molded pulp egg carton: 100% cellulose, 100% biodegradable

Dear All,
I delivered Round 2 of our petition [Ban the Use of Plastic Packaging for Organic Produce] on April 14th, 2016 to the NOSB. Here is the link to my comment & proposal accompanying the delivery.

We reached our temporary goal of 10,000 signatures for the Spring meeting which will take place at the end of April - hurray!! 

I will keep you updated on the discussions / decisions made at the meeting, once the minutes get published. Meanwhile, a huge THANK YOU for all your support in advocating for a healthier system. As before, the petition remains open, & will do so until the situation improves.

Warmly,
The Bare Necessities

NOSB spring meeting page, if you'd like to attend in person in Washington, DC, April 25-27, 2016.

Note: huge heartfelt thank yous to the amazing ladies below - without them this petition wouldn't have the size it has today!

In alphabetical order:
- Ariana, creator of Paris to Go
- Bea, creator of Zero Waste Home
- Beth, creator of My Plastic Free Life
- Elizabeth, editorial director of the Plastic Pollution Coalition
- Inge, creator of Gruenish and the Zero Waste Blogger Network
- Lauren, creator of Trash is for Tossers

PETITION ROUND 2!

3 heads of organic garlic

time to consume: 2 weeks
material: mesh = polyethylene (PE)
label = paper
staples = steel
time to decompose: PE = hundreds of years
paper = 1 to 3 months
steel = corrodes depending on environmental conditions

Dear All,
Sorry for the immense length of time that went by since the last post.
We were super busy turning into Studio Habeas Corpus; more on that later I promise.

Meanwhile, GREAT NEWS on the petition front:
the topic of Packaging substances used in organic food handling IS on the agenda of the upcoming spring meeting of the NOSB [National Organic Standards Board], which will be held April 25-27, 2016, in Washington DC.

Right before the NOSB's last meeting in the fall of 2015, I had delivered our first 4,500 signatures. Our petition remained OPEN after that, and for very good reason: polluting packaging is an ongoing problem, and we're only at the beginning of the fight toward the phasing out of plastics & metals in organic food packaging.

SO, THIS IS ROUND 2 - let's aim for 10,000 signatures! We're calling on all past signers to become motors of this change, by doing a sequence of simple things, BEFORE APRIL 14th, 2016:

1) SIGN if you haven't already
2) SHARE if you have already signed, on all social media possible. I cannot emphasize how important it is to share - this is where the momentum happens. If possible, share repetitively at a few days interval, to bring more visibility at different times for different people; also, remember to ask other people to sign AND share! If you are not on social media, consider copying this text in an email to friends who might be interested in signing.
3) COMMENT on the public platform of the NOSB (click on the 'Comment Now!' button at top right) before April 14th (1 week left)

4) GO TO THE MEETING if you are in the area & SPEAK YOUR MIND IN PERSON (you can reserve a slot for oral comments here before April 14th (1 week left)


THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS SUPPORT!!!
Together, let's get rid of the materials polluting our lives.

Warmly,
The Bare Necessities


Useful links:

- Petition
- Washington, DC, Spring Meeting Details
- Written comment
- Oral comment


Note: from conversations with the NOSB's main office, it appears that since the NOSB board members are all volunteers, they might not have time to research topics
>>> therefore, consumers / commenters, besides stating their wishes, are welcome to provide background info & evidence (for example by pointing to scientific material & studies) and even propose action plans themselves.

I personally will propose a BEST PRACTICE OBLIGATION for starters: that all organic producers / handlers (including dairy) should adopt the least polluting practice currently on the market. [for example: all organic eggs switch to the paper pulp boxes, and plastic egg boxes stop being used]. This should be the easiest to visualize and implement, since there is no research / innovation involved, and the proof that it works is already on the market. Feel free to copy this and suggest this Best Practice Obligation if you feel so enclined.

PETITION DELIVERED

 1 cup of organic yogurt

time to consume: 5 minutes
material: container = polypropylene (PP)
label = cardstock
 lid = aluminum foil
time to decompose: container - hundreds of years
label – 2 months
lid – never

Dear All,
A huge THANK YOU for voicing your opinions on the necessity to move out of plastic & metal packaging for organic produce.

On October 5th, 2015, I delivered the petition to the National Organic Standards Board through their comment platform. It is now available to be viewed by all members of the board online, and will also be given to them as a hard copy.

The NOSB will have their fall meeting starting today! Oct 26-29 (sadly I cannot attend, but hope many of you will!). We did everything we could here, through public petitioning, to raise their awareness on the urgency of the topic. Meeting notes should be published later in the fall, so keep an eye out here http://www.ams.usda.gov/event/nosb-meeting-2015-vt and here http://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/nosb/subcommittees/handling)

I am leaving the petition OPEN, since plastic packaging is an ongoing problem which needs more and more awareness. So don't hesitate to continue linking / posting about it.

Let's continue the good work!
Warm Regards to all,
+++
The Bare Necessities


Further actions:
- SPEAK AT THE MEETING: the most powerful thing you can do, if you are in Vermont or willing to travel there to attend the meeting in Stowe (Oct 26-29, 2015).
--- reserve a speaking slot here http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebe5ji6xa75ef6c3&llr=5eqfe4dab
--- all logistical info here http://www.ams.usda.gov/event/nosb-meeting-2015-vt

SIGN THE PETITION !

Dear Readers, Minimal Lifestylers and Zero-Waste bloggers,

I just created the petition
"BAN THE USE OF PLASTIC PACKAGING FOR ORGANIC PRODUCE".

We have until October 5th to make our voices heard at the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)! The idea is to put the topic of packaging pollution on the agenda of the next, or following meeting of the NOSB, which creates the guidelines followed by the USDA's National Organic Program in the USA.

Please help by adding your name
HERE.

Thank you for your time and care.

+

STOP THE PLASTIC PACKAGING OF ORGANIC PRODUCE

4 organic bananas
time to consume: 1 week
material: wrapping = transparent stretch film (material undisclosed)
tray = PS (polystyrene)
labels = adhesive paper
time to biodegrade: paper = 1-3 months   plastics = hundreds of years
(source :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradation)
distributor : Market Basket, Demoulas Super Markets, Inc., USA
origin of produce : Columbia
manufacturer of packaging : Cryovac, Sealed Air corp., USA

 Organic produce is packaged IN MANY TIMES MORE PLASTIC than conventional produce.

To use the words of the Plastic Pollution Coalition:
"- Plastic never goes away
 - Plastic spoils our groundwater
 - Plastic attracts other pollutants
 - Plastic piles up in the environment
 - Plastic poisons our food chain
 - Plastic affects human health
 - Plastic threatens wild life
 - Plastic costs billions to abate"

YET, the consumers probably MOST AWARE of this dire situation, i.e. the consumers making the effort and paying a premium to have a less polluting, more organic/natural lifestyle, are the ones having to consume the MOST PLASTIC when purchasing their food.

The labelling, transportation, traceability and shelf constraints imposed on organic produce especially, result in fruits and vegetables needing to carry labels and protection against the elements and fraud. This function is important, as it allows to build trust between organic producers, distributors and consumers.

However, most of the current materials used in organic packaging (styrofoam, polyethylene, aluminum, etc. - gallery here) are environmentally destructive. Beyond a certain scale, organic producers use packaging machines which have been designed to use specific types of plastic elastic bands / labels / meshes, etc, and have little leverage to change the status quo.

So, how can we act?

In the USA, the production and handling of organic produce is regulated by the USDA's National Organic Program.
This program follows the directions defined by the NOSB (National Organic Standards Board). This is supposedly a grassroots committee which records public comments & concerns.  They meet twice a year, and 30 days before each meeting they welcome people's written or oral comments.

The interesting thing about this system is that:
1) The meetings' agendas are defined independently from the public's comments and concerns. There is no reading of public comments during the meetings either. From what I understand, the comments are handed out at the end for who wishes to read them
2) It's almost impossible to find the page where to submit comments; the average number of comments the NOSB receives for each meeting is 1100 (of about 90,000,000 households who "purchase organic food at least sometimes")
3) However, if an issue is brought up enough times in the comments, they might consider putting it on the next agenda 


After lengthy phone calls with members of the USDA (who were by the way extremely lovely and patient), here is the info that will allow you to act right now, if you, like me, are concerned by this issue.
- The next meeting of the NOSB is at the end of October 2015
- The comments section for that meeting just opened a few days ago. You have until MONDAY OCTOBER 5th, 2015 to make your voice heard, either in writing or by voice recording.
- GO HERE and click on the COMMENT NOW! blue button at the top right of the page, to demand:

THE PHASING OUT OF PLASTIC PACKAGING FOR ORGANIC PRODUCE

THE OBLIGATION FOR THE ORGANIC INDUSTRY TO INVEST IN TRULY COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS AND HARMLESS TECHNOLOGIES

THE GOVERNMENTAL AND/OR PRIVATE SUPPORT OF MAJOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN PACKAGING.

- Not "recyclable plastic" (only 8% of plastic gets recycled anyway)
- Not "recycled plastic" (it's still plastic)
- Not "biodegradable plastic" (they are controversial as to their carbon footprint and end result)

DEMAND A FOCUS ON NATURAL FIBERS, NATURAL WAXES, AND MECHANICAL TECHNIQUES, AND ANY OTHER SOLUTION USING EASILY RENEWABLE AND NON POLLUTING ELEMENTS.

Thank you for being here.
++

GETTING RID OF JUNK MAIL

It's polluting and wasteful, and I don't want to spend 8 months of my life dealing with it.
As often in this world, it will take you some energy to fight the system, but if we all do it, we might get results. As to this day, I am practically free of junk mail myself - the one that keeps inundating the house is my husband's (hi, honey!). Let's make it at least useful by using it as an example of how to fight it.

STEP 0: NEVER EVER GIVE YOUR CONTACT INFO TO COMPANIES IF IT IS NOT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
Whenever someone or some form asks you for your address and email, SSN, birthdate, etc., take the 1 minute it takes to question it. Why do they need your private info? In most cases you have the right to refuse, and only give what is necessary.
Also, always be on the lookout to uncheck the box "I accept to receive promotional offers, etc". online.

STEP 1: OPT-OUT OF CREDIT CARD OFFERS (valid for the USA)
This took care of most financial junk mail for me.

Go this website:
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi

or do it by phone:
1–888–567–8688

Important thing to know: Complaint Desk checked out www.optoutprescreen.com and "found, buried in the fine print, that Social Security numbers and birth dates are not required.
- Online, simply leave the number and dates off the opt-out form
- By phone, ignore prompts for the number or date and eventually the computer operator continues without it."

for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optoutprescreen.com
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/06/06/how-to-opt-out-of-credit-card-offers-forever/


STEP 2: ACCUMULATE & SEE WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH
- Get a box
- Put in there all the junk mail you receive for a few weeks
- Take an hour one morning and set aside all the senders to whom you willingly gave your contact info - for example your alma mater, clothing brands you naively gave all your information to at the cashier, a local theater or a journal you subscribed to, a charity you're donating to, etc.


STEP3: CALL & ASK TO BE PLACED ON THE NO MAIL LIST
This works for known senders mentionned above.

To not go crazy and keep track, I log all calling info on paper - no duplicates that way.
Here is a downloadable template (lettersize) to make things easier for you:
STEP 4:
Companies who work by purchasing people's private information lists from big data brokers are more tricky - if you call the pizza company to complain, you're likely to just speak to a powerless employee whose boss doesn't even know who the parent company purchased the direct mailing list from. One thing you can try is call the highest up possible (headquarters).

Apparently some websites also offer to find these larger sources for you and protect your address. I tested these out today, we'll see how efficient they are:
DMA Choice (supposedly takes care of 80% of marketing mail in the US)
Catalog Choice
Privacy Rights 

If any of you guys have tried them, your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

WORD OF THE DAY

This is tedious but is worth the extra-time (few hours vs. 8 months, remember  ;)

GRANDMA TIP
While waiting for the stuff to stop pouring in, you can always collect the perfectly new and usable business reply enveloppes contained in the junk mail.

Saying NO to disposable cups

Hello all!
Sorry I was away for so long - been in nomadic mode for the past 2 months, with lots of moving in and out - had the internet, but my brain wasn't available to sit down and write.

During these travelling times, I lived out of a suitcase, which I enjoy because it makes me realize how easily I can live without some items, and which objects are absolutely necessary (more on this later).

Also, there was a lot of working in coffee shops.
Being the being that I am, naturally I always try to ask loud and clear for drinks FOR HERE, IN A REAL MUG, IN A REAL CERAMIC MUG PLEASE, several times if necessary. Sometimes I'll ask them to put fruit juice into mugs, if they don't have real glasses made of glass.

Some might argue that real mugs take water & electricity to wash and dry. Sure enough - actually if anyone has studies and numbers to forward me I am very interested in this issue.

The way I think of disposable cups is the following:
- plastic cups take hundreds of years to decompose & are a product of the fossil fuel industry, which I do not wish to support.

- the majority of "paper" cup are lined with polyethylene (PE), also petroleum based, which prevents both composting and recycling [scary to think that very hot drinks are being poured directly in contact with PE before being drunk(?) by us]. Also, paper cups rarely travel without a brand new sleeve of corrugated cardboard, a lid made of plastic (usually #6 = Polystyrene or #7= Other), and/or a stupid straw (#5 = Polypropylene PP)

- "compostable" cups (made from plants, etc) will compost only if they are thrown on a compost pile; good luck with that. I live in a pretty progressive town and composting is still far from being a common sight, especially at the city level. If these cups end up in the regular bin, they'll take as much space as the regular plastic ones (most people, me included, do not always crush), which is a burden on the public waste management system, which is paid for with public (our) money.

- the more we say NO loudly , i.e. express our refusal as customers to be part of the problem, the more companies will have to take our opinion into account, because these material choices will start impacting their own logistics.

- ceramic mugs / glasses can last centuries (millenia!) if properly taken care of.

- getting a drink and producing zero waste is a wonderful feeling.

I try to go to independent local coffee shops instead of (inter)national chains, to encourage local businesses and economies. But it's also important to talk about the big chains, for when they make little moves their impact is huge. So, because Starbucks is the largest coffee house company in the world and because their employee benefits are not bad, I want to end with this tip for Starbucks customers:

Starbucks has amazing mugs.
Large, comfy, beautifully shaped ceramic mugs.
All you need to do is ask for them.

Take care!
++

ps: the interesting context that made me go to Starbucks in the past few weeks (I used to never go), is the gentrification of my neighborhood - yet another problem. Basically, the closest independent coffee shop increased their prices all of a sudden, becoming more expensive (!!), & with no info on how they compensate their employees.

pps: the one problem with the Starbucks mugs is that most of them seem manufactured in China. Making / buying local mugs is not difficult, and I wish there was a push in that direction.

ppps: I am not endorsed by any company. noooo.

INTRODUCING IR4

It seems we need a total change of paradigm.
So many of us are making so much effort to navigate the current material world, every day, because it's too polluting, too socially unfair, too wasteful.

Consumption needs to change for sure. But production needs to change too.

Very roughly (and condensed by yours truly from wikipedia), there have been three successive industrial revolutions already:
- from the 1750s, with steam power, ship transport, textile, steel
- from the 1820s, with electricity, oil, the reciprocating engine, automobiles, railroad transport - global production doubled its pace
- from the 1970s, with the internet, microprocessors, computers - delocalization became possible, plants moved out of industrialized countries, the financial & communications sector flourished, social inequalities rose.

I believe we now need Industrial Revolution #4 (IR4): the generalization of environmentally and socially viable low-tech solutions, made as locally as possible, in the context of necessarily frugal consumption.

1. minimum material - i.e. do not over-engineer, use the minimum amount of material that will do the job safely > saves material

2. least harmful material - choose the material with the least embodied energy, the most renewable source, the least risk on health > protects the environment and its inhabitants

3. least processed material - use materials as raw and mono-material as you can find them, avoid using or creating composites > makes waste sorting, recycling and upcycling easier; lowers costs.

4. most local labor force - employ the qualified people nearest to you, or train the people nearest to you > supports local economy, reduces carbon footprint, reinforces & creates communities

5. no harming of labor force - do not kill, abuse, or exploit people; offer compensation sufficient to make a decent living, make the job safe in terms of materials, processes, and schedules; ensure a caring, supportive environment > honors basic human rights and relationships

6. equitable distribution of revenue - strive to create horizontal partnerships instead of vertical ones, give back cooperatively the profit created cooperatively > expresses respect for all types of work, makes everybody engaged in the enterprise

7. function, safety, sustainability, over aesthetics - do not let aesthetics / fashion / future media coverage have an influence on your design process strong enough to make you weaken your commitment to making good objects > prevents going back to the situation we are trying to get away from.

8. full biodegradability OR full reusability of parts - do not think of objects are individual finished goods, but as a temporary assembly of ressources, belonging to a vast material cycle > allows for composting; otherwise makes waste sorting, recycling and upcycling easier

9. maximum repairability - planned-obsolescence is forbidden. > reduces labor and material waste, maximizes return on investment into product, creates repair service jobs

10. no harming of animals - do not kill nor abuse living things; avoid animal material if you can, otherwise make sure what you take from them does not prevent their best livelyhood > respects all forms of life

Naturally not ALL things can be made following these principles, but if we try to at least transform all the ones we can, we might end up in better shape.

Wishing you IR4 new years to come.

FRUIT & VEGGIES GROCERY BAGS

Finally finally I took the step of purchasing small reusable bags for fruits and vegetables.
(found them at this store - they are supposed to be tool bags (?), according to the owner)

These are the bag-within-a-bag kind: they are replacing the thin plastic bags that are offered to pack fresh produce in the supermarket - we were getting absolutely overwhelmed with their number (as opposed to the thicker ones, which we had already managed to reduce by bringing in reusable shopping bags).

I got 5 of them to start with. They are 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm), which comfortably fits 5-6 oranges / apples at the time - the amount I usually get when grocery shopping.

So excited about this.
However mine seem made of 100% cotton with a cotton string, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were imported from faraway (cost was around $2 each).

Advantages over plastic:
- no noise
- soft to the touch
- can be washed with all your other clothes in the laundry
- super strong
- lasts for years and years and years
- no pollution / waste during its use time

If you wish to have a really sustainable version of these, I recommend making your own out of hemp or linen muslin. Cotton is just too much of a pesticide and water intensive crop (unless you get it organic, from non-irrigated fields), whereas hemp is truly good (grows without any chemicals and cleans the soil naturally).

I was too lazy and impatient to make them myself, but that's really not an excuse (a lot of the ugly state of the environment today is directly linked to the fact that we're lazy and impatient). Apologies.

UPS will take your packing peanuts

It seems that UPS stores will gladly take off your hands:

- packing peanuts 

- air-filled plastic pillows

- cardboard boxes

I just dropped off a bag full of polystyrene peanuts (which I couldn't have disposed of properly at all - polystyrene foam is a bitch, and even specialized recycling places will not take peanuts) and air-filled bags, along with the big cardboard box that contained them. They were all taken in with a smile.

I suppose they will get reused directly to pack things again. 

I heard of this tip while browsing the web,
made a quick phone call to the closest UPS store to confirm that was true,
et voila!

ps: do make that phone call beforehand though, to make sure your local store does that as well.

how to get rid of stuff

It's shocking how quick & easy it is to buy something,
and how awfully difficult it is to get rid of anything.

I've found that the biggest hurdles to feeling comfortable participating in the second-hand economy are lack of information and lack of habit. So let's get rid of these first obstacles right now with a little how-to guide.

0. Know that getting rid of objects will likely make you a little bit of money, be it in cash or tax-deductions (most donations are tax-deductible). It will also free up storage space in your life, physically and mentally, which is great.

1. Dedicate a place for all the objects you feel are irrelevant in your life (depending on size, it can be a bag, a box or a corner in a room).

2. Pile up these objects there until their volume or quantity calls for action.

3. Meanwhile, do the research part (a one-time ordeal):

     - do a web search to locate the closest thrift stores that accepts donations.
The most well-known in the US are Goodwill and The Salvation Army, but your city might also have a local chain of thrift stores. Some of these chains offer pick-up services, either for free or a small fee, if you schedule it enough in advance - which is great if you cannot do the drop-off yourself!

     - also keep an eye out for donation boxes when you're in town. Sometimes they are located close to supermarkets, which is convenient on your way to grocery shopping. They usually are made for clothes, shoes or books (make sure to check beforehand).

     - also check-out your city's website, or call city hall to learn about their donations / recycling programs (for example, our town has a page that links to all the local places that accept book donations)

     - additionally, you can register at your local Freecycle chapter. It's a non-profit network of people who give stuff out for free. Super easy, basically a list of OFFER / WANTED from folks in the same town.

     - if there are universities near you, chances are they have a student furniture exchange program or a swap fest at the beginning & end of the academic year. Call the schools or look online for such possibilities.

     - last but not least, you might wish to sell some of your objects, in which case your first 2 options would probably be your local craiglist and then ebay. (note: craigslist also has a free category). Oh, and of course local vintage stores for clothing & accessories. And lastly, your very own garage sale if you feel so enclined.

4. Decide which of these options are the most convenient and/or interesting to you.

5. Get your objects ready, i.e. put them in the state of cleanliness in which YOU would like to receive them.

6. ACT !!! Do the drop-off / set up your meetings / go bargain at the vintage store / set up that selling table in your driveway. On your way to work, or as a weekend routine, or however it pleases you. As long as it gets DONE.

7. Rejoice for the good deed done, and also know that this effort will eventually dwindle and stop if you reach your own equilibrium at home - i.e. at some point, hopefully, you won't need to declutter anymore (I'm not there yet). The good news is, getting rid of stuff the right way is work - which makes you think real hard next time you consider an impulse purchase.

8. Now that you know all the tricks, it becomes easy as pie to shop second-hand yourself for future needs.

Note: tax-deductions linked to donations are not based on their retail price, but on their current value as objects. (ie: a very expensive pair of shoes might be valued just a little bit more than a cheap pair of shoes) The amounts might seem surprisingly low, which can be disappointing but also a good reminder of how relative the value of things is. (hey, all of them are shoes - actually I don't totally agree with that, but that's a long conversation for later).

UPDATE: Building materials get re-used too! A lot of places have centers where you / your contractor can drop off materials and fixtures in good working order (old kitchen tiles, washbasins, etc). Just search "building material recycling center" + the name of your city on the web to locate the closest one.

12 objects to stay clean

This is the result of my trying to reduce to the max when it comes to the realm of keeping a clean body.

Remember the object diagram? 

Each circle represents a realm of objects, from the most necessary to the least - a very personal ordering of course, for other people this might be different.

I am starting with CLEAN, just because. ('Begin anywhere', John Cage said)

Here are the 12 object types which I still need and use today in order to be clean.

1. soap

2. toothpaste

3. toothbrush

4. dental floss

5. big towel

6. small towel

7. cotton swab

8. toilet paper

9. tissues

10. pads

11. liners

12. nail file

I say 'object types' because some of these come in numbers (alternate towels, hundreds of cotton swabs, etc).

It's neither perfect nor totally frugal, nor waste free yet. But I am happy about the absence of plastic bottles (hurray bar soap).

Details in upcoming post!

the gift of trash

 photo by Ryan Hyde

This type of situation has been happening to me a few times now and shows how FAR FAR AWAY from societal awareness we are when it comes to wasteful habits:

I was eating at a burrito chain, sitting inside the restaurant after having carefully chosen the meal that came in a paper plate only, using my own metal cutlery and fabric napkin. Realizing I had forgotten to take tortilla, I returned to the counter and asked for a single tortilla. The behind-the-counter lady threw one on the grill for re-heat, and then proceeded to grab a piece of aluminum foil to wrap it.

Swiftly I interfered and told her that I didn't need the aluminum, since I was sitting a few feet away and would eat it right away anyhow. She stopped mid-way with a question-mark look, when a behind-the-counter guy who had overheard me came forward, grabbed the tortilla and asked: 'you don't want aluminum?' I repeated 'No, I don't need it, I am going to eat it right away'. Looking at me straight in the eye, he took the tortilla, pulled out the aluminum foil, and proceeded to wrap it very intently, saying 'no, no I will wrap it for you'. He then triomphantly handed me the tortilla doubly wrapped in aluminum and paper, with a big smile on his face. During this gesture in slow motion I was caught between incredulity - at how somebody could disregard so blatantly a request I had expressed 2 or 3 times clearly - and how absurd it was, that they were thinking they were doing me a big generous favor by handing me a totally unecessary piece of one of the most polluting metals on earth.

(enter this graph, created from data found on greenspec:)

EMBODIED ENERGY OF MATERIALS

See that lonely point floating up high, waaay above all other materials? - yep, that's aluminum. and yes, this is including recycled aluminum)

I also remember the flight attendant who pushed new plastic glasses on me as I was saying I could perfectly well continue using the one I already had, 'oh but darling we have plenty here, let me give you a new one.' Oh thank you madam for your great generosity. I love plastic so much, you're making my day.

The sad thing is, these people were really trying to be nice. They were really expressing care in over-wrapping or providing something for me. And the awful fact is, our current material situation forces them to apply this ancient, timeless show of human kindness to very unhealthy objects.

Seriously. I'd rather eat cold tortilla.

paper tape

In my country, Scotch® has sadly become a generic name for adhesive tape.

Meaning, when I learned to talk and designate objects with words, the only word I had for adhesive tape was 'scotch': 'I wish to make a gift wrap for this, where is the scotch?'

Also the only kind of 'scotch' that I was ever aware of being used by normal people was either clear, translucent, or brown for heavy-duty, and seemed made of plastic, smelled a particular smell, and you needed a blade to cut it, mostly under the form of a 'scotch holder', itself made of plastic (my parents owned a heavy one - the master scotch holder - which was filled with sand and sounded like the sea when you tilted it. But I digress.)

Then at the ripe old age of twenty-nine I happened to walk into a U-Haul store to get moving boxes.
And discovered paper tape.

It sounds like a small thing. But you wouldn't believe the epiphany that this was.
Paper tape is strong.
Paper tape can be cut with only your fingers.
Paper tape does not make a horrible screech when pulled out of the roll.
Paper tape is friendly to the touch.
Paper tape seems made of simpler, less polluting materials than clear tape

[from what I gather, clear tape can be made of plastic film or cellophane - the latter being 100% biodegradable but involving a polluting production process. I want to read this article about the chemistry of adhesive tape. Not sure how the adhesive itself fares environmentally, need more research]

Also I was angry at having to accept that a company had managed to monopolize the very definition of what an object was/should be - up to its name, and successfully pushed its materiality onto my life without my being aware of it.

How many more ingrained habits do I have, that were created by a company to sell goods?

Oh, and the ever important question: do I even really need to use tape, any kind of tape, in my life, or could I just do away with it?

DRY GOODS

I don't know why it took so long for me to realize such an obvious thing: whenever possible, buy the powdered or dry form of items for which it really doesn't make much difference.
Purchasing the water content of diluted ingredients just doesn't make sense.

The density of water is about 60 lb / cubic foot (about 1000 kg / cubic meter).

1 gallon weighs about 8 lb (3.8 kg) and takes up 231 cubic inches (3,800 cubic centimeters)

Think of all the energy spent in transporting mostly water (80% of liquid laundry detergent, according to this article).

  

Laundry

Some will argue that powder leaves unmelted residue on clothes.
That is very true and there is a very simple fix: dissolve the laundry powder yourself before adding to the wash. I use an empty yogurt container and a used plastic knife (I usually dislike those intensely but they are perfect for this use). A few stirs and voila! you're done and it was fun.

Bonus: if it's not liquid, it doesn't need to come in a plastic bottle. Your waste can be reduced to just a cardboard box. One less landfill issue to worry about.

Food 

Recently glossed over a rather scathing article about almond milk and other plant-based milks (which are my bread and butter, pun intended). They are right about the purchasing of mostly water. You know what? One can also buy powdered almond, coconut, etc. milks. The box seems expensive because it's so much at a time once dissolved, but I bet it's worth the investment.

Paint

I love Milk Paint which comes in small packages of powdered color (pigments mixed with milk protein and lime) to which you just need to add water. Seems like a safe and environmentally friendly option.

So yeah. Dry goods.