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Not completely related, but... I always wanted to try an experiment: Don't buy any dishes. Adapt whatever packaging that you buy your food with to use as dishe

Not completely related, but... I always wanted to try an experiment: Don't buy any dishes. Adapt whatever packaging that you buy your food with to use as dishes. So a yogurt container becomes a bowl. The styrofoam trays that have meat on them become a plate (don't forget to disinfect it first...) Plastic drink bottles become cups (you can make a surprisingly nice wine bottle out of the top of a soda bottle). I wonder how long it would take you to kit yourself out with a complete set of dishes... I often think that even as late as 20 years ago, you could go to your local tofu maker here in Japan with a container and they would put tofu in it for you[0]. If you imagine that you would only need 1 tofu container for your whole life, you could afford to have a really nice tofu container. Out of stubbornness (and the fact that I live in a country that is hot most of the time), I wash all of my containers before I throw them out. I get sad, though, that I have all this stuff which is perfectly usable, but if I'm honest I don't want to use because it is crappy. I want that lovely $100 tofu container rather than the $0.00001 plastic wrapping. I want to look at and touch and enjoy nice stuff every day. It seems to me that it's kind of what it's like to be super rich, where you never see the garbage -- everything is repackaged into lovely containers for you. Of course, in reality, the Andy Warhol-esq lifestyle we live, where everything is commoditised and you can't buy a $10,000 bottle of Coke that tastes different from a $1 bottle of coke is built upon the efficiencies of being able to dispose of these transitory containers. I wonder how much we lose as a society for running virtually every price to the lowest possible level. [0] - There is a small family run tofu maker in my town and I'm always tempted just to show up with a tofu container that I could buy at an antique shop just to see what they would say. Maybe they would sell me tofu... That would be awesome.

nathancahill 8y ago
On a slightly further tangent, a lot of take out places will serve your food in containers that you bring with you as long as their clean. If you're willing to break some perceived social norms. You should absolutely try that at the tofu maker.
sequoia 8y ago
> I'm always tempted just to show up with a tofu container that I could buy at an antique shop just to see what they would say Don't talk about it, be about it. It sounds like your assumption that you can no longer buy tofu in bulk or your own container is just that–an assumption. I've seen health-food stores in north america that buy tofu in buckets so you can pick what you want out bulk-bin style. Don't assume things are as bad as they seem! Be the change etc.
tokyodude 8y ago
I keep plenty of containers and use them to store food or at a party to give people leftovers. I know in SF, Rainbow Groceries require/allows you to use your own contaners for many things. spices, gains, nuts, pickled things, ... The only part I hate is I don't trust the other patrons to use each dispenser in a clean way.
sdrothrock 8y ago
> The styrofoam trays that have meat on them become a plate I've noticed a trend here in Tokyo of some supermarkets (notably the Summit chain) not even selling the trays anymore -- a lot of meat just comes vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag branded as "eco."
- code_duck 8y ago
  Not sure how new this is, but I buy whole chickens frequently, and that is how every brand I’ve seen packages them in the US.
  - sdrothrock 8y ago
    I'm talking about stuff that usually comes on trays, like pork chops, ground beef, chicken breasts, etc.
    - code_duck 8y ago
      I understand, just mentioning it.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
I always wanted to try similar experiment - to see what I can build for the house out of used packaging; in particular, large plastic bottles from soft drinks (we already drink filtered tap water instead of buying bottled). The amount of plastic packaging I find myself throwing away weekly is ridiculous, and it's really hard to avoid it. We segregate trash, but with the stories breaking out recently that recycling is a code word for "shipping out to poorer countries to be dumped all over the place", one wonders what's the point. > I wonder how much we lose as a society for running virtually every price to the lowest possible level. We're losing the habitability of our planet. I thought long about this in the past, and honestly - disposable packaging wouldn't be a bad thing iff it was efficiently (and actually) reused or recycled after being disposed of, and if we didn't have problems with energy security and fossil-fuel-induced climate change. 24ᵗʰ century humanity from Star Trek would be able to use disposable packaging to their heart's content (and note that in the show, they didn't). Our Earth can't afford this. And yet we do, and it's a market failure.
- Joakal 8y ago
  Make the producers take back garbage that's not recyclable/biodegradable as condition for selling. Market externality now internalised. Imagine garbage bins gone from streets, only green/recycable bins. Yes, consumers have to return garbage. Otherwise, those with long term goods have to subsidise those that throw out garbage (rates/taxes for gatbage trucks/landfill).

nathancahill 8y ago

On a slightly further tangent, a lot of take out places will serve your food in containers that you bring with you as long as their clean. If you're willing to break some perceived social norms. You should absolutely try that at the tofu maker.

sequoia 8y ago

> I'm always tempted just to show up with a tofu container that I could buy at an antique shop just to see what they would say Don't talk about it, be about it. It sounds like your assumption that you can no longer buy tofu in bulk or your own container is just that–an assumption. I've seen health-food stores in north america that buy tofu in buckets so you can pick what you want out bulk-bin style. Don't assume things are as bad as they seem! Be the change etc.

tokyodude 8y ago

I keep plenty of containers and use them to store food or at a party to give people leftovers. I know in SF, Rainbow Groceries require/allows you to use your own contaners for many things. spices, gains, nuts, pickled things, ... The only part I hate is I don't trust the other patrons to use each dispenser in a clean way.

sdrothrock 8y ago

> The styrofoam trays that have meat on them become a plate I've noticed a trend here in Tokyo of some supermarkets (notably the Summit chain) not even selling the trays anymore -- a lot of meat just comes vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag branded as "eco."

code_duck 8y ago
Not sure how new this is, but I buy whole chickens frequently, and that is how every brand I’ve seen packages them in the US.
- sdrothrock 8y ago
  I'm talking about stuff that usually comes on trays, like pork chops, ground beef, chicken breasts, etc.
  - code_duck 8y ago
    I understand, just mentioning it.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

I always wanted to try similar experiment - to see what I can build for the house out of used packaging; in particular, large plastic bottles from soft drinks (we already drink filtered tap water instead of buying bottled). The amount of plastic packaging I find myself throwing away weekly is ridiculous, and it's really hard to avoid it. We segregate trash, but with the stories breaking out recently that recycling is a code word for "shipping out to poorer countries to be dumped all over the place", one wonders what's the point. > I wonder how much we lose as a society for running virtually every price to the lowest possible level. We're losing the habitability of our planet. I thought long about this in the past, and honestly - disposable packaging wouldn't be a bad thing iff it was efficiently (and actually) reused or recycled after being disposed of, and if we didn't have problems with energy security and fossil-fuel-induced climate change. 24ᵗʰ century humanity from Star Trek would be able to use disposable packaging to their heart's content (and note that in the show, they didn't). Our Earth can't afford this. And yet we do, and it's a market failure.

Joakal 8y ago
Make the producers take back garbage that's not recyclable/biodegradable as condition for selling. Market externality now internalised. Imagine garbage bins gone from streets, only green/recycable bins. Yes, consumers have to return garbage. Otherwise, those with long term goods have to subsidise those that throw out garbage (rates/taxes for gatbage trucks/landfill).