Archive for the 'Packaging' Category

Bag surcharge bill to DC Council

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Twelve of the thirteen members of the District of Columbia Council have introduced the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act which includes a five-cent fee on disposable grocery bags, plastic or paper.
Would be nice if it included other retailers — especially restaurants — but this probably gets the biggest number of bags off [...]

Source? Index cards without plastic

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

Does anyone have a source for index cards without a plastic wrapper. Back when I was younger, you could get them — and index tabs; which can be gotten in pasteboard boxes — bound in a band of paper.
Perhaps from an office supply source, rather than a retailer? Please leave me a lead in [...]

Wrapping packages the drugstore way

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

Life Less Plastic beat me to the punch when refering to the furoshiki way of wrapping goods (especially gifts). So I have another suggestion, if from an unlikely source.
Today, when you look up the “drugstore wrap” or “pharmacy wrap” it almost always refers to a way to wrapping meat. Or a way illicit drug dealers [...]

Drink watch: tea

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Setting a benchmark, I suppose. Over the weekend, Hubby and I went shopping in the ‘burbs, including a Turkish grocery where I got a 500g box of loose Ceylon tea — which I like very much — at a good price.
Inside the box, the tea was packaged in a thick, moisture resistant paper, so I [...]

Bring-your-own-bag experiment

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Today I took my own paper bags to Yes! Organic Market — the one in Adams Morgan, on Columbia Road — to see if I could use them in place of the thin plastic bags supplied.
Of course I could. So I got roasted peanuts and quick-cook oats, and they were cheaper than packaged alternatives. Now, [...]

Amazon.com option means less plastic

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

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 This means the dreaded, seemingly impenetrable plastic outer packaging has been replaced by easy-to-open cardboard.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 [...]