Turkey Tracks: January 19, 2012
Cutting the Waste Stream and Detoxing the Kitchen
When we first moved to Maine, I was clueless about how many paper products we were using. And, how much of each. I could go through a whole roll of paper towels while cleaning the kitchen by the time I mopped up the stove, hood, sink, counters, and cabinets. And, I didn’t think twice about it either.
Our first hint that Mainers don’t use paper like I had done for forever came when we were invited to a potluck. I made a really nice dish, and off we went. Only, when we arrived, we discovered that everyone was supposed to bring their own plate, utensils, and drinking cup. Wow. It was a revelation. Fortunately, another couple lent us one of their sets of everything and each couple ate from one plate. Our journey toward stopping the paper habit started that night.
Except for paper napkins, I’ve not bought any household paper eating supplies in about 6 years. And, paper napkins get used very little since we use cloth napkins–which we wash when they get dirty, not after every meal. (I grew up with this practice, actually, in my grandmother’s home.) Mostly, paper napkins get used to blow our noses since they are sturdier than kleenex! And that’s going to stop because I lucked into a box of handkerchiefs a while back, and I, at least, have been carrying one of those in a pocket. But, they are delicate for the most part. I wonder if sturdy cloth handkerchiefs are on the market anywhere?
Last fall I bought a stack of white wash cloths at our local Penny’s–about a dozen for $10. (Along with some GREAT cotton sheets at 1/2 the price of other places.) I put them in a bowl on the kitchen counter, and I grab one when I need to clean anything in the kitchen, wipe my hands, wipe…anything. They get thrown in the washer with the cloth kitchen towels, and all get bleached when they really need it–though the sun does a great job in the summer. And, of course, I have lots of rags from old t-shirts, towels, and the like.
Next, I need to figure out how to store clean rags in the bathroom instead of using paper towels to wipe out a sink, polish a mirror, or swish out the toilet (with gloves on, of course). Now that I’ve focused on the problem, it shouldn’t be hard to solve.
When our quilt group meets, we each bring our own coffee/tea cup. That’s worked well for many years now. We hardly ever have to buy disposable cups anymore. Plates and napkins, though, we do still buy. And, plastic forks and spoons. Hmmmmm. This might be worth discussing at the group. The Lion’s Club where we meet has plates, utensils, etc., but we’d have to wash them afterwards… That’s the big problem, isn’t it? We don’t want to expend energy in that way… We’ve noticed that people from away who visit use napkins like plates, without giving a thought to the trade-off: wash a plate or trash more trees.
It’s always a shock when someone from an urban area comes because our trash fills up quickly with all the disposable coffee cups they…”trash.” Maine has a good bottle law. It could be better if they upped the tax a bit more. Studies have shown that the higher the tax, the better the return, which means less goes into the environment. Anyway, we take our trash to our local dump and pay $1 for the big yellow bags we use. There are great recycling bins for paper, cardboard, cans, and bottles. Obviously, the less trash we put into those yellow bags, the less we pay. We compost all our plant wastes, and the chickens and dogs eat all the kitchen “slop.”
Packaging creates a huge amount of trash. In Britain, I read not long ago, shoppers were stripping their produce out of all the packaging and leaving it for the store to manage. I don’t know how that came out. I do know many of us in Maine are using our own bags when we shop, and I’ve stopped putting a lot of produce into plastic bags to carry them home. Lettuce, maybe. Apples, no. I shop mostly at a co-op anyway, and they don’t supply shopping bags or pack your groceries for you. And, they ask you to pay for any bags you use when gathering food. But, when I do go to a local supermarket, which is not very often, I’ve stopped going blindly along with all the plastic packaging. I haven’t quite had the nerve to strip off packaging from organic produce I might buy in a supermarket, but that day is coming soon. Mostly I try to buy local, organic food, and that’s not often in the supermarket anyway.
I stopped buying and using aluminum foil a few years back. It’s toxic. It’s metal, so it doesn’t break down in a land fill. It was a little disconcerting at first because I had all these food habits that made me reach for the foil to cover a pan or wrap something to heat or transport. But, I’ve learned to cope. A bit of wax or parchment paper laid over a hot dish, covered with a thick towel transports food really well. And, I’ve figured out how to use other lids or pans to cover an open dish in the oven.
I haven’t yet stopped buying plastic wrap. But, that’s next. And, for heaven’s sake, don’t heat plastic wrap in a microwave and give that food to anyone! (Actually, we took the microwave to the garage three years ago, and we haven’t missed it. The microwave issue is a whole thing on its own, but every holistic or energy person I know does not use one.) I already use plates to cover most bowls I put in the refrigerator. That works fine. The plate even makes a hard place where you can set another dish.
I got rid of all plastic storage containers years ago. I do have some glass containers with glass lids, but they are hard to find. I have some glass or metal containers with plastic lids, but I wash those lids by hand. I use Mason Jars a lot. And, glass food jars get washed and saved.
So, I’m down to ziplock bags. And I still use those. I wash and reuse them, so I feel a bit better. But, in the end, I don’t want plastic touching my food any more. I’ve just read too much about how little we know about what’s going on inside a plastic anything. And, what we do know is scary. And, I do know that manufacturing plastic is toxic in so many ways. Plus, it’s all made from oil, which is a limited resource. Plastic just isn’t something I want to have in my life or to support. So, I’ll start thinking about exactly how I use plastic bags and trying to figure out how not to.
I have discovered that you can hold lettuce or other salad ingredients really well wrapped in a kitchen towel. I put cut tomatoes cut side down on a plate on the counter. I don’t like tomatoes refrigerated anyway. Ditto for an onion. Both get eaten or used quickly anyway.
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