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Maclmax
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World Water Day: Drink it from the tap!
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Reducing plastic pollution isn't the only reason to refuse bottled water, but it's a good one. Today is World Water Day 2013. And a number of groups in Canada organized the 2013 Bottled Water Free Day on March 18. So if you haven't stopped drinking bottled water yet, now's a... Continue reading
Posted Mar 22, 2013 at The No Plastic Project
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Reclassifying plastics as hazardous waste?
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A group of scientists writing in the journal Nature suggest that one way to reduce plastic pollution and stop plastic debris from entering the ocean would be to reclassify some of the most harmful plastics as hazardous waste. They propose this could be done through an international agreement along the... Continue reading
Posted Feb 19, 2013 at The No Plastic Project
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Why you shouldn't litter
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I was listening to the CBC radio program All in a Day a while ago and they were doing street interviews with people on the topic of littering: Do you litter? Would you walk an extra block to find a garbage can? That sort of question. The answers were disheartening.... Continue reading
Posted Dec 10, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Research links plastics work to breast cancer
Evidence continues to mount about the dangers associated with plastics exposure. Last week, the results of a study conducted in the Windsor area on links between workplace chemicals and breast cancer were released. The study found evidence that women working in industries with high exposure to certain chemicals are more... Continue reading
Posted Nov 25, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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We need to change our plastic behaviour now: Sir David Attenborough
Here's British naturalist and media personality Sir David Attenborough talking about the terrible environmental price we pay for using plastic. This clip was filmed two years ago by Plastic Oceans, a UK foundation working on the problem of plastic pollution, as part of the making of their film of the... Continue reading
Posted Nov 1, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Avoid the Plastic Pollution Monster this Hallowe'en
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Cotton string, old curtains, and painted patio stones -- No disposable plastic in sight! Hallowe’en is one of my favourite celebrations, with the parade of excited, costume-clad kids traipsing through the neighbourhood in search of treats, and the festive, community feeling that comes of people being out on the streets... Continue reading
Posted Oct 18, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Pack a plastic-free school lunch
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Ah, September. There's an invigorating chill to the mornings, a tinge of gold on the maple leaves, a sense of promise in the air ... and three dratted school lunches to get out the door every morning. Here at the No Plastic Project, "litterless lunch" doesn't just mean no litter... Continue reading
Posted Sep 27, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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The complicated calculations behind plastic packaging
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My husband came home from the Bridgehead coffee shop the other day clutching our re-used Bridgehead paper coffee-bean bag — empty — in one hand. In the other, he was carrying some bad news. Bridgehead is now selling their coffee beans pre-packaged in disposable plastic bags, with no option to... Continue reading
Posted Jul 4, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Plastic-free popsicles
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The hot weather has hit, and it is time for icy cold treats to cool you down. But along with the treats comes all of that plastic packaging! Already, the neighbourhood gutters are strewn with freezie and popsicle wraps, cold drink cups and lids, etc., etc. We've discovered a homemade... Continue reading
Posted Jun 27, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Hmmm...minor inconvenience or eco-catastrophe? It's just so hard to choose...
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Plastic bags aren't the only plastic pollution problem, but they're a good place to start because they're so darn easy to do without! And let's add "plastic bag bans" to the list of solutions. (You can find the original of this graphic at the ArteIdeas blog. Despite their instructions, I... Continue reading
Posted Jun 19, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Toronto to ban plastic bags!
Finally, a good news story. And since it came on top of the attempt to get rid of the 5 cent fee for bags, it's even better. Let's just hope nothing goes wrong between now and January when the ban goes into effect. Who wants to be next? Let's get... Continue reading
Posted Jun 7, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Speak out today in Canada for the environment and democracy
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If you are Canadian, visit the BlackOut SpeakOut site for more details on how you can speak out. Continue reading
Posted Jun 4, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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The value of a pen
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When I was in my early 20s, a friend gave me a fountain pen for my birthday. I loved it. It went everywhere with me through my undergraduate and graduate years. I used it daily in all my classes, taking notes, writing essays (those were the days before everyone had... Continue reading
Posted May 25, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Stop using plastic produce bags -- please!
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Pssst! Wanna hear a nice, simple way to reduce your plastic use? OK, here it is. Stop using plastic produce bags at the grocery store! Despite being a self-proclaimed No Plastic Avenger, I am acutely aware that before I started learning about plastic pollution, I bought many products in plastic... Continue reading
Posted May 2, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Pledge to stop using plastic straws and get a free glass one!
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This month, Simply Straws in the US is giving away a free glass straw to anyone who pledges to stop using plastic ones. Just follow this link to their website for details. All you need to do is post your pledge against using plastic straws on their facebook page. I... Continue reading
Posted Apr 16, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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The flowers that bloom in the spring tra-la!
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I walked to Cedars with my husband and daughter on Sunday to buy a few things for lunch. The crocuses are up, and tulips are poking through the earth in gardens all over the neighbourhood. But not all the flowers that bloom in this early, climate change-induced spring are lovely.... Continue reading
Posted Mar 19, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Fashion crime: plastic clothing
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We don't usually think of polyester fabric as plastic, but it is. And while you probably already knew that natural fibre clothing looks and feels better, you might not have realized that "plastic" clothing is a source of pollution. Its fibres contaminate our waterways with microplastic particles, absorbing other toxic... Continue reading
Posted Feb 10, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Seeing the numbers
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Sometimes it’s hard to connect to the numbers. According to a recent article in The Guardian, 265 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year; and of this, around 170 million tonnes are largely produced to be disposed of after one use. According to the PlasticOceans Foundation, every year,... Continue reading
Posted Jan 30, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Smooth legs; Plastic oceans
The following is from the Wikipedia entry on King Camp Gillette, the inventor of disposable razor blades: “While working as a salesman for the Crown Cork and Seal Company in the 1890s, Gillette saw bottle caps, with the cork seal he sold, thrown away after the bottle was opened. This... Continue reading
Posted Jan 17, 2012 at The No Plastic Project
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Plastic-free food storage
Okay, so this is going to sound very boring, but the question still comes up in our house even after one year of trying to get the plastic out of our kitchen: "WHAT SHOULD I PUT THESE LEFTOVERS IN?" I still open my fridge and every now and then find... Continue reading
Posted Dec 22, 2011 at The No Plastic Project
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The dope on green plastic
The Stella Luna Gelato Café in our neighbourhood has a sign displayed by the cash register stating that the small, colourful plastic spoons they give out with cups of gelato are biodegradable. And further down the street, the Bridgehead offers salads in compostable plastic clamshell containers — made from corn... Continue reading
Posted Dec 5, 2011 at The No Plastic Project
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Personal health or planet health: it's nix on plastic either way
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We're posting a link again -- this time to a short article from the Psychology Today website, dealing with some of the effects of plastic on human health. Motivation for change on an issue with broad social or ecological ramifications can start with thinking about how we, or those we... Continue reading
Posted Nov 22, 2011 at The No Plastic Project
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Just the (plastic) facts, ma'am
Here's a piece that lays out some reasons for trying to eliminate as much plastic as possible from our lives: Plastic and the Great Recycling Swindle. After a year of learning and trying to spread the word about plastic pollution, I've found that many people hold a vague belief that... Continue reading
Posted Nov 10, 2011 at The No Plastic Project
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After the first year: Why do we do this?
It's been just over a year now since we launched the No Plastic Project. I've been mulling over the year, troubled by the ebb and flow in my drive to continue the public side of this personal mission. It is easy to drift away from the emotional impetus — difficult... Continue reading
Posted Oct 31, 2011 at The No Plastic Project
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Scary Plastic Hallowe'en
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Okay, I admit it. I'm kind of a nut. I saved all the plastic garbage from my kids' Hallowe'en loot last year. I thought I'd ... I don't know ... build some kind of Plastic Pollution Monster for this years' Hallowe'en decorations. Or stick it all over me and go... Continue reading
Posted Oct 14, 2011 at The No Plastic Project
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