cheating

This is a difficult challenge (unless you have infinite time to shop and cook and everyone around you is totally on board.) So I've cheated a little. Tortillas have been a big issue. They are a staple of our diet. We ran out of tortillas and my partner went out and got mexican takeout because he couldn't make a burrito at home. His meal came with a styrofoam clamshell box, styrofoam cup, plastic lid, plastic straw and three little plastic cups of salsa. That is a lot of waste for one measly meal. So I decided that it was important to get tortillas, even if they came in packaging.
Beer has been another problem. Draft beer is ideal. Kegs are reused hundreds of times and can last decades. However, there is no local watering hole anymore. I deeply lament the loss of our short lived neighborhood bar, Johnny's. They only sold beer, wine and soju drinks. Without the full liquor license the place didn't attract so many obnoxious people. It was a lovely little place to get a beer and only a few blocks away. I like to have a beer and relax in front of the TV now and then. So I bought a six pack. Sure I can recycle the bottles and the paperboard box thing, but I really want reusable packaging.
I was talking to a professor at my school (I'm a grad student) and he said that he homebrews and would take any 22 oz bottles I have. So I'm going to ask Whole Foods to order a case of Lagunitas Maxximus 22 ouncers for me. Lagunitas is my favorite brewery. I crave their bitter hoppy brews. So I am excited to find a second use for my beer bottles and solve that issue. I'm saving my bottlecaps to make a large mosaic so even those will be reused.