Plastic Passion

about two months have gone by since i started my own personal "plastic bag free" challenge.
it all began when i read about the
rubbish vortex also called the great pacific garbage patch, through a link posted by the attention worthy helle jorgensen

i remembered how in munich we were encouraged to shop with fabric bags and refuse plastic ones. paired with my frustration at the ever-growing amount of plastic bags in my kitchen drawers i started by looking into alternatives and ways to recycle the bags.

truth be told, recycling them is so time consuming, that it would be unrealistic to assume i could keep up with the incoming new bags, or that i would need *THAT* many recycled-plastic items in my household.

so really the solution was/is to reduce the amount of plastic bags entering my home to the slightest minimum. bringing a tote bag when going grocery shopping is certainly a great way to reduce the usage of plastic bags, but in reality i mostly shop after work or spontaneously when i am out.

so this is what i have been doing. i keep a tote bag rolled up in my purse at all times.
whenever i need to buy anything that is the bag i use. in result i have been buying groceries more frequently and in smaller quantities which also reduces waste (food going bad in my fridge). for the big shopping trips i have nice sturdy bags from trader joes, including a freezer bag. and ikea bags for the costco trips. i know, i know those are partially plastic too, but i already had them and will be using them for a looooooooong time.

i have to say that i am really satisfied with this method. the reactions i get when i tell cashiers "i don't need a bag" are funny. sometimes they make fun of me,
sometimes they fight me "but let me bag the meat for you"*forces item into a doubled-bag before i can snag it*. but i stand strong, and have been pulling items back out of the bags and placing them back onto that plastic bag dispenser of doom. century 21 refuses to let me use my own bags as their bags are part of their anti-shrink system...pff..

now as for the plastic bags that already found their way into my home, these are the crafty endeavors that will make them into something other than lethal ocean-parasites.

yarn

fabric

bathmat/rug

grocery bag

n.b. the brits are trying to ban plastic bags alltogether http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2210012,00.html#article_continue