Use A Butcher - Help Save The Environment

As I wander on my travels, I must deal with trash differently than when I’m home.  Regardless of living in my Class B, my first year, Prius for 3 years, and now my Tacoma/FWC Camper, there is little to no room to store waste.

I must dispose of waste quickly and responsibly nearly every day.

It’s going to the grocery store every week that the problem of trash is the most problematic.

I have a Engel 17 compressor fridge for my 6th year and 17 quarts is not a lot of room for food packaging.

So, here is what I have to do.  

Say I buy some fresh chicken.  It’s in the grocery store cooler with a foam meat tray, meet pad, and cellophane wrapped.

Examples of tray and pad below;

Photos from Google search (above and below)



At the store I stand st the back of my camper and take the chicken out of packaging and put the chicken in ziploc baggie.  I walk over to the rubbish can in the parking lot or store front and throw the trash away.

I do this for a box of crackers, box of cereal, etc by getting rid of the paperboard box and sealed bag and place items in ziploc bags.

If I were to drive away then I have to find a place to dispose of the packaging items.  Not an easy task!!!

What just happened - I had the items for possibly 15 minutes and they and I already have a bunch of rubbish.

When I was in Quartzsite, AZ for the RTR, as I have been for the last few years.  I buy my meat at Quartzsite General Store.  The store is convenient and the people there go out of their way to help.

(Photo from Google Maps search)

This year I bought boneless pork chops and large hot dogs at their meat market the last time I was in the Quartzsite General Store.

I specifically asked for my items to be wrapped in paper to avoid foam trays and meat pads.



There was no issue with quality and freshness using paper and it is the way that meat markets have packaged for years.

I understand that ground beef would be running all over the place.  I know it’s not always possible to get your meat paper wrapped, but it must cause us to pause to think about all the trash we create for convenience.  

I’m just one person, but we all need to come to grips with our trash and that it’s never ending.   Then  multiply my trash by the number of people on the earth and one can see the magnitude of the problem.

Plus we know that foam trays and cups are made in a way to adversely affect the environment.  We are making a trade off.  Convenience for environment.

Even McDonalds has changed from foam cups to paper at most of my stops this year.

I have now started purchasing paper plates in place of foam plates at home.

If you join me where you can with your trash, you too can make a difference.  

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com