Living plastic free: Pretzels
Hello, my name is EnviroWoman and I’m a plasticholic.
‘Welcome EnviroWoman.’
It’s been 5 ½ months since my last plastic-packaged pretzel. And not only did I give up pretzels when I took the no-new plastic pledge, but I also gave up crackers and chips and rice cakes and popcorn…in fact, all things crunchy and salty.
‘Way to go EnviroWoman!’ says a voice at the back of the room.
Everything was going along tickety-boo. No shakes, no withdrawal symptoms, no saturated fat lost-weekend benders. Nope. No junk food for a whole 260 days and 18 hours. (Not that I was counting.)
To be honest, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t 72 pounds - all those calories saved by being plastic-sober. It must have been all that chocolate I was eating instead. Which of course, as we all know, is SO NOT junk food!
Anyhoo, I think it was the moment I realized I was only 3 weeks away from my 6-month plastic-sobrietry pin that I started to get serious salty-crunchy cravings.
‘Stay strong sister’, says that same encouraging voice from the crowd.
Your encouragement is appreciated, brother. When I could feel my will power slipping, I spent some time in quiet reflection reviewing the powerful and inspiring Twelve Steps of PlasticHolics Anonymous. I’d like you to all join me in reciting them.
The group declares in unison:
We as plasticholics:
- Admitted we were powerless over plastic — that our recycling bins had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that we had the Power and the Responsibility to restore the world to eco-sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our lives over to the care of Mother Earth as we understood Her.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our plastic-filled lives.
- Admitted to Mother Earth, to ourselves, and to other blog-reading human beings, the exact nature of our plastic-wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to take the no-new-plastic-pledge.
- Humbly made steps to remove plastic from our lives.
- Made a list of all areas of Mother Earth we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct steps to choose plastic-free wherever possible, except when to do so would cause death or harm to animals.
- Continued to take a personal plastic inventory and when we made wrong purchases promptly admitted it and changed our ways.
- Sought, through refusing plastic, to reduce our eco-footprint on Mother Earth as we understood Her, hoping that by doing so we can help restore her to her former glory.
- Having had an eco-awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other plasticholics, to help them practice these principles in their own lives.
I’m proud to say my resolve was renewed, and my willpower restored. I had resisted temptation.
‘We knew you could do it sister’. There it is again, that same deep baritone voice from the crowd. (Hmmm, note to self, check that guy out after the meeting, he’s kinda cute, in a plastic-deprived sorta way).
Thank you brother. I have to say, the world works in mysterious ways. While I was shopping the bulk-food bin section at SuperStore this weekend I came across, wonder of wonders…pretzels.
And not just those runty little stick pretzels, but those honkin’ huge 5-inch loopy suckers – that have crunch galore. And salt galore. It couldn't have gotten any better if they had been chocolate coated!
At last, EnviroWoman had found plastic-free junk food!!!
Needless to say, I’ve been on a pretzel binge all week long. So please join me at the back of the room after the meeting for pretzels and coffee.
‘Meeting adjourned’ yells cute, plastic-deprived guy.
There's a stampede to the back of the room and the crunch-fest begins.
Category: Pretzels
SAINT: No name brand in the bulk food bins at Super Store
Price: Same
Quality: Same
SINNERS: Rold Gold, Old Dutch, Humpty Dumpty, Benzels, Kraft, Snyders
Lessons Learned:
- In moments of weakness, review your 12-step pledge. Mother Nature is depending on you to commit, body, mind, and soul to overcoming your addictions to plastic, oil, consumption, food, and all things un-necessary and planet un-friendly.
- Pay attention to those who cheer you on. They're in your corner. They want to see you succeed, 'cuz they're hoping when you do, you'll in turn cheer them on to success too. Kinda like an Eco-Quid-Pro-Quo.
Comments
Sunny Excellent question.
Sunny
Excellent question. This is a big gray area in my No-New-Plastic Pledge. And one I never really gave some thought to before laying down the rules way back on December 31st 2006. But definitely one I've had to debate in my own head during 2007.
The whole crux of my pledge is not to let any new plastic into my life/home. Not to avoid anything that has ever come in contact with plastic (because that would be just about everything when you think about the production chain). What I'm most concerned about is plastic being thrown out right after I use it. If I was to take the bulk food home in a plastic bag, then they would be off limits, because I would be throwing out/recycling the plastic bag after I finished with it. But I take my bulk foods home in my handy paper bags or chinese take out containers.
With bulk foods, the plastic bin and inner bag isn't being thrown out as soon as EnviroWoman uses them, but rather is used thousands and thousands of times by others too. Here's a metaphor for how I look at the situation....if I went to a restaurant and ordered water, and they brought it to the table in a plastic bottle (which will be tossed or recycled after I finish with it) then that would be off limits and a SIN. But...if they brought the water to the table in a plastic cup that would be washed and reused again and again then that is not a SIN. (But hey, the reality is, if I knew they were serving water in a plastic cup I wouldn't order it anyway because even I push my rules to the limits if I can).
Now that being said, in the local Dandi Mart I go to for most of my bulk foods I pay attention to which of the bulk foods are bulk-packaged in paper and which ones are bulk-packaged in plastic (before then dump them into the bin), and try to buy only the ones packaged in paper.
Now, no doubt about it, there's alot of plastic that goes into those bulk food bins. And in the grand scheme of things, does it amount to more plastic than all the plastic bags or packaging used in single-use packaged equivalents. Who knows?
One thing I have noticed though, is some of the bulk foods I buy have a nasty plastic flavour to them, and that kinda freaks EnviroWoman out. She's gonna have to check what grade of plastic the bulk plastic bins are in, because if its grade 3, 6, or 7, she might be cooking her repro organs and welcoming cancer into her life. Don't want that!!!!
EnviroWoman
Plastic free. Cruelty free. Vegetarian. Chocoholic
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I'm new to your blog and
I'm new to your blog and don't know all your "rules" but what about the plastic bag that those pretzels were in before they dumped them into the bulk bin? Also, in our big store, they line the bulk bin with a plastic bag that I'm sure must be replaced rather frequently. Those don't count? Thanks.