blog
08/14/2008
day one: seven days w/o plastic
Posted by Zadi Diaz


And so it begins -- my foray into the land of the plastic-free. I have to admit that I really have no idea what to expect other than to expect to encounter plastic everywhere. For instance just this morning I thought, what happens if I cut myself? I can't use a band-aid? That's insane! What am I thinking?

But that's really not the point of this project. There is good plastic -- like bike helmets and band-aids, and there's bad plastic, the disposable kind -- like cups, utensils, and containers.

Our FIRST eco-friendly mentor is Sustainable Dave, who is basically the inspiration for this project. Check out the EPIC FU episode he's in and our follow-up blog post. He sent in this video about cutting out single-use, disposable items:


He suggests using these items on a daily basis:

  1. Backpack (this will eliminate the need to pick up plastic bags)
  2. Waterbottle
  3. Thermos
  4. Toothbrush holder w/ metal utensils
  5. Orikaso bowl (made of polypropylene, but reusable)
  6. Small cloth towel
  7. Container w/ a sample of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (for kicks and inspiration)

And here are some of his easy solutions for plastic bag alternatives:


As far as I go, it's about 2pm PST and so far, so good - but then again, I haven't left home yet. I had toast and tea for breakfast... lunch is looming and Steve is asking what I want to eat. The first thing I'm thinking about now? Some place where there are no plastic containers.

My daily wrap-up post coming late in the night...