Going Without Series #2: Plastic Wrap

Plastic wrap is by far one of the most commonly used forms of plastic in the kitchen. We use it for sealing our fruits, veggies, meals, leftovers, pretty much anything edible– some people even go as far as using it in the microwave to steam cook or prevent their foods from splattering. Convenient, right? Maybe for these temporary problems but not convenient for the planet as a whole.

Like my last going without item, plastic wraps are also completely unsustainable. Because they include certain chemicals and resins to give it that clingy consistency that cannot be removed once it’s been added it is too complex of a plastic to be recycled– that’s right, 100% of all plastic wrap goes to the landfills. Also, if you’re cooking using plastic wrap, or placing over hot foods you could be potentially poisoning yourself as most contain a host of chemicals that are harmful to us, livestrong has a great article on these chemicals that can be found here.

You may be thinking it might be a necessary evil and that you couldn’t live without it. But, my husband Riley and I have done just that for roughly 4-5 months and counting, do we miss it? To be honest not at all, we adapted– and adapted quickly.

So how do we store our food? Containers, containers, containers! Either old plastic tupperware containers we’ve had before the start of our zero waste journey or glass jars, etc. I find the biggest argument people try to make is what if something is too big or awkward shaped, and honestly this has been a non-issue for us as we just cut things to fit and we would use multiple containers if need be. I also have some awesome beeswax wrap, and fabric snack bags (both reusable) that my cousin made for us for odd shaped items, dry foods for lunches, etc. My cousin’s etsy shop is called Alyssa’s Artisans Co if anyone is at all interested in her reusable creations.

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is unfortunately a growing epidemic that is spreading now that people are starting to become more eco-aware. It is a form of deceptive marketing that companies use to promote their products by basically claiming they are green or eco-friendly on the front of the package, in commercials, etc. when in reality they either contain ingredients harmful to the earth, harmful to you, excessive packaging, etc.

Avoiding these products is actually more simple than you’d think– by checking the ingredients on the back of the product you can find out if certain harmful ingredients are in them.

Here are a few links that will give you information on what certain ingredients we could be avoiding that are in alot of these so-called green products:

1. The dirty dozen in beauty products (David Suzuki Foundation)
2. Top Ten Toxic Ingredients in Processed Foods (The Better Health Store)
3. 22 Harmful Chemicals in Personal Care Products (Organic Facts)
4. Cleaners Hall of Shame (EWG Cleaners Database)
5. Harmful Ingredients in Household Cleaning products (Alphazelle)

Also doing some research online about the brands you’re interested in to dig down even deeper to see where ingredients are sourced, what their packaging is made of, etc. could be another great route to take. If the companies do not have the sources listed and you really want to know you could always call or email the company and ask them.

What can we do to help prevent future greenwashing or make these companies accountable? You could send a letter or email to the company suggesting and requesting that they do better by replacing harmful ingredients and/or changing their packaging. Boycotting or not using products that have this false advertising as well as keeping friends and family informed on said products could help to lessen the environmental burden these companies are placing on us and the earth as well– remember as consumers we vote with our dollars.

BYOC (Bring Your Own Cups)

Thats right, Bring your own cups! A very unnecessary and large portion of our garbage includes disposable coffee and drink cups. After the holidays we’re all getting back into the groove of things which often means for most people going to that coffee shop drive through before work and picking up your coffee, tea, etc. in those darn disposable cups.

Though a few companies have claimed over the years to have made them more easily recyclable this is just not the case for the most part– often these paper cups come with hidden plastic linings on the inside making it impossible to recycle as well as the toppers for the cups are often unrecyclable– so even if the cups do wind up in the recycling they are often diverted to landfills. CBC marketplace did an interesting experiment to see exactly where the cups from certain chains that claim to be recycling really end up, all of which wound up in the garbage along with many other recyclable products.

So what can we do to help? BYOC, bring your own cup– whether it be a drink cup for smoothies/cold drinks or a thermos, mug, or coffee cup for coffee/tea, it’s just that simple. Most places will gladly oblige and fill those cups for you, and if they don’t there’s always the option to speak to management about it or vote with your dollars and go to one of the many other places in town that would love to have your business. If you are insecure  about bringing your own cup or just wanting to go even further another great often healthier and cheaper option is to simply just make your own coffee/tea/smoothies/etc. at home.

Recycling and Green Cart Information (and More) for Brandon, MB

Brandon has two services available through the city for recycling and composting.

1. Green Cart Program– Brandon’s green cart program is a great option for composting provided upon registration at no extra cost to homeowners. It’s to be put out next to your recycling and garbage carts to be picked up by the city at which time they take it to be processed/composted into reusable material that the city uses for their various gardening exploits and can also be picked up and used by us residents as well for our lovely gardening exploits. The city of Brandon website has a great page with more information on why the program was started as well as what can and can’t be composted in the bins. They’ve estimated that roughly 30 to 50% of Brandon’s waste is organic (in other words about that amount of perfectly good compostable material gets thrown into the landfill unable to biodegrade properly) and as of 2015 there were only about 5500 single family homes out of the 15,500+ in the city that were actually taking advantage of the green program so imagine if we could encourage more families to get involved in this great idea how much waste we could be reducing for the landfill. For more FAQ click here and for more info on what can and can’t be composted in this program click here.
2. Recycling Program- The Brandon recycling program is another great service already provided to most homes and apartments (if you do not have one you can also request through the city website or by calling the city). These materials collected are processed and shipped around the country/North America to be made into new items. The city of Brandon website also has a FAQ page as well as one for information on what can and can’t be placed in the carts here.
3. Recycle Manitoba– For everything else that can be recycled but not through these two programs check out http://www.recyclemanitoba.ca/ — they are an excellent resource to find out exactly where you can recycle those “odd” items (everything from plastic bags to electronics to medications etc.). Many stores in town provide these services and all you have to do is drop your stuff off at their locations.
4. Nearly New Store- I wanted to include this last place because I feel like the Nearly New Store is a very underappreciated and underused location in town for donating you preloved clothing/fashion, books, kitchen, etc. items that you no longer appreciate but could be used by someone else. I like this store because nearly 100% of the proceeds go towards the hospital in town for purchasing much needed equipment with only 1 full time store manager and about 70 employees that donate about 700 hours of their time a month. They are located at 601 9th Street in Brandon (right next to superstore).

Why Zero Waste? What is Zero Waste?

For the past 6-7 months or so I’ve been a real admirer and active follower of the zero waste lifestyle. For those of you that don’t know what zero waste involves allow me to show you the 5 Rs that most “zero wasters” live by (from the great Bea Johnson’s book, Zero Waste Home)

1. Refuse- refuse unnecessary disposable items, for example single use plastics (coffee cups, grocery bags, straws and much more), junk mail, receipts, etc.

2. Reduce- reduce the amount of consumption of things such as the amount of packaged goods you buy(do those oranges really need to be put in plastic bags?), window shopping, the amount of an item you buy (do you need to have a backup or multiple backups of things? I asked myself this when I looked through my medicine cabinet and found that I had 7 backup body mists)

3. Reuse- Use things that can be reused for example I keep my empty containers that my grocery/etc. items come in– it makes for free storage containers, as well as use things until they’re eventually no longer usable, and if something can be fixed then fix it (like clothing, electronics, etc.)

4. Recycle- Anything that can be recycled according to our local recycling program– recycle it! Also, there are lots of places in town that allow us to recycle things that aren’t on the list (electronics, batteries, soft plastics, etc.)

5. Rot- Compost! Compost! Compost! Brandon has a great green bin program that allows you to compost many things if you don’t have a garden. Compost any food items you can, i keep my little compost container in my freezer to reduce the smell and that way it’s right there in the kitchen available for me to dump my scraps into.

Some of the many benefits to a zero waste lifestyle include helping you to “vote” with your dollars by supporting more eco-conscious companies, could lead to a more minimalist atmosphere in your house (being more aware of/making less purchases means less things stored away or adding clutter to your home), helps to support a more healthy lifestyle (less packaging often means less processed food/items which means more fresh foods, etc.), and lastly just an overall satisfying feeling that you are making a difference.

For those of you interested– the book Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson is a great resource for someone just starting out and provides far more insight and information on exactly why and how we can go about this lifestyle.