Convention Catastrophe

I went to the ICMA conference today in Richmond for my "Managing State and Local Governments" class. (ICMA, for the uninitiated in public policy world, is the International City/County Managers Association.) It was informative and fun...and a plastic MINEFIELD! Without even meaning to, I had 2 beverages in plastic containers. I brought them home to be sure I recycle them, but OOPS! I forgot my trusty water bottle, and it was all down hill from there. See the wreckage here:

I picked up a number of glossy brochures from vendors -- doubtless paper products slathered with plastic. I got a whole bunch of cool Census Bureau info, mostly on CD/DVDs and encased in, you guessed it, plastic. Although, at least the 2008 Statistical Abstract of the US was in a paper case. I picked up some stress balls (or school buses, worlds, road blocks...they really are creative!) that are without a doubt made of plastic. I do intend to use them to relieve my (often significant) stress, but I'm sure I could come up with a less plasticy way to relieve stress.

I haven't officially started the Plastic Diet yet, but it's on my mind every day.

I'm off to the grocery store now, and I'm already scared. Nothing but plastic in there!