Beth Terry's Blog, page 5

Art That’s Breaking My Heart Today

Photo credit: John Suchocki, Sunday Republican newspaper

Three years ago, artist Dara Herman Zierleinemailed me out of the blue:

Dear My Plastic Free life,
Thank you for all that you do and the amazing resources! Below is a link to my watercolor paintings dealing with multiple themes around pollution and the consequences of using disposable one time use plastic items, like water bottles etc…I am an art activist, My name is Dara. I’m excited to share them with you. Its avery hard to figh...

Plastic-Free, Zero Waste Childbirth

Last week, I received an email from a new blogger who calls herself Little Urban Greenie. She’s a mom and “homesteader in the making.” She’s also expecting a new baby in the next month or so and plans to significantly reduce the amount of disposable products and plastics used in the birthing process this time around. She asked if she could share her plans here to help others who might be concerned about the amount of waste they generate during the childbirth process, and I thought it was a...

BULK — New Mobile Site from The Zero Waste Home

Bea Johnson from The Zero Waste Home has created a new mobile website for finding shops that offer products without packaging. No matter where in the world you live, it’s possible there is a shop nearby where you can bring your own bags and containers to buy foods or personal care and cleaning products without the disposable wrapping, usually plastic, that most products come packaged in. You might have never heard of this shop, but someone else has and has added it to the BULK website for...

Buying and Storing Meat without Plastic

Meat exists.

There, I said it. And I have found waysto buy and store it without plastic packaging. I’ve wanted to share some of these ideas on this blog but have stopped myself out of fear of reprisals from those who feel that if I really cared about the environment, I would not only stop eatingit myself but would also not mention its very existence. But living from fear, or at least that particular fear, ends today. I’m getting prettyburned out from writing what I think people want me t...

Why Buy It New When I Can Make It Myself?

There are a lot of things Imake myselfto avoid products in plastic packaging. I make my own chocolate syrup, for example, to avoid the kind in the squeeze bottle. And I’ve made my own cleaning and personal care products for years. But when it comes to durable goods, I’ve often opted to let someone else make it, relying on the handiwork of artisans on Etsy, for example.And while it’s great to support small business owners, myBuy Nothing New challengeis not going to allow that, which is co...

Buying Nothing New in 2016

I’m not going to buy anything new this year. Except food. And soap. And toilet paper. Recycled toilet paper. Okay, let me start over. I’m not going to buy any new, non-consumablethings. Except I already have. Yesterday. So, what’s all this about?

After spending the last eight years of my life avoiding new plastic (plastic products and plastic packaging), I suddenly found myself in 2015 obsessed with not only avoiding new plastic but also replacing the minute amount of existing plastic in m...

Brush with Bamboo Introduces Partially Plant-Based Bristles

Yesterday, I wrote about toothbrush companies incorrectly claiming that their toothbrush bristles were biodegradable, and I mentioned that I personally use a Brush with Bamboo toothbrush. It’s not perfect, and the bristles are not biodegradable, but the difference is that the company isn’t claiming that they are. And, after much research, they have come out with an upgraded toothbrush with bristles made fromplant-based plastic instead of petroleum-based plastic. Yes, they arestill plastic....

The Truth About Your Biodegradable Bamboo Toothbrush

There’s no perfect toothbrush, but some toothbrushes are less perfect than others, and sadly, a few of them aren’t even what they claim to be. Here are a few disappointing facts I have learned recently about other companies’ toothbrushes.

Fully Compostable = Animal-Based

Right now, the only completely compostabletoothbrush has a handle made from sustainably harvested wood and bristles made from pig hair. The pig hair is a by-product of the Chinese meat industry. It would normally have been...

Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. Goodbye Campbell’s!

via Lotherington on Flickr

Happy almost Thanksgiving, Americans. For those of you for whom Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be right without green bean casserole, I present: DIY organic condensed cream of mushroom soup that honestly tastes better than Campbell’s. It’s so good, I was eating it straight out of the pan with a spoon last night. I hope I still have enough tomorrow to make my casserole. (Only sort of kidding. This recipe makes a lot!)

Three years ago, I confessed to my weakness for...

New (and Old) Tools to Eliminate Plastic Straws

By now, many or most of you have seen the shocking viral video of a sea turtle with a plastic drinking straw stuck up its nose and the team of ocean researchers attempting to pull it out. I don’t normally like to begin posts with gruesome images, but in this case,I’m hoping this video will not simply horrify you but also fill your heart with compassion and spur you to action. It’s 8 minutes long, andif you have the patience to watch the entire thing, it’s worth it.

While it’s tempting...