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Reducing Single Use Plastic

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I think that I became aware of how much plastic waste there was when I was working at Clipper Magazine. Part of my responsibilities was to periodically replace all of our outdated computers. The PCs we were purchasing were packaged in plastic bags, and then Styrofoam cushioning that fit snugly around each computer. This seemed very wasteful so a co-worker and tracked down recycling center for Styrofoam.

Dart Manufacturing, a Styrofoam manufacturer, maintains a recycling site close to us in Lancaster County and also around the country. So when we accumulated enough Styrofoam to make it worthwhile, we would put it in one of our cars and drive it out to Leola, PA and drop it off to be recycled.

Fast forward a few years, and we had to replace computers again, this time the packing material was made out of PVC, and had a "3" on it in the little "chasing arrows" symbol. I thought this was great and started recycling it with the plastic recycling that my company did. I was guilty of "wishcycling". The truth is, very little plastic actually gets recycled, and in our state NO PVC gets recycled at our normal recycling centers.

This piece from Last Week Tonight explains it well.

A few years of continuing to dump hundreds of pounds of PVC plastic into our recycling, I was told by a Coworker that it was most likely sent to a landfill anyway. It seemed to be an insurmountable task, so i basically gave up trying to recycle our plastic packing products at work. At home I was sure to get everything in the recycling bin that was appropriate.

My next step was to try an eliminate as much single use Plastic as possible. At first that meant buying most of the products online, but it seems like more and more companies are offering products to be used with reusable containers. SC Johnson, Fantastik, and Tom's of Maine have all stepped up to offer alternatives to single use plastic. I haven't had an opportunity to try them all.

Here's a quick guide to what I've tried.

Single use Plastic Replacements

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