Merrick Wright

Though did not see the links, would have to find out about where this is happening (some documentaries on the topic have brought up various cases), and then figure out what is needed to correct the problem, such as what the laws/regulations allow and do not allow. And, who knows, maybe one of our communities will be next.

Though the tea purchased is loose and not in individual tea bags, unfortunately that loose tea was put in a plastic bag to containerize it for purchase, as the local stores are still not allowing customer-brought reusable bulk food bags given COVID concerns. Hopefully that will change soon, as I have several different reusable bags that were previously used for purchasing produce and other bulk goods before COVID.

The plastic-related issues in New York state are likely the same as is most or all places: too many single-use plastics that may be a challenge to avoid (especially with COVID concerns reducing options to use brought bags/containers for produce, bulk foods, etc., in grocery stores, restaurants, etc.), too much plastic pollution (such as tossed out of car windows or left on beaches or in parks, etc.), plastic recycling available but concern that not all is actually being recycled and not just still getting diverted to landfill (such as due to not being the "right" type of plastic, or not cleaned enough, etc.), costs of non-fossil fuel-based plastic alternatives being out of reach for many small businesses, medical waste containing a significant amount of plastic waste given understandable concerns for sterile equipment leading to inertia against non-fossil fuel based alternatives, and so many more concerns.

For the last few years, only a couple times per year, I would pick up one full bag of trash on the main roads just outside of our cul-de-sac. Occasionally a jogger or dog walker or stroller would give a thumbs up or a “thank you”, even a driver would stop to make an encouraging comment a couple of times. That is the good news. The less-good news is how much waste still ends up on those suburban roads, year after year. Soda and alcohol bottles and cans, plastic bags, fast food bags of food wrappers, and too many cigarette butts to count, make up most of the waste that is thrown out by people driving by, likely in most cases by people that either live in the same town or close by. 

Bar shampoo is actually quicker to use (however slightly) and potentially leads to less product waste. Why? Even the time it takes to uncap/pour/cap is longer than using the bar. And though we used to make sure every bit of shampoo was rinsed/used from the bottle to minimize waste, maybe some would only use the shampoo that pours from the bottle such that once no more pours the bottle may be thrown out/recycled. Even the process of pouring the shampoo from the bottle may lead to less consistency of amount poured than the amount used from a bar shampoo. These may seem like trivial amounts of time and product saved, but, like the drips of gasoline from each pump during a single fill-up add up to a significant amount of waste and pollution when considered on a global scale, these shampoo savings also could add up to a relevant amount.

Most of the curbside plastic pickup in our mixed recycling one bin system has to look like a bottle or a jug but not much variation beyond that, therefore many types of plastic packaging, regardless of recycling symbol and number, cannot be recycled curbside, per https://www.monroecounty.gov/des-residentialrecycling. But, fortunately, the county does have an ecoPark (https://www.monroecounty.gov/ecopark/) which allows a greater range of recycled materials, including polystyrene, though is about a 35 minute commute. Yet, given my work creates a lot of plastic waste that they allow me to recycle, the ecoPark option is worthwhile.

In what ways is social media an effective tool for sharing your values?

Social media is potentially an effective tool for sharing values in that it allows publishing your thoughts to a potentially large group instead of just to one or a few people in a small gathering. But is that group, chosen by you, one that already shares your values, so a bit of an echo chamber? Or is the group or social media chosen one that would rather just deal in only "fun" topics, such as discussing social events, trips, amusing stories, birthday wishes, and the like, such that anything potentially controversial, like environmental activism or politics, would be ignored or blocked or even resented? This could make being effective a challenge, so, like in any group setting, we need to know our audience.