July 6

I had an interesting realization today about the timer that I use for my coffee. When the timer runs out of batteries, we usually throw it out and buy a new one because it's much cheaper to buy a whole new timer with batteries than to buy new batteries for it. So I'm counting that as a single-use plastic too.

We had a virtual lunch to welcome a new employee. Since we're all remote, we can expense lunch if we bring it back home to eat it. I chose a restaurant that minimizes plastic use by giving you the option to skip the disposable cutlery, napkin and bag, and they minimize the amount of plastic in their to-go containers. But it's still single-use plastic consumption!

Reduce & Reuse Highlights

• Had leftovers for dinner

Single Use Plastic

I received more medicine for the cat in the mail, which came with a lot of plastic packaging and equipment.

• Total items disposed of: 3

• Total items used: 26

• Total items with substitutes: 12

Item	Quantity	Disposed of immediately?	Were plastic free alternatives available?
Toothbrush	1	No	Yes
Toothpaste	1	No	Yes
Timer	1	No	No
Coffee	1	No	No
Milk	1	No	Yes, glass or cardboard carton
Coffee Syrup	1	No	Yes, glass container
Cat's iron supplement	1	No	No
Syringe for cat's iron supplement	1	No	Yes, reuse existing syringe
Cat food packaging - specialty food	1	No	No
Cat food packaging - regular food	1	No	Yes, canned food or meat
Beef jerky packaging	1	No	No
Plastic bag for beef jerky	1	No	Yes, reusable container
Envelope with plastic window	1	Yes	No, received junk mail
Envelope with plastic bubblewrap packaging	1	Yes	No, received in the mail
Cat's medicine	1	No	No
Syringe for cat's medicine	2	No	No, received as part of medicine delivery
Plastic bag for cat's medicine	1	No (saved for later use)	No, received as part of medicine delivery
Takeout container lid	1	Yes	No. Dine in was not an option because we had a virtual lunch for work.
Styrofoam container	1	No (did not finish food)	No, I received it as a surprise.
Deodorant	1	No	Yes
Pretzels	1	No	No
Shampoo and conditioner	2	No	Yes, shampoo/conditioner bars
Body soap	1	No	Yes, bar soap
Razor	1	No	Yes, metal or wood razors