That even living within the means of an un-overshot planet as an individual is insufficient to overcome systemic conservation issues.

This is a case where discussion is usually overwhelmed by immediacy. Providing reusables, having them close at hand and regularly available, is more likely to get people using them than shaming them.

I don't typically clean them. I just moved out of an apartment and it was super easy to do - will definitely continue in my new place!

I learned that bioplastics are often just as harmful to the environment as traditional plastics. It takes tremendous amounts of land and water to grow the plants used to make bioplastics, as well as pesticides and fertilizers that are detrimental to nearby aquatic habitats because of the biomagnification and algal blooms they contribute to, respectively. To add to this, bioplastics would reduce the amount of crops available as food since making bioplastics would require materials from the same agricultural sources as produce. Given this, the reduced carbon emissions created from using bioplastics instead of regular plastics are negligible when it comes to the other side effects of this industry.

I was surprised that spoons and cups that have the label "compostable" on them are actually not compostable in most cases. For starters, most compost sites are unable to accept them because they are often confused with regular, non-compostable plastics. Moreover, industrial composting sites, which do have the capacity to compost such plastics, are difficult to come by. As a result, "compostable" bioplastics tend to end up in the same place as regular plastics: the landfill. I had the unfortunate misconception that if a compostable item goes to a landfill, it would compost just as it would in a compost bin, when in reality, those materials are packed so tightly that only anaerobic respiration by bacteria is possible. Unless the landfill has a methane cap to harness the methane produced from this process, this contributes to incredible amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

BPI certified compostable items are accepted by my city's waste management site, but rather than rely on this, I will continue finding ways to reduce my plastic use, whether that be of traditional plastics or bioplastics.

Let the record show that the husband is right: zip those clothes up before you wash them!

I was surprised to learn that eggs can last for as many as 5 weeks before going bad! I was also shocked that all of the expiration date labels on food are not regulated by the USDA. I will now be much more mindful when determining when to throw away food by trusting my own judgement over that of food companies that are simply trying to get consumers to purchase more of their products.