One of the biggest issues facing people in my neck of the woods is water contamination by polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAs. Of course PFAs aren’t the only “forever chemicals” (anyone else think of the diamond engagement ads when they hear this? As in, “this year, give her chemicals that will last forever…” no? Just me?) to cause serious health issues, and they likely will not be the last. All of that micro plastic contamination is causing problems for more than just sea turtles, and no waterway is really free from this, but in Wausau, there is growing concern over this.
I edited some stories on this issue when I volunteered for MiddleWisconsin on a regular basis. But there has always been a sticking point for me: is giving people water in plastic bottles really protecting them from PFAs? It is one of so many “solutions” that, for me, does not compute. This study would suggest that my gut instinct is right.
I think about this as I immerse myself in reading literature that is about eliminating waste, and more specifically, plastics, in an effort to heal ourselves and the planet. As an environmentalist, I am frustrated by the realization that because of the numerous precautions and medical procedures I must undergo as someone with Multiple Sclerosis who relies on immunosuppressive therapy to live, I simply cannot eliminate waste to the degree of the authors of these books. I applaud everyone who can, and urge people to do whatever they can.
Doing what you can is really the key take away from An Almost Zero Waste Life by Megean Weldon. I like how this author discourages people from going out and buying a bunch of stuff. As I often say, a problem created by consumption cannot be solved by more consumption. Weldon encourages reuse of plastic, just not as heating vessels for food (and as is mentioned in one of the other books I am reading on this topic, plastic dishes and utensils should be hand washed only as the high heat from a dishwasher will only release more toxic chemicals into our waterways).
I know that #6 plastics are not likely to be recycled, and know that this is the same polystyrene product that Shrinky Dinks are made from. Heating clear #6 plastics at the 325°F recommended for the 3 minutes it takes for things to shrink does not release toxic fumes, so I have been saving up my #6 plastics because Shrinky Dinks have always been a sort of crafting staple in my family. I have mainly made pet and luggage tags as well as sturdy book marks with the stuff, but know that there are more uses. However, I know this reuse is not nearly as good as reducing the amount of #6 plastics that I am indirectly purchasing as part of a product’s packaging. I needed to cut back on the Oreos anyway (knowing they are vegan has never done anyone any favors).
During the pandemic, when certain eco-friendly cleaning products were hard to find, Will and I joined Grove. We still order from them occasionally. That first order, we received one of their oh-so-nice glass spray bottles. Rather than using this for cleaning products, I have used this as a mister for my plants, and decided to reuse the plastic spray bottles I already had to mix my cleaning products in. I think this reuse is mainly what Weldon speaks to in her book.
The second book on the topic that I read is Living Without Plastic by Brigette Allen and Christine Wong. This book, like Weldon’s, offers detailed instructions on how to make many items to replace single use plastic items (which is exactly why I highlighted many pages with plastic 3M Post-It flags! Relax, I’ve been reusing the same set of flags for years). In fact, I made a tote bag from an old tee shirt right after reading (not that I don’t already have a lot of reusable totes, but I have some old tees with sentimental value that may as well be upcycled, because I am never going to get rid of them).
Unfortunately, Living Without Plastic also asks the reader to purchase certain items as well. The items they recommend that I deemed more practical for my household, I made a list of. This might make its way into a Christmas wishlist someday.
I totally get the concern about replacing certain items, such as Teflon cookware (which is something I have done… not that I ever bought any T-fal, but received some second-hand from family when I first ventured out on my own). I still have the four Teflon pans because I have qualms about anyone eating food cooked in even the two pans that are in good shape. The two more beat up pans are ones that I now use to melt odd and end pieces of wax in for various camp craft items. But the ones in better shape… is it okay to give them to someone who will keep these in their camper, so that they rarely encounter food cooked in them? Maybe. Some people will continue to use this stuff no matter what, but for now, they are stored away in my basement.
I just began reading Life Without Plastic by Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha. In the first few pages, the authors talk about how quickly single use plastic items leach out chemicals (and how each washing/reuse makes them degrade more, hence the single use designation). This is what really got me to thinking about the whole PFAs problem, and how our donations of plastic items, or item in plastic, might not be helping.
All of this is enough to make a person want to pull out their hair, yelling, “Why can’t anything be simple?!”
Reusing non-recyclable plastic containers to store craft supplies is a suitable use, but when I reuse freezer bags to store the bread in over and over, am I doing myself any favors? Sure, I have some reusable zipper bags; my large one is one of the pricey silicone Stashers, but after finding it holds on to certain smells, it is now dedicated to only ever hold one product (this is a problem I have encountered with silicone bakeware as well; I have a cake pan that is forever designated as “cinnamon pan”).
I really understand why some people just shutdown in response to all this good advice. I personally think we are likely better off being happy with what we already have… within reason. If something is truly posing a safety hazard, doesn’t fit, or even if it doesn’t do what Marie Kondo says it should do for you, get rid of it. If it really is hazardous waste, find a Clean Sweep program in your area. Find e-recycling programs for your old electronics or find a makers group that might be willing to take them. Donate things that others might truly have use for, and repurpose and recycle when you can. Just do whatever you can. But most importantly, and this is as much for your own wellness as for the planet, avoid buying more “stuff.”
If you are renting a storage unit to store items that you haven’t looked at in years, you may have a problem. Having more stuff doesn’t make people happier. If you need a reminder, tune in to Hoarders. Actually, don’t do that. Just take my word for it.
A lot of my “stuff” is stuff I am holding on to out of guilt. I hate the idea of polystyrene filling up landfills, so I had stored a lot of large pieces of polystyrene packaging in my basement. It so frustrates me, because this is something that can be cleaned and broken down for home insulation, but it just takes communities making rather small (often less than $100,000 for machinery) investments to make it happen.
This past year, we found a use for the blocks of polystyrene packaging. We live in an old house; old houses in the Midwest often have interior basement walls that don’t extend all the way up to the basement ceiling. Couple that with limestone foundations that often shift and open up small holes in the mortar that need to be filled to prevent small varmints from entering. This isn’t always an easy task because holes can open up below the ground, and be hard to get to. We usually plug holes with steel wool. We found rolls of steel wool that could be cut to fit this gap space, and invested around $100 to purchase enough for one side of the basement where we believe a mole found his way in last summer (we didn’t know it was a mole at first, and were flummoxed as to why the live traps we normally use to capture mice and voles weren’t working; they worked once we swapped out the nut butter and seed mix for some meal worms). Anyway, steel wool in holes are often capped off by foam caulk to hold it in place, so Will had the forethought to cut up the foam blocks to do the same. So far, so good (much to our cat’s disappointment). Some of my “stuff” burden has been alleviated by my partner’s creativity. I love it when a plan comes together!
Unfortunately, getting clean drinking water to people in PFAs contaminated areas is a problem that is neither quick nor easy to solve. In my estimation, water in plastic bottles shouldn’t even be a small part of the solution. But that’s just it; with big environmental problems, our personal actions don’t do that much to solve them. We need governments and corporations to step up. Waterways contaminated by PFAs require expensive clean-ups. Why even bother filtering out micro plastics if we are just going to put more micro plastics back into the water via a plethora of single use plastic items? Is this the brain fog that PFAs contamination causes?
We need a moratorium on the production of so many unnecessary plastic items. We can do it too. George W. Bush did this with incandescent lightbulbs, and he was hardly a treehugger! If we don’t do this, we are just going to drown in our own toxic waste. It is the most disturbing reoccurring nightmare I have, and I am just hoping it is not a premonition. We are smarter than this. We can stop this. Let’s.
Oreos are far from my favorite, but I confess, I bought the special PFLAG pack (justifying the purchase because some of the proceeds - I am sure it is pennies really - get donated). My favorite mass-produced vegan cookie is Lotus Biscoff. I choose the option with the least packaging (one thin sleeve over quite a few cookies) and then move them to my Stasher,which now only gets used for Biscoff or graham crackers. I mainly bake in my countertop convection oven. I tend to make mostly quick breads or small coffee cakes (cinnamon pan) by switching up flax eggs in any recipe calling for two eggs or less, and coconut oil for butter. I also make free-form baking powder biscuits and scones on the pizza tray. I just can’t justify heating up the big oven for just the two of us. If I am making a batch of tahini cookies, well sure, but that is like once a year. It is rather trippy that vegan is considered trendy these days 🙃
You're right that we can only do what we can. It doesn't serve any purpose to beat yourself up about stuff that you can't control. In many ways, living a low-waste lifestyle is a privilege, just as it's a privilege to be vegan. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to choose what they eat or use.
I actually don't like Oreos. I never have, and Oreos are also the only mass-produced vegan cookie sold in Japan. There are a few vegan bakeries that have opened up within the last couple of years, which is fine, if you don't mind paying $3 for a single cookie. If nothing else, it keeps a person from eating too many sweets. Real ovens aren't really a thing here, so it's hard to bake at home (most people buy their baked goods from bakeries).
"Vegan" is mostly a marketing term here used by restaurants and stores that are trying to appear hip and trendy. The vegan community came down on some places pretty hard for misleading advertising.
It's weird to think that veganism is considered trendy these days.