Life without plastic
June 10, 2009 by Monica
Filed under Green Household
I’m from the generation of plastic. I remember plastic items all over the house since I was very young, so I can’t really say I know what a plastic-free life is.
However, I’ve been told by my mom that she grew up without plastic, and I wish she would add more detail when she tells me about the different materials they used instead of plastic.
For example, I recently learnt that in the past the grocery stores delivered lard and other products in cabbage leaves. What a great compostable and even edible package that now is being replaced by plastic bags.
What I remember is that when I was a child (living in Quito) plastic bags were still a sort of an expensive thing. The stores were not so liberal at distributing them and would give you the smallest size needed or even charged for them. Now things have changed and everyone seems to be careless about the plastic bags monetary costs.
I’m not all into completely eliminating plastic from our life, but I find that we’re getting too much of it unnecessarily, and even worse, we’re throwing away plastic items all the time thinking those are recyclable and not expensive. I’ve heard in other corners of the world this is improving, but in Quito and other Ecuadorian cities the plastic bag is still the queen of the shopping.
Anyone here with plastic free life experience? I’d love to hear from those of you who live in cities where plastic bags have been banned.
In my search for alternatives to plastic I’ve found an interesting website about plastic free living, featuring safety and environmental information about plastic and other materials. They also have a blog with related insights and an online store carrying nice alternatives. That to say that I fell in love with the wooden bento box they carry. It seems like the perfect item for our frequent outings, especially having a born-in-Japan son who loves all that has to do with his birthland 
Meanwhile, I’ll continue asking my mom about her past plastic free life…
photo credit: me and the sysop
Thanks for coming back to this blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Related posts:
I take bottles and refill them wherever possible, I have found many bulk refill shops for shampoo, conditioner, dishwash , clothes wash, cider vinegar, olive oil, honey and many grains and dry goods, it amazes me what you can find when you look around. You can also ask your local grocer to order in bulk and create a market for it. I buy milk from a dairy farm and take my own bottles so the milk doesnt have to touch that awful plastic contamination.
Wendy, buying in bulk is a good option.
I get my fresh milk from a coop but they deliver it in reused plastic bottles. It’s the best milk I can get in Quito, just don’t know how to solve this issue. I’ll try talking to the farmers to see if they have any ideas.