Bring Your Own Fork

by Carol Hohle

I was on a conference call the other evening and we got to talking about those “invisible” conveniences we take for granted – “disposables” – especially those paper or plastic goods that help us carry our stuff …  groceries, new clothes, leftover food from the restaurant, coffee.  After kvetching about this cultural conspiracy that keeps us tossing out way too much stuff we agreed to change our own habits.

Brook La Van’s column, “Food for Thought” in Winter 2009’s Edible Aspen magazine gives some ideas for how to break our addiction to disposables.  The article also includes a helpful overview of both petroleum based plastics and bioplastics (neither is the answer btw) and offers a starter list for ways to design waste out of your life.  Here are a couple of his ideas:

• Bring your own fork, knife and spoon to parties and seasonal fundraisers
• Bring your own coffee/beverage cup
• Bring your own bags to groceries
• Bring your own bags when shopping anywhere, not just the grocery store
• Bring your own resealable containers for leftovers when eating out
• Bring your own containers to restaurants when picking up carry-out/to-go food
• Pack your lunch for work in a picnic basket or lunch box, with real utensils, china and glassware.  It’s not only eco-friendly but elegant.

The list goes on to suggest ideas for business owners:

• Offer no bags at your store.  Customers will get used to it and start carrying their own bags.
• Charge for containers and utensils
• Rent china, glasses and utensils for events you host

You can read all of  Brook’s article HERE.  I also recommend checking out Edible Aspen’s website for other sustainable ideas.