Looking back...and forward

Well, it’s been a whole month without plastic bags. I actually can’t believe it has been that long. Other than a few minor things going bag-free didn’t really pose too many problems for me.

There were some places that I didn’t even realize I used bags, like for five cent candies at the 7-11. If nothing else it was an interesting way to make myself more aware of exactly what I consume. It was really just a matter of changing my habits.

It’s just like when I used to bite my nails as a kid – using plastic bags is just a bad habit of mine that I have to change. And just like any bad habit it can be difficult to change but all it takes is a little diligence and effort to replace the bad habit with a good one. Now for me I just had to pay attention and stop myself when I went to bite my nails but some people have to use more serious measures like that polish that tastes really bad. I think it is the same with plastic – some people may have a harder time adjusting because the plastic bag has become so deeply entrenched in our society’s psyche.

So what happens now? Do I go back to using plastic bags the way I was before? Do I continue to be a plastic bag Nazi? I think for me the way ahead lies somewhere in the middle (as answers always seem to, there is never black and white, only shades of grey).

Interestingly enough if I had to choose I would keep the bag for the kitchen garbage over the kitty litter. The number of times I had to peel slimy, gooey who-knows-what-it-used-to-be out of the garbage...yuck. The worst was the peelings from Kyle’s cucumbers. I told him he had to start eating the peel so I didn’t have to pick it out of the garbage. However, as gross as it is I will continue to pick and peel because I think that is the place that I throw out the greatest number of bags. I do wonder about the amount of water I use to clean out the bin though...

More about the kitty litter, I would encourage anyone who owns a cat to stop using bags. With the clumping litter it is relatively easy to dump the clumps into a little Tupperware bin (make sure you don’t confuse it with one you use for food! ) and dispose of it in the dumpster, or garbage can. Generally there isn’t any leftover “kitty bits” and if there it’s fairly easy to clean out.

As for the grocery store, I will continue to eschew plastic in favour of my reusable cloth bags. This one is maybe the hardest habit to change, although I have remembered my bags every time this month the test will come when I forget my bags and I have to force myself to go home and get them rather than just taking a plastic bag. The bulk foods are working pretty well using my old yogurt tubs – in fact it is keeping my cupboard tidier because the tubs are all neatly stacked, as opposed to the mess of bags that usually reside in my pantry.

Ok, now for the things I will continue to use bags for. Cheese. I just can’t find a way to keep cheese from turning hard without plastic. But there is a compromise. I save the bags that foods come packaged in that I cannot change, like bread and perogies for example and will use and reuse those for my cheese.

Freezer bags are the other issue – I haven’t come up with anything satisfactory for some things in the freezer, but again I have freezer bags in my house that are years old because I have used them so many times.

Finally, I will eventually make the change to dry sacs from plastic bags for camping but they are expensive so for the next while my toilet paper will continue to reside in its plastic bag, as it has done for years. And so will my trail mix.

I think that it is possible for anyone to go bag-free, or at least to begin to cut down on their plastic bag consumption. It is all about the little things that everyone can do to help make our planet a cleaner place.

I will continue to keep you updated on my green escapades so keep checking back, I am deciding on my next big project...perhaps vermicomposting...