How many Rs are there?

As I begin this year-long experiment to avoid single-use plastic, I’ve already discovered the “zero-waste bloggers.” I planned to “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” But a quick search of the interwebs shows me that I’m at least 2 R’s short. Apparently there are at least 5 R’s. But what are they? Duckduckgo showed several options on the first page of resutls. And the final one even has a bonus!

• refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle
• reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse, recover
• refuse, reduce, reuse (+repair), recycle, rot

I discovered that I’ve already been working on the “Refuse” part. I’m not going to be “zero-waste,” and that isn’t my target. I’ve already failed at trying to make compost for my garden. How much difference can I make without even making sacrifices (such as refusing things I don’t need anyway) or with minor sacrifices?

Keeping Ziploc® containers in my car allows me to avoid expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam®) takeout containers.

Already this year, only a week in, I’ve succeeded, and I’ve failed. I took my daughter to see a musical in a nearby city. We went out for lunch before the show, and she had some leftovers. I used a container from my car to store them in, negating the need for a disposable takeout box. I’ve been keeping these in my car for some months now. I bring them home, wash them, and return them to the car for the next time they’re needed.

After the show, we went to an early dinner with her friend and his family. The friend’s family bought dinner, and offered to send leftovers home with us. I tried to refuse, weakly. But, not wanting to make a scene, I agreed. So we went home with pizza in an expanded polystyrene container. What’s more, while my daughter and I only ordered water to drink, others ordered sweet tea that arrived in 22-ounce polypropylene cups–one of which my daughter was offered as a “souvenir.”

When I went out for a omelette today, I again put my leftovers in a reusable container from my car. But without thinking, I used two containers of jelly from the table for my toast. It’s so easy to use disposable plastic without even thinking. In this case, I would have had to deny myself the pleasure of mixed-fruit Smuckers in order to eliminate the small amount of plastic waste.

And I still have some of my favorite yogurt in the fridge. I can’t get the Dannon coffee yogurt in the town where I live, so I have bought many of them when I visit a nearby town (note the October date on the package in the photo). This yogurt comes in a disposable polystyrene container, as shown by the “6” code and the letters “PS” on the bottom. I’m still going to eat this yogurt, but when it’s gone, it’s gone, for the duration of this experiment. The experiment is for 2020, but I’m hoping for lasting changes in my habits. I’ll keep you updated on what I have to sacrifice, and where I can find legitimate sustainable alternatives. But I’m gonna miss this yogurt.

It was easy to avoid using foam take-home boxes without sacrificing anything at all, but more challenging to enjoy my jelly or yogurt without throwing plastic in the garbage.

As a trained organic chemist/biochemist, I am not opposed to the manufacture or use of plastic. I recall using polystyrene beads in high-school “shop” to fill molds in steam baths to make storage containers for the clay chess pieces that we (that is, the shop teacher) made. I still have this chess set.

In the next post, I’ll explore the chemistry of polystyrene – where it comes from, and where it goes. And we’ve got many more kinds of plastic to look at on this journey. I’ll try to keep it interesting.