A Choose Your Own Adventure Story in Trader Joe's

The plastic people fight back

You’re in Trader Joe’s, holding your grocery list. You have choices to make:

• Do you buy the organic peppers wrapped in plastic or the non-organic peppers that are loose? Turn to page 73.

• Do you buy the loose sumo oranges (not wrapped in plastic) for $2.56 a piece or a mesh plastic bag containing five sumo oranges for $5.26? Turn to page 56.

• Do you buy walnuts (a healthy snack for your family) that comes in a plastic bag (which will outlast you on this planet) or do you skip the walnuts? Turn to page 56.

• Do you sigh or cry or laugh when you place all your plastic wrapped food items into your cloth tote bag? Turn to page 73.

Personal Action: You’re on page 56. In this choose your own adventure scenario, you get to choose where you reduce plastic and start changing the world.

Maybe you buy the walnuts at Trader Joe’s that come in a plastic bag, but then instead of buying plastic sandwich bags, you buy paper sandwich bags at Target or even a stainless-steel bento box that you use for the next 10 years. Maybe you buy ketchup in a glass bottle. Maybe you, like me, lean into the 1980s and return to powdered dishwasher and laundry detergent.

Aside: I tried laundry sheets for a while, but then discovered the jury is out on PVA, a type of plastic used to make them. Frankly, doing laundry and being environmentally thoughtful should not be difficult or spend-y. We need systems change. Turn to page 73.

Public Action: You’re on PAGE 73 and this is you, changing the systems.

You know that for meaningful change to happen, we have to turn off the plastic tap at the source. If you live in the United States, you call your Senators and your Assembly Member and ask them to support the Break Free From Plastics Act.

About the bill: It was first introduced in 2020 and has 120 co-sponsors, and it’s really popular. Among other awesome things, it will hold companies accountable for the plastic they create and reduce single-use plastics.

Why hasn’t it passed? In 2022 alone, the American Chemistry Council—whose members include Exxon, Dow, and DuPont—spent nearly 20 million dollars lobbying lawmakers to keep the plastic tap turned on. That’s right, with renewable energy on the rise, oil companies plan to expand plastic production. Put this in the category of cry or laugh—the American Chemistry Council’s official position on plastic is: “Plastics help us protect the environment by reducing waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and saving energy at home, at work, and on the road.”

What chance do we have against paid lobbyists? Well, actually, we have something pretty awesome going for us: We vote. Your representative’s staff members keep a tally of issues voters care about. For a primer on how you move the needle when you contact your legislator, read this terrific piece from Outdoor Alliance. What’s important is this: we really can make turning off the plastic tap a priority for lawmakers. (Turn to page 103.)

Page 103: A local plastic reduction bill I’m excited about: Packaging reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. This New York state bill would reduce single-use plastic waste by 50% in twelve years. That’s HUGE. While the state of New York has a Democratic majority in the House and Senate and a majority of senators are co-sponsoring the bill, it faces—you guessed it—the American Chemistry Council. To get this bill passed, we need every mom, grandparent, birdwatcher, beach comber, and micro-plastic concerned person in New York calling in. You can get involved here.

I am here for personal action (see below), but every trip to the grocery store really reminds me that we need bigger systematic changes.

What else I’m up to: I wrote about mending a bowl over at River Teeth for their Beautiful Things section. The piece is titled “Careful.”