Beth Terry's Blog, page 11

Lessons Learned from Failed Plastic Plumbing Repair

I thought this was post was going to be another one of my triumphant reports about how I avoided buying a new plastic gadget because I was able to fix the old one. Like the tale of the rice cooker, or the umbrella, or the laundry basket, or even the washing machine. I imagined how proud and accomplished I would feel to report how instead of replacing my worn out shower head, I had cleaned and repaired it and made it good as new.

Sadly, this is not that post. No, this post is about trying, fail...

How Fracking is Driving the Plastics Industry

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is theprocess of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth by injecting highly pressurized fluids–including combinations of highly toxic chemicals–into the shale to release the trapped gas. The process was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005, which means companies don’t even have to disclose the chemicals they use–chemicals which can contaminate ground water. Fracking has been linked to air and water pollution and ev...

Plastic in Austin Hotels and Restaurants

Tuesday morning, I met up with Daniella Russo, executive director of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, for breakfast at her hotel, the Hyatt Place near the Austin Convention Center. Here’s a photo of Daniella’s breakfast:

From a distance, the dishes look like ceramic and glass, right? Nope. All plastic. Even the mug meant to hold hot coffee… plastic.

We were grumbling about how tacky it is for the Hyatt, of all places, to use plastic dishes. So I decided that the next morning I would check out t...

In.gredients — Possibly the Coolest Grocery Store Ever

I’ve been dying to visit In.gredients since before the store even opened for business, and I profiled the company in my book Plastic-Free based on a telephone interview and articles I had read about a new packaging-free grocery store opening up in Austin, TX. So almost immediately after arriving in Austin yesterday afternoon, I headed over to this mythical zero waste grocery store to see if it was as awesome in real life as it had been described to me back when it was still in the planning s...

What Do You Think of Rewards Programs? Are Some Better Than Others?

I just watched Annie Leonard’s Latest Video from The Story of Stuff Project: The Story of Solutions. And I have a few thoughts that might not be entirely popular. Here’s the video:

In it, Annie argues that not all “solutions” to our environmental and social problems are created equal. Some solutions simply promote the status quo, while others are “game changers.” And I’m excited to see that she has decided to use plastic pollution solutions as an example. According to The Story of Solutions:

Pl...

Dear Adam Levine – You Would Be So Much Hotter Without the Plastic Bottles

Dear Adam,

I came to see you last night at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. I bought my ticket in April and have looked forward to our little visit for months. I’m not embarrassed to admit that despite having the most awesome husband in the world, I get all squishy feeling inside when I see you on TV or hear a Maroon 5 song on the radio. You are my 2013 version of Donnie Osmond, Shawn Cassidy, Andy Gibb. (Yes, I’m that old.) I have been known to tell my friends I would walk across...

Virgin America — a Step on the Plastic Reducing Path

Back in January, I wrote an open letter to Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and to David Cush, the CEO of the Virgin America airline, asking them to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by their planes.

A few days later, Richard Branson wrote back!

Now, after working together with Virgin America and the Plastic Pollution Coalitionfor the past few months, I can report that the airline has taken its first steps in helping to reduce plastic waste in the air. Read this week’s...

Advice from Danielle — How to Ask for What You Want

Danielle Richardet is one of my personal plastic-free heroes. Visiting her home in North Carolina this past Spring was inspiring.

Witness her pantry…

refrigerator…

freezer…

As a mom of three kids, Danielle is not content to simply make personal lifestyle choices. She teaches her kids about caring for the planet by taking them on regular beach cleanups.

And she helped get smoking banned on her local beach to cut down cigarette butt litter.

Speaking Up

Danielle comes across as soft-spoken, but she’s...

Another Trader Joe’s Rant. This Time It’s Ice Cream.

Okay, before you read my ice cream rant, please sign the petition asking Trader Joe’s to reduce its plastic produce packaging. After my own produce packaging rant last year, I didn’t have time to start a campaign, but luckily others at the Plastic Pollution Coalition did!

Okay… the ice cream…

Usually, my home ice cream consumption looks something like this…

Ice cream from Tara’s Organic in either my own container (if I plan ahead) or their compostable bagasse container, which is made from sug...

Shocking Pictures from Coastal Cleanup Day

I’ve seen this picture of Kamilo Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii a million times in the past six years. It’s shocking. But not as shocking as seeing a plastic-covered beach up close live and in person like I did yesterday during Kokua Hawai’i Foundation’s Coastal Cleanup Day event at James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Oahu.

When I first entered the area, I didn’t see much…

Then I looked down and started noticing microplastic particles in the sand…

And then more microplast...