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Phase II
Phase II looks at reducing and ultimately eliminating common plastic items in your household, especially your kitchen. Some of these items, like plastic wrap and plastic cups and plates, are single use and can easily be replaced by non-plastic items that are long-lasting. Other items may be multi-use, like plastic food storage containers or Nalgene bottles, and you may be more reluctant to get rid of them.
Because of the health risks that are now being associated with plastic (see recent National Post article ), we suggest that you rid your household of these items, but if you choose not to do that, in Phase II, make a commitment not to buy any more, and to replace those items with non-plastic alternatives when they come to the end of their useful life.
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Plastics to Especially Avoid
- Plastic containers (eg. food storage and other storage containers, including Tupperware-type containers that you store leftovers in, as well as plastic containers that you buy food in)
- Plastic packaging (for food and other items)
- Drinking bottles (single or multiple use)
- Plastic plates, utensils, cups, etc
- Plastic wrap
Suggested alternatives:
- Plastic food storage containers can easily be replaced by glass or metal containers, although these are a bit harder to find - look for alternatives in the sites listed below.
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Start to consider the food items you buy, and look for alternatives without plastic packaging. For example, you may buy a bag of peanuts, and the sealed bag that they come in will be a plastic bag. But you could also buy peanuts in the bulk section, using one of your alternative bags from Phase I. The important thing is to become aware of the items you are buying and whether there are alternatives that come without packaging, or with packaging other than plastic. Look to local markets for items with friendlier packaging. |
- Go to a local butcher and ask for your meat to be wrapped in paper, instead of buying pre-packaged meat wrap in styrofoam and plastic. Ask your local stores to start offering alternatives. The more people who ask, the more likely they are to consider it.
- Stop buying drinks in single-use plastic bottles. Buy a metal drinking container, and carry it with you. You can fill it with whatever you like, and you won't have to worry about health side-effects. It takes a little bit of planning, and a change in mindset, but it will save you money, and help the planet too.
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Replace plastic wrap with Wax Wrap. The beeswax-covered cotton strips are easy to make, and reusable over and over again.
Pictured at left is Aron Strumecki giving a workshop at Henderson School in Powell River as part of the Community Caretaker's (C3) Conference in February 2010. Make your own Wax Wrap by following our instructions in this handy How-To Adobe Acrobat file (1.2 MB). Click here to download it. See the sound-enabled Flash animation of the How-To here. |
- Buy a set of inexpensive glass plates and/or glass cups for parties or large gatherings for which you would normally use plastic. Once again, it takes a little more work - you'll have to wash them afterward, but you'll have those plates for years, and you'll be settting an example for your friends (an especially good example if it's for a children's party).
- Plastic wrap is one of those very handy items that it is difficult to get rid of. In some cases, you may be able to use a clean dishcloth (if, for example, you are bringing a plate of cookies or food to a friend's house for dinner); but in other cases you need something to keep food moist. Try using one of the multi-use glass containers mentioned above, or use aluminum foil or wax paper (sparingly) instead.
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