Allie's Plastic Confessions

(A guest post by Allie of Allie's Answers.)

While I'm certainly not in the Fake Plastic Fish tier of plastic reduction, I do a pretty decent job limiting the amount of plastic that comes into our home. But on our recent vacation in Washington State, I realized that it's a lot harder to keep the plastic under control away from home.

I hadn't flown in about 4 years, and the regulations for carry-on items have changed since the last time I'd been in the air. I knew bringing beverages through the security checkpoint wasn't allowed, so I figured I couldn't bring my Kleen Kanteen. I thought about packing it, but worried that a big metal object in my bag might call it out for inspection. I feel a little stupid for leaving it at home, especially since our bags got pulled for inspection anyway, and a friend in Seattle told me she brings her empty Sigg with her through security all the time.

We had a 4 hour layover in Chicago, so for the first time in at least 2 years, I did the unthinkable -- I bought bottled water. I am ashamed to admit it, but I felt desperate. I was without a container, didn't have any plastic-free water options, and felt really dried out. Also, when our campground had an e. coli scare and there wasn't any potable water, we bought 3 gallon jugs of water. I feel a little less guilty about this because it was a necessity.

At home, we almost never eat out. When we do, we tend to frequent the same couple of restaurants. They don't serve food on disposables, and we're aware of that. When we ate at a sit-down restaurant at Pike Place Market on our first night in Seattle, I was appalled when our drinks came in the kind of translucent plastic cups reminiscent of keggers in college. In the two weeks we were gone, I will also cop to two coffee lids, a plastic cup lid & straw, and a couple of cups for beverages on our flights.

Even though I usually don't use the little plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner in hotels, I indulged when our hotel in Seattle had Aveda products in the room. My shampoo exploded in my suitcase on the flight over, and I was pretty sure there wasn't enough left for me to make it through the entire trip, so it was probably necessary. Later, when we got bumped from our flight and spent the night in Cincinnati while our bags took a red-eye home, I used the amenities in the hotel the airline put us up in for the night (and they made me itchy, which was my punishment, right?)

So now that I've confessed my plastic travel sins, let me tell you what we did well, plastic-wise:

• The bottle from the water I purchased in the airport became my water bottle for the week. Even though I know reusing single use plastic isn't the best thing for my health, I figured it probably wouldn't kill me.


• I packed a reusable grocery bag and used it instead of taking plastic bags when we made purchases.


• We made coffee in our Jet Boil at the campground instead of going out for coffee every morning, avoiding a lot of plastic coffee lids.


• We used our titanium sporks instead of taking plastic utensils when we got takeout.


• I packed the plastic amenities bottles and brought them home. I'll reuse them the next time we travel.


• We collected our plastic waste and stowed it in the backseat of our rental car. When we stopped at a friend's house at the end of our trip, we dropped the plastic in their recycle bin.

Next time we travel, I'll bring my Kleen Kanteen, pack my toiletries in a more cushioned area of my suitcase to avoid explosions (I was kind of careless about that), pack a reusable coffee mug, and pass on the airplane courtesy beverages. I'll also try to be more brave, and ask how food is served before we commit to a restaurant.

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Thanks, Allie! If any of you have plastic confessions or experiences to share and would like to guest post, please let me know. I'm happy to have you guys do the work for a change!
 

 

Check out my brand spankin' new bike

Okay, it's not such a great photo of my new bike. But it's a fabulous pic of Arya praying to Ceiling Cat to please let this be the last time she's forced to look cute in Beth's new bike basket.


Here's me on my new Giant Suede DX W 21-speed women's bike with upright handlebars and nice wide padded seat. That's what I'm talkin' about. A bike I will actually ride.

Yes, I'm all about buying used. When my computer monitor died, I replaced it with a used one. When my hair dryer died, I learned how to fix it. When we've needed cat supplies or a kitchen door, we checked out Craigslist and Freecycle and Urban Ore. And I can't even remember the last time I bought clothes that someone else hadn't previously worn. But buying a bike was different.

Michael, a former bike messenger and owner of 5 or 6 bikes, has from time to time found used bikes for me and fixed them up. And they would collect dust. Oh, I did try to ride them at first. But I always felt like I was going to fall off. I was leaning too far forward. Or there was a bar in my way. Or I couldn't get the seat adjusted right. Or riding for half an hour left my butt sore for three days. For whatever reason, these bikes felt like they were made for someone else's body.

What's the use of having an environmentally correct used bike that never gets ridden? I decided that if I ever found the perfect bike for me, I'd buy it, whether it was new or used.

Well, the first time I test-rode the Suede, which was recommended by Michael's sister (Thanks!), I knew I'd found it. I experienced not a second of fear or awkwardness on this bike. In fact, I felt like I was 10-years old again riding my bike at my grandparent's house during summer vacation. (Except that back then, no one wore a helmet or worried much about a locks.) I'm not a racer or a mountain biker. I just want to get around town and ride places for which I might otherwise rent a Zip Car or take a cab.

After picking up the bike on Sunday, Michael and I rode to downtown Berkeley to see a movie. We got there in 15 minutes! And honestly, I didn't want to stop riding. I could have ridden all day, just like I used to do as a kid, for the sheer joy of feeling the wind on my face. I'm thrilled about this bike, and a little sad that I feel the need to bend over backwards justifying my decision to buy it new. On Friday, Crunchy Chicken wondered if going "no 'poo" wasn't hairshirt environmentalism. Not to me. But this agonizing over the nuances of even the decisions that feel right, that's what I'd call hairshirt environmentalism, and I think I'm going to stop engaging in it right now and go ride my bike.

Oh, and P.S. That metal basket, which I bought separately, easily detaches and has a handle so I can take it to the farmer's market or into the grocery store with me. Very cool, huh?
 

 

Oakland Bag Ban + Send a note to Zip Car!

Here are my friend Nancy, a poor seagull, and I at the Oakland plastic bag ban press conference on the steps of City Hall this morning. (I've got to do something about my hair soon! I'm starting to look like one of the Partridge Family boys.) It was a beautiful, sunny day: a reprieve from all the rain we've been having.

You can watch ABC 7's disappointing (in my opinion) coverage of the press conference here: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/media?id=5919632. They really seem to focus on the plastics industry's arguments against the ban rather than on promoters' arguments for it. And reusable bags barely get mentioned at all. Oh well.

On the bright side, businesses such as Whole Foods and City Car Share had representatives who spoke in favor of the ban today. Whole Foods, as you've probably already heard, is set to eliminate plastic bags in all of its stores by Earth Day this year.

And City Car Share has begun including reusable bags in all of its cars as a service to members. What a great idea! Unfortunately, I belong to Zipcar, not City Car Share, so I sent them an email suggesting they also provide bags. Here are my email and their prompt response:

Sent: Jan 26, 2008, at 02:31 AM
To: info@zipcar.com
From: Beth Terry
Subject: Reusable bags in ZipCars?

Dear Zipcar:

I just read that City Car Share is now including reusable shopping bags in each of its cars to encourage members to bring their own bags while shopping rathering than using disposable paper or plastic bags. Here is a link to the article:

http://www.citycarshare.org/newsletters/2007-10/

As a Zipcar member, I would truly appreciate if Zipcar could follow suit and provide a couple of reusable cloth bags in each of its cars.

Reusable bags are not expensive and imprinted with the Zipcar logo, would be a great advertising tool for the company. And providing the bags would be a real service to your members, helping to alleviate the problem of folks forgetting to bring their bags to the store with them.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this suggestion.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Terry
http://www.fakeplasticfish.com

---

From: "Zipcar Member Services" info@zipcar.com
Subject: Re: Reusable bags in ZipCars?
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:43:37 GMT

Dear Elizabeth,

Thanks for writing. That is a great idea Elizabeth. Although we cannot act on every suggestion immediately, perhaps you will see this same feature in our vehicles soon.

As you said, it would be convenient for those members that are doing errands and shopping and it also helps the environment as well. Please let us know if you have any other ideas Elizabeth.

Regards,
Sluaghan
Zipcar Member Services

members visit www.zipcar.com/help
or nonmembers www.zipcar.com/how

PS. Members are also able to submit web inquiries from the "Help" page
via the "Contact Us" screen http://www.zipcar.com/help/contact

---

If you're a Zipcar member, please use the above links to send a quick email requesting they stock reusable bags in their cars for members to use while grocery shopping. And if you're a City Car Share member, why not send City Car Share a letter thanking them for providing the service?
 

 

Some things about Hawai‘i that have little to do with plastic

I jotted these words in my notebook on the plane yesterday flying home from O‘ahu as Diamond Head receded in the distance, clouds and water took over the view, and a lump started to form in my throat.

My mom and dad lived in Waikiki in the early 60's, my dad working for the phone company after completing his stint in the navy and my mom having taken a teaching job on the island. Both were recovering from failed first marriages. They met, married, and conceived me. Nine months later, I was born in Maryland, the place to which they moved to raise a family in closer proximity to their parents.

Somehow, although I never actually saw the islands with my own eyes until I was nearly 30 years old, Hawai‘i is inside of me. Maybe it was the Hawai‘ian music my parents played in our house while we were growing up or the photos of my mom performing a hula in her beautiful mu‘umu‘u or their friends from the island who would visit us on the mainland every few years and tell tales of our parents' courtship on O‘ahu, my dad making whatever excuses he could to be close to my mom.

Flying home tonight, I find myself in tears as I listen to the canned Hawai‘ian falsetto music on Aloha Airlines, the airline I continue to choose not because of its environmental policies (I actually have no idea what those might be) but because of the friendliness of their name and the chocolate chip cookies they bake an hour before landing. Hawai‘ian lyrics express a deep yearning and love for home. Hawai‘ian singing often sounds to me like crying. Right now, the sound expresses how I feel.

I am conflicted about my parent's choice to return to this overpopulated, exploited, formerly-wild place, dominated as it is now with fast food restaurants, chain stores, and luxury hotels, bringing with them their love of Costco and Styrofoam dishes. (Styrofoam, by the way, is everywhere on this island, a fact which never ceases to take me by surprise, living as I do in the fairly Styro-free Bay Area.)

That said, I just want to express the deep love and appreciation I have for my parents and for this place, without which I probably wouldn't exist. Mom and Dad had no idea what ripples they were sending out into the world when they joined together here. I'm just grateful that they did and that they are able to live the dream they had when they left over 40 years ago to return some day.

And as the lights of the San Francisco Bay Area come into view, I find myself missing Michael and our kittens and whatever it is we may be unknowingly creating in the world in this new place that we've chosen for our home.

Home.

What is home? Perhaps the yearning to return to my source is what pulled me as far as the West Coast from Maryland nearly 20 years ago. Maybe I'm just being silly and sentimental tonight. Still, maybe home isn't a static place, but something that we are continuously creating as we live and make choices. And if we yearn for a home that is nurturing and caring, then we have to be the nurturing and caring that we seek. (Is that what this business of living without plastic is all about, after all?)

Okay, someone stop me now before I launch into Izzy Kamakawiwo‘ole's version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. I think I just realized why he recorded that sappy song.

 

Plastic in Paradise

Paradise...


Plastic...


Paradise...


Plastic...


Paradise...


Plastic...




Paradise...


Plastic...




Paradise...


Plastic...


Yep, even I ended up using plastic in paradise. I tried so hard all day to avoid it. My folks are fast food people, and on a road trip, McDonald's is the "restaurant" of choice. I filled up my Klean Kanteen with water all day. I avoided plastic straws and cups and wrappers at every stop. Finally towards the end of a day of beautiful views and picking up garbage, I caved in and ordered a sundae at McDonald's. I thought I was safe. After all, I had my reusable travel utensils, so I wouldn't need a plastic spoon.

Duh! McDonald's sundaes come in a plastic cup with a plastic lid. And it's not like this is a new phenomenom. They've been sold this way from the very beginning, late 70's? Early 80's? Certainly since I had my very first job at McDonald's in 1982. This is called a brain freeze, and it sometimes occurs after a long day of dealing with contradictions. My dad took the photo. I think he might have actually been a little sympathetic.

More on the trip and the weekly tally in a few days. I meant to bring my week's plastic with me but forgot it at the last minute. Gotta go now. The beach is calling.
 

 

Learning to share (and borrow)

This weekend, I had a conversation with my dad about what to do with certain possessions if he rented out their condo in Hawaii. "I'd have to store a lot of books," he said. And it got me realizing that one of the best ways to reduce our consumption, plastic and otherwise, is through borrowing and sharing items that we don't need access to on a regular basis.

I understand his attachment to books. They are part of his identity. And for English major me, some books do have sentimental value. But the majority of the books that I read do not. For a while, I was buying used books and then Freecycling them. But then Michael got his library science degree, and suddenly the idea of borrowing rather than owning became an option I hadn't considered since elementary school. So now, when I want to read something, I try to borrow it from the library or from a friend before thinking about whether I want to purchase it.

But libraries are not just for books these days, or even just videos and CDs. Many cities have tool lending libraries, either as part of the public library system like here in Oakland, or as part of the Public Works Department. Wikipedia has a list of tool lending libraries in the world. I'm not sure how comprehensive it is. Maybe your town has one that's not listed. The beauty of Wikipedia is that anyone can update it.

I've seen posts online that claim that the average power drill gets used anywhere between 3 to 20 minutes during its entire lifetime. Why does every family need to have their own power drill (or table saw or belt sander) when many people could share the same piece of equipment easily and with much less cost to the environment?

If you don't have a tool lending library, think about borrowing tools or appliances from friends. A few weeks ago, I ran out of ground cinnamon but found some cinnamon sticks in the back of the cupboard that had never been used. If only I had a spice grinder or even a coffee grinder. I placed an ad on Freecycle and looked for a used one at Goodwill. Then, it occurred to me that even if I found one, I'd probably only use it a couple of times. So I asked my friend, Nancy, and sure enough, she had one to lend. I got my ground cinnamon and one less plastic item to clutter my kitchen.

I think borrowing from friends sometimes is good for us. It can be humbling for those who like to feel that they are self-sufficient. And a little humility is not a bad thing in a world full of entitled individuals consuming far more than they need. Of course, being willing to share is also important, as is taking care of what you borrow and getting it back to its owner in a timely fashion!

But back to libraries. Another hunk of plastic you can avoid buying is a personal computer. Now, Michael and I do have our own computers which we use every day. But Michael's mom uses the computer at the local library, and another friend of mine only uses the computer at her job. For those people who aren't as cyber-addicted as me, borrowing computer time might be a great resource-, as well as money-, saving option.

And finally, the biggest hunk of plastic that Michael and I share rather than own is a car. For those of us who live in urban areas with excellent public transportation, owning a car can be an expensive pain in the butt. And renting cars is a hassle, what with waiting in line and filling out paperwork each time. Instead, we belong to Flexcar, one of the three car-sharing companies in the Bay Area (along with Zipcar and City Car Share.) We borrow the car once or twice per month for shopping or driving somewhere inaccessible by BART or bus. It's way less expensive than owning a car and we save a ton of plastic in the process. Check out this cNet article about the increasing use of plastics in cars.

What other things do you borrow or lend that I haven't thought of? Reducing the amount of stuff I collect is a big part of this project and any suggestions for ways to borrow rather than own are welcome!
 

 

My Disney Adventure, Part 3: Racing & Riding

Thanks to Michael (er... I mean, the polar bears) for filling in for me yesterday. I'm wide awake and ready to write the final installment of my Disney adventure story. But actually, I'm having a hard time coming up with the words. All I really need to do is talk about plastic and environmental issues at Disneyland and during the Disneyland Half Marathon. But every time I start, I'm stopped by a kind of cognitive dissonance. Part of me is repulsed by the whole corporate engine of Disney and the vulgar consumerism it promotes.

But another part, the little kid that loves dolls and stuffed toys and pretty lights and music, is fascinated by the park itself and all the make-believe worlds within it. I and my inner child had such a good time with our friend David, and his inner child, rushing from ride to ride and laughing and screaming our heads off, that it's hard to settle down and get serious about recycling bins and plastic containers and non-toxic paint. Can't we just go on one more ride, please?!

No? Okay. Well, maybe starting with the race will bring me back down to earth. Because that was no magic tea party. It was all sweat and stress. You know, the way grownups have fun without alcohol. Don't be fooled by the smile in the photo. It lasted just until I passed the cameraman. But I'm getting ahead of myself.


THE DISNEYLAND HEALTH & FITNESS EXPO

The day before the run was the Health & Fitness Expo. That's the first place that plastic necessities and temptations get you during any big race weekend. First, you pick up your race number and timing chip.

Race numbers are generally not made from paper, but from DuPont Tyvek, a material made from high-density polyethylene fibers (aka, #2 plastic) bonded together with heat and pressure. That's why they don't rip or soak up sweat. On its web site, DuPont says that Tyvek is recyclable, and in fact, it gives an address where folks can send used Tyvek envelopes back to DuPont to be recycled. The site doesn't mention whether DuPont will take back any other Tyvek product besides envelopes for recycling, so I've left a message with that department and will let you know what I find out. I would have checked earlier, but it didn't occur to me that the race number was plastic until just twenty minutes ago! (I guess I should include my race number in my plastic tally for this week!)

The timing chip is also made of plastic, but it's a loaner. You give it back at the end of the race. Pat asked what I used to attach the timing chip to my shoe, since they give you a little plastic tie thing that gets cut off and thrown away. Actually, I didn't have to use anything but my shoe laces because I bought my own timing chip at the Disney world Marathon in January and am able to use it at any races that use Champion Chips. But he had a good idea for folks who don't own their own. He has a Velcro tie that he reuses so that he doesn't have to waste a new plastic tie each time.

Once you have your number and chip, you head to the goodie table to pick up your shirt and swag bag. Of course, the bag is plastic. And the Disney shirt is a technical tee made from synthetic fibers. (Should I have included my shirt in the tally too?) Running wear is one of the biggest issues facing runners who want to avoid plastic. We've learned that running in natural cotton just doesn't work. Cotton soaks up moisture and leads to chafing, blisters, and overheating. Technical fibers wick moisture and make exercise much more pleasant. So what's an environmentally conscious runner to do?

Honestly, I haven't done a whole lot of research on running wear because up to this point, I haven't needed any new clothes. I've got enough water-wicking tank tops, shorts, and socks to last a good long time. But receiving this tee shirt has started me thinking again. Where would I turn if I needed new clothes?

It seems that Patagonia leads the pack in creating athletic wear from recycled materials. Much of their synthetic clothing is made from recycled plastics (eg. soda bottles) or recycled clothing through their Common Threads Garment Recycling Program. This is great if you're a mountain climber or hiker. But Patagonia doesn't produce much clothing for runners. In fact, a month ago I wrote to Patagonia about their recycled clothing and received the following response from Peter in Patagonia Customer Service:

Thanks for your email. Many of us do use capilene 1 for our running needs here in the sierras. Our goal is to have recycled content in all of our garments in the next 3 years but some products are easier than other. The Long Haul runners are currently 100% recycled polyester but that seems to be the exception at the moment. As we find the opportunity to introduce more recycled content we will. We want the recycled content but also do not want to hurt the performance either by making compromises.

But you'll notice, the URL I've linked to for the Long Haul shorts is not on the Patagonia web site. Those shorts are no longer listed on their site. So it's possible they've been discontinued altogether. Do any of you have advice or information about athletic wear that is made from either recycled polyester/plastic or some sort of miracle water-wicking natural fiber? Please let me know! Once I've gathered enough information, I'll devote an entire post to sustainable athletic wear.

But now, it's time to address that plastic swag bag: I just said no. To the bag and to everything inside it. I had my number, my chip, and my shirt. What could I have possibly needed that was inside that bag? Just because stuff is free doesn't mean we need to take it. Of course, once you leave that last table, you are beset on all sides with temptations in the form of vendors hawking their wares and giving away free stuff, often plastic. My advice is just to get the heck out. It's easy to get caught up in all the excitement, but do we really need anything new?

Little Beth's Interlude of Impatience: Oh my god! The Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror is the scariest and best ride I have ever been on!

And we're back.

RACE DAY

Synthetic tank top, shorts, socks, & shoes; nylon waist pack; plastic band aids; DuPont Tyvek race number; plastic containers of Body Glide and sunscreen; plastic bag in hand carrying EVA flip flops; plastic Timex Ironman watch; plastic iPod in a Neoprene sleeve with plastic headphones. I was a running billboard for the plastics industry, no different from most of the other runners. Except that instead of a plastic water bottle in my waist pack, I carried my stainless steel Klean Kanteen. And except for the race number, all the plastic on me was something I had acquired before starting this plastic project. As things wear out or get used up, I'll have to find alternatives.

Pat asked me another question about the race itself: the cups at the water stations. They were paper. In fact, I've never seen plastic cups at any water station during a race. Can you imagine them rolling around in the streets? And no, it's not good to waste so much paper. But it is good to stay hydrated in 90 degree weather. I filled up my Klean Kanteen as often as possible. But the water itself was poured from large plastic bottles, so what're you gonna do?

I ate a banana before the race began and nothing else until the end. The only food on the route were energy bars wrapped in plastic. If I'd been thinking ahead, I might have stashed some granola in my waiste pack to munch on. But I wasn't. So I wolfed down bananas and oranges and bagels at the finish line and then wandered back to the hotel in a daze.

Not much else to say about plastic during the race, except to reiterate that runners wear and use a lot of plastic, and we really need to find alternatives.

Little Beth's Interlude of Impatience: Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion are just as much fun as I remembered!

Back again.

DISNEYLAND THEME PARKS

I'll get the environmental stuff out of the way so little Beth can gush a bit more about how much fun she had.

Disney has an entire section of their web site called Enviroport, which is the annual environmental report for the Walt Disney Company. The report lists progress in recycling, composting, education, energy conservation, and all kinds of other efforts that the company is making. I'll let you read that on your own if you want. I'm just going to focus on what I actually saw during my visit.

First of all, there are recycle bins throughout the park. According to Disney's web site as well as what I've heard from people who've taken the Disney tour, Disney not only provides separate recycling bins for guests but also has staff that go through the regular garbage and sort out recyclables. My one question about their system is why they seem to have more bins for garbage than for recycling. If there were a recycle bin next to each garbage bin, guests might be more likely to put items in the correct one, creating less work for the sorters.

But although Disney seems to encourage recycling, they also provide quite a bit of plastic waste. In every park restaurant, children's meals are served in what seem to be black plastic microwave trays shaped like Mickey Mouse heads. And there is no place to recycle these. When I was finished eating my meal (which had been served on reusable plates) I asked about a container for my leftovers and was presented with a choice of plastic or Styrofoam. David and I ended up stuffing ourselves with cheesecake instead of waste it or pack it in plastic. Any reasonable person would have done the same under the circumstances. We had too, right?

I didn't bring my Klean Kanteen with me to the park because I was just so hot and couldn't bear the thought of wearing that waist pack for another minute. So I got an iced tea in a paper cup when I first got there and carried that paper cup around with me all day, from 1pm to midnight, refilling it at each water fountain I passed. (Remember the days before plastic bottles when we all drank from public fountains?) I nearly lost it when an employee in Soarin' Over California told me I couldn't take water into the theater with me. So I drank the whole thing down in front of him and walked through with my empty cup.

I thought I'd made it through the whole day without buying anything more than food and throwing away only one paper napkin and my well-used cup. But at the final moments of the park closing, the mad desire to have a souvenir overcame us as it did all the other guests thronging into the Main Street shops to buy buy buy just one last thing! I ended up with a nice big coffee mug that I will use over and over. No, I didn't really need it. But I carried it out of the park sans packaging or bag and was happy that the damage wasn't any worse. Consumerism can be contagious.

So little Beth, was there something else you wanted to say?

Disneyland rides are the best anywhere! I love being dropped down and shot up and flown and whipped and careened. I don't like the lines. Well, sometimes it's fun to watch the people and imagine what they're like in real life. I love getting in to a little car and riding into the dark. Disney rides are like bedtime stories, even the ones with a big splash at the end. And I love escaping from the heat into their cool innards. I love running from ride to ride, hoping to experience them all at least once that day, while knowing that it's impossible. I love staying all day and watching the changes that come over the park as night comes and a million stars twinkle. And then parades and fireworks. And I love going home utterly wrung out and exhausted and hearing in the back of my mind my grandmother's voice saying, "You kids are really gonna sleep good tonight!"

You have to forgive her. Little Beth doesn't know anything about global warming or energy conservation or capitalism. She just knows she had a rockin' good time and is a little sad that Big Beth won't take her there every day.
 

 

Going to bed now...

I know I promised stories of fun and adventure in Disneyland. But I had to work late tonight, and I have to go in early tomorrow. So the fun will have to wait a day. Until then, ponder page 43 from the August 2007 issue of the Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, "Spirit":


Click the image to see it larger and read the text. I'm not sure what to make of this. As I said, I saw a lot of plastic on my Southwest flight, and I saw it being collected in plastic bags. I've sent a letter to the company via snail mail inquiring into their environmental practices. Does this one page in their magazine reflect the company's thinking on environmental issues or simply those of one magazine contributor? We'll find out...
 

 

My Disney Adventure, Part 2: Eating & Sleeping

As I mentioned in Part 1 of My Disney Adventure, I rushed to reserve transportation and accommodations at the last minute without planning ahead. This is not recommended.

LODGING:

If I had done some research, I might have found a more eco-friendly place to stay. Instead, I went for availability and price, booking a room at the Alamo Inn & Suites on Katella Ave simply because it had the best rates through Hotels.com.

On the plus side, the hotel is located just across the street from Disneyland, so no driving is required to get to the park. As far as I can tell, that is the only environmental plus. And since there are so many other hotels also within walking distance, there's sure to be another with a better eco-philosophy.

Now, here are a few negatives:

• Coffee service in the lobby with Styrofoam cups and plastic stirrers.


• Plastic drinking cups in the room.


• Plastic-lined waste cans in the rooms and no means of recycling.


• Plastic packets of shampoo and lotion in the room. And even though we never opened and used the packets, each day the staff brought us more!


• Old air conditioning units in the walls that had to be run continuously in order to keep the room from becoming an oven.

We tried to gather recyclables (newspapers, tourist info, glass bottles) in a paper bag and find a place to recycle them, but while we were out, the cleaning staff threw out our bag with the rest of the garbage, even though we hadn't put it in the waste can. When I asked the hotel desk clerk if there was a way to recycle or if items from guest waste cans are separated out for recycling, she helpfully answered, "No. We just dump it all out."

After that incident, I resolved to save any recyclables in my backpack and bring them back to Oakland. As it turns out, I could have taken them into Disneyland with me. Disneyland is one of the few businesses in Anaheim with a robust recycling program. In fact, there are bins for paper and bottles throughout the park. I'll talk more about Disneyland's environmental pluses and minuses in my next post.

So how could I have found a more pro-environment hotel beforehand? Fortunately, there's a great site, Environmentally Friendly Hotels.Com, which is an ongoing database of hotels throughout the world rated using a checklist of 33 environmental criteria. Users can browse the site to look for hotel ratings, and they can also post reviews and add listings to the database.

Looking at the Anaheim page, it turns out that the hotels in Disneyland itself are the most eco-friendly. Unfortunately, they are also out of my price range. But I could have used the checklist itself as a guide for what to ask before making a reservation. There are many more hotels in Anaheim than are listed on this site. The site also offers a form that you can print out and take with you to evaluate a property during your stay.

DINING:

Eating healthfully and plastic-free was another challenge. Anaheim, Orange County for that matter, consists of street after street of fast food and chain restaurants. I don't think I've ever seen so many McDonald's restaurants in one place. There is a Farmer's Market in Anaheim, but it only operates on Thursday mornings. We arrived on Friday.

So our first night, Michael and I found a Vons Supermarket (part of the Safeway chain) and purchased produce and bread, which we stored in the small refrigerator in our room. Being a little disoriented from traveling, I left my backpack, which always contains a supply of reused plastic bags, in the hotel, so we were going to need a paper bag. Little did we know, Vons in Anaheim does not have paper grocery bags anymore! Plastic is the only option offered at the checkout counter. Michael was preparing to carry everything out in his shirt, when we spied some thin paper bags near the bakery case, which were meant for bread and bagels. They did the job for us. Next time I'll remember to bring my own bags, I swear!

One ecologically-friendly option is Native Foods, a vegan restaurant, but you have to drive thirteen miles to Costa Mesa to eat there. It was on our way to the beach on Saturday, so we stopped in. Native Foods is located in a shopping complex called The Camp, which is a mix of outdoor stores, natural product retailers, and unique restaurants set among native plant gardens and outdoor gathering places. It's a tiny bit of "green" in Orange County. A very tiny bit.

Up the street from our hotel was a little Mexican restaurant called Tacos Mi Pueblo, where I had some of the best vegetarian burritos of my life. I'm sure the secret ingredient must have been lard. But I felt better eating there than at the chains because the food was authentic and the restaurant small and locally-owned. I did end up with a couple of straws when I wasn't paying attention.

I've found that my main challenge for remaining plastic-free while eating in restaurants is remembering to specify, "no straw." In take-out places where everything is served in disposable containers, it's not hard to remember to specify, "no lid, no straw," and if I'm getting a cold coffee drink, "paper cup." But in a sit-down restaurant where everything on the table is made from durable materials, those ubiquitous straws leap out of nowhere and catch me with my guard down. If the straw is still wrapped in paper, I can send it back. But if the server has kindly unwrapped it for me, I'm screwed.

While I'm pretty happy drinking without a straw, I realize it's sometimes easier to use one. Especially for cold drinks with ice. For those who really want to use a straw, there are plastic-free options:

• Stainless steel drinking straws. If you can carry your own reusable water bottle and cutlery, why not carry your own reusable straws?


• Biodegradable Straws. These are made from cornstarch. If it were me, I'd opt for a reusable product over a disposable one, but biodegradable is better than plastic.


• Paper Straws, the old-fashioned kind. If you want a bit of nostalgia, you can still find paper straws in antique shops for a pretty price.


• Paper drinking straws, the new kind. Aardvark, the company that invented paper drinking straws, is still making them. Now, however, the straws are coated with something that makes them waterproof. I don't know what the coating is, so I'm not recommending them until I find out. I did send an e-mail to the company and will let you know when I hear back.

I guess the main idea I want to stress when it comes to reducing plastic waste while staying in hotels or dining out is to plan ahead. Whether traveling or at home, I find I run into the biggest challenges when I haven't planned what I'll eat and where and haven't left the house prepared. Being tired and hungry makes me much less mindful about what I'm consuming. Procrastination seems to be plastic's best friend.
 

 

My Disney Adventure, Part 1: Getting There

That's me with the sun in my eyes after running/walking (and by that I mean dragging my sorry, untrained butt) 13.1 miles in the blistering Socal sun. The temperature was already 80 degrees at 6am, the start of the Disneyland Half Marathon. And our group didn't actually start running until 6:30. By mid-day, the temperature soared to 108. I don't know what it was when I crossed the finish line at 9:30am, but it was definitely somewhere between hot and fully baked.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This isn't the blog about running. It's the one about plastic. And I have some things to say about avoiding plastic waste while traveling.

My one piece of advice is: Plan ahead! I give this advice after finding out what happens when you don't do it. It never occurred to me to research the environmental policies of airlines or car rental companies or hotels or other cities. My friend David and I signed up for the race in January and didn't start to think about transportation and lodging until a month before. By that time, we were scrambling just to find flights and rooms that were open and affordable, and honestly, I didn't give a thought to ecological concerns until the day I left.

AIRLINES:

I booked a flight on Southwest, just because they are cheap and I've always flown Southwest in the past. And while I realize that flying is one of the least "green" modes of transportation, I think that some airlines make more of an attempt to mitigate their environmental impact than others. While on the plane, I noticed that drinks and peanuts were served in plastic cups and plastic packets and the waste collected in big white plastic bags. I had my Klean Kanteen with me, which I filled with water from the airport drinking fountain once I passed security, so I refused the offerings from the flight attendants. If this had been a longer flight, I would have packed a lunch at home to bring with me. Airport and airline food is invariably contained in plastic.

When I got back home, I did some research online to find out whether Southwest was the best choice environmentally. I couldn't find any way to email them on their web site, so I sent a letter via snail mail last night. I'll report back on any response I receive.

I also did a little research on a few other airlines. First, I wrote to the brand new Virgin America, just because they look like a really fun airline, what with having 25 pay-per-view channels at each seat, outlets for your computer and MP3 player, and food that you can order from the touch screen in front of you. I read that Richard Branson had committed to only purchasing two-engine planes from now on and converting to bio-fuels. But really, is an airline that gives its highest priority to mood lighting and leather seats going to be the environmental choice? Um... probably not. Still, I'll let you know how they respond to my inquiry.

I heard that Jet Blue has a big recycling program, so I wrote to them too. And I got a really prompt response! Here is what they have to say about their environmental policies:

Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 06:52:57 -0600 (MDT)
From: DearJetBlue@jetblue.com
To: beth@fakeplasticfish.com
Subject: JetBlue Environmental Consciousness

Dear Ms. Terry,

Thank you for contacting us regarding our environmental . (sic) We appreciate this opportunity to address your inquiry.

At this time JetBlue does not have a an option to offset carbon emissions. However our ex-CEO David Neeleman is actively perusing alternate methods for fuels that have a lesser impact on our environment.

You can be assured that we recycle everything we can including paper products, soda cans, water bottles, plastic cups, and our disposable headsets. All trash items are collected together to insure our on-time performance then are transported to a facility where they can be sorted. These items are then picked up by a contracted recycling company.

Additionally, JetBlue also recycles in our offices. We do as much of our business electronically as possible so we can be a "paperless airline". We even encourage our customer service crewmembers to use erasable white boards instead of paper for taking notes.

We don't serve food onboard JetBlue, only light snacks which come in their original packaging such as soda cans and plastic bags for potato chips.

Ms. Terry, we thank you for your interest in JetBlue and look forward to welcoming you onboard a JetBlue flight soon.

Sincerely,

Nick
Customer Commitment Crew
JetBlue Airways
Crewmember 30151

-------------------------------------------------

Hmm... maybe Jet Blue is the way to go next time.

I should also mention Continental. Continental is not really an option for me because their prices are simply out of my league. But of all the airline web sites I browsed, Continental's was the only one that devoted an entire section to its environmental commitment, including a printable brochure. Read about them and see what you think.

Does anyone out there have other information on lesser-impact airlines? As I said, I know that flying is not the greenest way to travel. But some airlines are undoubtedly better than others.

AIRPORTS:

All airports are not created equal either. Oakland International, the airport I flew out of, has an extensive waste-reduction program. There are recycle bins throughout Oakland International, and it composts food waste from its eating establishments and reuses and recycles construction debris from its building projects. In fact, it also devotes an entire web page to its environmental concerns. I'm proud that this is my nearest airport.

On the other hand, at Orange County's John Wayne Airport, where I arrived, there is not a single recycle bin in sight. This fact did not portend well for the rest of my stay in Orange County.

As for food, since most airlines serve food in plastic trays and most airport concession food is also packaged in plastic, it's a good idea just to bring your own.

TSA:

As you should know by now, the TSA has placed restrictions on the amount of liquids that can be carried onto a plane. All liquids or gels must be carried in containers of size 3 oz or less and these containers must fit into a small plastic Ziploc bag. Fortunately, I still had my Ziploc bag of liquids from the last time I flew in January, so I didn't need to use a new bag. And I found that small, brown prescription bottles are the perfect size for carrying any liquids or gels I might want to bring.

As for drinking water, as I mentioned above, while you can't bring a bottle of water through security, you can bring an empty bottle. I filled my Klean Kanteen from the airport water fountain and didn't need anything else to drink on the plane. But on a longer flight, you might need to ask the flight attendant to refill your bottle. I've done this before on Southwest without any hassle.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION:

I rented a car from Enterprise Car Rental at the Orange County Airport. Why Enterprise? Well, since I don't own a car, I belong to Flexcar, a car-sharing company. Flexcar doesn't have vehicles in Orange County or I would have reserved one of those. But Flexcar members do get a discount at Enterprise, and that's the only reason I chose them.

I reserved an economy car, but when I got to the Enterprise rental counter, I asked about hybrids. The rep told me that they have one Prius in their fleet and that it would cost me $75 per day, not including all the insurance I already have to buy as a non-car-owner. "The Prius is basically a novelty car at this point," he explained. Sheesh. When I use a Flexcar, I often get a Prius, and there's no extra charge for it. Not being rich, I stuck to the small economy car I originally reserved.

Next time I travel, I will research which car companies rent hybrids and find a better option.

OFFSETS:

After returning home, to make up for some of the environmental pollution generated by my travels, I purchased some CO2 offsets from an organization called Sustainable Travel International. This site lets you enter your flight information, driving miles, hotel stay, and other info, and calculates how much CO2 you need to offset. I found this organization through a Green Guides article on carbon neutrality, which explains the different types of offsets and compares companies.

FEET:

Other than a roundtrip air flight and a day of driving to the beach, most of our transportation was via our own two feet (and a pedal buggy we rode along the boardwalk.) Michael and I tend to walk everywhere already, and the hotel that I found was just a few blocks from Disneyland and anything else we needed. If I'd researched a bit more ahead of time, I probably could have done without the car altogether. And that's the key... planning ahead.

Next week, I'll finish the Disneyland story with tales of good intentions gone awry and inadvertent slip-ups. It'll be fun. You'll see.