Hi! We're Mark and Melanie, and we're going an entire year without buying any new plastic! Why? Because millions of throw-away products are made every year out of this material that lasts forever! Plastic is in our oceans, our landfills. . . everywhere. Instead of seeing the amount of plastic in our lives as a problem, we see it as a big opportunity for change. We're dedicated to learning about plastic, its environmental impact, and how we can reduce or eliminate non-essential uses of plastic in our lives.
Join us for this year of discovery, revolution, and reinvention!

Mining Landfills for Plastic

Posted by Mark Rummel  No Responses »
Oct 062011
Mining Landfills for Plastic

This is an innovative solution I just came across for being able to recycle plastics that typically just end up in landfills or incinerated.  This company, MBA Polymers, is mining landfills for plastics and using extremely sophisticated technology to sort and recycle the plastics. I am in favor of limiting the use of plastic in my life as much as possible because of plastic’s negative environmental impact and potential health risks. However, I know there are many beneficial uses of plastic. For example, using plastic for car bodies makes them lighter and require less energy, which means less fossil fuels for older [Continue Reading...]

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Considerations While Choosing our Next Eco-Friendly Home

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  4 Responses »
May 012011
Considerations While Choosing our Next Eco-Friendly Home

Hi Friends! We mentioned several months ago that we were preparing to move to San Francisco.  About 5 days before we were going to leave, it just didn’t feel right to us, so we decided to stay in Dallas near our family and friends.  We are really happy about our decision and are now looking for our next home together.  We fell in love with all the eco-friendly practices in San Francisco, so we decided to create the life we imagined living there, here.  I want to share with you some of the eco-friendly living aspects of choosing our next [Continue Reading...]

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Freedom From “Stuff”

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  2 Responses »
Feb 242011

Hi Friends! I just wrote an article on MyMagicalJourney.com about how clearing out your “stuff” and not buying into consumerism (ha! no pun intended) can lead to a healthier, happier, and more prosperous life.  Mark and I clear out our home quite often, and each time we’ve found new sources of money and felt so much lighter and more joyful.  It’s as if clearing the clutter allows the energy of creativity to flow.  Check out my article, Freedom From “Stuff”, and be sure to let me know any additional ideas you have and stories about your own experiences clearing out clutter [Continue Reading...]

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Tom’s Toothpaste and Preserve Toothbrush Reviews!

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  11 Responses »
Dec 222010
Tom's Toothpaste and Preserve Toothbrush Reviews!

Hi Friends, You may have noticed in my last post I did a bit of Target-bashing.  However, there are some great products at Target, and I even bought new toothpaste and toothbrush there and am about to give you….dun dun DUN! …my review!!! I can’t wait to tell you about my new toothpaste.  It is so delicious!!!  Mark and I have had an issue this year finding toothpaste that is not in plastic packaging and that actually tastes good.  You may remember I tried straight baking soda first.  However, as I almost vomited every time I used it, I figured [Continue Reading...]

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No New Plastic Shopping Adventures

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  23 Responses »
Dec 152010

Hello Friends, This morning I went on a little errand to Target looking for an ingredient in a Christmas gift.  Since beginning our project, regular shopping has ceased to be a big activity for us.  First, we have realized we appreciate only having things we really need and don’t feel any drive to just buy stuff for the sake of stuff.  Second, I’m so much more aware of the products we buy and how and where they are made and packaged, that even though some items initially look appealing, they usually aren’t appealing enough to take home.  For example, I [Continue Reading...]

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Japanese Man Converts Plastic Into Oil

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  3 Responses »
Nov 202010
Japanese Man Converts Plastic Into Oil

Hello Friends! My wonderful Father-in-Love just sent us a youtube video about Akinori Ito, a Japanese man who invented a machine to convert plastic back into oil.  With this process, the plastic waste can be converted into diesel, kerosene, or gasoline.  He has found a way to look at plastic trash as treasure.  His machine is portable, which has allowed him to easily transport it to many countries.  In many developing countries, where extensive plastic recycling may not be available, this machine can help them decrease their trash and create what is currently a valuable product.  From 1 kilogram of [Continue Reading...]

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Plastic-free, Eco-friendly Holiday Gift Ideas

Posted by Mark Rummel  4 Responses »
Nov 142010
Plastic-free, Eco-friendly Holiday Gift Ideas

The holiday season is upon us and people are already thinking about what gifts to give to their friends and loved ones this year. Keeping in line with our No New Plastic project, I thought I would post some of mine and Melanie’s plastic-free, eco-friendly holiday gift ideas. Digital Gifts Netflix Subscription for streaming movies and tv shows iTunes Credit for digital music, apps, and videos (link opens iTunes Store; avoid the plastic gift cards!!) Print, Email, or Facebook Amazon Credit for digital music, videos, video games, and much more HuluPlus Subscription Help a parent or grandparent get setup on [Continue Reading...]

 

Kitty Cosmo’s Toilet Training: What Happened?

Posted by Mark Rummel  2 Responses »
Nov 072010
Kitty Cosmo's Toilet Training: What Happened?

Jen recently made the following comment on our last Kitty Cosmo post, Kitty Cosmo: Chapter 5 Part 2… And then what happened? As far as I can tell, this is the last kitty Cosmo post (sorry I’m a bit late discovering this blog). Did you get it all sorted in the end? We know our adventures with Kitty Cosmo’s toilet training is one of our readers favorite topics, so I wanted to give everyone an update. Well, Melanie and I left for our wedding just a few weeks after our last Kitty Cosmo post and then moved out of our [Continue Reading...]

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Live Streaming Saturday!

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  1 Response »
Nov 032010
Live Streaming Saturday!

Hello Friends! The Plastic Pollution Coalition is hosting a conference that will be streamed live this Saturday, November 6th, at 11:30AM EST.  The topic is the Global Plastic Pollution Crisis.  You can watch it live by visiting this post on Saturday and clicking on the video below… (at least I think that’s how this works)  Many thanks to Beth Terry from FakePlasticFish.com for letting us know about this. tedxgp2 on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

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Healthy Food, Healthy Bodies, Happy People

Posted by Melanie Jade Rummel  4 Responses »
Nov 012010
Healthy Food, Healthy Bodies, Happy People

Hello Friends! This post is all about food.  I love food, and I love really good food.  Tasty and good-for-me food is my favorite.  At different times in my life, I’ve paid a lot of attention to nutrition labels in food – how much salt, iron, fat, calories, etc. something I’m about to eat anyway (ha!) has.  The past two years I’ve been looking at food totally differently.  When I became a vegetarian two years ago, I started reading the contents of packaged food very carefully to make sure there weren’t any hidden meat products, like lard added to beans. [Continue Reading...]

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