Are you still rubbing plastic all over your face? Since I first reported on microbeads–those tiny bits of plastic added to facial scrubs, toothpaste, and other personal care products–in 2007 and then again in 2013, the NY Times has reported on them, several U.S. states have passed legislation to ban them,  Canada is on the verge of […]
I first learned about GreenCitizen several years ago when I was trying to figure out what to do with old CDs and DVDs.  Since then, Michael and I have taken several dead gadgets to them: our old rice cooker, our old blender, and some obsolete computer equipment.  So I was excited to take a tour of GreenCitizen’s […]
My poor backpack. I’ve been carrying it around for over ten years, and finally, one of the main zippers stopped zipping. Or, I should say, one of the sliders stopped working. Â Fortunately, this backpack has two sliders, so I could still close the zipper using the other slider, but I always had to remember […]
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m trying to reduce the number of supplements I take (and hence, supplement packaging) by getting my nutrients from whole foods instead of pills. Â So a few weeks ago, I was wondering aloud (apparently, I’ve started talking to myself a lot lately) about how I could get more […]
I thought this was post was going to be another one of my triumphant reports about how I avoided buying a new plastic gadget because I was able to fix the old one. Like the tale of the rice cooker, or the umbrella, or the laundry basket, or even the washing machine. I imagined how […]
We’re having a great time on Kaua’i (mosquito bites notwithstanding), and despite the ubiquitous polystyrene foam foodware, we’re discovering some great plastic-free resources. Â Upon arrival at our hotel, the concierge handed us a list of farmers markets on the island. There’s at least one for every day of the week, which means we never have […]
I only had two hours sleep last night after driving 12 hours, but I want to post these pictures and give you the list of ways I’m de-plastifying my Burn this year. I’m staying with the Earth Guardians… which is part of the Burning Man infrastructure tasked with making the event as green as possible. […]
Whenever I give my plastic-free presentation, I’m interested to see what the hosting organization will do to ensure the event itself is as plastic-free as possible. Â I try to give tips beforehand so I don’t walk in on a table full of plastic cups (which has happened more than once, ironically.) Â But lately, I’ve discovered […]
I’ve got a conundrum. Â It’s Black Friday, the day in the U.S. when the holiday shopping frenzy officially begins. Â Environmentalists decry this day of conspicuous consumption, advocating Buy Nothing Day instead. Â And normally, I would be one of them. Â But this year, I actually have something to sell: Â my book. Â In fact, I’ve planned a […]
I felt like I was back in kindergarten yesterday… cutting and pasting with paste you could eat if you wanted to. Â I’m taking my plastics information display to the ReUseConex in Portland tomorrow and wanted to make it sturdier. Taping paper pages directly to the wooden board was not working well. Â The paper curled […]