the washington post
.
thursday, august
22
,
2019
MD
6
Home
BY ELIZABETH MAYHEW
Not long ago, I was in my kitch-
en wrapping up dinner leftovers
when a dear friend who was visit-
ing let out a cry of disapproval:
“What are you doing? You can’t
use that plastic!” My hand stopped
in the middle of ripping a big piece
of Saran wrap. “What else am I
supposed to use to cover the sal-
ad?” I asked. My friend proceeded
to launch into a passionate, thor-
ough explanation of all the rea-
sons — both scientific and ethical
— that I shouldn’t be using plastic
wrap or any other single-use plas-
tic.
I think of this exchange as my
second plastic awakening. Yes, I
have seen the pictures of the piles
of plastic littering the world’s
oceans, killing wildlife and pollut-
ing our food chain, but I felt like I
was doing my part to help: I never
use plastic straws, and I always
bring canvas shopping bags and
mesh produce bags with me to the
grocery store. But I had not done
anything to put an end to the yards
of plastic wrap, piles of Baggies
and stacks of disposable cups that
my family and I toss away.
After one day of tracking the
plastic I discarded, I realized my
friend is right; our dependence on
single-use plastics is staggering.
And the consequences of our
throwaway habits are even more
staggering: The Ellen MacArthur
Foundation’s New Plastics Econo-
my report predicted that by 2050
there could be more plastic in the
world’s oceans than fish by weight.
Dianna Cohen, co-founder and
chief executive of the nonprofit
organization Plastic Pollution Co-
alition, has dedicated the past
10 years to making the world plas-
tic-free, which is a lofty goal;
Americans alone discard more
than 30 million tons of plastic a
year, Cohen said. For her, it’s not a
partisan issue, and it’s not an issue
for the elite; it’s an issue that
affects all of us. “We are producing
instant garbage and instant
waste,” she said. “We need to shift
our thinking to reusable over dis-
posable. It’s pretty clear we can do
that.”
To do that, Cohen says, we need
to go back to our old ways. “We
need to do things the way our
grandparents and great-grand-
parents did,” she said, “like store
leftovers in a ceramic bowl and
then use a saucer or plate to cover
it when you put it in the fridge.”
Another option for leftovers, Co-
hen says, is to cover them in reus-
able beeswax-coated cotton
cloths, such as the ones from
Abeego. “I wrap cheeses in them,
use them to wrap up half an avoca-
do, or lay them over the tops of
baking dishes or bowls.” They
aren’t as snug and tight as plasticwrap, but they have a similar ef-
fect. To clean the cloths, just rinse
them in cold water with an eco-
friendly dish soap and allow them
to dry. Typically, they last for one
year and then can be composted.
Cohen also saves glass jars from
pickles, jams and spaghetti sauce
to store leftovers, and she hunts
for old Pyrex at thrift stores and
yard sales. She buys milk and yo-gurt in glass containers and pur-
chases as much food as she can in
bulk, always bringing her own
containers or cotton bags to fill.
To cut down on plastic in the
bathroom, Cohen forgoes plastic
hand soap pump bottles in favor of
old-fashioned bar soap. “People
say that it’s more sanitary to use a
plastic pump bottle of soap, but
the way I see it, every time you run
the bar of soap under water to
wash your hands, it gets cleaned.”
Cohen also recommends trying
bar shampoo; she admits it’s
tough to use if you have long hair,
but there’s an added benefit tomost bar shampoos: They tend to
be free of paraben and phthalate.
As for toothpaste, Cohen makes
her own. “It’s so easy. There are
lots of recipes online, but it’s basi-
cally just baking soda, coconut oil
and whatever essential oil you
like.” Her preference is classic pep-
permint flavoring.
When it comes to her on-the-go
habits, such as her morning coffee
and her lunch, Cohen has an en-
tire kit she carries around. “My
friends and I like to think of our-
selves as urban backpackers.” In
their kits, they have bamboo uten-
sils, a spork and stainless steelcontainers (most of Cohen’s kit is
from To-Go Ware). But if the
camping vibe isn’t for you, check
out the stylish Porter collection
from W&P. The ceramic lunch
bowl is very similar in size and
shape to the typical takeout salad/
grain bowl, and it has a super-se-
cure silicone wrap, rigid plastic lid
and a snap-tight silicone strap.
For drinks, Cohen used to carry
around a glass bottle, but after she
broke her third one, she switched
to metal — stainless steel, not alu-
minum, which she says leaves an
aftertaste. Her favorite bottle is
the Hydro Flask; it keeps cold
drinks cold for 24 hours and hot
drinks hot for 12 hours, and there
is never any condensation or heat
transfer to the outside of the bot-
tle. The company also makes a
stainless steel wine tumbler and a
12-ounce coffee mug. (Cohen has
three stainless steel mugs: from
Hydro Flask, S’well and Steelys
Drinkware.)
To replace plastic straws, buy a
reusable substitute; Cohen uses
the Plastic Pollution Coalition’s
PPC Straw ($3 from Life Without
Plastic), but if you’re looking for
more of a set, Pampered Chef sells
a set of two stainless steel straws
that come with a nylon travel bag
and a cleaning brush for $7.
The sheer number of stainless
steel bottles and reusable straws
in stores shows consumers are
interested in cutting back on plas-
tic, but there are signs of move-
ment on the business side, too,
Cohen says. The Intercontinental
Hotel Group, which owns brands
such as Kimpton, Crowne Plaza
and Holiday Inn, has pledged to
swap out all plastic bathroom toi-
letries for bulk-size refillable
amenities by 2021. The San Fran-
cisco International Airport has
banned plastic water bottle sales
and is committed to being com-
pletely zero-waste by 2021. And
Nestlé has committed to make 100
percent of its packaging recyclable
or reusable by 2025.
For my part, kicking the plastic
habit is hard, but I have taken
Cohen’s no-plastic pledge, what
her organization calls the four R’s:
refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle.
[email protected]Mayhew, a “Today” show style expert
and former magazine editor, is the
author of “Flip! for Decorating.” Chat Thursday at 11 a.m. Abby
Hesketh, paint product manager at
Graham & Brown, joins staff writer
Jura Koncius for our weekly online
Q&A on decorating and household
advice. Submit questions at
live.washingtonpost.com.
At Home newsletter Go to the
Home & Garden page to subscribe to
our email newsletter, delivered every
Thursday.We should cut down on all single-use plastic — not just straws
KIM JAY PHOTOGRAPHYThough Abeego’s beeswax-coated cotton cloths aren’t as snug as plastic wrap, they’re a good option for
covering leftovers. They typically last for a year and can then be composted.HYDRO FLASKHydro Flask bottles keep cold
drinks cold for 24 hours and
hot drinks hot for 12 hours.PAMPERED CHEFIf you’re looking for reusable straws, Pampered Chef sells sets of
two that come with a nylon travel bag and cleaning brush.