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aspidermonkey

Listed below are comments made by aspidermonkey between Saturday, 16th August 2008 and Friday, 22nd August 2008.

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Soleful 3:37pm on 22 Aug 2008 Hi Chris!

Great effort on your weekly count. Keeps me inspired for my own!

Your ideas for 'greener' shoe buying are informative too. I appreciate your point about not being a 'shoe queen'. I think it is really important that environmental endeavours like your experiment highlight that reducing our accumulation of things (plastic or not) is so significant in terms of our overall impact.

On takeaway: my local is happy to use my tuppaware that I bring in. Usually they can prepare my order in about 10-15 minutes. So if you've got the time to wait for it, you can have disposable-free (whether plastic or foil) takeaway. And, it usually means i get a bit extra, since my containers are a bit bigger than theirs! :)
Junk raft meets Savage boat 9:45pm on 20 Aug 2008 The reaction by joethepack #5 has saddened me. His words suggested that this opportunity to share ideas and reflect about Chris' experiment is more about divisive commentry and judging those who wish to go on holidays(!).

I hope not.

I've been following readers' comments with interest. I'm not a science person, some of the statistics and figures presented are informative, though overwhelming.

Things I've learned:
- lifecycle assessments are important.
- not all plastic is bad: they are a durable material. It is the disposable kind and the disposable culture that seems to be more a problem.

This blog has encouraged me to reflect on and change the ways I consume all resources, not just plastic. Making simple reductions, or careful purchasing decisions, that really don't impact my quality or happiness in life. From how often I change my toothbrush (plastic or not), to cancelling the delivery of a new telephone directory, to whether I really need that new mobile phone.

While I understand the 'economies of scale' idea that more impact can be made by larger organisations - this doesn't mean we as individuals shouldn't be reflective and responsible for our own actions. Individuals make up councils and businesses.

I thank Chris and her efforts. She has also prompted me to learn about other people's efforts and ideas to live more ecologically aware in a 'normal' life. In particular the easy list of ideas suggested in one of Chris' blogroll sites, myzerowaste, has been brilliant.

Let's not be divisive about the efforts and concerns made by everybody who has contributed here, and keep this as a productive space for learning, reflection, and change.
Non-plastic picnicking 3:13pm on 19 Aug 2008 #29 - PeterSym:

I agree - the council should be providing adequate recycling in such a popular pinic spot.

But what I was trying to say is: the most important point that we as consumers can learn from this blog discussion is that we can REDUCE the amount of disposable material in our lives too. Reusable picnic-items (rather than paper/wood disposable alternatives to plastic) is one very easy start.

Yes, councils should provide adequate recycling services for homes and public spaces. Yes, there should be corporate responsibility in packaging reduction. And Yes, I as an individual consumer should give careful thought to my purchasing choices. It is not an 'either or' situation.
Non-plastic picnicking 1:13pm on 19 Aug 2008 #23 - Mischaela, regarding your comments.

I think this is the whole purpose of Chris doing the experiment and not somebody else. If Chris was already a person who was oriented towards, as you call it 'natural life', then her blog would not show us how people with 'consumer society' orientations can make real change.

There is no point in preaching to the converted, which in my experience, is what lots of smug eco-warrior-types seem to do, only to further alienate our cause.

The bins in my local park are overflowing after every sunny picnic day. So, the discussion about non-disposable / re-usable alternatives for picnicking is thus very valuable, and I'm glad that Chris' actions and blog has encouraged it.
Beefed up 8:31pm on 17 Aug 2008 Hello all,

Thanks for some practical tips about reducing waste. I think I manage to follow most of these suggestions, and will be scrutinising my consumer and waste habits more now that I've decided to keep and stock-take all my household waste for a month.

Chris - I was wondering if during your month of no plastic you were planning on having any friends over for dinner? Last night a few friends joined us for a barbeque and with the meat, drinks, bread etc they kindly brought over to share, the amount of plastic in our bin tripled in one hit.

It's a tricky balance: to be waste-wise but not anti-social...! The answer I assume is try to get your friends on board. Not that easy as it challenges people's supposed 'right' to lifestyle choices and convenience! A friendly barbeque invite with conditions about what was allowed to be brought...? ergh... awkward social situation!

and #26, the originalmrsgreen: certainly, being an educator, housewife, mum IS fulltime work! I commend your green efforts, and hope they inspire others as they have me.
Beefed up 2:38pm on 16 Aug 2008 p.s. to add to my list above (#13), seeking zero-waste advice for those who:

(d) live in urban (rented) dwellings: no garden, no animals, no culture/system of recycling in apartment blocks, not even a suitable space for a worm-farm!
Beefed up 12:15pm on 16 Aug 2008 Hello All, and particularly Johnhcrf:

I've been following this blog with much interest: i think it is fantastic that it has raised so much dialogue. It is not just about cutting out plastics, but making us think about (and change) the way we use all resources.

I am very interested in the zero-waste enthusiasts' efforts. Johnhcrf: do you keep a blog of how you manage to minimise waste? In particular, I would like to learn more practical approaches for those who:
(a) work full-time
(b) do not earn much money, (my attempts to be green stretch my wallet, but luckily the 'reduce' aspects means that i probably don't buy and waste as much), and also
(c) work at the lower-rungs in a 'non-eco' workplace... how can we see our efforts at home filter into our work? For example, in the past my suggestions for phasing out styrofoam water cups have been laughed off by peers and deemed economically unfeasible by management.

An environmental perspective should not only be a matter for 'hippies at society's fringe' or 'guilty middle-class consumers'. I think this blog has promoted environmental responsibility beyond this divide, for which I thank Chris.

Looking forward to continued dialogue, and movements of change...

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