too much plastic--prlastic

when i was younger i used to wonder about my mother's fascination with plastic. she always packaged every fruit or vegetable in it's own crinkly, noisy plastic bag, compartmentalizing each grocery item in its place in the shopping cart. i think she in turn used to wonder why i didn't care for the plastic bags. she found them useful, and enjoyed their purpose in life, whereas i didn't want to use them unless there was an absolute need. i do admire the multitude of functions plastic provides, especially the invention of tupperware, but, in terms of bags, if i can reuse my canvas bags in place of using a brand new plastic one, that is my preference. and it's not a problem for me if my apples come into contact with the lettuce or broccoli. whatever. it's not that big of a deal. let them be merry together.

too often, plastic accumulates as waste (shoot! walk down the street and count how much plastic you see!) and i am trying to be very conscious about wasting little. now, i'm not up to date on the policies regarding the environment in korea, but the grocery store is a plastic reducer's worst nightmare. nearly every item--as in every individual vegetable and fruit--is packaged or shrink-wrapped. while it may make the stocking of shelves easier, it disheartens me. i really dislike coming home to unwrapping my onions or peppers or cucumbers and filling the wastebasket with clear plastic. what a waste! but this has shed light on my mother's propensity for plastic! it's such a korean thing to do. i did, however, learn something from theresa that gives me hope: for each new plastic bag you use, you have to pay for it. so, in that respect at least, korea is becoming more plastic smart.

a thought just occured to me: is it worse or the same, to purchase produce that is already shrink-wrapped in plastic or to wrap the produce yourself in a plastic bag? aha! it's worse to buy the shrink-wrapped version because at least with the bag, you can rinse it out and reuse it--which, my mom does, because she knows the beauty of the re-use. now it would really really awful is someone put a shrink-wrapped vegetable in a plastic bag. plastic in plastic? ridonkulous. please don't do that. ever. thank you.