Tonight, I joined a friend for a spontaneous meal at a diner famous for its milkshakes. We ordered one to split, and as soon as it arrived, I realized I'd forgotten to 'hold the straw'.
If you research how long it takes a straw to biodegrade, you'll find an article from the Department of Agriculture. Wrong kind of straw. This kind simply breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces. It never becomes soil. It simply becomes part of the landfill around it, gets into our soil and water, is eaten by birds and fish, and contributes to the polymer landscape that we're helping to create via plastiglomerate.
Throughout the meal, noticed the condiments. I didn't use them this evening but remember looking forward to the little plastic jelly containers as a kid. Going out for breakfast was a treat, and because I was from a large family which bought everything in bulk, having individual-sized packages for honey, jelly and peanut butter was a real novelty. Those little plastic jelly containers from my childhood will outlive me.
At the end of the meal, I experienced a moment of utter disappointment in myself when I realized I had leftovers that I didn't want to waste but also didn't want to package in the styrofoam "to go" box standard in this particular diner. My note to self failed to stick. I said to my friend, "Let's get creative. What else could we use?" (It helps to break out of a habit of functional fixedness to enjoy nondisposable living at its fullest.) We sat, looked around and thought. Suddenly, my friend jumped up. She had a (mostly) glass container from lunch in her car and walked a block and a half to retrieve it. That's a friend.
Getting off plastic takes time and practice. Like anything worthwhile.
All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.
- Baruch Spinoza
Sarah I LOVE that you avoided using a disposable for your leftovers. My wife and I try to bring "tupperware" when we eat out and expect to walk home with leftovers. It's still plastic but at least it's the kind that we wash and re-use again and again.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember when you used to order a cup of coffee from a coffee shop, if you wanted to take it out you had to order it "to go"? Now it seems that every single customer gets paper cups (usually with a paper sleeve and plastic lid) automatically. The default now is to serve in disposables. I find that I have to specifically request to be served in a glass or mug. The barista is usually surprised but generally happy to oblige. Let's hear it for a cup of tea in a TEA MUG instead of a paper/plastic disposable!
Brian, not sure how it's done in Italy today, but when I was (lucky to be) there, I never saw coffee to go. Rather, people stood at little tables to enjoy an espresso or sat down to enjoy it. We use coffee in this country like a pacifier!
ReplyDeleteSee http://zmojournal.blogspot.com/2009/08/italian-coffee-truths-myths.html