I have been thinking a lot lately about the serious amounts of plastic that we all use on a daily basis. Last time I wrote about plastic bags that we get while out shopping, but how about all the plastic that surrounds us on a daily basis. Here's how my day starts.... I wake up and the first thing I touch is my PLASTIC alarm clock, I then put on my PLASTIC glasses and head to the bathroom to sit on the PLASTIC toilet seat. I then go into the shower and use the PLASTIC shampoo, conditioner and body wash containers. When I get out of the shower I brush my teeth with a PLASTIC toothbrush with toothpaste from a PLASTIC tube. Now imagine that I have only been awake for half and hour and so far everything I have come in contact with has been PLASTIC!
So I usually stop at Starbucks for coffee with my reusable PLASTIC cup and get a non-reusable PLASTIC straw, but today I decided to make another change. Do I really NEED a straw??? Nah! I can drink out of the cup, and with one simple decision I just stopped contributing to plastic straws washing up onto a beach somewhere.
Plastic has become part of our society, a part that is so well ingrained we can't even imagine living without it. As I type this blog on my PLASTIC laptop I am saddened to think about what our Earth is becoming... one big PLASTIC sphere!!
What's that you say?? What about recycling?? Recycling is a last ditch effort to try to handle the wasteful nature of the human race. Most of the plastic we consume is either downcycled or not recycled at all. Plastic is difficult to recycle because there are so many different types, that's what all those little numbers on the bottom of your containers are. #5 is said to be best for human consumption, but guess what, it's the hardest to recycle. Aveeda has teamed up with some schools and organizations to collect #5 plastic caps and recycle them for their haircare products, but the overwhelming response has forced them to turn organizations away because they just can't handle all that plastic. Check out their website for more details.
There is a blog that I follow called http://myplasticfreelife.com. It is a really interesting blog about really challenging yourself to live without any plastic at all. I don't imagine I will be plastic-free anytime soon, but everyday I try to make another step towards reducing my consumption of single use plastics before we really are drowning in plastic!
amen sister! okay so here are a few things ive turned to
ReplyDelete1. ceramic mugs with a cork on top for coffee instead of plastic or paper cups at the coffee shop (its not as efficient in the car, but hey don't drink and drive!)
2. toothpaste. cleaning your teeth is more about the brushing than the product so i switched to making my own out of baking soda a tiny bit of salt and a drop of peppermint oil and keeping it in a small glass jar by the sink... waaay cheaper and just dip and go.
3. peppermint castile soap (biodegradeable and usually organic) is not a whole lot more expensive than regular shower soaps and i buy it in bars wrapped in recycled paper for the shower and one huge dilutable gallon for other stuff... its all encompassing soap for... mopping floors (not dangerous for animals), brushing teeth, washing hair, body wash, doing dishes, laundry (add a little borax or baking soda and things get brighter whiter and you just eliminated another piece of plastic)
.... i can continue but will leave you to re-invent on your own :) it takes adjustment but its not that bad! :)