Plastic Free July

This will most likely be my last post on the topic of Plastic Free July.

It has been an eye opening experience.

I have been a conscious consumer for a long time, but when it came to the plastic packaging issue, I now see that I was pretty complacent.  I just wasn't seeing how much of it was really out there.  So my participation in Plastic Free July has been very educational.

• It has also gotten me to be more proactive in asking for what I want.

If I see a company is using plastic packaging where they might be able to avoid it, or use an easy alternative, I write them and ask.

After reading about Beth Terry's campaign to get Brita to recycle filters in the USA, I see that letter writing is a great place to begin, but if a company expresses reluctance to reform, then we as consumers must insist, using other methods to prove to corporations (and small businesses) that we are serious.

http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/06/water-filters-my-letter-to-brita/
http://myplasticfreelife.com/2007/07/brita-water-filter-follow-up/

These first two posts talk about the letter writing, and the BS response she was given by the corporation.

But that was not the end of the story.  She decided to take action, and conducted a campaign to get Clorox to recycle the Brita filters in the USA.  That story can be found in her posts by searching "water filters" on her blog.  I would not have known where to begin to bring about change on this scale, but she figured it out, and the story is inspirational.  So is her website.  http://myplasticfreelife.com/

• It has made me realize that I can't be sure what happens to the plastic I put into the recycling bin.  Where is it going?  Best just not to generate disposable plastic if at all possible.

• It has made me use creativity and ingenuity to come up with solutions to the plastic packaging problem.

Try going plastic free once a week ( like Plastic Free Tuesday ) or try it for a week, to really increase your awareness.  Go to Beth Terry's website (see the link for my plastic free life) to educate yourself and become inspired.

So now I have a confession to make.  I got a little sick of going without meat, because it all comes in plastic packaging (except poultry that I buy at a local farm).  So I bought some meat this week.

This doesn't mean that I've given up.  It means that I was hungry. And my husband (good sport that he is) was also missing it.

I haven't given up.  And I have been researching local alternatives.  Grass fed beef raised locally, ethically, and humanely.  Maybe these local farmers can help me come up with an alternative to plastic packaging.