Turned to vinegar

On my last trip to the grocery store I found myself planted in the middle of an aisle agonizing over a purchase of white cider vinegar.

Each visit to the store makes me smarter about what is a reasonable use of plastic and what is not.
Both Ed and I have become very good at avoiding unnecessary packaging, especially if it’s plastic.
I’ve come to the conclusion there are a few foods, tofu for example, that only come in plastic. Period.
I accept now that some packaging is not only not so bad, but actually the only pragmatic choice.
Am I selling out because I buy tofu, cheese or a few veggie burgers? Maybe, but they only come in plastic, so I excuse myself.

But the vinegar was another story. I had a choice. There it was in glass bottles — little 15 ounce ones — each costing $1.99. On the bottom shelf, for the bargain price of $3.99, sat gallon (128 oz.) jugs of store brand vinegar. True enough it was not a brand name, but white vinegar, come on. Would brand X be any less vinegary than a national brand? No. I would pay a premium for the glass packaging.

Just before going to the store we had stopped at the post office to mail our taxes. Frugality was very much at the top of my mind. I started to rationalize: I don’t buy liquid window cleaners, scum scrubber or grease releasers, I use vinegar instead. I use a lot of it.

Ed leaned over the half-full cart which was miraculously devoid of a single scrap of plastic packaging, patiently watching while I tapped each container to confirm… plastic… plastic… plastic. I was confronted with a moral dilemma. To take home a gallon of not-at-all-fancy vinegar, I could buy eight petite glass bottles for over $15 or one big plastic jug for $4. What was my conviction worth? I thought of an extra $11 coming out of our depleted checking account as I bent to the bottom shelf and hoisted the heavy jug into the cart.

“Sucks, don’t it?” Ed commented as he started the cart moving before I could change my mind.

So, I somewhat shamefully grant myself 18 ounces of plastic loss for the month of March. For $11 more it could have been 20.

2 Responses to “Turned to vinegar”

1. Chemo Goddess on May 22nd, 2009 4:00 pm

   Is the TOFU container recycleable?

2. Debbie on May 26th, 2009 9:51 pm

   The film on top is not, the box that the tofu floats in is.

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