Zero Waste

A friend of mine has recently launched a website for zero waste - http://myzerowaste.com - which is a highly inspiring tale of liveing without waste, and trying to reduce impact where ever possible by limiting the rubbish you produce. There's also a pledge section, where you can take a number of promises, to reduce your waste and to encourage recycling among family and friends.

One of the pledges (there were 4 I didn't already do) I took was to take a container to the butchers instead of using the wrap and plastic bags they give out. I went, container in hand to acquire some chuck steak for our slow cooker. having passed my container across, and having a bit of an odd look from the butcher, I proceeded to put my re-useable contain in my reuseable bag. Then I made an observation....

The people in the q were all giving me a *funny look* - but the majority of them had re-useable bags.... surely a reusable container is just a natural progression from a re-useable bag? I mean, I han't used one before, until pledging to do this as a method of reduing our waste, but I'd toyed with the idea, but just never remembered to take container to the butcher when going. It was the fact I'd promised which was the push I needed to make myself put it in the bag the night before, a foolproof method when trying to herd 2 children in the morning - I'd even written it on our notice board.

I suppose the question I'm posing is - is it such a progression to have a reusable container? And where do *normal* folks draw the line at being eco? If my container seemed a bit 'weird' to the others in the q, is that because reusable bags are now the norm, which is good, or are they viewed more as a fashion accessory?