Hi All, Master Recycler John Fischer here with KLCC's Living Less Unsustainably.
Here's an easy way to cut your plastic use in half, and enhance your health at the same time: Use plastic bags twice.
If you use a new lunch bag in the kids - or your - lunchbox everyday, using Mondays again on Tuesday will cut the waste you are creating in half.
You're probably already thinking why not use the same bag all week, or all month. Washing them out is simple - and often not even necessary. It was just corn chips, and will be again tomorrow.
Ideally, washing, when needed, will be in cold water. Drying will be done on the clothesline.
We have bags that have been around for years. There are cute little lunch sets that nest nicely and fit in a lunch sized container, and then there is the metal lunch pail which can often be found cheap at a second hand store.
The formerly ubiquitous plastic shopping bag has been banned in nine states - including Oregon- and while many of the reusable bags are still made of plastic, the good ones can last and last. If you have too many at home, bring a few extras to the store, and give them to folks who forgot.
And what about those health benefits? The plasticizers in the bags have an impact on the endocrine system which regulates many bodily functions including reproduction. The phthalate esters can migrate into food.
But time reduces the concentration of plasticizers in the plastic. You've likely noticed old bags get stiffer, and more brittle over time, and that means the health risk from the plasticizer is decreasing along with the amount of garbage you are creating, and the amount of money you are spending on single use items.
