Avoiding single use plastic is hard to do

As 2023 headed to a close, I decided 2024 would be a good time for me to make a major effort to avoid single-use plastic.

Ten days in, I haven't gotten very far.

Here are some things that come in plastic:

* Milk (specifically Lactaid, because I've become less tolerant of lactose in my dotage). I could buy it by the cardboard-carton quart instead of by the plastic-jug gallon, but cartons also contain plastic. Or I could buy milk in glass bottles and use lactase drops to break down the lactose, a more expensive option than buying milk in larger quantities at Costco. Or I could quit consuming dairy products. As an ovo-lacto vegetarian since 1986, I've thought on and off about going vegan. If the numerous ethical and environmental animal-husbandry reasons to do so aren't sufficient motivation, perhaps rejecting single-use plastic is? 

* Cheese. Maybe I need to buy this at a grocery store deli counter instead of out of a refrigerator. I might be able to persuade one of the local cheese vendors at the Durham Farmers' Market to wrap some cheeses for me in paper instead of plastic, but there's a big monetary difference between locally made cheese and Costco's imported selection. Maybe cheese needs to become a rare treat instead of a frequent food.

* Tofu. The Co-op has dozens of plastic boxes of tofu in the refrigerator section. Perhaps I can find tofu in bulk somewhere local (and here, the walkaholic notes that this will necessitate driving; the four-mile RT walk to the co-op is more manageable than the 15-mile RT walk to the Asian food store)... Do I want to try making tofu from scratch?

* Vegan imitation animal flesh. 100% packaged in plastic. Fine, I'll stick with beans and grains and eggs.

* Cauliflower and spinach. These come pre-wrapped in plastic at the Co-op, Whole Foods, and Harris Teeter. I could buy broccoli and kale instead, or purchase cauliflower and spinach seasonally at the Farmers' Market. Eating seasonally and locally is probably the more interesting way to go.

* Coffee beans. Caffeine and I do not get along, so I've been drinking only decaf since 1986--but I do enjoy the decaf lattes S makes me for breakfast. I guess I could switch to tea...

* Tea. My most recent box of peppermint tea came wrapped in plastic, but herbal tea--and mint in particular--is easy enough to find in bulk.

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Here's the plastic inventory for last night's dinner (cauliflower cheese pie with grated-potato crust [based on the recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook], green leafy salad, and chocolate pudding): 

I bought the potatoes in bulk, so no plastic.

The onion was the last onion from a 3-lb. bag; the bag was made of plastic netting with a plasticized label. Next time, I can buy individual unbagged onions--and pay more for the privilege. 

The cauliflower came in a plastic bag that I figured I could re-use for other veggies--but the bag turned out to have slits cut into it so the cauliflower could breathe.

The eggs came in a cardboard egg carton, but the milk and cheese came in plastic. Salt, pepper, thyme--the seasonings all came in re-fillable glass containers.

S made the salad. The lettuce came from a plastic bag of five heads, from Costco, but locally grown lettuce is easy enough to purchase unbagged. Next time. 

Vinegar and olive oil came from glass bottles, but honey and stone-ground mustard both came in plastic bottles. I don't know of any bulk sources for stone-ground mustard (although last year I tried, and failed, to make whole-seed mustard from scratch), but we can switch to glass-jarred brands. Likewise honey, or I can find a source for bulk honey and re-use the bear-shaped plastic bottles.

Dessert was chocolate pudding from scratch. Milk from a plastic jug. Organic sugar from a plastic bag; we can buy sugar in a paper sack next time. The cornstarch, cocoa powder, butter, and chocolate came from non-plastic containers, although the cornstarch container has a plastic lid. Next time I can buy cornstarch in a cardboard box. Vanilla came from a plastic bottle from Costco. Homemade vanilla extract sounds like a worthwhile project.

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Sometime in the next week, I will walk over to Part and Parcel to check out their bulk offerings. I'll report back...