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I have been doing this for about 2 years now. Got a few glass mason jars that I fill up with items like rice and nuts from the bulk bin at the grocery store. Pe

by sotix 3y ago

I have been doing this for about 2 years now. Got a few glass mason jars that I fill up with items like rice and nuts from the bulk bin at the grocery store. Peanut butter and jelly both come in glass jars. I get just about everything else from a local farm share where the items are not packaged in anything. It’s nice not dealing with plastic with my food. I used to throw so much of it away. Now most of my food waste is compostable.

philip1209 3y ago
I do similar things. Just replacing plastic sandwich bags with reusable silicon ones has been a big win. Even at the farmer's market, I eliminated the last little plastic by bringing cotton vegetable bags. To be clear, I'm not puritanical about this. I still do takeout sometimes. And, I'm about to hop on some flights that will burn a ton of oil. (Ironically, one of those carbon-belching flights is to a dinner at Silo, which I'm looking forward to.) Two of my biggest realizations have been: 1. There are many low-hanging changes we can make to reduce plastic, such as going to a farmers market, replacing a one-time use sandwich bag with a reusable one, or skipping delivery food (which often has more plastic packaging than actual food). 2. Low-plastic is often synonymous with quality. My cotton jeans, leather bag, and metal water bottle are all more expensive - but they are higher quality, have lasted for years, and can often be repaired. For example, my leather was an expensive $400, but I've had it for 8 years and counting - and just had it restored to look shiny and new. (Put another way: Plastic lacks wabi-sabi beauty).
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  My god, this section is full of self-congratulatory, delusional posts. Hop on a flight to go to dinner at Silo? That single flight it probably worth more than a decade of reducing plastic sandwich bags. My cotton jeans, leather bag, and metal water bottle are all more expensive - but they are higher quality, have lasted for years, and can often be repaired. You can probably buy jeans at Walmart for 10 USD. They will last for a decade.
  - smileysteve 3y ago
    Walmart jeans are about $20, men's wranglers have stretch with spandex plastic, but will definitely approach 10 years.
- kgabis 3y ago
  Is this satire? Do you realise how much plastic is used and wasted when farming and how insignificant your actions are?
itake 3y ago
My understanding is glass causes higher levels of carbon emotions b/c it is heavier to transport [0]. If you are re-using the jars, then that would have a lower impact, but if you're buying jarred butter and jelly, you're making the problem worse. [0] - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230427-glass-or-plastic-which-is-better-for-the-environment https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230427-glass-or-plastic...
- azemetre 3y ago
  I'd think the benefit of using glass, especially in the context of food and drink, would be lessening the amount of nano plastic your body digests. Besides it's not hard to tip the carbon emission in favor of glass if the externalities of plastic (and fuel) were appropriately priced and not massively subsidized.
  - throwaway2037 3y ago
    About nano plastic: Are they any serious (respected), peer-reviewed scientific studies on the negative health effects of nano plastics? It is frequently mentioned by the "natural crowd" on HN, but I never see any scientific evidence shared.
    - elhudy 3y ago
      Even if there weren’t any studies on the harmful effects of plastic consumption (which I’m fairly certain there are at least theoretical mechanistic studies if you make the effort to look for them), it makes common sense to try to avoid that, no? I don’t think there are any studies on the effects of regularly drinking gasoline or eating toilet paper either, but plastic, gasoline, and toilet paper consumption aren't exactly time-tested foods that propelled civilization forward.
      - throwaway2037 3y ago
        What a silly reply. Yes, there are many studies about the consumption of hazardous chemicals, including gasoline. There are even many about just the fumes -- no need to regularly drink it. My point: The "hair on fire" comments about nano plastic still hasn't been borne out by peer-reviewed scientific research. I recall on HN someone mentioned that a recent discover was that tyre dust is a large potion of micro plastics in our world.

by sotix 3y ago

philip1209 3y ago

I do similar things. Just replacing plastic sandwich bags with reusable silicon ones has been a big win. Even at the farmer's market, I eliminated the last little plastic by bringing cotton vegetable bags. To be clear, I'm not puritanical about this. I still do takeout sometimes. And, I'm about to hop on some flights that will burn a ton of oil. (Ironically, one of those carbon-belching flights is to a dinner at Silo, which I'm looking forward to.) Two of my biggest realizations have been: 1. There are many low-hanging changes we can make to reduce plastic, such as going to a farmers market, replacing a one-time use sandwich bag with a reusable one, or skipping delivery food (which often has more plastic packaging than actual food). 2. Low-plastic is often synonymous with quality. My cotton jeans, leather bag, and metal water bottle are all more expensive - but they are higher quality, have lasted for years, and can often be repaired. For example, my leather was an expensive $400, but I've had it for 8 years and counting - and just had it restored to look shiny and new. (Put another way: Plastic lacks wabi-sabi beauty).

throwaway2037 3y ago
My god, this section is full of self-congratulatory, delusional posts. Hop on a flight to go to dinner at Silo? That single flight it probably worth more than a decade of reducing plastic sandwich bags. My cotton jeans, leather bag, and metal water bottle are all more expensive - but they are higher quality, have lasted for years, and can often be repaired. You can probably buy jeans at Walmart for 10 USD. They will last for a decade.
- smileysteve 3y ago
  Walmart jeans are about $20, men's wranglers have stretch with spandex plastic, but will definitely approach 10 years.
kgabis 3y ago
Is this satire? Do you realise how much plastic is used and wasted when farming and how insignificant your actions are?

itake 3y ago

My understanding is glass causes higher levels of carbon emotions b/c it is heavier to transport [0]. If you are re-using the jars, then that would have a lower impact, but if you're buying jarred butter and jelly, you're making the problem worse. [0] - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230427-glass-or-plastic-which-is-better-for-the-environment https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230427-glass-or-plastic...

azemetre 3y ago
I'd think the benefit of using glass, especially in the context of food and drink, would be lessening the amount of nano plastic your body digests. Besides it's not hard to tip the carbon emission in favor of glass if the externalities of plastic (and fuel) were appropriately priced and not massively subsidized.
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  About nano plastic: Are they any serious (respected), peer-reviewed scientific studies on the negative health effects of nano plastics? It is frequently mentioned by the "natural crowd" on HN, but I never see any scientific evidence shared.
  - elhudy 3y ago
    Even if there weren’t any studies on the harmful effects of plastic consumption (which I’m fairly certain there are at least theoretical mechanistic studies if you make the effort to look for them), it makes common sense to try to avoid that, no? I don’t think there are any studies on the effects of regularly drinking gasoline or eating toilet paper either, but plastic, gasoline, and toilet paper consumption aren't exactly time-tested foods that propelled civilization forward.
    - throwaway2037 3y ago
      What a silly reply. Yes, there are many studies about the consumption of hazardous chemicals, including gasoline. There are even many about just the fumes -- no need to regularly drink it. My point: The "hair on fire" comments about nano plastic still hasn't been borne out by peer-reviewed scientific research. I recall on HN someone mentioned that a recent discover was that tyre dust is a large potion of micro plastics in our world.