cds and other materials

I said in one of my very first posts that I believed this project was ultimately impossible, at least in practice, at least for me. A friend of mine recently sent me a list of things he had noticed that were plastic that would be difficult to avoid (it thrills me that this project has affected the way other people are looking at the plastic in their lives, it's more that I could ever have hoped for). His list pretty neatly sums up why I'll never be able to completely avoid plastic.

1. Condoms

When it comes to the condoms themselves, I think it's ok. They are generally made of latex, which comes from plants. I was pretty excited to discover this, but then I remembered that they also generally come wrapped in individual plastic wrappers. So now I don't know. Theoretically I guess there's still no problem, as long as a person just doesn't have sex! Nope, no problem at all.

This is a pretty hilarious video. The image of a washing machine full of condoms is priceless.

2. Contacts and glasses.

I have been struggling with this one. Both with using the contacts themselves and with the fact that my contact solution is getting very low, and I will soon need to either buy a new bottle (and I've only ever seen that stuff in plastic bottles) or stop using the contact lenses. Thing is, I've already had the things almost two years. They don't last indefinitely. And I like wearing contacts.

I still haven't decided. Until I'm out of solution I'll keep wearing them. When I'm forced to buy solution, I don't know what will happen. In theory, however, this isn't a problem, as long as I'm willing to give up contacts. Yes, there is plastic in my glasses, but it's a pretty small amount. And I'm sure if a person was really determined they could rig something up without plastic.

3. CD's

CD's and all things computer are another reason I, personally, am bound to fail. Even though I don't buy cd's that often, and it's possible I could avoid buying them for a year. It's also possible I could avoid using them for a year. But not indefinitely. And if I'm not using cd's, I'm using some other plastic-containing, computer-related tool. It's pretty much unavoidable.

4. Garbage bags

I still haven't solved this one. I don't know if the city will take garbage out of the bin in back if it's in a paper bag, but I don't see why they wouldn't. So far my solution to this problem, rather than to eliminate the plastic bag (although I'd very much like to), is to reduce the garbage output that goes into the bag, thereby reducing the number of bags used. I have to start composting (my second New Year's resolution that hasn't been undertaken yet) and once I do between compost and recycling, and not buying any plastic in the first place, I don't think there will be a whole lot of garbage, and probably no wet garbage. Without wet garbage, I could use a paper bag, I think, although I'll have to confirm that's allowed by the city. If not, I know there are compostable plastic bags out there. Maybe I could get myself some of those. Although the issue of grain-based plastic is another whole question for ethical debate...

5. Bank/credit cards

I don't know if it's possible to have a bank account without a bank card these days. If it is, I think in theory you could use cash for most of your transactions, and be face to face with a bank teller to get that cash. I won't be giving up my cards, however. I like earning air miles too much!

Any other thoughts on this list?