Welcome to our weekly challenges. If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information.
Last week we attacked single-serving foods. As I went through the week, and paid attention to what is offered on grocery store shelves, I was really surprised at the volume of single-serve items available. There are individually wrapped packages of almost everything ... coffee, sugar, cereal, desert, candy, snacks ... even little packages of pre-washed, pre-sliced fruit. Whoa! As you've probably heard me say before (countless times), if a product is considered convenient and a "time saver" ... it's probably not Eco-friendly. Let's see how our Honor Society did:
Squirrel Queen joined in this week (always so nice to see you SQ). She brought up an excellent point ... single-serve foods usually cost more per unit of weight than a larger container/package so, not buying them will actually save us money. Great tip, SQ!
EcoGrrl took the challenge. Her "biggie" this year was buying yogurt in the large containers rather than the single-serve ones. Doing so has gotten her back to basics where she adds her own fruit, granola, etc. And, as she also points out, it's a lot cheaper (hm ... I'm starting to see a theme here). By the way, EcoGrrl played our Truth vs. Lie game (you can read it HERE ... and then for her reveal, read THIS).
Argentum Vulgaris stopped by. In this POST, he talks about a law in Rio de Janeiro which bans bulk food items (salt, sugar, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise ... even toothpicks) from restaurants. Consequently, all restaurants, even the 5 Star variety, serve these items in small packets on the table. Scandalous! AV also played our Truth vs. Lie game. Read his list HERE and the reveal HERE.
Our friend, Ann, buys in bulk and she makes her own yogurt reusing the same container each week. Brilliant, Ann! In this POST she offers us another way to save the world ... it's an important article and touches on a subject which is often overlooked.
Two Vegan Boys joined the challenge. They never buy single-serving anything. In addition, they make their own applesauce, buy mostly in bulk, and always bring their own containers and bags to the grocery store. Krys and the guys have started a new feature on their blog ... Frugal Friday. Click HERE for her first, wonderful tip.
On our challenge about disposable wipes and cloths, I totally missed Heather's post. It's a wonderful article so ... please help me make it up to Heather by rushing over to her site (by clicking HERE), reading her post and leaving a comment. Come on, everyone ... let's show her a little bloggy love. :) My apologies, Heather!
Our friend, Ange, stopped by. She buys everything in bulk but says that, in France, it's hard to get yogurt in large containers. About the only way she can find it is in a bulk pack of 16 single servings. Ugh! Ange is going to try to change that, though! Good luck, Ange ... can't wait to hear how it goes.
My Inspiration Avenue friend, Robin, joined our challenge. She's going to be more mindful when shopping. She says, however, that her little one seems to enjoy eating while they are out instead of when a meal is cooked so ... a few single servings creep into their routine.
Great job, everyone! I have Stumbled and Tweeted your articles.
If you are a member of Twitter, check out these great folks who spread the word about our challenge this week using the hashtag #ctww:
@catcanpaint
@DPixel
@whopaysthepiper
@revivalzoo
@veganhedgehog
@waylandcook
@smilinggreenmom
@myzerowaste
@GiveTreeGifts
@noteasy2begreen
Wow ... thanks, so much, Tweets for passing the word!
Okay ... ready for more?
Our challenge, today, comes from my friend, Connie Mishali, who has taken a break from blogging but still drops in, occasionally, to check things out. This week we're going back to plastic bags ... specifically plastic produce bags. We've learned to say "no" at the checkout stand ... now we're going to say "no" in the produce department. Here it is:
This week refuse to use plastic produce bags. Instead, opt for reusable bags such as cotton mesh bags available at many stores, small canvas totes which you may have around ... or no bag at all (not all produce needs to be bagged).
Or ...
If you never use plastic produce bags, please tell us what you use instead.
What do you think? Can you do it?
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10 comments:
I'm not nearly as eco-friendly as I'd like to be but I gave up using the plastic produce bags two years ago for everything except potatoes (because taking my own bag never occured to me!!!). At first the checkout people looked surprised at my loose onions and carrots but I've noticed more people doing it and now it never raises an eyebrow.
http://annkschin.blogspot.com/2008/11/recycle-reuse.html
I did this post in Nov 2008, and here in New Zealand , we have these green bags. A supermarket chain even got a famous designer to design a bag so that people feel proud about using the bag. I confess I use a combination of plastic bags and green bags. I need them to line my rubbish bin before I put my garbage in the wheelie bin.
Great challenge! I'm done and have listed 6 alternatives: http://littlegreenblog.com/blog/green-news/stop-using-plastic-bags-for-vegetables/
Good luck everyone!
We always bring our own bags to the store. I try to put all of my produce in one bag so the cashier can price it and place it back in the same bag to avoid any bruises. It boggles my mind that Whole Foods went plastic bag free at the checkout aisle, but still uses plastic bags for their produce and baked goods.
Today, before I read this week's challenge, I went to the grocery store & bought 2 bananas as well as other groceries. I didn't use plastic bags at all because I knew that I could carry what I'd gotten out to my car, where I had a cloth bag in which sat items from the library. So I already put this into practice today, but it's a good thing to think about.
When I worked in a produce store, a regular customer always used bags with a very tiny mesh into which she put her produce, & I thought that was cool. I'm trying to find those, but, in the meantime, I just put my produce in the basket or cloth bag I'm using & put them all into my cloth or canvas bag when I'm at the til.
For the plastic bags I already have, I use them for when I clean my cat's litter box or for lining my garbage cans. If there were green options for these two that I was aware of & cost effective for these two, I'd do them.
Finally, I got a chance to do my CTWW on Tomus.
AV
woo hoo! love this one! kills me how people go into the store with their neato little canvas bag then fill them up with produce in individual bags. the only time we even need a bag is for multiple small items like lettuce mix or mushrooms, and remember, you can use PAPER...
speaking of those bags, the checkers love to throw your frozen goods into plastic bags w/o asking - just say no! if they pack things right, the cold will stay cold and not get other things wet. (where has the fine art of bagging gone, anyhow...)
ooh! one more thing, those bags also get used for bulk items, and here's something to think about: bring the container you put those dry goods and spices in, and weigh it in the store so they can just subtract it once its full. no bags, and you are filling your own container directly!
This ain't going to be easy! Except that we are lucky enough to have a market somewhere everyday in France so we can take our caddies (wheelie bags) or reusable shopping bags and just have the produce placed directly in there. For France - the only way to avoid plastic produce bags for now is to avoid buying fruit and veges in the supermarkets. Suits me (most of the time at least ;-)
Plastic produce bags are something I've had trouble giving up entirely. When I remember, I bring Green Bags with me from home (still plastic, but at least sturdy enough to be reused many times) for the loose and inconveniently small produce that needs it, like mushrooms, cherries, green beans, etc. The trouble is remembering consistently. I'll stick some in my car today with my reusable bags.
Hi,
Great post, I like this post.
I 've added your blog to My Blog Roll at http://hurricanenewsupdates.blogspot.com/
So would you put my blog too, on you...
Hope you would add my blog.
Thanks a lot.
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