Last week, Cobey and I, separately stumbled upon some especially disturbing images and information reminding us (yet again) of one of the horrible atrocities humans are perpetrating upon this planet….plastic. I came across a series of pictures on the NPR website that Chris Jordan had taken on Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean near the Pacific Garbage Patch. They documented Albatross chicks that had died and were decomposing exposing the undigestible contents of their stomachs, large handfuls of plastic bottle caps and other plastic parts. The overwhelmingly saddest part for me (being a parent) is that the parents of these chicks had been feeding these plastic pieces to the chicks mistaking them for edible sea catch. Cobey came across similar pictures and more information while watching a TED talk by Captain Moore.
This began a discussion over stopping the use of plastic at our home. As the discussion continued we realized this was a HUGE undertaking. Cobey claims impossible, I claim INCREDIBLY difficult but possible. To qualify Cobey’s statement, he means impossible to the average family. Which is true, only the most extreme people would an undertaking to reduce their plastic purchase and “consumption” to zero. It’s a sad reality. The assertion that in a capitalist society the people decide what they want and do not want does not apply here. Maybe it is true in a capitalist society but, at least in the not truly capitalist America we live in, it is not. EVERYTHING we consume is wrapped/packaged in plastic and it is no small feat to eliminate plastic from our purchases. The amount of time, energy and money it would take, makes it impossible for the average family to enact. I’m positive there are good majorities of people that would prefer not to purchase so much plastic but not willing to go to the extremes it requires seeing it through.
Even so, I proposed to Cobey last night that we at least do so for a month. He seemed skeptical to the idea but I am serious and will continue to push the idea.
Here is a short list of things that come to mind that we may have to do without or find a direct source (like a farm) if this proposal passes the family debate:
milk (BIG issue with a little milk chugging toddler in the house)
cereal
cheese
toilet bowl cleaner
toilet paper (while toilet paper is paper….the large packages sealed by plastic make it off limits)
yogurt (oh my beloved yogurt!)
….honestly the list continues into the night, but you get the idea, almost anything packaged will have plastic…
We would be allowed to buy things in glass, paper or metal but nothing with plastic. If taken to the extreme, it will still include many glass items (such as peanut butter) because of the plastic seal over the lid. Obviously, we wouldn’t go without toilet paper, we may have to boost some from restrooms or find a source of toilet paper not wrapped in plastic. Seeing how this goes, maybe we could make a “national day' of it, much like “Bank Transfer Day.” But until then, you can be sure we're going to do our best to reduce our plastic consumption/purchase. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. And they're listed in that order for a reason!
This began a discussion over stopping the use of plastic at our home. As the discussion continued we realized this was a HUGE undertaking. Cobey claims impossible, I claim INCREDIBLY difficult but possible. To qualify Cobey’s statement, he means impossible to the average family. Which is true, only the most extreme people would an undertaking to reduce their plastic purchase and “consumption” to zero. It’s a sad reality. The assertion that in a capitalist society the people decide what they want and do not want does not apply here. Maybe it is true in a capitalist society but, at least in the not truly capitalist America we live in, it is not. EVERYTHING we consume is wrapped/packaged in plastic and it is no small feat to eliminate plastic from our purchases. The amount of time, energy and money it would take, makes it impossible for the average family to enact. I’m positive there are good majorities of people that would prefer not to purchase so much plastic but not willing to go to the extremes it requires seeing it through.
Even so, I proposed to Cobey last night that we at least do so for a month. He seemed skeptical to the idea but I am serious and will continue to push the idea.
Here is a short list of things that come to mind that we may have to do without or find a direct source (like a farm) if this proposal passes the family debate:
milk (BIG issue with a little milk chugging toddler in the house)
cereal
cheese
toilet bowl cleaner
toilet paper (while toilet paper is paper….the large packages sealed by plastic make it off limits)
yogurt (oh my beloved yogurt!)
….honestly the list continues into the night, but you get the idea, almost anything packaged will have plastic…
We would be allowed to buy things in glass, paper or metal but nothing with plastic. If taken to the extreme, it will still include many glass items (such as peanut butter) because of the plastic seal over the lid. Obviously, we wouldn’t go without toilet paper, we may have to boost some from restrooms or find a source of toilet paper not wrapped in plastic. Seeing how this goes, maybe we could make a “national day' of it, much like “Bank Transfer Day.” But until then, you can be sure we're going to do our best to reduce our plastic consumption/purchase. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. And they're listed in that order for a reason!
