Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:58 pm

Nice review, stoumi.
And not just because my name was mentioned. :P

lmggallagher wrote:Some studies doing that actually think the wood processing is quite a more environmentally damaging to our air and water systems and that the plastic bag industry has improved with better processes and better recycling then the paper bag industry.


Do paper bags ever do this?
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That is absolutely fascinating! I really have to admire that kind of industriousness and creativity. They look beautiful!
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby lmggallagher » Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:55 pm

Rick:

Thanks yet again. The picture you posted of the bird in bag just makes me want to cry. As does this one the plastic inside the birds:

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The movie you recommended and these pictures make it real for us and hopefully change comes next. Once we are into this WOE, as I have heard it time and again in posts here, we often begin to connect the dots. Then it becomes so terribly clear what is happening to the flora and fauna of our earth -- due to the way we eat and consume!

Also, I should point out that the Reuseit website I posted earlier sells & rates more environmentally sound products options . I think someone on this thread asked how to keep things well in the fridge absent plastic bags - this site could help solve that problem. As they say it's a "shop learn, take action site". I have gotten a few things here that I am happy with. I had been using the Debbie Meyer green bags for food storage. but I now see there are a zillion more new alternatives.

Thanks to your posts today I am in a reevaluting mode of the things I have been doing - and I am finding new options that are improvements to the ways that I thought were sufficient. That's so cool :nod:

Stuff for those of enough not clever enough to make our own, :lol: :lol:

http://www.reuseit.com/store/kitchen-food-savers-storage-c-243_229.html

Safe Food Storage Containers & Food Savers a quote from their site:

Our food storage containers and foods savers will help you waste less food and money, and enjoy your fruits, vegetables and other time-sensitive foods longer. Some, like the reuseit Produce Saversafely & naturally slow the produce aging process by absorbing ethylene gas and other ripening agents. Others simply store your food in a smarter way, protecting it from air, light, and other environmental factors that can cause spoilage. Plus we offer a growing line of high-quality, safe, reusable plastic and glass food containers. (Keep in mind plastic food containers used to package food are not specifically designed for reuse and my leach harmful chemicals over time.)


I just saw a bag for storing potatoes - boy- do I have problems getting through the big bags of potatoes on time.

So, I am going back in...right now..to see what I can find next :nod:
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby soliver » Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:05 pm

I prefer reusable bags anyway as they carry a lot more groceries. I just have to remember to bring them into the store!
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:20 pm

lmggallagher wrote:Once we are into this WOE, as I have heard it time and again in posts here, we often begin to connect the dots. Then it becomes so terribly clear what is happening to the flora and fauna of our earth -- due to the way we eat and consume!

Yep, that's how it's turning out for me. I've always been bothered by the mindless destruction of nature for the sake of profit, but that movie has been a trigger that has really raised my awareness about how "convenience" has fostered such a pervasive throwaway mentality in our society. Time to do something about it. It may only be a small something, but it's something.

I think someone on this thread asked how to keep things well in the fridge absent plastic bags - this site could help solve that problem.

That would be nice. I took some green leaf lettuce and tried wrapping it in some paper towels in the crisper drawer. The outside leaves wilted overnight, so that's not so good.

I'll be exploring that site.

I just saw a bag for storing potatoes - boy- do I have problems getting through the big bags of potatoes on time.

Another thing that comes in plastic. :( At least, the ones I get. I read a suggestion on the net somewhere to use a paper grocery bag, cut the upper part of it off so the bottom part fits in a drawer, and store the potatoes in that. I started doing that a couple weeks ago and it seems to help. And here I'd just been leaving them in the plastic bag they come in... which, apparently, makes them sprout sooner.
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby Kiki » Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:25 pm

That would be nice. I took some green leaf lettuce and tried wrapping it in some paper towels in the crisper drawer. The outside leaves wilted overnight, so that's not so good.


Did you wet the paper towel first? I use this technique frequently to not only keep crisp, but recrisp wilted lettuce.
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:44 pm

No, Kiki, I didn't. I thought the idea was to keep moisture away from it.

I don't cut and clean my lettuce right away. I clean it as I peel the leaves off for use. So the whole head gets stored intact.

I've been wanting to get a salad spinner, but keep putting it off. They can also serve as a storage container. No, wait... those things are made of.... PLASTIC! Arrgghhhh... :lol:
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby Kiki » Sat Jul 07, 2012 5:00 pm

No, the lettuce needs moisture. You don't need to wash the lettuce although you can. But, try dampening the paper towels first, then wrapping the lettuce in it. The whole head is fine, better actually (and the way I do it too). If possible stick the towels and lettuce in a cloth or plastic bag instead of directly in the crisper. It easily keeps for a week or two, providing you don't let it get bruised or crushed.

Regarding salad spinners, some people love them, but I think they are way overrated. Nothing wrong with moist salad, and food keeps better in its whole state. If you think you want one, get one, but don't feel you're missing out in the mean time.
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 07, 2012 5:48 pm

Kiki wrote:Regarding salad spinners, some people love them, but I think they are way overrated.

Alton Brown, of the TV show Good Eats, once threw some washed greens in a pillow case, tied off the end, and ran them through the spin cycle of a washing machine. Now that's a heavy duty salad spinner. :-P
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby yarnpetter » Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:26 pm

rickfm wrote:
Kiki wrote:Regarding salad spinners, some people love them, but I think they are way overrated.

Alton Brown, of the TV show Good Eats, once threw some washed greens in a pillow case, tied off the end, and ran them through the spin cycle of a washing machine. Now that's a heavy duty salad spinner. :-P


When I was a kid my mom used to wash salad greens and put them in a dishtowel, hold the ends closed and spin thru the air (think around the world with a frisbee). She'd let my sister and I do it- it was fun and got all the water out of the lettuce for dinner.
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby lmggallagher » Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:37 pm

Watched "Bag it" tonight and it was excellent and quite an eye opener on many levels! I didn't know that the only likely plastic markings to be recycled are the 1s and 2s, for instance.

I have been searching for glass fridge to microwave containers too and looking for recycle websites like crazy. Oh, and found another movie for tomorrow night, I think it's called "Plastic World". It's not as highly rated as "Bag It" but still might have some morsels of information that are also usable.

This is the best website I have found so far - a blog and then some by the author of a new book "My Plastic Free Life". Her TED talk is on here too and worth watching. Lots of sources for products too. Plus a plug for "Bag It" :-D

Here is a really interesting factoid from her TED Talk - did you know the plastic bags from grocery stores are coated with animal fat to make them slippery :!: :!: :!: :!: EGAD!

http://myplasticfreelife.com/

Rick look what you have gone and started..... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

It's a good thing - Michelle
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby rickfm » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:33 am

lmggallagher wrote:http://myplasticfreelife.com/

Rick look what you have gone and started..... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

It's a good thing - Michelle

Another excellent resource. Thank you. I may have started it, but it looks like you're the one running with it. :wink:

I went to the grocery store last night and grabbed a few things. Didn't get any produce, other than a 5 lb (plastic) bag of potatoes. I also picked up a bottle of dish washing liquid soap. Without even realizing it, the check-out clerk put the soap in a small plastic bag. I didn't even think about it until I got home. Grrr... :(

This is going to take some diligence.

Flossing my teeth last night and I realized the floss container was made out of... plastic. Nooooo..... it really is EVERYwhere!
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby stoumi » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:37 am

I have never been a big support of renew, reuse or recycle. I figured it took too much time and was a real hassle. When I was a kid we collected aluminum cans (in a plastic bag no less) and I saw that a recycling. Since that time until the time I got married and bought a house, the health of the planet was probably the last thing on my mind. No real reason, maybe I figured I couldn't make a difference, don't know. Whatever the reason I continued on my course.

It wasn't until we got trash service and they provided us with bins, only to be replaced with a 96 gallon can for recycling. Now after seeing Bag It, its hitting home. Finding a way to remove or decrease usage of "convenience" items has had me thinking about this more the past few days. I now want to remove those plastic bags from my house, replace the single use disposable and live better.

I do think there is a connection Rick. Although I didn't think changing the way I eat would lead to other positive changes, not only on me on me but the environment. This seems to be a win win situation and I am looking forward to improve my life and that of my family.

rickfm wrote:
lmggallagher wrote:Once we are into this WOE, as I have heard it time and again in posts here, we often begin to connect the dots. Then it becomes so terribly clear what is happening to the flora and fauna of our earth -- due to the way we eat and consume!

Yep, that's how it's turning out for me. I've always been bothered by the mindless destruction of nature for the sake of profit, but that movie has been a trigger that has really raised my awareness about how "convenience" has fostered such a pervasive throwaway mentality in our society. Time to do something about it. It may only be a small something, but it's something.
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby PotatoFiend » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:44 am

stoumi wrote:I have never been a big support of renew, reuse or recycle.
Speaking of the R's ... there are actually four of them ... Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. :nod:
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby Ladybug2 » Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:07 pm

Bag It is also on YouTube.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LUIdPjxYO_M

I am really enjoying this thread, thank you to all who have posted. I have been trying to live a less disposable life for a few years now.

I make/use shopping bags out of old t-shirts. They fold up small, are pretty sturdy and can be washed with as regular load of laundry. We are constantly getting new t-shirts (from charity events, gifts when family members travel, etc) so I like having another way to use them.
Here's a tutorial from YouTube http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3OtBEkKv0QI

I skip the plastic produce bags - I haven't bothered to make or buy reusable ones. It is a little less convenient, but really not that difficult to lift individual tomatoes, carrots, etc. onto the conveyor belt at the grocery store. My flours come in paper sacks, so nuts are the only difficult item for me. We usually buy them prepagckaged and try to reuse the plastic containers.

Storing lettuce in the fridge - I wrap mine in a damp tea towel. I went from plastic bags to paper towels, but after a few weeks tried the towel, because I truly am trying not to use so many disposables.

Storing leftovers without plastic - I mostly use glass containers and jars, but a saucer over a cereal bowl works great, as does a dinner plate over a larger bowl. They stack well, too.
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Re: Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?

Postby lmggallagher » Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:03 pm

rickfm wrote: I went to the grocery store last night and grabbed a few things. Didn't get any produce, other than a 5 lb (plastic) bag of potatoes. I also picked up a bottle of dish washing liquid soap. Without even realizing it, the check-out clerk put the soap in a small plastic bag. I didn't even think about it until I got home. Grrr... :(

This is going to take some diligence.!


Rick - No kidding it takes diligence....and vigilance (those baggers use slight of hand they are so fast) and apparently I messed up too, despite the best of intentions. I have the Chico bags, but I left home for the Farmers Market with out my little stash of small plastic bags. I am more typically a grocery store shopper, but I figure the FM is where I can best reduce packaging.

I got some great stuff. OMG, peaches to die for! But I also came home with 4 small plastic bags and 3 compostable ones. Two were unavoidable, mixed salad greens that the woman said were cheaper by a buck if I bought them in their pre-packed bags, ouch! :eek: :eek: :eek: And two that fooled me by looking compostable and weren't. :oops: :oops:

I also dropped into the health food store to see if I can buy shampoo and what not in bulk and use my own bottles over and over and yay I can. Funny you mention dental floss - looked at that too and it's in the same packaging you probably bought, but the floss is tea tree oil drenched ( that made me laugh out loud) !

We'll do better each time out. Just like this WOE, we are learning from our mistakes too, right? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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