I see time and time again that people with medical waste feel guilty when they choose to go low-waste or zero-waste. I cannot stress this enough: STOP FEELING GUILTY! Medical waste should never be counted. There are reasons for medication bottles, IV bags, tubes, etc. being single-use and being plastic. There are specific, sanitary reasons for this. If you are feeling guilty, ask yourself why you are feeling this way, because you shouldn’t. Can you imagine if bandages or ostomy bags were multi-use? Or if the tubing for your IV came from another patient? With changes in medicine came changes in hygiene practices, and with the invention of plastic, patients (at least where I live) no longer need to wonder if their medical waste was originally hooked up to another patient.

This topic is not exactly plastic-centered, but it is relevant. The first thing is to not feel guilty for purchasing food in plastic. Right now, most of us have very limited options for plastic-free food, and I would rather you eat than not buy that bag of cucumbers because it comes in plastic. After spending over 4.5 hours cleaning and washing out the fridge at my folks’, I saw the insane amount of food waste they had (& have). That’s not to say that I don’t throw things out, but I do my best not to do so. Here are some tips on how to minimize food waste. Now, I realize that times are different, people are stockpiling items, etc. While there is nothing really wrong with that, there is if the food goes bad and/or isn’t stored properly.

This post is not about recycling less, but doing the best with the resources at your disposal. Recycling is something that is avoided as much as possible in being zero-waste, which I’m not anymore. There are misconceptions about recycling, and it is almost vilified, but it shouldn’t be. The type of recycling that is offered is dependent on your area. Where we live, we are fortunate that most plastics are accepted. When it comes to recycling, it is so important know what your waste management accepts. When an item is not accepted, it goes into the landfill. By doing some research, you may be surprised by what you can’t, and can, recycle. If you buy items in plastic, see if the packaging can be repurposed (coming in a later post) or recycled instead of assuming it can’t and toss it in the trash.

The pandemic has affected my shopping practices, but like I’ve said, health and safety are number one. Very few stores allow reusable items, including produce bags. I have had to come to terms with using the plastic produce bags, which is small on the grand scale of things. Some stores are allowing reusable shopping bags, but not near me, so that’s another thing to consider. These changes should not get you down nor upset. Hopefully they are temporary changes. It is not the end of the world.

Tomorrow marks the start of Plastic-Free July! Given the current state of things where I live, finding plastic-free items (i.e. groceries) will be nearly impossible. Some produce can be found loose, but there are no bulk sections open right now. Some farmers markets are open…unfortunately, not near me. To be honest, being safe and healthy will take precedence over anything else. That being said, I will do my best to be as plastic-free as possible. When plastic can’t be avoided, I will look for other uses for the plastic. So many things (i.e. plastic produce bags, cartons, jugs, cutlery, etc.) are marketed as single-use even though they can be used multiple times when cared for.