Eliminating Plastics From Your Life

My mother, who is still heavily entrenched in civilization, surprised me when she told me her new year’s resolution this year. Her goal? She wants to eliminate plastics, to the greatest extent possible, from her daily life.

Why avoid plastics? Well there are many reasons. Here are some links to articles about the evils of plastic both to human health and to the environment:

Critical Health Risks From Plastics

Plastic in the Oceans

Adverse Health Effects of Plastics

Chemicals in Plastic Water Bottles May Pose Health Hazard

I tried to do some research and find her some websites about doing this, but was sorely disappointed to find minimal help and information on doing this. (However, I wasn’t too surprised). So I have decided to dedicate the next few blog posts to things that someone can do to eliminate plastics from their lives. I am also going to provide links to products that can replace the plastic ones people typically use.

It is obviously impossible to totally eliminate plastics while still living within civilization. (Switching to glass jars for storage will still leave you with plastics on the lid, for instance). I think that taking some of these steps is helpful, in the least.

Today’s tips:

Prescription Medicines:
It really is disturbing when you think about how much plastic medicine comes in contact with. The large jars they are in at the pharmacy are plastic (you cannot control this). The machines they are produced in are riddled with plastic as well (also cannot control this). The one thing you can control is what they are stored in when you receive them. Ask your pharmacy if they have glass jars available. If they do not, transfer your medications yourself into glass jars when you get home. You can buy jars from any of the following sites:

Jars:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Bottles:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

You can also sort your pills into a daily pill sorter/organizer that isn’t plastic. Here are places you can purchase those:

Pill Sorter 1

Pill Sorter 2

Food Storage:
Over the last couple decades people have become accustomed to storing food in plastic containers (Gladware, Tupperware, etc.) It may seem like an awkward transition to switch from plastic to glass, but it is much easier than might be anticipated.

Avoid plastic wrap if at all possible.

For small storage containers save the jars that you already use. Jelly jars, spegetti sauce jars, etc. make great containers to store leftovers (and even freeze soup in!)

If you want to purchase jars for storage the hard part is finding them that do not use plastic covers. Ceramic jars work well for storing things like sugar, flour, etc. Jars that close more tightly can be used for other things.

Here are some websites:

Bake 'N Keep Storage Container with glass lid

2-c. Glass Refrigerator Storage Container 81884S with glass lid

Glass Spice Rack

Square 40oz glass canister with lid

Glass Canning Jar/Gasket Set

Coffee/Tea To Go:

Did you know that paper cups from places like Starbucks are actually lined with plastic? Besides generating unnecessary waste, you are also drinking coffee out of warmed up plastic, yuck.

If you are staying at the coffee shop to drink your coffee, ask them if they have mugs for customers staying there. Many shops have this.

A reusable mug is a great solution if you aren’t staying at the coffee shop, but be sure to find one that isn’t lined with plastic. Also, most mugs have plastic covers, avoiding these is pretty difficult. I found some with silicone covers, which seems like cheating but it is better than plastic (Silicone is chemically inert and poses no known health risk. It is completely safe to use as cookware and will not leech into your food. It is technically not a plastic, although it displays properties of plasticity.)

Here are some links:

Cups with silicone lids:

Silicone lid 1

Silicone Lid Cup 2

If you aren’t going far and aren’t apt to spill much, a ceramic mug with a ceramic cover might work for you. Here are some:

Ceramic Mug with lid and infuser (for tea)

Coffee Mugs with Lid 1

Coffee Mug with Lid 2