Wednesday, June 15, 2011

No New Trash. It's a process.

Inspired by the Zero Waste Home, I decided to take a purposeful field trip. To my local grocery store. Yes, the one I go to just about every week.

What's so special about that?

I took jars.

To the deli counter.

And asked them to put my cheese in there instead of the plastic bags with zippers that always get stuck and tear off anyway.

Once we all got past the slightly confused look, everything went alright.

Me, my 5 yr-old, and my jar of Havarti went on our way.

Next stop: meat counter.

Since we eat almost no meat these economical days anyway, I wasn't sure what to ask for. So I heard myself saying, "I'd like one of those buffalo patties, please. Oh, and can you put it in here?" I plopped my jar on the counter.

Insert highly confused look.

"We're trying not to make so much trash at home."

"Well, I still have to weigh it."

"Okay."

Meat in jar. Stick on the label. And off we went.

I wondered if I would get more looks at the checkout, so I veered into the Self-Check lanes, where things went smoothly.


Menu tonight: Taco Salad with garden greens and onion, and browned buffalo! And a lot less trash.


Update: The next time I went back to the deli counter, the clerk said, "oh, you're the Jar Lady!" Nice.

2 comments:

  1. Great idea! But, I have to say, you are a very brave women to actually do it! I would have loved to see the looks on the deli & meat clerks faces. You know, that might be an idea for another kind of fun, homemade reusable product. I'm thinking -- "grocery store wraps" similar to the "snack wraps." I think people would be more likely to use something like that than bringing a jar to the grocery store. And, they would be easier to carry along than a jar as well. Something to think about anyways! I would use them!

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  2. Hi Mieke, Thanks for your ideas! In fact, the jars are not working out so great. When we get the ham and cheese home, it's a bit cumbersome to always be reaching into a jar, so we end up transferring the food to a square tupperware. I might just bring those to the store in the future. I'm not sure a fabric/plastic wrap would work for meats. It's fine for sandwiches, but the thought of having to wash it after carting a pound of ground beef seems a little greasy to me... Anyway, thanks for checking in!

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