I'm grateful for being able to see and experience all the amazing places that nature has presented to me. I have always enjoyed and shared her grandeur through my stories and my photography. I've also become determined in returning the favor by cleaning up trash as I hike through the trails. More recently though, I have been shifting my life towards trying to live with a smaller carbon footprint. Be less wasteful. Use less energy. Be less of a consumer. The biggest shift may be to use less plastic. Using disposable plastics has become such a huge part our daily lives that we don't even think twice anymore. The majority of plastics don't even get recycled. Most end up in a landfill and way too much get into the oceans. Life comes from the ocean and yet, we treat her like a toilet. As smart as we humans are, we sometimes don't act it. We choose some convenience for ourselves over a little tediousness for the world. Often times it takes losing something for us to realize how important it was. But in the case of the Earth, losing her would be too late. But you know what, she'll bounce back and survive. Humans, on the other hand, we will not.
Today I would like to share the results of a personal project of mine. The idea was to find out how much plastic goes through my hands during a span of a month. For a while now, I have been consciously trying to limit my use of plastics. I would use my own mug or utensils and would decline bags, drink lids, take-out utensils and especially straws. I HATE straws. I won't lie, it is shocking how much I have accumulated during the 30 days.
Here is my collection break down:
2 kitchen misc.
2 small plastic tie
3 toiletry tube
3 shipping packaging
4 un-reusable shopping bags
4 cup lids
5 straws
6 household jugs
6 dry foods packaging
7 zip-top bags
8 household misc.
8 water/drink bottles
8 food containers
8 plastic wrap sheets
9 containers
9 container lids
9 spoon/fork
10 cups
13 food packaging
50+ snack packaging
Instead of relying on plastics to go through the recycling process, why not just decline them? Decline the straw in your water. Decline the cheap plastic utensils you won't use. Decline the lid on your Starbucks.
70% of all plastics end up in a landfill and ONLY 10% gets recycled.
Let that sink in.