Low Plastic http://lowplastic.com Use less plastic. Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:23:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 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 Good swag at D.C. Google office http://lowplastic.com/2011/03/16/good-swag-at-d-c-google-office/ http://lowplastic.com/2011/03/16/good-swag-at-d-c-google-office/#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:46:15 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=275 And by good swag I mean promotional goods not made of plastic, and are actually well-designed and useful things that I will actually use.

One is a cotton tote bag with a cute graphic. The other is a glass water bottle. The glass water bottle has what appears to be a silicone thread and was packed in a box with — headslap! — bubblewrap. But I’ll ignore the one and reuse the other. It makes tap water cute, and that’ll be an appeal that saves plastic bottles. So not perfect, but good quality and not prone to be pitched.

Bag and glass bottle

Got these at a launch of new Google tools for nonprofits, so a link is only fair. (Overseas nonprofits, too.)

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2011/03/16/good-swag-at-d-c-google-office/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 Mi ne bezonas plastajn botelojn! http://lowplastic.com/2010/10/12/mi-ne-bezonas-plastajn-boteloj/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/10/12/mi-ne-bezonas-plastajn-boteloj/#comments Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:02:58 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=269 Those who know me personally know I’m trying to learn Esperanto. Here’s a good reason!

Ne trinku botelakvon!

That is, “I don’t need plastic bottles” and “Don’t drink bottled water!”

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/10/12/mi-ne-bezonas-plastajn-boteloj/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 Beth Terry speaking at BlogHer http://lowplastic.com/2010/08/06/beth-terry-speaking-at-blogher/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/08/06/beth-terry-speaking-at-blogher/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:41:48 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=264 Beth Terry — she of Fake Plastic Fish — is speaking at BlogHer this weekend. Congratulations!

But what drew my attention to this was a thread of basic advice for reducing convention plastic waste through her Twitter feed. I was already primping for “bring your own badge holder” but her “Water bottles are great, but mugs are more versatile!” tweet  is that amazing mix of plainly obvious and really useful.

So be sure to follow both her blog and Twitter feed.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/08/06/beth-terry-speaking-at-blogher/feed/ 1 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 “The Story of Bottled Water” http://lowplastic.com/2010/04/13/the-story-of-bottled-water/ http://lowplastic.com/2010/04/13/the-story-of-bottled-water/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:31:15 +0000 Scott Wells http://lowplastic.com/?p=250 A great video; a follow up to The Story of Stuff. The video is more than eight minutes long, so I suspect it’s use is best for those who are already convinced to make a case, rather than sugesting your indifferent friends to watch it.

The matching site also has other resources, including an annotated script.

]]> http://lowplastic.com/2010/04/13/the-story-of-bottled-water/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.

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