Plastic Free July Weeks 2 & 3

We're in the final stretches of #plasticfreejuly
Where does the time go?

The lovely Sylvan Lake where the fam, Cam, and I beat the heat one day

I got back from my trip to South Dakota last weekend. I had a great time, and my aunt's wedding was beautiful. Took some time off between posts because honestly, I'm usually a little down for a few days after leaving loved ones. I love living in the Pacific Northwest, but do wish I was closer to my family.
Moving on from the sappiness, here are some plastic free travel tips I picked up:

• I brought my own coffee mug and water bottle and they got tons of use. Always handy to have around. Except I forgot my water bottle in the uber on the way back from the airport 😅 It's one I've almost lost a thousand times, but this was really it. RIP purple water bottle. A Mizzou tumbler I have has now taken over as the primary water bottle #gotigers
• Reusable utensils would have been helpful for eating out, which is more of a necessity when your sister doesn't cook for you you're staying in a hotel/ on the road most of the time. Does anyone have reusable utensils they like - preferably bamboo or something like that? I'm trying to find a store that carries them to stem the amount of things I have shipped to me (I've been known to do a lot of online shopping). Or, does anyone just bring metal utensils while traveling/ out? How does that work?
• You know what you don't need a utensil for? Ice cream in a cone. Which is why that is always a good choice #themoreyouknow

So that was week two thoughts, for week three it's a little bit more mismash. Since coming home, I found a cheese vendor that goes to one of the local farmer's markets and sells cheese by the baby wheel. And the wheels aren't wrapped in plastic! Finally, plastic free cheese!!

And something that's been on my mind a lot over the past weeks is the plastic straw ban. Like most people concerned about the environment, I was excited at a ban passing in Seattle. I knew that this would not single-handedly solve the plastic problem facing our environment, but it was a start and it got the conservation conversations growing. But there is a troubling counter argument against plastic straw bans. Not troubling because they are arguments against the straw ban, but because the arguments are valid concerns from a group that is constantly silenced and ignored. The straw ban hurts the disability community, and it's environmental impact does not offset the human toll. Like I said, this has been on my mind a lot the past few weeks so I wanted to mention it now. But given the nuance this discussion requires, I want to dedicate an entire post to this single topic. Conservation, and conservation discussions should be as inclusive as possible, because at the end of the day we all live on the same water-logged space rock. As always, please feel free to join in the conversation through comments, or private messages, or whatever. Talk to you next week for the conclusion of Plastic Free July!