Posts Tagged ‘plastic bags’

How To Reduce Waste When Shopping Thursday, March 18th, 2010 When I am in the grocery store, (mainly in the produce section) I find myself surveying how others use an unwarranted amount of plastic bags for their fruits and vegetables.  One bag for two Granny Smith apples; one bag for a baby-fist sized head of garlic; and yet another bag for bell peppers.  Some stores, such as Whole Foods, have a polite sign above the roll of plastic bags inquiring if you really need the bag you are about to grab.  So, what are you supposed to do with smaller bulk vegetables such as sugar snap peas, mushrooms or string beans?  A few options: first, you can save the bags that you took from a previous grocery trip and reuse them; or in your collection of reusable bags, make sure you have a variety of sizes.  I actually made a few smaller bags from old t-shirts that are perfect for these items.  I cannot take the credit, though.  I stumbled across this video and made a few for myself.  Definitely check it out! My bloggy friend at Reduce Footprints has yet another inspiring challenge that deals with this reusable bags motif: This week, make use of returnable/reusable containers at the market. If your store takes back bottles (or any other containers), return them. If bulk shopping is available, reuse the bag/container for your next purchase. If you buy veggies and use the store’s produce bags, keep the bags and reuse them on your next trip. Or … If this is an activity which you do on a regular basis, please write a post about other ways to reduce container waste when shopping. So what do you think? Are you up for this challenge? Since I carry an eclectic array of reusable bags in easy reach–(here’s a view of the passenger side of my car) I often receive compliments upon check out; especially when using my home-made t-shirt bags.  If I can change the habits of just one person through example, it will be that much better for our planet!! Tags: bags, change the world, green, green ideas, plastic bags, reduce footprints, reusable bags, reuse, t-shirt bags, waste Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

The Eco-Alternative To Single-Use Plastic Garment Bags Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 It’s nice to open up my email and find e-newsletters from my choice driven sites.  One great website is, Style Substance Soul, which I have blogged about back in June of this year: “Visiting StyleSubstanceSoul is like entering a cozy, yet sassy girlfriend’s home.  The founders are all observably concerned about humanitarian and environmental issues worldwide. They take action by calling out to all women.  Whether it be via product reviews, promoting women’s sites and bloggers, or a click a day for charity through charitable sites, their agenda is genuine: getting like–minded people to join and take action who can make a difference in the world.”   Recent newsletters that I have been privy to receive from StyleSubstanceSoul have been providing information on some extraordinary holiday gift products and their companies.  StyleSubstanceSoul’s goal is two-fold: “The only thing better than giving a gift is giving a gift that gives back, and all of these great companies donate at least some of their proceeds to charity.”   Not only am I into giving and receiving gifts that are eco-friendly and useful, but adding a chic component doesn’t hurt!  One of the companies that StyleSubstanceSoul gave kudos to today is, The Green Garmento .  This is a must have item for those who venture to the dry cleaners on a regular basis. Talk about a functional, plastic reduction phenomenon: “The Green Garmento is a ‘hanging hamper,’ a laundry bag, a duffel bag and carrying bag! Holds all of your dry cleaning and is a hanging garment bag! Be fantastic…use less plastic!” Started by married couple, Jennie Nigrosh and Rick Siegel, former entertainment industry people, The Green Garmento is advantageous not only for the dry cleaning industry, but for the consumer as well.  The amount of single-use plastic garment bags is staggering: “three hundred million pounds (300,000,000) of single-use plastic dry cleaning bags fill America’s landfills and kill our wildlife.”  By lowering the dry cleaners’ single-use plastic bag costs will lower their cost of doing business.  Sounds good, right?  The dry cleaning industry has been looking for ways to cut down on their plastic and now consumers can help. The Green Garmento is a 3 in 1 bag that comes in different colors.  It can be utilized as a (1) regular or hanging hamper; (2) it has a large sturdy shoulder strap (think: yoga bag) as well as smaller handles (more of a shopping bag style) so that you can tote your dirty clothes to the dry cleaners; (3) now you can request your clothes to be returned to you “naked” (no plastic, please) since you are providing your own reusable, water-resistant, breathable, made from recyclable non-woven polypropylene eco-friendly laundry bag.  The best part is that The Green Garmento is only $9.99! StyleSubstanceSoul is keeping to their promise of providing information on products that give back: “For every bag you buy using coupon code DFS, The Green Garmento will donate one bag to the Los Angeles chapter “boutique” of Dress for Success and take one dollar off your purchase.” Tags: dry cleaners, hamper, holiday gifts, Jennie Nigrosh, plastic bags, Rick Siegel, single use garment bags, StyleSubstanceSoul Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

World-Wide Debut of ‘The Age of Stupid’ Monday, September 21st, 2009 The year is 2055, on a bleak, uninhabitable Earth due to earlier generations not heeding the constant warnings of the inevitable climate change.  British director, Franny Armstrong, known for her social changing films (Drowned Out, (2002)  and McLibel (2005)) now calls to question our lack of environmentally consciousness in her latest film, The Age Of Stupid.   Oscar nominated, Pete Postlethwaite ( Usual Suspects and The Constant Gardener) plays the last person left on earth. Take a look at The Age of Stupid trailer . What is the objective of this part science fiction, part documentary?   It all depends.  Armstrong, I’m sure, hopes to shake you up enough to reconsider your part in this vexing climate change dilemma.   The use of combining science fiction’s alternate possibilities and documentary’s statistics and visuals is an obvious attempt to draw in the “not so green” crowd.  But isn’t that the idea?  Those who are environmentally savvy would most probably see this movie anyway; but for those who still opt to take plastic bags for practically every item in the grocery store and find it too cumbersome to have recycling bins in their home, hopefully this emotionally charged film will entice them to see The Age of Stupid and make a difference.   The Age of Stupid debuts in hundreds of venues worldwide today, September 21, 2009, to coincide with the United Nations first climate summit  occurring tomorrow, September 22, 2009. Tags: carbon footprint, change, changes, climate, climate change, documentary, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-blogger, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, film, franny Armstrong, global warming, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, nature, organic, Pete Postlethwaite, plastic, plastic bags, platic bags, recycle, reduce, reuse, science fiction, The Age of Stupid, zero-waste Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

It’s Time To “Bag” Plastic Bags Thursday, September 17th, 2009 Although many of us tote around some great reusable cloth bags and there are countless anti-plastic campaigns for us to partake in, we still need to put pressure on the plastic bag industry.  World plastic bag consumption takes millions of barrels of oil and masses of natural gas to produce these convenient bags.   Convenience has its price.  I can go on and on, as there are a zillion sites that spew out frightening facts about the expense, dangers and wastefulness of these plastic bags.  Fortunately, many of these sites provide fabulous ideas on how to cut down on plastic consumption.  One of my favorite blogs I follow is Fake Plastic Fish (which I reviewed on July 1st).  Beth Terry, founder of FakePlasticFish, is a down to earth eco-blogger who decided to widen her horizons and do some research about what her options were to reduce plastic consumption.  You should definitely check out Fake Plastic Fish and read about Terry’s anti-plastic adventures.   Last week, I received an update on Beth Terry’s surprise interview with Reel Thing Productions.   They are in the process of creating a feature length documentary film, Bag It, directed by Suzan Beraza about plastic.   “BagIT chronicles the global production, use, and disposal of plastic bags and other plastics. The film will document the environmental consequences of these products, including the effects of plastics on a wide range of species, lands, waterways and oceans. The film will also identify smart alternatives and solutions.” From just viewing the trailer, I cannot see how one would not be inspired to truly think twice about their daily plastic consumption and wanting to make their voices heard in the hallways of corporations around the world. Be sure to watch the trailer for BagIt which is a work in progress. Tags: Bag it, Beth Terry, biodegradable, bottle caps, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, decompose, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-blogger, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, Fake Plastic Fish, fakeplasticfish, global warming, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, nature, organic, plastic, plastic bags, recycle, reduce, Reel Thing Productions, reuse, Suzan Beraza, zero-waste Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

BioBags Put To The Test Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 I was very excited when my BioBag Lawn & Leaf Bags arrived in the mail.  Perfect timing as my hedges needed to be trimmed back a bit.  Usually, I use the thick, black lawn bags to collect my shrubbery trimmings.  Even with these heavy duty ones, twigs do poke through. Although on the site  they say the BioBag Lawn & Leaf bags can hold up to 33 gallons, I must say, this claim made me a bit wary: the bags felt quite delicate.  How were my thorny branches going to remain in the bag?  I decided to cut the twigs into smaller pieces than I usually do and this definitely helped.  A few poked out, but I was able to tie the bag closed. (On the website, it mentions that the bags “even come with a removable tear-strip at the top of each bag for easy tying.”  Mine didn’t have this tear strip, but I had no problem closing up the bags).    The mere fact that these bags are biodegradable is just fantastic.  Whether you have your own compost or your local waste management separately picks up lawn clippings, you can feel good that one less plastic bag will take thousands of years to decompose.   I was also privy to receive one of BioBags newer products.  It was one of their BioBag Shopping Bags.  Adorned with fresh looking apples and the BioBag logo, the double handled bag will be added to my ever-growing cloth bag collection.  The best part?  It can eventually be used to collect compostable scraps (or lawn clippings!) and tossed into the compost bin.  The BioBag Shopping Bags  can be made with your store logo and are “For supermarket chains, health-food stores, etc., who wish to contribute to a better environment as well as enhance their environmental profile, the BioShop bag is an excellent choice.” This is, no doubt, one Earth Promise I will be adding: purchase BioBags in lieu of plastic garbage bags. Tags: biobag, biodegradable, biodegradable bags, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, decompose, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, global warming, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, landfills, Martha Stewart, nature, Oprah, organic, outdoor, plastic bags, polyethene, reuse, whole foods Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Think Twice About That Pizza Box Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 When people see me at birthday parties or holiday gatherings, they think I’m watching their every move when it comes to recycling.  (OK, maybe I do cringe a little when they have a stack of Styrofoam cups on the counter).  It is a delicate balancing act between educating and being too preachy.  My friends feel quite proud of themselves when they leave their empty pizza boxes stacked in their recycling bins.  I mean, why not? The boxes often do have the chasing arrows symbol on the box (showing that the box has been made from recycled materials), but unfortunately the grease from the pizza contaminates the cardboard rendering it unrecyclable.  And not just the box becomes unrecyclable, but the other paper that sits with it waiting to be recycled becomes ruined. Earth911 has a great post detailing the pizza box saga:   “Grease from pizza boxes causes oil to form at the top of the slurry, and paper fibers cannot separate from oils during the pulping process. Essentially, this contaminant causes the entire batch to be ruined. This is the reason that other food related items are non-recyclable (used paper plates, used napkins, used paper towels, etc).” To read the post in its entirety, click here. As long as there is no food or grease on the box, feel free to toss it in with your other recyclables.  You just may have to rip off the top of the box (assuming it is food remnant free!) Tags: biodegradable, bottle caps, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, decompose, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-blogger, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, fakeplasticfish, global warming, grease, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, nature, organic, pizza, pizza box, pizza grease, plastic, plastic bags, recycle, reduce, reuse Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Journey to Plastic Alternatives Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 I was updating my status on Facebook and being the voyeur that I am, (hey aren’t we all on Facebook?) I checked out my friend’s flagged alert that she became a fan of FakePlasticFish.  That looked interesting.  And indeed it is!  The website’s mission statement says it all, “Living life with less plastic and moving towards Zero-Waste.” Beth Terry, founder of FakePlasticFish, is a down to earth eco-blogger who decided to widen her horizons and do some research about what her options were to reduce plastic consumption.  Before FakePlasticFish, Terry dipped her toes into various activism roles (Clean Water Action, Feminism, AIDS).  It wasn’t until she came across a photo of an albatross carcass filled with plastic bottle caps and other plastic pieces that Terry’s mindset changed.  Without being preachy, she made major changes in her home (making her own cleaning solutions and storing them in glass bottles), altered how she shopped (bringing small cloth bags to hold bulk bin products) and now totes around reusables (bottles, containers, utensils and even a glass drinking straw) on a daily basis.   Then her plastic reduction mission expanded: “…starting a campaign to urge Brita to take back and recycle its filter cartridges; sending back unwanted plastic packaging to manufacturers; writing letters to companies asking for less plastic; joining with environmental group Green Sangha to promote healthy alternatives to plastic; connecting with other bloggers, such as the women of the Green Moms Carnival … and urging other bloggers to take on the No Plastic challenge.” FakePlasticFish is filled with great information about reducing the use of plastic from your life.  Terry candidly photographs her weekly consumption of plastic and tracks it on a graph.  She invites us to photograph our weekly plastic usage as well.  Beth Terry’s crusade is truly from the heart.  Watch her compassionate video addressed to Oprah.  If anyone can reach a wide audience, no doubt Oprah can.  Help Terry spread her plastic reduction awareness. Tags: Beth Terry, biodegradable, bottle caps, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, decompose, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-blogger, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, fakeplasticfish, global warming, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, nature, Oprah, organic, plastic, plastic bags, recycle, reduce, reuse, zero-waste Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Viable Alternative: Bags That Decompose Monday, June 29th, 2009 In an earlier blog post, I wrote about composting. “If you are a bit squeamish, keep in mind that compost is proven to be the best mulch and soil enrichment; it’s a fantastic way of reducing the amount of waste going to the landfills and it saves you money by reducing your fertilizer and landscaping bills.” For the neophyte composter, like myself, storing food scraps before tossing them into a compost bin is not all that enticing, (although it is the ecologically right thing to do).  Regular plastic bags are not an option since they do not decompose over time.  I came across a company, based in my old stomping ground, Palm Harbor, Florida, that manufactures the ultimate solution: BioBag Food Waste bags .   “BioBag kitchen waste bags are primarily used for the collection of food scraps and other biodegradable waste for home or community composting.”   The thin bags are made from corn and will decompose within 10-45 days once they hit the landfill or compost pile.  The bags even lessen the overbearing odor that often comes with composting.  This is perfect, then: collect your compostable food scraps in the Biobag and once it’s filled, just pitch the sealed bag into your compost bin!   BioBags has a variety of bags to choose from: • 3 gallon food waste bags • 13 gallon tall kitchen bags • 33 gallon lawn and leaf bags • Dog waste bags • Cat pan liners   You must visit the BioBags website and read about their certifications and technologies behind their products.  And kudos to BioBag: they are even recommended by Oprah and Martha Stewart! So where do you purchase BioBags?  There are many online retailers like Amazon or drugstore.com  that sell it as well as most natural food stores like Whole Foods. Although I bring my own bags to the store when I shop, I must admit, I sometimes accept the polyethylene plastic bags to use for my trash cans.  I know they can take thousands of years to degrade.  It’s a convenience issue.  Ok, then, this is my new earth promise: to use 100% biodegradable bags such as BioBags.  Not only will it will reduce the amount of plastic that goes into the landfills, but you will know you are reducing the production of these lethal polluters that contribute to air pollution and energy consumption. Tags: biodegradable, biodegradable bags, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, decompose, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, global warming, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, landfills, Martha Stewart, nature, Oprah, organic, outdoor, plastic bags, polyethene, reuse, whole foods Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

The Beauty of Plastic Bags Friday, June 12th, 2009 We’ve heard the mantra: no more plastic bags!  I came across the site, Quazen that provides clever crafty ideas (with how-to video clips) on how to reuse the ubiquitous plastic bag.     If you ask me, I think the best thing to do is first reuse the bags sitting at home for all your shopping – carry your own bags, don’t add any more to the waste. If they are not usable anymore then recycle them. If you want to get creative and save some green then instead of buying a bag for grocery, create your own recycled shopping bag from the existing ones. How? You’ll see. But before that I’d like to share some other really simple green flowers with you.   Click here  to read the article in full and get inspired to reduce and reuse those non-biodegradable polluters! Tags: art, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, crafts, crochet, crochet plastic bag, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-friendly, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, fabric, global warming, green, green changes, green crafts, green future, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, kite, make a difference, nature, organic, plastic bag, plastic bag fusing, plastic bags, plastic grocery bag, plastic yarn, polyethene, polyethene bags, project, recycle, reduce, reuse, rising gas prices, trash, trash bags Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

How Green Is Your Pet’s Pooper Scooper? Monday, March 16th, 2009 Picking up after our pets (yes, their poop) in most places it’s not only law, but common courtesy.  No one likes to do it, but it has to be done.  Although this matter is totally biodegradable, why then do we place it into a non-biodegradable bag?  If you still use regular plastic bags, let me remind you about some of the hazardous statistics: ·         Takes up to 1000 years for a plastic bag to decompose ·         12 million barrels of oil used to make plastic bags ·         Less than 1% of all plastic bags get recycled in the U.S If your dog hasn’t been taught the etiquette of pooping under a bush or in the woods, then decomposable bags are your best bet.  GreenDoggieBags is a company, started by two South Floridians that developed an alternative to the non-biodegradable bags.  Made from a cornstarch mixture, these eco-friendly bags look like their counterparts but decompose after a few months.  Not out in the market yet to purchase, GreenDoggieBags is focusing on making deals with green friendly cities. For other Earth friendly pet information, visit, Pet Style and if you want to start making your own pet Earth Promises, click here. Here are some pet promise examples: To buy a collar for my pet that is made of organic canvas instead of nylon. To buy pet treats with no packaging (from the pet store treat bar). To speak to my veterinarian about putting my pet on a vegetarian diet, or feeding them food with less meat, poultry or fish.  Tags: biodegradable bags, change, changes, decompose, dog fecal matter, dog poop, doggie bags, dogs, eco-friendly, environment, global warming, green, green changes, green doggie bags, green living, green my home, green practice, green practices, green tips, non-biodegradable, pet promises, pets, plastic bags Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »