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Radical Muddling
The Anti-Plastic
It’s harder than it seems, this plastic-less revolution. Some things were straightforward: the Nalgene water bottle that was proven to be leeching icky stuff into my drinking water, that got recycled. Other things are harder: finding a ceramic single-coffee-filter holder to use to make my morning cup of coffee (to replace the plastic one that I poured boiling water over every day) was an adventure in and of itself. Jake and I are in the process of replacing our plastic “tupperware” containers with Pyrex ones, and I’ve gotten good at saving and re-using glass jars. I’ve drilled holes in the bottom of the plastic travel mugs from college and used them to hold my houseplants.
Still, it’s hard not to know what counts as going overboard: what about baking-grade silicone that so many pans and cooking utensils are made of today? What about freezing things in my big new chest freezer: is it OK to freeze food in a container that I wouldn’t microwave it in? Do I need to fret about plastic bags? About the plastic lid on my otherwise-metal thermos? I don’t want to be paranoid; I want to strike a balance between conscientious and sane.
Comments
And about those plastic bags:
Early childhood centers, nurseries, and daycares are always in need. They are required to individually wrap diapers in plastic for sanitary purposes.
Maybe we don't need a federal ban on grocery bags, but an extra nickel a piece might do the trick.
My anti-plastic: ceramic and glass dishes that are not made in China. I'm deeply prejudiced and admit it, but boy that was hard!
While there are occassional recalls of American goods (recent pediatric Tylenol comes to mind), I trust those BPA-free labels and only expose plastics to room temperature or colder. I haven't seen real, name-brand Tupperware, though, for the longest time. You? Only my little old lady friends have them.
In many East Asian cultures, eating and drinking from plastic is quite disagreeable. Preferable: metal silverware, ceramic dishware, glasses. Perhaps we're moving away from being such a throwaway culture?
I use a single cup glass French press -- no filter needed. When camping I use a single cup gold filter - dump grounds and rinse. Try the Ithaca Coffee Company or camping stores for coffee-making innovations.
Ive been more focused on not putting plastic in the landfill -- so I wash and reuse plastic bags for years. The glass Pyrex is nice for home use, not so much fun for my lunch bag. I like to bring my Tupperware and lunch bag to use as a doggy bag in restaurants and avoid the styrofoam to-go containers. And of course the reusable shopping bags are a lifestyle now. I look forward to the day when our community outlaws plastic grocery bags, as San Francisco did a couple years back. There is that dead place in the middle of the Pacific where mile and miles of plastic bags lie dead.
Susan- I got mine from our local coffee roasters, but you can just search "ceramic coffee dripper" and find one online.