Plastic - Rising to the Challenge
Plastic.
Rising to the Challenge
Just over a year ago, my family was doing well with our plastic waste. We didn’t use plastic baggies or cling wrap, and we only bought water in bottles when we were traveling. We recycled everything that the blue bins would take, along with all the refundable cans/bottles. As far as keeping the earth clear of plastic, we were doing pretty. darn. good.
Or so we thought.
Then in May of last year, we decided to do a plastic-free challenge. We kicked it off with a trip to one of the local box stores to see how much plastic we could find. This was not meant to target the store in any way, but - because they have a bit of everything - it would give us a better sense of the big picture. My eldest daughter, a couple of her friends, and I with my camera set off to find all the plastic we could. Aisle by very long aisle.
Our eyes were opened.
We knew plastic was flooding the seas and land fills, but until we looked - and I mean really looked - at all that is also flooding the shelves, we didn’t quite get it. We discovered that a plastic-free item was a rare gem. When we located one, we would call the others over excitedly, share a celebratory dance, and continue on our hunt. What started as a quest to find plastic turned into an almost desperate search to find something... anything... that was not somehow bound in, made from, or labeled with plastic. From food to clothing, hygiene products to household items, automotive care to recreational accessories. Plastic is, evidently, ubiquitous. To be perfectly honest, it was quite overwhelming and a bit depressing for all of us. I wondered how our small families doing a plastic-free month could possibly make a difference to a world that was dominated by this seemingly necessary evil?
It was around this time that Jane Goodall interrupted my escapist social media scrolling. I have always admired Jane Goodall for her contributions to education surrounding animal welfare, as well as her continued fight for our planet, and her words could not have come at a better time. She said, “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” It’s as simple as that. Every time I make a choice in what I consume, I am making a bigger decision. A choice for the world I want to live in, and one my kids will inherit. It is a big responsibility (and I am still nowhere near perfect at it), but I took Jane’s words to heart.
So we went ahead with our plastic-free month, with the idea that every purchase made a difference. This was both challenging and wonderful. When the month was done, we fell off the horse for a while, but then got back on... and then of course fell off for a while. Changing your lifestyle to become less dependent on plastics is definitely a marathon, not a sprint. A year later, I look around my house and see small changes we’ve made, over time. I talk to people who are also inspired to make little - and big - shifts. I see differences in what is being offered consumers - from product packaging to zero-waste stores popping up. Bit by little bit, I can feel that things are changing.
This is why I think plastic-free challenges are such a wonderful endeavor. It brings more of us into this place of realization of what needs to change, and we start looking for it. But better than that, we start asking for it. And businesses start listening.
So, no matter where you are on your zero-waste journey - whether you’re new to the whole idea or a seasoned veteran - for the month of July, challenge yourself to ditch plastic. Invite your friend, your sister, your brother, or your parent to join you... and if you have kids, get them on board. Having someone else do it with you helps in the challenging times and is someone to celebrate the victories with. And having kids participate, well... they’ll help keep you honest!
And please remember, as we are trying to be gentler with the earth, we must also be gentle with ourselves. It can be easy to get discouraged and give up altogether. This is not the goal! As Anne Marie Bonneau so eloquently (and reassuringly) put it, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Written by Heather Ryan
