Some plastic items are very useful — or at the very least, they ought to be well cared-for so they can have a long service life.
Which begs the question — how do you care for plastic when (very often) its very cheapness meant it wasn’t intended for long-term care?
So, I’ll ask my scant readers: how do you keep hard plastic surfaces — the ones most likely to survive — clean and attractive? Plastic-free care ideas, of course, are preferred.
The forthcoming District of Columbia plastic and paper bag restriction specifically excludes bags for fruit and vegetable — perhaps out of concern that D.C. residents need no discouragement to eat their greens.
But in France we saw an alternative — paper. Strong attractive paper bags — squared off, with a picture of a cheery market scene and big enough to hold a pound or two of apples or grapes — were the rule. I suspect they’re made of virgin pulp; kraft paper usually is
Bocca Sacs are the maker of the one I kept, if you’re an interested greengrocer.
First, I enjoy IKEA for an outing — even though they inflict so much plastic on the world. Even the chair I’m sitting on. I’m not going to apologize for a faux-Swedish experience.
But last night, at their College Park, Maryland location, I noticed a sign in their cafe that said they no longer give out plastic straws and cited environmental concerns.
A small cheer, I thought. Not a huge amount of plastic saved, but someone’s listening. Then I wondered if they may be composting their trash. The straws might be the only un-biodegradable trash they produce in the cafe, apart from the odd bottlecap. In that case, the straws would be a considerable part of their waste stream, and ripe for removal.
Is there anyone out there who have some info?
The International Telecommunication Union has approved a common cell-phone charger format, using what some of us already have — a mini-USB — as a global standard.
This standard means you don’t need a different charger for a new phone — changing phones frequently is a problem in its own right — so they needn’t be made, bought or discarded. Indeed, there’ll be little call to include a “free” charger with a new phone, so is likely appealing for manufacturers, too.
Less plastic and metal and waste. A good thing. (But hold on to your phone as long as possible and recycle it when it’s dead.)
Hubby and I got back from a trip to Paris and Cologne, and boy did I blow through some plastic. I even drank some bottled water — which I’d normally not do — because the available tap options were unclear and I don’t even want to think about plastic table wear.
But there are a couple of bits of good news for those who might follow.
My husband and I used to get soup from the Chinese take-out across the street almost every week. But we moved last September, and changed our usual mode of eating well before that. So how old are those plastic tubs? A year, more?
They’re still fine: no cracks, stains or signs of damage. Why? A office mate once scolded me for microwave-heating up leftovers in one of them. He was more concerned about chemicals leaching into my food, but I realized that heating these tubs damaged them, ruining them and sending them to the landfill.
Now I also have a few durable, water-tight plastic containers I bought. These should last for years. But I also use the soup containers with one inalterable rule.
Don’t put them in the microwave
Blast! I don’t recall the name of the new Indian place near the northwest corner of 19th and K St, N.W. here in Washington. It’s new-ish, and does have the word Spice in it. Being the BB&T bank, if you’re approaching from K Street.
For about $7.50, I got the rice-plus-two-curry special. Not greasy. Was tasty, but I doubt it’ll make anyone’s mind reel back to hot nights in Rajasthan.
This restaurant is two doors down from the eco-vegan Java Green Cafe, which uses some compostable take-away serving pieces. But I don’t care for the food and it’s much more expensive. So ecologically minded vegans are already heading to the area, explaining perhaps the conspicuous signs for vegan fare. (There’s plenty of meat and dairy options.)
I got my chana, palak paneer and rice in a sugarcane fiber clamshell carton. I declined the plastic bag and walked past the waxy-colored compostable plastic forks. I suppose if I had asked for pickle or chutney I would have gotten some plastic — these were pre-dished in little plastic tubs — and, to tell the truth, it would have benefited from the extra spice.
But I will go back.
I went at Trader Joe’s — a specialty grocery store, for those unfamiliar — a few days ago directly from work , but didn’t have my own bag. Since some of the nonwoven cloth bags (read: plastic) at home were beginning to show their age, I went ahead and picked up a large canvas bag at Trader Joe’s on the way to the register.
Not only was it attractive — red, with the logo over-pritned in black and white — and canvas — thus will biodegrade — but it was made in Lowell, Massachusetts and was large enough for all the groceries I had.
Even the tag was plastic free.
I imagine a costs-savings over a plastics-savings, but the word from Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is that plastic SmarTrip vouchers were being replaced with paper ones, beginning last month.
We don’t get vouchers — among other things, I administer transit benefits for work; this information is behind a login — and WMATA will use the plastic until the stock is exhausted, so I don’t know if the change is in effect.
An interesting item among the legislation already submitted to the Episcopal Church’s General Convention. That body meets in July. If passed the measure would resolve to “ask the Church to restrict, starting immediately, the use of bottled water at General Convention and at other Church-sponsored activities.”
