It’s Plastic-Free July, so we’ve updated earlier posts and added new ones to bring you almost 30 ways to go plastic-free in 30 days. Our goal: to bring you as many ways as possible to help you replace your plastic stuff with, well, stuff that’s not plastic.

We’ll be saying a lot more about what’s wrong with plastic throughout the month. But for starters, one of the biggest problems with it is that the darn stuff just doesn’t biodegrade. In other words, it lasts forever (some of it lasts for thousands of years, which is forever as far as I’m concerned).

Even when you think it’s gone, it’s just broken down into tiny pieces of micro plastic that are getting into our food (like fish and oysters) and water.

Many plastic products also contain endocrine disrupting chemicals that leach into the food or water they touch. These are chemicals that can interfere with our ability to reproduce, as well as cause learning disorders in kids, and maybe even cancer.

Why continue to use plastic when there are so many better, healthier, more eco-friendly options?

A big reason is that you might not know how many great alternatives to plastic there really are.

That’s why we’re devoting this month to all things that are NOT plastic.

What You Can Switch Out During Plastic-Free July

Here’s what’s on our list to help you switch out during Plastic-Free July:

√ Plastic straws 

√ Plastic picnic and party-ware (look out, 4th of July)

√ Plastic face masks

√ Bathroom plastic (like shampoo and lotion bottles and plastic microbeads in face wash)

√ Plastic cups

√ Plastic water bottles

√ Plastic soda bottles (refill instead)

√ Yogurt in plastic tubs

√ Plastic holiday wrapping

√ Plastic cleaning products

√ Plastic Halloween trick-or-treat bags

√ Plastic ink cartridges

√ Plastic sunglasses

√ Plastic toys for babies and toddlers

√ Plastic produce bags

√ Plastic Easter stuff

√ Plastic pet supplies

√ Plastic ocean trash

I could keep adding to my list, but I want to know what you need the most help with when you think about getting plastic out of your life.

Please let me know! Either leave a comment below, or head on over to the Big Green Purse Facebook page and weigh in there.

Plus, let me know what your biggest challenges are when you think about going plastic-free. If I can help you, I will!

Full disclosure: Big Green Purse has affiliate relationships with several companies that offer plastic-free products we may highlight. We will earn a small commission if you purchase a product using our affiliate links. But please know that we’d never do business with any of these folks if we didn’t think they were terrific. And the commissions do enable us to bring you the expert information you need to live the greener life you want, at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

The post 30 Days, 30 Ways to Go Plastic-Free During Plastic-Free July appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Everything – apart from a few bananas – comes wrapped in excessive plastic or paper. What gives? On a recent shopping trip there, all the fresh produce seemed to be hermetically sealed: one barrel was full of pairs of zucchini trapped on small polystyrene trays bundled in plastic. Another featured pairs of apples similarly presented. Elsewhere, the store was selling oversized boxes of organic tea bags – the tea bag was the same size, but it was encased in a large cellophane wrapper, then packed in a box that seemed to be 30% bigger than the standard size. Is that ok because the tea is organic?

Trader Joe’s offers a good selection of organic milk, eggs and butter. Its cleaning products minimize dangerous chemicals. And it sells many of these choices at reasonable prices. But the company does itself and its customers a disservice, especially in these lean and green times, by not reducing the packaging used to sell its products.

Maybe next time I’m there, I’ll just unwrap all the overpacked goods and leave the waste at the cash register.

Thumbs down, Trader Joe’s.

The post When it comes to packaging, Trader Joe’s can do better. appeared first on Big Green Purse.

The bag had already caught my eye, not only because it’s so cheerful and colorful, but also because it’s made from 80% post-consumer waste.  Plus, it’s got a washable surface and actually seems more ample inside than the standard paper grocery bag.

I asked Lillian Buie, marketing manager for the Whole Foods where I shop in Silver Spring, MD, what the give-away meant for the store’s use of paper and plastic bags.

“As of Earth Day 2008 (April 22, 2008), we won’t be bagging food in plastic anymore,” she said.  Paper bags (made from 100% recycled paper, and totally recyclable) will remain an option for customers who don’t bring their own bags, and the store will still provide plastic for bagging produce, meats and fish. But plastic grocery bags will be gone.

Even if you miss the free giveaway, these bags are worth buying. At only 99 cents per bag, you can’t go wrong (I’ve already bought three). And every time you use them, you’ll get a 5 cents/per bag refund on your grocery bill. The bags will pay for themselves in no time.

Thumbs up, Whole Foods.

MEMORY TIP: BTW, if you have trouble remembering to take reusable bags to the grocery store, try this: after you unpack your groceries, put all the bags inside a main bag, and put the main bag with your car keys. The next time you go to your car, take the bags and toss them in the back seat or the trunk. The bags won’t clutter a kitchen cupboard or closet, and you’ll always have reusable bags when you shop.

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