The Plastic Conundrum or How I Lost the War

We saw Hamilton last night which was fun and really good but I was faced with the choice that till now I've been able to avoid - the sippy cup. As you can see I lost the battle. There's a thread through this blog about how hard it is to reduce your plastic consumption and how it sometimes it doesn't feel like it's in your best interest. This is one of those cases.

For those of you who don't know, SHN is the company that produces the Best of Broadway series of shows in San Francisco. At some point in the past few years they introduced the above spill-resistant cups (it comes in a larger size too) that you can buy, have filled with booze, and bring into the theater. Anyone who knows me is wondering how I could have possibly avoided these until last night knowing how much I like my booze but it's really just a technicality. A good friend bought me a drink in one at a previous show but only last night did I agree to spend my own money on it. Because I'm weak.

Fun fact, Darren Chris in character as Hedwig teased the audience and SHN about the "$17 sippy cups" during his run here last year. It was funny and maybe hit home because they didn't seem as expensive last night, but that's not the point here. The point is that I've always said NO to these because they're really thick #6 plastic that's just going to get thrown away. It's so wasteful. And as much as I love slurping down wine in any location, until last night I declined to participate (except that one time as a gift recipient- I'm not rude).

Now in all truth they do allow you to bring them back with you to future shows and have them re-filled. And I suppose there's at least one East-Bay or Marin hippie type who's done that, but I can assure you when I exited the theater last night I was the only one carrying their empty and I stepped over a long line of them on the floor as I was leaving my seat.

So here's where I stand on this. Huzzah! to SHN for coming up with a solution that lets us booze it up during the show. This is a life saver in many ways. Boo! to SHN for forcing people to buy these cups. Isn't there a greener way to get us drunks drunk?

Life isn't easy, people.

We Love-Hate Talenti

We buy a lot of Talenti. If you haven't had it you really should try it. But their packaging drives me nuts. After I did my post on our plastic collection I realized I forgot to include the fifteen or so empty Talenti jars we have in a drawer and I knew I had to write this post. Plus, this is a good opportunity to start the social-media dialog part of my endeavor here. I'd really like Talenti to re-think their packaging and I hope to use Facebook and Twitter to start a dialog. But back to the product.

I get it, Talenti, the ice cream market is crowded and your product sure stands out in the freezer case. You can see just how delicious the ice cream is or will be as soon as you buy it and rush home to eat it. It works. You hooked me. But then you have these jars...

By their own admission their "jars are not microwave safe and not dishwasher safe" which I found out the hard way. That means I never use them for messy food storage because I avoid hand-washing dishes as much as possible. So we freeze nuts in them, we store random bits of hardware in them, we use them as scoops for grain at the barn and still the drawer collection grows. And I have to assume that sane people just toss them into the recycling for those in a community with plastic recycling all the others go into the garbage.

According to a CNBC article from 2013, "since 2007, Talenti's revenue has exploded from $1 million to $49.3 million last year. Which says to me they've established themselves in the market. But let's dig into that number further. If we just use a retail estimate of $6 a pint that's more than 16 million pieces of plastic (jar + lid) floating around our planet somewhere in just one year! I don't think our earth can afford Talenti's marketing strategy.

The above article says that Talenti has global ambitions- "If Starbucks can sell their coffee in Italy, I think we can sell our gelato in Italy." I urge them to consider whether their global view actually includes the earth itself and whether their gimmick is more important than our oceans?

I'd love to hear from them on any work they're doing towards alternative plastics, ending the use of plastic, helping to further plastic recycling, education on plastic pollution or any other ways that they're offsetting their impact on the environment.  Please, let us know.

I'm Far From Perfect

That's the plastic food storage collection at our house. Actually that's only the clean, not-in-use collection. It's 36 pieces sourced from actual Tupperware parties, discount stores, ice cream, Indian take-out, cheese purchases, and generous friends with leftovers. We all have this cabinet. Ours is actually two because I can't throw them out until they're un-usable. I'm posting this so you'll know that I'm not coming from some holier-than-thou place. Plastic is un-avoidable. Plastic is convenient. All I'm trying to say is let's slow down and think about each new piece of plastic coming into our lives. Where is it ultimately going? Is there an alternative? Do I need a 12-step program for plastics?

Pollution-free Peanut Butter?

Yes, please! If you shop carefully you'll find that most stores carry brands that are still packaged in glass. Why not choose those? Plus, they tend to be the healthier versions of peanut butter with less sugar and fewer ingredients. It's a win-win. Why add plastic pollution as part of your snack? Now, on to the jelly aisle...

What happened to laundry detergent?

Who decided that all laundry detergents need to be liquid and sold in plastic containers? It just doesn't make sense! Liquids are heavier so these have to cost more to ship and the containers stick around forever in our waste stream and ultimately our oceans.

Reject products that include plastic waste where possible. This is an easy one to do. But not as easy as it should be. In my local Safeway only one "green" brand of detergent is stocked in powder form in a cardboard box and of course it is more expensive. Demand that your store carry powdered detergent.