Use Less Plastic -- Interviews with Coop Members


"The question is not 'can you make a difference?' You already do make a difference.  It's just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, during your life on this planet."
-- Julia Butterfly Hill
Some coop members are using less plastic these days.  Seven of them were interviewed about what they're doing, how, and why.  Thank you to Anna Amadei, David Barouh, Michael Braudy, Laura Sheinkopf, Moraima Suarez, Majo Tinoco, and Gabriel Willow for generously sharing their experiences and thoughts.
The common feature of what these members are doing in the produce and bulk aisles is simple:  they make another choice instead of taking a new plastic bag from the roll.  Either they use no bag or a cloth bag, or re-use an old plastic bag.  Beyond this shared choice, they have individually found other ways to reduce plastic use.
Some of what inspired these people to reduce their plastic use:  for Majo, "increasing awareness of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and how it affects marine life," led to action.  Anna was inspired by myplasticfreelife.com to begin a plastic-free year.
See the longer article in the Gazette, 9/22/11, (scroll down to p. 5), for more on how these seven negotiate the produce and bulk aisles without new plastic and why they're making changes.
Part II will range further afield:  other plastic-reducing actions of these seven, problems they've encountered, their hopes for a less-plastic future.
Meanwhile, what kind of difference do you want to make? You are needed now.
To reduce plastic use, please:
  1. Make another choice than plastic-roll bags in produce and bulk aisles.
  2. Read about and support the environmental committee's proposal to phase out plastic bag rolls.
Photo by Chris Jordan

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