Reporter RFaughnder tried to live completely plastic-free for one week. Easy, right?
Near the end of a May trip to Portugal last year, my wife, Pam, picked up a paperback at a bookshop in Lisbon — “How to Give Up Plastic: Simple Steps to Living Consciously on Our Blue Planet.” The cover illustration was a cartoon sperm whale blasting a cloud of bottles and utensils from its blowhole.I didn’t expect much of a laugh from that, nor did I expect the book to inspire a dramatic, if brief, lifestyle change.
I stuffed a canvas tote with the urban plastic-free essentials: a 20-ounce Yeti tumbler, a straw, a dog bowl and a fork.First stop was Jeni’s on Hillhurst Avenue for ice cream. The eatery has metal spoons typically reserved for giving flavor samples, but we knew from experience that employees will let you use them for a full bowl. Most shops are happy to oblige your weird plastic-avoidance requests as long as you explain yourself.
The layout, similar to that at No Tox Life in Glassell Park and the Refill Shoppe in Ventura, was less daunting than the prices. I filled a 2-ounce glass jar with deodorant paste from a larger glass jar and paid $15 for the privilege. Use sparingly, for the environment and your wallet.My Monday challenge was to cook a favorite dinner recipe .
This became an issue after a Wednesday work lunch in Beverly Hills, when I was craving a caffeine jolt. The aroma from the nearby coffee shop was like a tractor beam, but I’d forgotten my reusable mug at home. I made it back to the L.A. Times office, miraculously, both caffeine- and plastic-free, ready to make a deadline, more or less.Food spots near the L.A.
I could cut meat from my diet, replace my clunky commuter car with an electric, or actually get that compost bin. It’s difficult for daily gestures of plastic avoidance to feel meaningful compared to the emissions resulting from just getting around Los Angeles. But McCallum’s point, I think, is that we can all make modest steps that, in totality, could make some difference.
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