Imagine the world without anger, without greed. We have the power, the tools, the skills and the resources right now to build a peaceful world, where people live in harmony with the Earth and each other. This blog explores ways we are doing just that, one post, one change, one day at a time. Join me. Tell your stories. Ask for help. Spread your ideas for making the vision real and, well, ordinary.

Monday, July 5, 2010

War on Garbage: No more plastic-wrapped TP!

No more plastic TP wraps!
Fake Plastic Fish Challenge 5/17-23/2010
© L Kathryn Grace
Remember this big pile of plastic in my Fake Plastic Fish Challenge? One of the toughest problems to solve was the toilet paper.

How could we get something that was soft enough, recycled, and not wrapped in plastic? I admit, I did not believe I would find a solution for that one any time soon. Luckily, Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish had already found the answer and was gracious enough to clue me in: Seventh Generation tissue, individually wrapped in paper.

Frankly, we have tried Seventh Gen off and on over the years and always returned to softer tissue, but we decided to give it one more go. Our local organic grocer sells single rolls wrapped in paper. What a surprise! The tissue is much softer than the brand we've been buying. In fact, it's as soft as the mainstream tissue we relinquished reluctantly a few years ago.

The box arrives!
© L Kathryn Grace

What's more, we can buy 500-count, 2-ply rolls in bulk through Amazon.com at considerable savings, and we don't have to rent a car to get it. Yes, it is shipped to us, but we feel that delivery is offset by the fact we are not driving a car across town to pick it up. Amazon ships 48 rolls in their "frustration free" packaging. That means the box is made to fit the product, is recyclable (NOT recycled, however--We need to work with them on that), easy to open, and contains no
plastic ties or clamshells.

Our little bundles of TP joy
© L Kathryn Grace

There they are, our little toilet paper babies. I don't know about you, but sometimes living consciously takes a lot of effort. It's worth it, of course, and extra rewarding when we solve a problem we thought unsolvable. I get excited about every little victory, and this is one is especially sweet.

What about you? What small--or large--victories have you had in the realm of living mindfully this week? Conversely, what frustrations might you like to share? Perhaps you'll get lucky, as I did, and just the right person will see your quest and know how to solve it.

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We make peace in a million small ways every day.
All text and images, unless otherwise noted, copyright L. Kathryn Grace. All rights reserved.

6 comments:

mrs green @ myzerowaste.com said...

Great news on the toilet paper. We are unable to get that brand over here at the moment, so alas we still buy plastic wrapped, but it is a plastic that can be recycled. So not the best idea, but certainly do-able.

Last week we emptied out the wormery, drained off all that lovely liquid and put it back together again. So that was a pending procrastination job which is done and I feel very pleased :)

Hayden said...

I'm glad to learn about this - especially glad to learn that their quality has improved! I tried it a while back and didn't know it had gotten better. I'll give it a try.

I have mixed feelings about Amazon. They're a little like Wal-Mart, and that scares me. I DO like the way they've added pressure to manufacturers to supply product w/ less packaging.

SE'LAH... said...

What a lovely way to be kind to Mother Earth. I love Seventh Generation products.

one love.

graceonline said...

Hayden, we tried both the plastic-wrapped rolls and the paper-wrapped, and they are not the same. The paper-wrapped, 500-sheet rolls have a different imprinted texture and are softer than the plastic-wrapped. Sadly, the rolls in the box turned out not to be as soft as the paper-wrapped rolls we bought in town, which suggests a quality-consistency issue, perhaps. The difference is not enough to change our minds about using them, but definitely noticeable. Disappointing.

Se'lah, you nailed it. Years ago, a young woman whose name eludes me at the moment wrote a song with a Reggae beat titled, O, the Earth, She angry. That song is on my mind a lot these days.

Tiffany said...

Cool! I didn't know that Amazon had bulk buys on recycled TP! Thx for the tip! My daughter and I use cloth half the time so that reduces our overall TP usage quite a bit.

graceonline said...

Tiffany, did you do a post about the cloth? I'd love to see it, if you'd care to share the link here. One of the things I like about the Amazon program is that we can get a discount by opting into a regular delivery program, which we can cancel without penalty at any time, so a small win-win.

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