of fresh fruit or vegetable in the produce department to aid the checker. I may start peeling them off and putting them … well that is just passing the problem on to someone else isn’t it? Never mind that idea.

I’ll count obvious plastic packaging, no matter how small, except for those pesky stickers. This will include caps, pull tabs, lids, bags; all the plastic that is exposed as the product sits on the shelf. I will also report all the hidden plastic we don’t see. For example, the plastic bag inside the box.

Here’s my list from my receipt:

• cereal (2 boxes) (2 interior plastic bags)
• raisins (1 interior plastic bag)
• bath tissue (1 plastic wrap)
• paper towels (1 plastic wrap x 16 individually wrapped rolls) OUCH! Big mistake!
• cooking spray (1 plastic lid)
• egg substitute (1 plastic lid, 1 plastic pull tab)
• half and half (1 plastic lid, 1 plastic pull tab)
• wheat bread (1 plastic bag)
• soda 12 pack (Are there plastic fibers in the box for strength? I think so. 1 plastic film)
• raisin bread (2 plastic bags) As if one wrapping is not enough to keep the bread fresh!
  
• Ginger (1 plastic jar, 1 plastic lid)
• can of coffee (1 plastic lid)
• half gallon of milk (1 plastic lid)
• 3 Clif bars (3 plastic wraps)
• beer (assuming there are plastic fibers in the carton, 1 plastic film)
• Ed’s turkey lunch meat (1 plastic wrap)
• tortillas (1 plastic zip top bag)
• swiss chard (1 plastic label)
• organic carrots (1 plastic bag)
• hearts of romaine (1 plastic zip top bag)
• baby spinach (1 plastic bag)
• grapes (1 plastic zip top bag)
• green beans (1 plastic bag)
• wine
• can of chili
• broccoli
• bananas
• avocados
• cantaloupe
• red potatoes
• onions
• grapefruit
• anise
• squash

OMG! If I did count the little stickers, I would have a bit of plastic on each and every thing I bought, except for the wine. Come to think of it, it may have the new synthetic, or in other words a plastic cork.

What I passed up:

• salad dressing (1 plastic container, 1 plastic cap credit)
• plastic jug of milk (1 plastic container, 1 plastic cap credit)
• plastic container of cream (1 plastic container, 1 plastic cap credit)

Oh brother! This will be harder than I thought.

Now I know: I should take my own plastic produce bags, saving them from this trip for the next. Or should I buy a stash of small brown paper bags for small things like okra, brussels sprouts or green beans. That would have saved me one plastic bag this trip. I will probably have to give up my beloved salad-in -a-bag, too.

Remember the gyre! Go green!

One Response to “Plastic, plastic everywhere”

1. Amy on January 12th, 2009 3:19 pm

   Debbie — You are so brave to tackle Truly going green. It makes my head spin to consider how many plastic items I count on to make my daily world go ’round. From a non-breakable shampoo bottle to the gladware that holds yesterday’s leftovers to my toothbrush, plastic is an integral part of personal life. Hmmmm. Thank you for lighting up the path as you move boldly forth toward our inevitable future. Amy

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