by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

We have a way to go before plastic and styrofoam, paper tableware and “to go” containers become a thing of the past, but better late than never, I suppose. The “inconvenient truth” is that, as we learned in high school economics, the push has to come from consumers.

Make restaurants in your community aware that you would like to see a switch to compostables and/or incentives for customers to bring their own containers. Don’t patronize restaurants that use styrofoam or other toxic materials to package food. Ask them about recycling. The same can apply to parties and potluck meals - offer to bring your own eat ware so they don’t have to buy (and discard) the plastic stuff.

Now you can have your tableware and bring it with you, too. I do this with some used camping supplies I found, but was recently wowed by Orikaso’s picnic/potluck/to go-friendly plates, bowls and cups that FOLD FLAT - perfect to keep in your backpack, handbag or briefcase. I know what you are thinking, but this stuff, made from a “magic polymer”, gets stronger the more you fold it. Affordable and forever useful (and convenient!) at $15/set.

Where did I see this? In a publication called, Good, “for people who give a damn - an entertaining magazine about things that matter.” Now in their second year of publication, it covers a wide range of topics on politics, business, health, tchnology, science, art and design, media, environment and living. Good read about good stuff. Check it out at GoodMagazine.com.

Tags: business, community, food

This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2007 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Green Misc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.