Try a Plastic Cleanse
Nutrition is something that fascinates and frustrates me at times, and I feel that it goes hand in hand with another thing that fascinates and frustrates me: sustainability. Needless to say, accumulating waste is a wonderful talent that we, as humans, possess and much of it is related to food processing and dispersing. It is so convenient to buy things that are pre-cooked, pre-packaged, pre-seasoned. Even fresh vegetables and fruits are put in thin plastic bags. Our giant brains have developed a stupendous material that is impervious to water and basically indestructible. Yes, that’s plastic. Plastic cannot be made by nature and cannot be broken down in any timely manner. The bacteria and bugs that would usually decompose organic matter have no use for plastic.
If you choose to believe that plastic is not dangerous or toxic, then this is simply a problem of finding somewhere to store the discarded plastic. Again, being brilliant creatures, we have decided to bury it so that future generations will have something lovely to dig up later (probably mostly so that we don’t have to see heaps of it). However, if you, like me, are of the opinion that plastic is probably not the best thing to have mountains of and most likely is a little toxic, especially in large doses (every day, all the time, all aspects of your life!), then maybe using less of it would not be such a bad idea.
The problem becomes, how do we replace the plastic in our lives. I have agonized over this quite a bit and have come to the conclusion that the only way to make a meaningful change, without feeling hopeless, is to start small. Starting small will mean different things to different people, depending on habits and location. I would say the best place to start is with your grocery shopping practices. Plastics from food packaging and storage are the pieces of plastic that I would guess cycle most quickly though most peoples’ lives.
So, here are some suggestions, organized from starter to advanced, for plastic elimination.
Be aware of the plastic you use. Just like nutrition, knowing what you are using makes a difference. Notice how much plastic fills up your trash can. Can it be recycled? Is it mostly bags or bottles?
Depending on where you live recycling can be very easy, and is a simple way to be aware of the plastic being used while decreasing the amount of waste that is deposited into landfills.
Save and reuse any bags (put them in small trashcans, rinse them out and put new things in them).
Invest in some reusable bags (unfortunately largely made of plastic themselves) or reuse some old grocery bags. This can save many bags each week and month at the grocery store.
Start buying fruits and vegetables with skins without putting them in bags. They can be set on the counter and are usually either peeled or washed before consumption anyway.
At one point, I was not bagging any of my vegetables and fruits (except things like string beans and sprouts). Just keep your vegetables in the drawers in your fridge or find some containers to keep them in. Getting used to the vegetables touching the conveyor belt at the grocery store can be jarring, but it’s for a good cause. Alternatively, you can reuse the vegetable bags from previous weeks.
Buy things in bulk. Some stores have a section where you can measure out your own bulk foods, such as nuts, grains, dried fruit, coffee, granola. Some stores also allow customers to tare their own containers and eliminate bags from the process completely. You can decide how much you want to buy and get more product at once (sometimes cheaper).
Think about the packaging of all the foods you buy. Buy larger bags of thing that you use frequently. This results in less plastic for the amount of product and is also a way to save some money. Consider skipping the individually wrapped snack bars and snack pouches.
Purchase food in other containers. Go for glass jars and cans when possible.
Make food from scratch. Most foods that are premade are prepacked and and plasticked up the wazzoo. (Beware: suggestion also might accidentally improve your health).
For those of us who might be classified as crazy, repurposing plastic is another way to keep it out of the dumpster for a while and make it useful. I like to sew used food bags into reusable shopping bags. They look quirky and divert some plastic.
Finally (not really final, just exhausted my ideas), you can grow your own foods and decide exactly how much plastic is involved in your own growing and harvesting process. Bring the fruits and vegetables directly into your house, no transport costs or packaging!!
