July 8: Hmm..."Miscommunication", he said. Remember that shipping place I mentioned last post that said they'd take my styrofoam? Nope.
I had an eye exam appointment early this morning and the shipping place was less than a mile away. How convenient! So after my appointment I drove over there to do the drop off, only to discover I had 30 minutes to kill waiting for them to open. Went to Starbucks at the neighboring QFC grocery and got a Starbucks latte. Then my dilated eyes spied the bakery department. Some demon took control of my mind/body and I bought a Top Pot (the best!) apple fritter. I walked back to the shipping joint, sat in my car reading my Noom (weight loss program) lessons for the day while eating my pastry and drinking my latte, waiting for the the store to open. (There is SO much wrong with that sentence!)
Once inside I joyfully announced I was there to recycle my styrofoam and the guy (not the woman I'd spoken with on the phone) told me no. They will take "some packing peanuts" but no solid styrofoam nor other packing materials. "Must have been a miscommunication," he said. Uh-huh. Must have been, even though I clearly explained what I had to the woman on the phone. Oh well.
I got back in the my car cursing the petrochemical industry for styrofoam, plastics, and wrecking my healthy eating intentions. I hold them personally responsible for all the ills of my life right now. Plus, I was in such a sugar junkie fog buying my next fix that I didn't even consider that the fritter came in a little plastic bakery bag until I went to throw it away at home. Fail. Fail.
July 10: Still on the hunt to get rid of my styrofoam. Back to Ridwell. They will take it in a 45 gallon trash can liner for an extra $9.00 above my monthly pick up fee. I get it. Styrofoam is awful and they have to deal with it when I don't want to, or can't, beyond filling up my trash can. I'm looking at it as the "shipping fee" I didn't have to pay to Wayfair for ordering online and "free" delivery. Note to self: stop ordering online.
July 11: This should be a no-brainer. But since I'm doing a consciousness-raising exercise this month re my use of plastic, I am not beating myself up too much. I reach for plastic baggies far too often! I had some herbs to take to my daughter-in-law yesterday from my proliferating herb garden. I reached for a baggie. Caught myself, and rummaged through the "clamshell" recycling I'd set aside for Ridwell, and repurposed a container for the herbs. I asked her to return it to me for recycling. Same with the fresh raspberries I'd picked for her. First thought: quart-sized ziplock baggie. Second thought: that dip container (#5 plastic) that Hub had emptied and can't be recycled. I repurposed it for at least one more use and saved a baggie. I bet most people always do this sort of thing; but I really, really dislike a cabinet full of miscellaneous empty containers that may or may not be the right size for whatever I need to store. Yet, now I'm giving up my cabinet aesthetics to ditch my automatic plastic baggie habit. When you know better (and live into that knowing), you do better.
July 12: I got a new little table that of course I had to assemble myself. Why, oh why, did the assembly parts have to come in individually sealed plastic inside an orange plastic bag?!? The plastic packaging manufacturers have convinced retailers they need to wrap things up double and triple so their buyers can be assured that little allen wrench won't slip away I guess. Sheesh.
July 13: Almost every night I have a little 100 calorie frozen dessert treat while watching TV. Either a Yasso Bar or a Healthy Choice fudge bar. I look forward to it. But now it's ruined by my full awareness that every bar is wrapped in non-recyclable plastic that I throw into the garbage can. Maybe I can wean off? Stay tuned.
July 16: Well, I'm already into Week 3 and have not posted this. Good excuse though: Covid. It caught up to me. I'll write more about that later over on my other blog, "My View From Here", which you can find and click on the top of this page. (Maybe only the browser version? I'm not sure how this works. LOL)
Tune in for more plastic awareness next week when I tackle getting all the styrofoam in a big bag for Ridwell to pick up. In the meantime I share a resource linked below from Plastic Free July -- DIY fun!
Here's to our health, for ourselves and our planet...©
I immediately thought of you when I reached for the baggie for my sandwich now that I pack a lunch for work. Must find alternative
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