Jennifer Metz Kane has been shopping without plastic bags for more than three years, and it’s not because she’s getting ready for the plastic bag ban that begins July 1.
It’s part of a journey she began in 2010, when she was shocked to learn Honolulu was running low on landfill space and planning to ship its trash to Washington state.
Kane, born and raised in Honolulu, had just returned from college in Oregon. She wondered why no one was protesting the decision.
Inspired by the 2009 documentary "No Impact Man," which follows a family striving to live in New York with no adverse effect on the environment, Kane decided to try to lead by example.
"I thought, maybe I should see what I can do before assuming everyone should be changing their habits," she said.
She embarked on her trash-free year on Jan. 1, 2011, and blogged about it to keep herself accountable. She switched from paper towels to cloth napkins, started composting and got creative "upcycling" her waste.
Though she’s not blogging anymore, Kane, who received a National Science Foundation grant to promote ocean literacy, still continues the zero-waste lifestyle as much as she can. The plan to ship Honolulu’s trash never panned out, either, due to opposition from the Native Americans of Yakama Nation who filed a lawsuit to stop it.
THE GREEN LEAF recently tagged along with Kane and her husband, Adam, as they went shopping at Down to Earth market in Kailua.
Of course, Kane brings her own shopping bags, but she also brings her own produce bags, which will not be included in the plastic bag ban.
She puts a lot of thought into what she purchases, opting for items that come in less packaging or are packed in material that can be composted or recycled.
We headed to the bulk bins first. She brought out a reusable water bottle to fill up on bulk honey, which she transfers into a jar at home. From the bins she also got mueslix, oat flour, raisins and carob chips, which all went into reusable bags.
Bulk cocoa went into an empty Hershey’s cocoa can. Instead of using the provided stickers to label items and record their price codes, she
records the codes on her shopping list, which is written on the back of a recycled scrap — an old business card on this outing.
Her philosophy is not to preach about sustainablity, but to do it herself and set an example. It will be interesting to watch her journey continue as she becomes a mother — she’s expecting a baby girl in April.
Find Kane’s trash-free-year blog for 2011 at trashfreeyear.wordpress.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @betrashfree.
Nina Wu writes about environmental issues. Reach her at 529-4892 or nwu@staradvertiser.com.
