Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wish List
We have a few upcoming purchases on our "wish list" when this project comes to an end. As conscious as we are about plastic and the impact it has on the environment, we're trying to be a bit picky about our choices. The first three items that I will purchase first will all be for my bicycle.
- REI has a collapsible water bottle that is apparently made with a plastic that does not leak chemicals into the water, even after repeated use. I like the idea of this water bottle also for the ability to roll the bottle up for storage in my backpack.
- Red bicycle light.
- Front bicycle light.
We also are in the market for a new mattress. The majority of mattresses are not great for the environment, containing toxic chemicals and plastics that end up in the landfills. There are some options out there though.
- Good Night Naturals
- Ecobedroom
- Soaring Heart (local to Seattle)
We recommend that you contact you local Salvation Army and ask them if they would pick up your old mattress for you. Some customers have found additional local charities that would also like you to donate your old mattress to them - missions, homeless shelters, abused families, foster care, etc.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Plastic Chart
Thanks to Apartment Therapy, I found this handy Plastic Chart from The Green Guide.
This chart shows some of the common plastic items in a home that are likely to leak phthalates into our food and thus, into our bodies.
Also from The Green Guide comes this tidbit about bottled water:
...the plastic used in both single-use and reusable bottles can pose more of a contamination threat than the water. A safe plastic if used only once, #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) is the most common resin used in disposable bottles. However, as #1 bottles are reused, which they commonly are, they can leach chemicals such as DEHA, a known carcinogen, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a potential hormone disrupter. According to the January 2006 Journal of Environmental Monitoring, some PET bottled-water containers were found to leach antimony, an elemental metal that is an eye, skin, and lung irritant at high doses. Also, because the plastic is porous you'll likely get a swill of harmful bacteria with each gulp if you reuse #1 plastic bottles.Scary stuff. I have an eye appointment, and will have to come back to this subject (and The Green Guide) later!
While single-use water bottles should never be used more than once, some reusable water bottles simply shouldn't be used. The debate continues over the safety of bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical known to leach out of the #7 polycarbonate plastic used to make a variety of products, including popular Nalgene Lexan water bottles. New studies keep cropping up that don't bode well for BPA, demonstrating that even extremely low doses of the chemical can be damaging. Recent research has linked the chemical to a variety of disorders, including obesity and breast cancer, and one chilling 2007 study, published in the journal PLoS Genetics, found that BPA exposure can cross generations. Pregnant mice exposed to low levels of BPA led to chromosomal abnormalities, which possibly cause birth defects and miscarriages, in grandchildren.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Brown-bagging it
Lunch On The Go Food Storage Container.
Two small containers can be used for vegetables, pasta or fruit. They sit on top of the ice pack keeping them cool and fresh.
Made with non-leaching #5 polypropylene plastic and no phthalates, this is a safe alternative when glass just won't do.
I broke my plastic water bottle today. It dropped from about 5 feet and hit the tile floor pretty hard, causing a break in the plastic. I can't replace it until mid-October though.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Laundry soap
I picked up one box of washing soda and 2 bars of Fels Naptha at one of the three QFC's near my apartment. Using the recipe posted previously, I made a double batch and stored it in a glass jar with a spoon for easy use. I'm currently testing the effectiveness by washing our sheets.
The process took maybe 5 minutes and I have enough laundry soap to last us quite a while.
If you don't want to make your own detergent, you can reuse the plastic container.
Toxic products
This information is from the Guide to Less Toxic Products:
Dioxins - You won't find dioxin listed on any label. It's formed as an accidental by-product of some manufacturing processes using chlorine, especially paper bleaching and the creation of plastic. Dioxin is one of the most powerful carcinogens known and accumulates in body fat. Mainstream deodorants and anti-bacterial soaps are suspect. Chlorine bleached tissues, toilet paper and cotton balls can contain dioxin. Plastic bottles may leach dioxin into creams, shampoos and other products we use daily.
Nonylphenols - This estrogen-mimicking chemical is a surfactant used for its detergent properties. It can be found in some plastics, as well as shaving creams, shampoos and hair colours. It can be created when certain chemicals commonly found in personal care products break down. Nonylphenols can be a component in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a compound often found in acrylic nails. They are persistent in the environment and of such concern that many European countries are phasing them out. Some manufacturers have voluntarily discontinued their use.
Phthalates - Everyone in the general population is exposed to phthalates from one source or another. They are found in many products from plastics to shampoo. These hormone-disrupting chemicals are suspected of contaminating breast milk and causing damage to the kidneys, liver, lungs and reproductive organs. One type of phthalate, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is commonly found in fragrances and other personal care products. Phthalates are used to enhance fragrances, as solvents, and to denature alcohol. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives (December 2002) found that DEP is damaging to the DNA of sperm in adult men at current levels of exposure. DNA damage to sperm can lead to infertility and may also be linked to miscarriages, birth defects, infertility and cancer in offspring. DEP is the phthalate found in the highest levels in humans. Recent product tests found the chemical in every fragrance tested in the United States. Manufacturers are not required to list phthalates on product labels, so they are difficult to avoid.
Bottles/NipplesHarmful materials: latex rubber, plastic, nitrosamines
Nipples for bottles are usually made of latex rubber or silicone. Latex rubber nipples can release nitrosamines, potent carcinogens, when babies suckle the nipple. They also tend to break down faster than silicone nipples, which can cause cracks where bacteria can hide.
A common plastic used in baby bottles is polycarbonate. In separate studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Consumers Union and researchers at Nagasaki University in Japan found that baby bottles made of polycarbonate plastic release a hormone-disrupting chemical, bisphenol-A, into infant formula during sterilization and heating on the stove-top. The Japanese scientists also found that used bottles leached up to nearly twice as much as new bottles. Other plastic bottles and plastic disposable bags for bottles may leach phthalates, another hormone disrupting chemical. Some plastic bottles have coloured designs on the inside of the bottle which can come off during heating.
Running low on household items
I ran out of dishwasher soap last night, and we're almost out of laundry soap.
Dishwasher soap
Mix and use per dishwasher load:
1 Tablespoon Borax
1 Tablespoon Baking soda
Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
For light load, use 1 tablespoon.
For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons.
Ivory Soap, Deodorant Soap, and Beauty Bars can be substituted for the Fels Naptha Soap. Essential Oils can be added to soap for fragrance.
Borax and washing soda come in cardboard containers. The soap is probably packaged in plastic, but compared to the containers that most laundry detergent comes in, it's minimal. I'm going to test these out in the next few days.
We're also running low on liquid hand soap and regular dish soap. I can refill our bottle at Madison Market in their bulk section. I can also use bar soap for our hands (I still have quite a few bars leftover from my L'Occitane days). I've looked up homemade dish soap online, but most seem to require glycerin, which I believe comes in plastic bottles. Any ideas?
Friday, September 21, 2007
Awareness
A few other households have started "satellite" projects echoing our own. This is fantastic! Some are trying to eliminate all plastic, while others are cutting back on the excess.
I wanted to take a moment to write about awareness. Plastic isn't "bad". It's not "The Devil", not by a long shot. I, for one, embrace our evil plastic overlords. Plastic has been a major attribute to the successes in our scientific community and is one of the top contributors to the advancement of society.
I believe that there's an overuse of plastic in the United States. Americans want everything sterilized, and thus everything is wrapped in at least one layer of plastic. The point of this project is to become aware of how much plastic has seeped into our everyday lives.
It's working. I can't help but notice plastic everywhere. Today, I tried to buy a jar of mustard. I'm making a potato salad for a party tomorrow, and it's just not right without a little stone ground mustard. I looked at the options available, instantly dismissing the plastic squeeze bottles. Looking at the jars with metal lids, I realized that even with a metal lid, 9/10 jars had a plastic shrink-wrapped seal "for freshness". The jar that I purchased (seen in the photo to the right) only has a strip of paper attached from the label to the lid. It was almost the only option. I've noticed this same use of a plastic seal on almost every product that is sold in a grocery store. Some I can understand, but 
Today marks the 11th day since we officially started this project. We've saved almost all of the plastic that we've bought, minus a plastic bag from a box of cereal and a juice bottle from my train ride. Pictured on the right: 2 boxes of wine (via Carl who very sneakily brought them home while I was visiting relatives), a plastic wrapper from the canning pot, a plastic cover for a candle (Carl turns 30 this weekend), two bags that held streamers (a frivolous purchase), a plastic seal for something, a pizza box insert (which our friend Mike actually paid for), a plastic tag for cilantro, and two plastic tags for green onions.
I listed this out to show how easily one can eliminate a lot of excess plastic from their daily lives. I scan the groceries of the people ahead of me in line at the grocery store and some have plastic wrappers on everything they are buying!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Back from vacation
I had a great time in Oregon. I managed to avoid buying plastic until I was on the train home. I really needed something to drink and the water on the train tasted
funky. I opted to buy an orange juice, which conveniently comes in a plastic bottle! After I finished the juice, I could find no place on the train to recycle the bottle. I had to either throw it in the trash or find room in my overly-packed bags (thanks to a visit to the used bookstore in Eugene). I checked Amtrak's website and found a form to leave a comment.
I recently traveled with Amtrak from Seattle, WA to Eugene, OR. On my return trip, I noticed that Amtrak does not provide recycling receptacles for cans, bottles, and/or plastic. Has Amtrak considered providing recycling receptacles and if so, when will this service be available? Thank you.
We'll see if they respond. Honestly I doubt that they have given much thought to providing recycle bins onboard, as the trains are pretty cramped as it is.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Vacation
I'm heading down to Eugene, Oregon tomorrow on the train and just realized that I have nothing suitable at home to take for food. If I had planned ahead, I could have picked up some bread, made a sandwich, then packed it with carrots and celery to eat. The likelihood of finding food not packaged in plastic is pretty low, especially on the train. Also, the likelihood of finding non-junk food is pretty low as well. I think this means I'll have to walk to the store before going to bed in order to pick up some bread.
This situation is one that I suspected would happen at some point during the experiment.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Polyerethane
Via Wikipedia
Over three quarters of the global consumption of polyurethane products is in the form of foams, with flexible and rigid types being roughly equal in market size. In both cases, the foam is usually behind other materials: flexible foams are behind upholstery fabrics in commercial and domestic furniture; rigid foams are inside the metal and plastic walls of most refrigerators and freezers, or behind paper, metals and other surface materials in the case of thermal insulation panels in the construction sector. Its use in garments is growing: for example, in lining the cups of brassieres. Polyurethane is also used for moldings which include door frames, columns, balusters, window headers, pediments, medallions and rosettes.
- Polyurethane materials are commonly formulated as paints and varnishes for finishing coats to protect or seal wood.
- Polyurethane is also used in making solid tires. Modern roller blading and skateboarding became economical only with the introduction of tough, abrasion-resistant polyurethane parts.
- Polyurethane is also used in furniture manufacture for casting soft edges around table tops and panel that are stylish, very durable and prevent injury. These are used in school tables, hospital and bank furniture as well as shop counters and displays.
- Much of the foam used in chairs, couches, Comfy Sacks and mattresses is polyurethane foam.
- Flexible and semi-flexible polyurethane foams are used extensively for interior components of automobiles, in seats, headrests, armrests, roof liners and instrument panels.
- Polyurethane has been used to make several Tennis Overgrips such as Yonex Supergrap, Wilson Pro Overgrip and many other grips.
- Often electronic components are protected from environmental influence and mechanical shock by enclosing them in polyurethane.
- Polyurethane is used as an adhesive, especially as a woodworking glue.
- Polyurethane is used as a black wrapping for timepiece bracelets over the main material which is generally stainless steel. It is used for comfort, style, and durability.
- Gorilla Glue
After a period of 700 days, no aromatic amines were detected using gas chromatography mass spectroscopy, according to William E. Brown, who headed the study. Nor was any physical breakdown of the polyurethane foam cubes evident from visual inspection after the buckets were taken apart following the experiment.
Today's summary: I bought two kinds of tea at Vital Tea Leaf: one came in foil, the other in plastic (which mimicked the foil packaging). I bought a pound of chicken and a pound of bacon, both of which were wrapped only in paper.
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