January 2014 Daily Single Use Plastic Log

As I mentioned in the prior post, this year I decided to start documenting the amount of single use plastic items I use daily. Starting in January 2014, I kept a running log on my cellphone and recorded the date, number and type of items used, it's origin and things I did to avoid the product. Most days I didn't use any items but on days that I did I was most likely out of town, at a fair or bar. Below is a table that I have constructed that displays the information listed above. For the month of January I used 54 single use plastic items. In contrast to global estimates of daily plastic usage, I don't use nearly as much as the average person, but I've estimated that I use 1.8 pieces of plastic roughly per day. However if you take a closer look at the items that I've used most during the month of January, you'll discover that plastic straws are most prevalent. In the words of my good friend Josh Kovach (sup Josh) "Eewwy". Why am I consuming so many straws, 18 this month!! A small number of those straws were drink stirrers that I refused, but the others were used as I guiltily enjoyed frozen beverages. Straws are one of the top ten debris items found on beaches worldwide. Thanks to this log I am able to pin point my single use problem areas and create personal solutions that will lead to national and global ones as well. 

My name is Kristal "Ocean" Ambrose and I abused plastic straws during the month of January 2014. 

February is here so I will most definitely be curbing my single use plastic appetite even more. To solve the issue I had with straws this past month I will keep my reusable straw in my purse or nearby. Unfortunately my reusable straw is made out of plastic (go figure) but I will invest in some glass straws made by this really cool company called Simply Straws, click on the name to learn more. You can review my single use plastic log below.

You can start a daily log as well! Every little step counts so begin documenting your usage today. What's stopping you?

January 2014 Daily Single Use Plastic Log
Date	No. of Plastic Items	Type of Plastic Items	Source	Avoidance
1st January 2014	14	cups (4), lid (1),straws (4), plastic clamshell (1), utensils (1), styrofoam plate (1), bottles (2)	Coffehouse, Junkanoo event, rib shack	N/A
2nd January 2014	9	cups (2), lid (1), straw (1), utensils (2), styrofoam clamshells (2), bag (1)	Coffehouse, art gallery, take out restauant	N/A
3rd January 2014	0	0	N/A	Said no to coffe lid and got a wooden stirrer instead
4th January 2014	1	straw (1)	Coffehouse	Got frappuccino in paper cup
5th January 2014	4	suran wrap (2), bags (2)	Produce from grocery store	N/A
6th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
7th January 2014	1	food container (1)	Applesauce	N/A
8th January 2014	0	0	N/A
9th January 2014	1	food container (1)	Applesauce	N/A
10th January 2014	1	packaging (1)	Paper towel wrapper	N/A
11th January 2014	1	packaging (1)	Plastic seal	N/A
12th January 2014	1	food container (1)	Applesauce	N/A
13th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
14th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
15th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
16th January 2014	3	straw (1) candy wrapper (2)	frozen drink, mints	N/A
17th January 2014	6	straw (5), cup (1)	Bar	N/A
18th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
19th January 2014	5	straw (4), cup (1)	Bar	Reused cup
20th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
21st January 2014	1	food packaging (1)	chip bag	N/A
22nd January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
23rd January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
24th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
25th January 2014	5	straw (2), untensils (2), cup (2)	Junkano Fair, bar, takeaway	N/A
26th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
27th January 2014	3	food container (1), food packaging (1), miscellaneous (1)	applesauce, chip bag, floss picker	N/A
28th January 2014	1	cup (1)	medicine	N/A
29th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
30th January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
31st January 2014	0	0	N/A	N/A
January Total	57