Plastic plastic everywhere, challenge

[pinkytoe]

The topics of plastic and re-use has been interesting to me living in two different cities. One city, hyper-aware of it and the other, mostly unconscious. I take all the individual steps I can (and pick up other people's trash) but I know the problem is much bigger than that. There are scores of humans who are completely ignorant of the problem and businesses who don't care.

[Tradd]

CathyA mentioned it was difficult to find pen refills. I use Pilot G2 gel pens. You can get refills on Amazon. Used to be able to find them at Walmart, but not for a while.

[catherine]

I miss using these pens:

https://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Safari-F...1MJ812TJFA3XEC

They were mandatory in my Catholic elementary school. Every now and then I consider going back to using one. They make my handwriting look better. But then again, when do I ever write by hand these days, except when I leave my DH a note that I'm at the store? Oh, wait. When I want to tell him I went to the store, I text message him. And when I make notes in my daily journal, I use pencil so I can erase.

Forget the cartridge pen.

[JaneV2.0]

I know what you mean. My handwriting was always pretty chaotic (I had it analyzed once, and they sent back a report with something like "get help" ) but it's become worse since I hardly ever write anything more demanding than grocery and to-do lists. That looks like a nice pen, but I think that ship has sailed...

[pinkytoe]

Another returning trend is the old metal razor that uses a double sided blade. A good thing since the world is probably afloat in disposable plastic razors.

[SteveinMN]

Another returning trend is the old metal razor that uses a double sided blade. A good thing since the world is probably afloat in disposable plastic razors.

I've been shaving with one of those since the mid-2000s. An all-metal razor that's every bit as good today as it was when it was made 50+ years ago. Even the blades are recyclable. Now plastic razors feel too light and flimsy to do the job.

[jp1]

I recall when my two youngest were very young--maybe 5 and 6--we went to our local natural food store in Princeton. The kids were curious about the bulk peanut butter machine. An elderly man (probably he was the age I am now, frankly) saw the kids looking at it and said "Mmm, this is good!" And he wiped his finger under the peanut butter that was dripping from the spigot, and then he licked his finger. "Hmm!!!" he said.

Then he told the kids: "Try it!"

I'm reminded of a former coworker of mine. She used to refill a plastic water bottle (the purchased Dasani kind) at the water cooler by jamming the thing up against the cooler's spigot. Getting her bright red lipstick on the water cooler spigot in the process confirming to all of us what she had done. YUCK!

[jp1]

I know what you mean. My handwriting was always pretty chaotic (I had it analyzed once, and they sent back a report with something like "get help" ) but it's become worse since I hardly ever write anything more demanding than grocery and to-do lists. That looks like a nice pen, but I think that ship has sailed...

I haven't written a grocery list in years. I have a running note in the notes app on my phone. As I think "jp, get that at the store next time you're there" I add it to the digital note. Then, while I"m standing in the checkout I erase everything that I"m buying.

[jp1]

As a sort of aside to this topic, I like that my city has curbside compost pickup. Not so much because of individual households, although I suppose that's good, especially for yard waste, but because of restaurants. SO's main hotel, a 2000 room entire-block monster with multiple restaurants and ballrooms, has 6 big compost bins that get emptied multiple times per day by their refuse company. Multiply that across a city with thousands of restaurants and it adds up.

[Rogar]

Today's news says that the European Parliament is close to banning a number of single use plastic products and a mandatory reduction of other plastics including fishing nets. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/26/66084...e-use-plastics We can do our best for voluntary reductions here, but it's going to take some sorts of regulations like this to overcome some of the market forces. I don't understand how or why Americans are not more on board for environmental regulations.

My recycling center is starting to require all plastics to be separate and sorted by the numbers. Something I don't mind doing and hopefully will reduce the plastics going to landfills. I was in a Whole Foods no less and peeked inside their recycle containers. People had tossed in a variety of refuse inappropriate for the container label. My understanding is that at least one of the problems with recycling plastics and other recyclables is contamination like this.

I am almost out of the work pens I had in forgotten in my pocket and brought home. I try to write some handwritten notes to people for certain occasions and bought a couple Fisher Space Pens. Maybe some remember those, they were developed for the space program back in the days of Tang and could write upside down and even underwater. They write on those slick coated greeting cards or on checks that might have some finger print oil. You can still buy them and they have replaceable cartridges. As the story goes the government spent a lot of money to develop them for the astronauts to use in space. The Soviets had a more simple solution, lead pencils.