Can I go a week without using any new plastic?
Our interview with Sustainable Dave made us start thinking about how much plastic we use and throw away each day. We wanted to know exactly how hard it would be to change our habits. So starting Thursday, August 14th, I'm attempting to go seven full days without using any new plastic at all.
I won't try to avoid plastic I already have, I'll just try to stop bringing in NEW plastic. When you think of all the plastic containers, wrappers, liners, cups, bags, etc. in our daily lives, it'll be tough! It's very probable that I'll acquire some new plastic over seven days, so I will make sure to log and keep track of it all.
I'll be posting daily behind-the-scenes videoblog updates on this blog to let you know how it's going. But epicfu.com/7days will be the main place where all the blog posts, videos, photos, and updates will be kept to make it easier to track my progress.
If you want to join in on the project, that would be great too -- there's nothing better than a support team! Start getting mentally prepared and on August 14th start posting your videos, photos, and updates to MIX, your blog, or any place you can. Then send us links or tag it "7dayswithoutplastic" on Flickr or YouTube, so we can include it here and in the show. You don't have to do it for seven days like me -- post information or tips about anything you're doing to help limit your use of plastic. Every little bit helps!
We will also be bringing you tips from prominent green bloggers from all over the web so that we can turn this project into a resource for anyone who wants to try changing the way they use plastic. We'll also be adding some widgets, picking a charity of choice, adding the event on Facebook and coming up with other cool stuff to get the wheels turning. So get ready, August 14th is right around the corner!
Spread the word, join the fun, and wish me luck!
jermaine b said:
good luck you'll need it. when i first heard the going without plastic i was like that shouldn't be too hard. Now realizing 30% or more of my house hold utensils and items are plastic make me say wow.
John Irwin said:
I really think you can't do this. Not in any meaningful way. Almost everything in this moden world is made from or with plastic. It's a bit of a cop out to stipulate that you'll live without "new" plasitc. I'd like to see you move into an unfurnished flat for a week then survive using no more plastic than the camera you're filming with and your credit card.
steve Garfield said:
I'll start observing my new plastic consumption. Hmm. Wondering how I'd take home the fresh tuna salad from the deli. Carol says you can't buy any prepared foods. I wonder what would happen if I brought in my own glass container. Would the deli person know how to weigh their tuna in my container AND subtract the weight?
Jorge said:
I'll try to stop my plastic consumption for 7 days! I think it's an interesting project and I've been told i can find alternatives to plastic out there. Let's see how it goes.
David Tames said:
Going without plastic for seven days also seems like a wonderful opportunity (now in the summer) to buy local produce, fresh food products, and all sorts of things that don't come in plastic nor are shipped across the country or flown long distances, other sources of environmental problems. It's all connected in a tangled web. Cutting out plastic packaging, may lead to awareness of all sorts of benefits come to light.
Cheryl Colan said:
@Steve Garfield - all the deli person has to do is weigh your empty container first to know the weight to subtract. I do that all the time buying bulk items at Whole Foods. Go to the counter with your glass jar, get it weighed, write the weight on it with a grease pencil or tape.
@Zadi, good luck on this and thank you for taking it on. This project brings out the Epic Fu fan in me.
sl4sh said:
That's a great idea, kudos.
The problem however is that, no matter how hard you try, packaging for almost everything you buy (especially food) went more and more towards plastic, lately.
I personally try to support its use the least, but it's hard.
In Europe we also saw an increase in the use of blister packaging (I think you got it earlier) in the last years, probably as a theft deterrent but it's really an annoying waste of resources
Kevin said:
I love this idea. But unfortunately if you want to buy anything, you're gonna have a hard time. We have plastic packaging in everything.
Kevin
www.carboyfilms.com
weker1 said:
I couldnt, Dr.pepper alone would kill me.
But I have Faith, Go For It!
You can do, who ever trys.
shitboy said:
wrote this great, long, detailed entry about all the different plastic items we could refrain from purchasing/using, and what alternatives one could use, and i got into how far we could really take the whole concept of reduce, re-use, recycle. i was almost finished when i took a break and went fucking with my MIX page, adding a PRONG video, crashed internet explorer, (hey, hey, calm down, i'm on a work computer, OF COURSE i use Firefox at home) and lost everything i wrote. i'll just say; how about a computer constructed (down to the circuits on the motherboard) entirely from recovered and recycled materials? impossible, you say? I BELIEVE!
ladimcbeth said:
I've never really thought about/noticed how much plastic I use and discard. So I'm going to participate not so much by avoiding plastics altogether, but by tracking what plastics I buy or use, what gets thrown away and what gets recycled or reused. And trying to make non-plastic choices when I can. Which should be interesting considering I have to go to the grocery store tonight. :)
