52 Week Plastic Challenge: 13 weeks

Back at the end of September, I challenged myself (which meant my family, too!) to a week of no foods in plastic.  Before the plastic-free food week, I took the My Plastic Free Life Show Your Plastic Challenge by collecting all of our plastic waste for one week.  This is what one week of plastic looked like before we started focusing on plastic-free food:

View the entire post here :)

As part of my New Year's "More Than Resolutions"... I committed to taking the Show Your Plastic Challenge for all of 2011!!  The purpose of me taking the challenge for the entire 52 weeks of the year is to get a gauge of what we use the most, understand habits and patterns, and most importantly figure out ways to change the amount of plastics we use.

The first quarter of the year is now over, which means I've been collecting our family of five's plastic waste for 13 weeks straight!!!

During the first quarter of the year, I focused on not purchasing breads, cereals, wraps/tortillas, pre-packaged pastas, baked goods... err...cookies (oh how I miss Liz Lovely Chocolate Moose Dragons!!), and milks in paper/plastic containers. (<--my husband has given up his half and half!!)  Here's how I'm doing it: 

Breads, wraps/tortillas, cookies = homemade (on occasion from Panera put in a paper bag)

Cereal = bulk granola

Pasta = bulk or homemade

Dairy/nut milks = local milk in glass jars or homemade almond milk  (though I did fall off the wagon a couple of times and have not fully committed to making my own yogurt.)

We have also started paying very close attention to plastics when we go out to eat.  Requesting reusable condiment dishes and avoiding some of our favorite places to eat simply because of how much disposable plastic/styrofoam they use.  Check out these tips for How to Request No Plastic and Get What You Ask For.

Sooo....this is what 13 weeks of plastic for our family of 5 looks like....

January 2-8

January 9-15

January 16-22

January 23-29

January 30- February 5

February 6-12

February 13-19

February 20-26

February 27- March 5

March 6- 12

March 13-19

March 20-26

March 27- April 2

Have you taken the Show Your Plastic Challenge??  Check out my guest post on My Plastic Free Life about why to take the challenge!!  Collect Your Plastic.  Change Your Life.