The McSisters wish to thank and acknowledge our subscribers for reading our blogs and sending us some great feedback and suggestions. Keep them coming.  We enjoy and appreciate your input.  Here are just a few from the emails we’ve received:

Guess what?  You can toss your old clothes and shoes sustainably.  Purchase a “take back bag” from a company called For Days and send them your used clothing. For Days recycles the fabrics, with only 5% ending up in a landfill.  Why is this important? As fibers break down in the landfill they emit greenhouse gases, such as methane, that contributes to climate change – a 95% reduction is fantastic. 

Our Plastic Free Gardens blog was a big hit. ( https://www.mcsisters.org/making-a-difference-blog/plastic-free-gardens).  One of our subscribers pointed out that those little green pellets - “time release fertilizers” – are made with plastic that breaks down into microplastics.  They introduce toxic chemicals to your soil that kill the beneficial earthworms, bacteria, and fungi and harm birds and terrestrial wildlife, like lizards.

One subscriber wants to remind us all that those so-called “compostable” Keurig coffee pods are not compostable.  After 15 years in the backyard compost pile, those pods are still there. 

Subscribers have shared their outrage and frustration with the amount of plastic waste they encounter and the challenges of helping their friends understand the gravity of the situation. We understand.  Some have sent interesting articles and great product ideas, some of which we have shared previously.  We are adding a few here.

What can you do:

• Try out the Take Back Bag.  https://fordays.com/products/take-back-bag

• Ask your nursery to stop selling plastic pellets and don’t use them!

 Read these articles and take action yourself.

• Imperfect California Legislation: https://backtoblueinitiative.com/cutting-plastic-use-lessons-from-california/

• More on the UN Treaty on Plastics: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/13/godfather-microplastics-richard-thompson-how-to-stop-them