Finally!

We have been saving plastic caps for a year..plus friends and family have sent caps to us. I finally got them all in one place.


And brought them into AVEDA...which is conveniently located at the ground floor of my office.

What do you do with plastic caps?

This is how many plastic bottle caps we collected this month. You can't put them in recycling because they are a different kind of plastic than the rest of the bottle.

I have a hard time throwing them in the trash because I have seen photos of what happens when animals eat them ( I won't link to a photo) This is a problem for water birds...they see plastic bottle tops and mistake them for food. They eat them until their belly is full ....and then they starve to death. This is not something I want to be a part of... which brings me back to...what do you do with plastic bottle tops?

I just found out there is an alternative. AVEDA has recently started a recycling program specifically for bottle caps. They work mostly with schools but when I called they said I could bring in ours. In Madison, they are in Westgate mall.

If you know a teacher who might like to get their school involved, here is a letter to teachers that explains the program. Not connected to a school and want to find an AVEDA shop near you, here is their store locater.

For now we are going to collect our bottle tops and take them in every few months ( if you live near us, fill free to drop tops off at our place). In the fall, we will see if the boys school would like to participate. One more way to keep plastice out of the enviroment. Go AVEDA.

Paper Please

I shopped at Woodman's...an employee owned grocery store in Madison. I was really focused on not buying things in plastic. I found juice in glass jars, tins and cans. And frozen veggies in cardboard boxes. They don't have a bulk section but most of the veggies are in big boxes and you pick out what you need ( no plastic bags!)

I brought canvas bags but ran out so asked for paper. I didn't watch closely enough. I ended up with two plastic bags ( for apples and soap.) In the future, I will make a stronger statement. "I'm trying very hard to not use plastic at all..so no plastic bags please."

Out to Lunch

I went out to lunch with co-workers this week. Here I am with my own mug and silverware. We picked a restaurant that served on paper. I learned two things.

1. When I asked the servcer "Would it be possible to put my salad on a paper plate instead of plastic?" I had to ask twice because he had no idea what I was talking about. It was a good reminder. There is education still to do.
2. I wouldn't have brought all my reusable stuff if one of my co-workers hadn't asked "Aren't you going to bring...?" It reminded me how important it is to tell people if you are trying to change behavior. Social supports really do make a difference! I'm going to look for a little travel set of silverware...small, easy to pack in my back pack, so I don't have to use plastic silverware.

The Dangers Of Plastic Bags

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The Dangers Of Plastic Bags

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