Plastic Soup

We've got a major problem. Over 2/3 of our oceans have become a plastic soup, churning in these cesspools off our coasts. Captain Charles Moore, from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation recently spoke at the TED (Technology, Engineering and Design) conference about the situation:



Algalita recently completed a 13 week effort to raise awareness of the plastic gyres by sailing the JUNKRAFT, made from plastic bottles, from Long Beach to Hawaii. Their journey is sad but important for us to see the devastating effects our plastic usage has on our environment.

My friend Erica emailed this morning asking what we've done to reduce the plastics in our house, and I figured this was as good a place as any to post my list. I started with my plastic tupperware. IKEA has some inexpensive glass storage containers that have a sealing ring, so you can use them for storage and for reheating. Pyrex sells sets that have plastic lids and glass bottoms that my folks purchased for me and my siblings, which are good for storage, but I don't like to heat the lids (looks like Sears has a 10-piece set for $15). Anyway, I've been able to eliminate all my plastic tupperware so far.

This year, we decided to purchase the stainless steel water bottles to replace ALL our plastic cups. Somehow, we still have a few cups lingering, but it works for when we have company over. The kids primarily use the stainless steel ones, which we bought at Target (pretty pricey, but worth it), as do I. We also wanted to change their dinnerware, and so I found wooden bowls to replace their plastics and bought mango-wood plates from Cost Plus for their plates. We switched their silverware from almost all plastics to these cute little IKEA toy metal cutlery ($5 for set of 4).

We also have switched to canvas bags for groceries (even when we go to Target--people look at us funny, but I look at them funny right back!). My sister Tami found a great use for all those plastic bags you have piled up in your storage thing--she folded then ironed the bags then sewed them together to make her own waterproof material that she then used to cover her children's highchairs! Nice one! A friend of mine recently used the same technique to make a very cute reusable grocery bag! I've even seen plastic bags made into yarn then used in knitting or crochetting things like waterbottle holders and handbags. Check out this website for some great ideas and nice photos! I love the raincoat!

So, although I've taken some steps to eliminate plastic usage from our house, this news about the plastic sea that we've created is definitely making me rethink everything else we use that is plastic--namely, plastic packaging from groceries. I've heavily been leaning toward the local is better idea for food purchases, and now have another reason for that--buying local usually means buying less packaging because the food doesn't need to be strongly protected from travel and so can be in a more bulk-style delivery. When I go to farmers markets, I think I'll start bringing my own bags so I don't bring home any more plastic bags. That'll probably mean having to store leftovers in leftover containers instead of baggies, but I can adjust. The only question I have is what to store my bread in. Ideas?