Saturday, December 06, 2008

papers and plastics

earlier today we talked about how little waste we produce, a fact brought into sharp focus when we had food delivered last night. the restaurant was good to ask in advance if we needed silverware and napkins--i said no--but the additional paper products were unavoidable. our little garbage can--a re-used plastic gallon pot from a nursery--was pushed to half-full capacity with one meal. we typically empty our garbage every other week, and this one meal likely changed our routine. between using biobags, composting, and no paper products (toilet paper is all we use), our garbage production is pretty slim. i imagine this experience will influence future delivery decisions, which means less laziness. drat!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid, we used to go over to an Italian place for take-out where we'd just bring over a big pot and they'd fill it up with spaghetti. It was super convenient and pretty fun too.

I keep think there has to be some way to re/introduce totally reusable containers into food delivery (including grocery packaging).

sarah said...

have you seen Wong Kar-wai's movie, "In the Mood for Love"? the main character traipses through the night with her chic thermos, filling it with steaming noodles she picks up at neighborhood spots. i loved that idea--much like your pot of spags. seems like a delivery person could serve us the food from their hot box, rather than handing us paper boxes (in this case, filled with cold food). most stuff around here is made of corn or other biodegradable materials, but it still takes energy to make 'em. seems like someone should come up with a better way.