I couldn’t find a good place for this, but I’d love to read other’s thoughts.
I’m trying to come up with a confidential poll to get a sense of what’s commonly re-used and what’ssort of weird. 
It’s such a vexing issue for me (has been since I was in high school decades ago) and, by default, my household. We rarely get takeout other than pizza and very occasionally sushi to avoid takeout containers. I wash out the random ziplock bags we somehow have accumulated from various kid activities (but have never purchased them). Hell, I even handwash and dry plastic wrap/cling film/aluminum foil and reuse them when we’ve accumulated them from takeout/prepared foods/etc to keep them out of the waste stream. I think in 20-ish years as an adult, I have purchased < 5 rolls of foil/plastic wrap each. Paper towels are a big no-no in our house. I have reusable produce bags for grocery shopping. I never buy bagged salads or veggies. Ever. We’re not perfect by any means (still have tons of packaged foods/snack chip bags) but we do our bes
ETA: I just started reading the article but haven’t finished it—I gotta hit the hay. It’s so important that we food-centric folks are aware of the issues and lead the charge towards reducing plastic in the kitchen. TY @shrinkrap
Are we supposed to select what we reuse?
If so why are the votes limited to 5 options?
Yes, and no good reason. 
I was trying to figure out the best way to use survey function.
there’s not an item i don’t re-use, condition permitting. e.g., it usually takes several months before i need to reacquire a produce bag. for heartier veg. i forsake a bag altogether. it’s a constant battle not to accept any new plastic into the house. it’s crazy that we’ve been conditioned that we need it. i see CA banning all plastic bags, including produce (currently it’s just grocery) in the future.
From the link
“The trick is just finding out how to avoid getting overwhelmed by the task, or hung up on one tricky item that might not actually play a major role in our lives. And the best way to do so, the experts I spoke to agreed, is to conduct an informal audit of your plastic usage.”
Last year I posted about recycling containers, and since we have had the latest one, I think everyone in my household has had more in our face evidence of plastic use and food waste.
I reuse everything if it’s in usable condition
Same.
Those supermarket produce bags are one of the items that I rinse and reuse, but wish I could quit using.
Of course some vegetables do fine simply stored in the refrigerator crisper drawer, but we lack enough drawer space. And the more delicate items like leafy greens have such a short shelf life unless I store them in supermarket produce bags.
Haven’t found a practical alternative yet.
Lost me on the term “single use.”
When we still lived in Massachusetts a small group of activists decided that plastic grocery bags are “single use” and worked to get them banned. Plastic bags are still allowed in the produce section, at the liquor store and plastic covers at the dry cleaners.
The grocery bags have never been “single use” in our house and we don’t even have a dog to pick up after. So happy that we moved to a state that allows choice; grocery stores here offer both plastic and paper bags. And of course folks can bring their own if they wish.
We use mostly sustainable products but don’t freak out when a paper plate or paper towel is more convenient.
Not sure what the trade off is between plastic in the landfill vs extra water use from washing/reusing. Didn’t see any discussion in this article. I’d prefer not to waste water on washing bags when we will never run out of landfill space here in the USA.
Thank you for commenting. I don’t recall reading that before!
In case anyone is interested, so far I’ve found this from 2024. I am not familiar with the source.
Just because there’s landfill capacity, doesn’t mean we should fill it or think it’s a way out of this plastics mess. IMO, plastics in society are a no-win situation, until plastics are truly recyclable (current system is a fraud) and we figure out how to deal with the billions of tons of plastics in landfills and the ocean like how to contain, decompose or dispose of it safely. Why should we care? Because plastics are everywhere, in our food, in our water, brains, body and blood….and no way it can be good.
There are compostable grocery and produce bags and there’s paper. So there are solutions but how do you make it happen? Pass laws to restrict it and give tax incentives to use and implement sustainable products. I’m for banning plastic grocery bags in California. Just have to stick with it and give some incentives.
Until then, I try and do my best, try and avoid plastic and reuse what I can, but it’s an uphill battle against huge corporations and “the American way of life” (cheap, convenient and no consequences). Despite the uphill battle trying to reduce use and find alternatives, these are good practices because it’s an attempt to change the culture. Get use to the idea there’s a better way.
I
I agree.
At the same time, here in California I do question the water used to wash plastic before putting it in our recycling bin (after “familiarizing” myself with our local recycling facilities) and I already have 10 rain barrels!
I appreciate the advice about not overthinking it.
california reminds me: watching reruns of ‘the big bang theory’ drives me nuts every time they get takeout and use the plastic utensils. i know that sheldon and leonard are not the most domestic creatures, but hard to believe they don’t have a set of cutlery!
also hard to believe that the cafeteria at cal tech would use plastic instead of metal. would have been a good opportunity to set an example by showing, not telling!
That’s a better way to put it…don’t overthink it. Do your best but don’t overthink it.
That’s like mission impossible for me. But I’ll aim for this in 2025. 
The Dart location near us used to accept EPS for recycling up until a few months ago, so while we tried to keep our use of EPS containers/trays to a minimum, we had some place to take them and not feel so bad about it. We learned a little while ago that they no longer take EPS products, so we are now much more aware of the packaging when we buy stuff.
