The Changes

send me a tweet if you can find Envirowoman's #1 tip for reducing plastic (clue, the answer is in a post on this very site!)

(til friday)

I’ve finished YearOne of living the NoNewPlastic pledge. Here’s a picture of the plastic shrine which represents all the new plastic I let into my life during 2007 which is now all used up and ready for recycling or the trash.

To be honest, it’s way, way more than I thought I’d accumulate. I naively thought I’d slam the gates shut on new plastic during 2007, and there would be ZERO plastic in the Shrine. Alas, it was amazing how much snuck into my life. And even more surprising was discovering how many things include plastic which you never really think about - like polyester, nylon and spandex in clothing, and those nasty plastic liners in tin cans.

Here are EnviroWoman’s 2007 Plastic Consumption Stats...

For years EnviroWoman proudly proclaimed “I belong to the Pepsi Generation”….even after giving up plastic. I just resorted to drinking Pepsi from a can so I could still count myself among the CokeCounterCulture, but still live plastic-free. 

But Anonymous has changed all that....

After getting all braniac from her trip to Oz, EnviroWoman decided she needed a GirlyGirl reward.

So she bought lipstick!

One thousand and one. One thousand and two.

Okay, in those two seconds, 90% of TheTestosterones just hit the Browser Back button. Bye, bye boys. But come back soon. Maybe next time EnviroWoman will blog about plastic-free hockey pucks or beer. Ya never know.

The other 10% of TheTestosterones diverted their attention from the computer monitor during those 2 seconds to yell over their shoulder ‘HoneyBun, SweetiePie, ya gotta come read this…EnviroWoman is talking lipstick.’ Oh boys, we so love you for that. Brownie points galore! Plus a little plastic-free peck on the cheek from EnviroWoman.

Now that leaves the rest of us. Girrrllllsss!!!!!

And women….it’s true, today EnviroWoman celebrates…..miracle of miracles….plastic-free lipstick.

I cut a plastic life-line loose the other day. In a little private ceremony in front of Safeway.

I deposited a whole swack of plastic bags into Safeway’s recycling bin. Adios amigos. Asta la vista. Sayonara.

This was a bundle which had taken up residence in the back seat of MyLittleCar after I tossed them there in the summer of 2006. I’d been too lazy or pre-occupied to deposit them into the recycling bin.

I re-discovered them in the early days of my no-new-plastic-pledge and thought…'Hmmmm…since the rule is I can continue to reuse any of the plastic I have in my life as of Dec 31st 2006, in a pinch I could use these as garbage bags when my paper ones run out.'

But those bags have remained there, untouched, since January 1st.

(Grab a java. And your ruby slippers. This is one long trek through OZ.)

All is not right in Kansas.

It started as just a windstorm a-brewing. But look over there, I'm sure that's a funnel cloud on the horizon. And can you feel a mysterious alteration of the air….and a warm wind headed our way? The birds have stopped singing and the crickets aren't chirping. And when they’re quiet it’s never a good sign…’cuz it’s an omen a real tornado is headed our way.

And that tornado is global warming.

Will you and EnviroWoman be standing in the eye of the storm soon? Or can we change our ways profoundly enough, and fast enough to divert disaster?

I have a confession to make. And no, it’s not another MAJOR SIN.

Let me premise the murky, mucky, dirty details by saying EnviroWoman likes to think she lives her life to high moral standards. Sure, she’s had momentary lapses. Road rage. Revenge fantasies. White lies. Plastic purchases. But for the most part…she travels life with a clean slate and a clear conscious.

But now…with a Scarlett Letter….

You see, EnviroWoman has been having an adulterous love affair….with Dr. Oetker.

I’ve finished my third month living plastic free in 2007. I’m now officially one quarter of the way there. This photo shows all the new plastic I’ve let into my life during 2007. It’s a pretty paltry amount, I’m proud to say.

Like February, March has been a pretty easy month to get through. There’s been some positives and negatives.

Good plastic fortune this month....

My visit to the recent EPIC Sustainable Living Expo was like striking ‘no-plastic gold’. There were 5 booths that heralded ‘no-plastic bag’ options.

I bought these cotton alternatives from BringYourOwnBag.ca, a Vancouver small business. It’s too bad they don’t handily fold up into a tight little bundle that fits in your purse or pocket like the ones shown in this British video, but hey, they do the trick.

I bought them mostly because they are so damn cheeky and help me spread the message of my mission to live plastic-free in 2007.