Low Plastic » District of Columbia http://lowplastic.com Use less plastic. Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:46:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 Art store run! http://lowplastic.com/2012/03/09/art-store-run/ http://lowplastic.com/2012/03/09/art-store-run/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:46:45 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/2012/03/09/art-store-run/ Went by the Utrecht art supplies store. Loose pencil (also china markers and colored pencils, in lieu of markers), gum erasers, metal rulers, gummed paper tape and a wide variety of paper supplies — all without additional plastic or extra packaging.

Which is why I think of the art stores as good office supplies stores.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2012/03/09/art-store-run/feed/ 0 Filtered tap water wins (just) in D.C. taste test http://lowplastic.com/2011/11/22/filtered-tap-water-wins-just-in-d-c-taste-test/ http://lowplastic.com/2011/11/22/filtered-tap-water-wins-just-in-d-c-taste-test/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:22:43 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/2011/11/22/filtered-tap-water-wins-just-in-d-c-taste-test/ From the University of the District of Columbia:

“UDC Releases Bottled vs Tap Water Taste Test Results” (Green Living DC)

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2011/11/22/filtered-tap-water-wins-just-in-d-c-taste-test/feed/ 0 Water, before the hurricane http://lowplastic.com/2011/08/26/water-before-the-hurricane/ http://lowplastic.com/2011/08/26/water-before-the-hurricane/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:37:17 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=280 This photo, of any empty bottle water aisle in Washington, D.C. is a bit disappointing, if completely predictable.

My solution, based on more than a few times through a hurricane, is to keep a covered dutch oven full of water on the stove, the electric kettle full and a pitcher in the fridge. And I’ll doubt I’ll have to depend on those.

I also make sure all the outstanding dishes and clothes are washed. (Clean clothes are no substitute for a shower should there be a real shutdown, but it does make making-do happier.)

Be safe.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2011/08/26/water-before-the-hurricane/feed/ 0 Lesson to learn about plastic bag laws http://lowplastic.com/2010/11/11/lesson-to-learn-about-plastic-bag-laws/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/11/11/lesson-to-learn-about-plastic-bag-laws/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:21:33 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=272 Worth reading.

“How D.C. Beat the Plastic Bag Lobby” by Lauren Markoe. (OneEarth.org, November 11, 2010)

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/11/11/lesson-to-learn-about-plastic-bag-laws/feed/ 0 D.C. water — tastes good (as bottled) http://lowplastic.com/2010/09/20/d-c-water-tastes-good-as-bottled/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/09/20/d-c-water-tastes-good-as-bottled/#comments Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:38:55 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=267 Good news today for D.C water. It’s often reviled for having poor quality and worse taste; indeed, I get kidded for bypassing the office filter for the tap. But in a blind taste test, the local tap just beat bottled water and many people have no opinion. (My thought, cold water will beat tepid water, whatever the source.)

DCist has the coverage.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/09/20/d-c-water-tastes-good-as-bottled/feed/ 0 Look, Mom, no bottles! http://lowplastic.com/2010/06/16/look-mom-no-bottles/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/06/16/look-mom-no-bottles/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:46:10 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=259 Good D.C. news: MOM’s Organic, a small D.C.-based grocery chain is giving up on bottled water.

Details from the Washington Post, via Tapit.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/06/16/look-mom-no-bottles/feed/ 0 Bag bill seems to be doing its job http://lowplastic.com/2010/03/29/bag-bill-seems-to-be-doing-its-job/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/03/29/bag-bill-seems-to-be-doing-its-job/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:27:20 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=247 Three months on and the District of Columbia food bag fee is reducing demand for disposable plastic and paper food bags, per DCist today.

January receipts for the fee are in — $149,432.27. That means about three million bags were used rather than the 22.5 million thought to be used in the District any given month.

It will be nice to see how this will shape up in six months. I’ll see if I can find original reports from D.C. government sources and will post them here.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/03/29/bag-bill-seems-to-be-doing-its-job/feed/ 0 Low plastic office: Hollinger boxes http://lowplastic.com/2010/02/02/low-plastic-office-hollinger-boxes/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/02/02/low-plastic-office-hollinger-boxes/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:51:21 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=75 A truly paperless office, even if desirable, is very hard to organize. Paper is just too useful a product and paper printed quickly becomes paper stored. There are many metal filing tools for those who want to avoid plastic, but these are often packed in plastic or are simply too large or unwieldy for the task.

For this middle ground, I like the cool aesthetics and fiber and metal construction of Hollinger boxes. To me, they’re the visual language of archives, and thus research and storage. They even have boxes for human remains — think archaeology — so one might also be my final, er, storage place.

Until then, I keep manila folders full of files in flip-top boxes. Attractive enough to keep out, and no plastic. I keep rare books and papers in a lidded variety. I’ve had mine for years, but I recall them being shipped in cardboard cartons with kraft paper packing. (And D.C.-ites, one of their two factories is in Fredericksburg, Va. Loco-storage?)

Order them online here.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/02/02/low-plastic-office-hollinger-boxes/feed/ 0 D.C. bag law, one month on http://lowplastic.com/2010/01/31/dc-bag-law-one-month-on/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/01/31/dc-bag-law-one-month-on/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:29:48 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=231 The District of Columbia law requiring a fee for disposable bags in food and liquor businesses is reducing the demand for thee bags, even if it irritates some locals.

No official reports yet, but shopkeepers report half the use of disposable bags — quite an accomplishment — per this January 23 article in the Washington Post. Of course, there are naysayers and complainers. But I have a hard time thinking too much D.C. grocery and liquor shopping will move to Maryland or Virginia. Particularly the latter which has a food tax that D.C. doesn’t. And if you can’t remember to bring a bag to pick up your lunch — or eat it on-site — and won’t pay for a bag, then I feel no sympathy when it lands on the sidewalk. Twice. How embarrassing, so much so when adding meaningless “big government” sloganeering to counter it. (Nobody complains about “big government” when the city shuts down a rat-infested eatery, for instance. Why shouldn’t I have the option!)

On the other hand, it’s now psychologically and socially easier to bring my bag — I keep one rolled up in my satchel almost all of the time — to a take-out restaurant (I have featured one in the article as they use sugarcane fiber boxes and biodegradable forks and spoons) or a liquor store.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/01/31/dc-bag-law-one-month-on/feed/ 0 Some more facts about the D.C. bag law http://lowplastic.com/2010/01/01/some-more-facts-about-the-d-c-bag-law/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/01/01/some-more-facts-about-the-d-c-bag-law/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:30:15 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=219 The District of Columbia’s shopping bag law begins today, and I’ve already been out to pick up a few necessities, cloth bags in tow.

Since I’ve heard some misinformation, I thought I would share some details about the new law.

  • The financial impact statement for the bill compares Washington, D.C. to Seattle, Washington, which went though a similar process. From their stats, D.C. uses about 360 million plastic bags a year — in a jurisdiction of about 600,000 people — with about three-quarters being used in the stores affected by this law. The statement projects that by fiscal year 2013, there should be a 80% reduction in disposable bag use.
  • This law effects the approximately 4,000 D.C. food retail establishments, which includes groceries, liquor and drug stores.
  • Disposable paper bags used in restaurants are exempt from the legislation.
  • There is, alas, only one enforcement officer budgeted for the law. The first offense fine is probably $100.
  • It was passed by the D.C. Council unanimously.
  • If you carry your own bag, not only will you not be charged the fee, but D.C. gives retailers an incentive to offer you a nickle rebate.
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