Methods to avoid using plastic: Part One

Ok, this is going to be an ongoing project consisting of listing ways in which to avoid plastic, if that was something a person wanted to, which I obviously do. I might create another ongoing project in which I figure out whether I think the entire world should avoid plastic or not, or at least give some legitimate reasons to avoid the stuff (other than a movie, a book and a beach), but that's a project for another day. Today, the easy stuff.

Methods to avoid using plastic: Part One

1. Bring a reusable (preferably cloth) bag to the grocery store

This is so easy, I'm sure lots of you already do it, or at least try to. I see lots of people, especially in Vancouver, using their own bags. What I don't understand is why the grocery stores haven't jumped on this bandwagon yet. When I lived in France three years ago you had to pay something like 5 cents a bag if you didn't bring your own and let me tell you, EVERYBODY brought their own bags.

2. Bring a reusable bag to fill with bulk goods, fruits and vegetables

As you've probably noticed, nearly everything you buy in the grocery store also comes wrapped in plastic. Whether it's putting your fruits and vegetables in plastic bags, buying your rice or pasta in a plastic bag or (get this) the plastic lining on cans, the stuff is everywhere. One way to partially avoid this is to, once again, bring your own bag. Now I so far haven't quite managed this, so I am presently reusing plastic bags, but one day soon I am going to make some small cloth bags to bring to the store across the road, which sells grains, flours, granola, nuts, and much more, in bulk. You generally don't actually need to use a plastic bag for fruits and vegetables, at least not if you are buying a small amount like I usually am, but if you do I'm sure cloth bags could be fashioned to fulfill that purpose as well.

3. For the ladies: reusable pads and menstrual cups

This is one of those things that seems really complicated until you actually do it, but once you've done it you wonder what on earth stopped you from doing it for so long. I went with lunapads, because they're a Vancouver company and because they had a booth at the Folk Festival last year, which is where I first heard about them. But seriously, I read all the testimonials on the website about how much using lunapds or the divacup changed the way women thought about their periods, about how much more comfortable they were, about how women looked forward to their periods now, and I thought they were all crazy. I wanted to switch so that I stopped throwing so much stuff out every month, particularly because so much of it was plastic, so I did. And then I discovered that all those 'crazy' testimonials were right! They are sooooo much more comfortable than a plastic pad and the divacup is like the most brilliant invention ever and it was really useful travelling!

Anyway, I can't recommend them enough. And switching may just be the single most profound thing that a woman can do to change her garbage impact on the earth. So do it. All of you. Seriously, do it. It's worth it.