WHO KNEW July Is “Choose to Refuse” Single Use Plastics Month?

Staying away from single use plastic will be a challenge and already I am thinking about what my alternatives will be. But I will try not to bring any single use plastic into my house.

At the farm stand and grocery store I can use my own produce bags for all my fruits and vegetables. I even have some tightly woven cotton ones for items such as rice from the grocery store bulk bin area. The meat department is the trickiest area. I’m not sure they will let me refuse the plastic bags over the paper wrappers, but I will give it a try. Lucky for me, most of my dinners are meatless. At the checkout area of stores, I have plenty of tote bags.

Take out from restaurants will be difficult. I guess I need to do less take out and instead eat at restaurants and bring home leftovers in my own containers.

The pharmacy is another place that uses lots of plastic. Instead of bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body soap, I can use bar soaps. For mouthwash, detergents and kitchen cleaners, I shop on line at Blueland.com and byHumanKind.com. I’m not sure there is presently any substitution for prescription medicine packaging. Do you have any ideas?

This July I will be diligent and refuse the offer of plastic bags and try to not purchase anything else packaged in plastic. It will be a good reminder of what I should be aiming for all year long.