Low Plastic » Online shopping

Bought batteries online with less plastic

Scott Wells — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:19:09 +0000

Trying to make household appliances last longer, to keep their plastic in active use and out of landfills. So when my old cordless phone’s battery wore out, I ordered one from an eBay vendor. Cheaper that way. (I care about low cost, too, to a point.)

Little would I guess la_tronics — whose appeal was free shipping — would ship my order in a rigid all-cardboard “gator pak”

Of course, the product did come with a small plastic blister; I assume there’s some plastic in the battery itself, but that was a given and the packing isn’t.

Note: I received no compensation for this notice; indeed, I have not contacted the vendor about it.

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A lowish-plastic computer

Scott Wells — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:30:28 +0000

You know how I approve of using Linux to make a computer last longer. And as I’ve said before, I’m cutting back on buying electronics to save the plastic in goods and packaging. But what if you need a new computer? This is a computer I bought for someone else, and could be a winner.

It comes from ZaReason, a small producer with a good reputation for customer service– upgraded from one of their their base options — and here are the specs:

SKU16725 Shuttle KPC
Processor: Pentium Dual-Core E2140 1.6 GHz
Memory: 2 GB DDR2-667
Hard Disk: 80 GB SATA2 (included)
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (included)
Operating System: Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex (Gnome)
Display: [none]
Speakers: [none]
Input devices: [none]
Warranty: 1 Year (included)

That cost a paltry $307.00, plus $22.30 shipping, and it flies. If you can use a Linux machine, and you have everyday office needs, this might be a good option.

The computer case itself case seems to be heavy steel but does have a thick lucite panel on the front, under which you can insert your own art, making it a kind of picture frame, if you like. Makes more sense if you see the Shuttle site. It comes with cables, and these are (of course) coated in plastic. But you knew that.

Now for the packaging. ZaReason started with a case from Shuttle, so they inherited their packaging. ZaReason adds the innards, installs the operating system, adds documentation and other goodies and ship it. So it’s one carton inside another. (Click the smaller images to get a bigger version.)

The foam peanuts were made of starch. They dissolve in water. A nice touch.

In fine Beth Terry style, I weighed or estimated the weight of the rest of the plastic.

large foam packing pieces, original to the Shuttle case: 4.25 ounces (trashed; this is the one real place for improvement)
outer box tape and inner box handle: approx. 1 ounce (boxes kept for later use)
the useful plastic: a corn-plastic-handled screwdriver, including the metal shaft; Ubuntu Linux operating system disk and hardware disk with windowed envelopes: 2 ounces (kept for computer maintenance)
zipper bags, twist ties, nonwoven cloth cover, anti-scratch cover and anti-static bubble pouch: 1 ounce (bags, ties and pouch re-used for storage; the rest trashed)

I suppose, plastic-wise, it could be a lot worse. And I like the computer a lot.

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Amazon.com option means less plastic

Scott Wells — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:13:02 +0000

WorldChanging reports that Amazon.com has adopted a “Frustration-Free Package” program for some of its products. This means the dreaded, seemingly impenetrable plastic outer packaging has been replaced by easy-to-open cardboard.

Less frustration, less plastic waste. Not many offerings: a few toys, SD cards and computer mice. All, not incidentally, made of plastic. But a big player like Amazon.com can make a significant difference, if the purchases are themselves thoughtful. Two cheers for now, and worth revisiting.

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