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.

Going Without Series #1: Straws

Going without, not in the sense that you cannot have nor afford these things (however this can be the case for some people) but in that there are simply just some things that we receive or purchase that we simply do not need. My going without series will be about a basic item or idea that we need to be rid of, refuse, donate, or regift for the sake of the environment, decluttering our homes, and peace of mind.

Straws

Straws are one of the biggest unnecessary culprits that we could simply just do without. They are not a very recyclable resource, due to their size mostly– unfortunately small items like straws wind up falling through the cracks(literally) in recycling facilities, often being missed by the conveyor belts while being sorted.

They are also a major threat to wildlife being one of the top five items being found on our shores during coastal cleanups. Every day we use approximately 500,000,000 straws (that’s enough to fill about 46,400 school buses per year) so what better reason to cut our the habit out and just say no to straws?

For those that can’t go without– be it for health reasons or just out of habit, try a more eco friendly straw– washable glass, wood, or metal straws can be bought and brought to restaurants or used at home and reused. The stores that I found had straws in stock at their Brandon locations according to their websites were Bulk Barn (metal), Walmart (silicone).  As well as Amazon or Etsy if all the local options are exhausted.

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.

Who am I? Why am I doing this?

My name is Jenna, I’m a 24-year-old happily married soon-to-be mom who has a mission for this world and town. That mission is to help make this world better for future generations to come as well as ourselves in the present by showing that there really are more eco-friendly, and affordable alternatives out there for people. I feel like our town needs more resources for people trying to make a better, healthier earth as well as we need to show that the resources that we do have are out there for people to use. All it takes is small changes from many people to make a difference and I hope that this small contribution from myself helps to make a difference. 🙂