My Month Without Plastic: I Survived

 

The plastic waste generated during my month without plastics.

I made it! I survived a month "without" plastic. I managed to mostly avoid purchasing new plastic but still left a small trail of plastic waste behind (see the photo to the right).

It’s less than I expected, which is somewhat of a relief, but I still cringe when I think about this waste still being around for decades after this challenge is over.

We forget about our trash rather quickly when we throw something “away,” but “away” is still somewhere. One of the walls in the Burke's Plastics Unwrapped exhibit is covered with 3,000 plastic bags–the number used every single second by people like me, who hadn’t thought about the consequences of common consumption. I believe as people who can make choices for ourselves, we have a duty to become more aware of our impact and to make a change.

My Month Without Plastic: Wrapped Up

By Samantha Porter


Not only have I had to rethink how and what types of foods I purchase during this month without plastics challenge, but it's also made me rethink other aspects of my life. Have you ever noticed how many everyday items you use are either made of plastic or wrapped up in it?

Plastics are literally everywhere! They're surrounding my shampoo, kitchen sponges and laundry detergent. They're in my clothes, face wash (what do you think those little microbeads are?) chewing gum, and dental floss. Even the little plastic aglet on the end of my shoe laces. It's a fact: plastics exist in my life and in my home.

I certainly can't avoid all plastics and there are some that I don't want to avoid. Can you imagine having a glass shampoo bottle in the shower? That's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Even though there are some plastics I can't easily avoid, I've found ways to lessen the collateral damage of my overall consumption.

My Month Without Plastic: Unexpected Nutrition Overhaul



By Samantha Porter

In last week's post, I was just starting to realize how much effort and planning it would require for me to avoid plastic waste while shopping for groceries. This process is a bit clumsy at first, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

What will I eat??
Before leaving for the store, I think through exactly what I'm going to purchase so I make sure to bring the right jars and reusable bags with me to carry my groceries. Though it is a relative hassle, it's given me the opportunity to be more mindful about what I eat.

My Month Without Plastic: Starting at the Store

By Samantha Porter

Plastic, plastic, plastic!

In my last post, I vowed to rethink my relationship with plastics by taking a look at what plastic products are in my life and trying to not purchase or use any new plastic for one month. But first, let's set some realistic ground rules...

There are some plastics in my life that I won't be able to avoid. For example, look down, see they keyboard in front of you? Plastic. What about the phone to your left? Plastic. Or the amputated T-Rex figurine to your right (am I the only one that has that?)? It's plastic (with paperclip prosthesis, of course).

I won't be discarding the lid to my reusable water bottle (because it's plastic) or getting rid of my computer mouse or the plastic case for my cell phone. This challenge isn't about deprivation, it's about conscious living. But, I do publicly vow, Burke Blog readers, that I will not repurchase my favorite (as of late) modern invention: press and seal wrap (mmmmmm…so brilliant).

My Month Without Plastic: The Challenge

By Samantha Porter

The Burke recently opened a new exhibit, Plastics Unwrapped, that explores how material culture was changed–rapidly and significantly–by plastics. Plastics are everywhere and they'll stay in landfills and in our oceans for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

That got me thinking about the plastics in my life. I consider myself to have a fairly small ecological footprint overall: I don’t own a car, I buy locally when I can, and I'm above average in my knowledge of recycling protocol *dust off shoulders.* But when it comes to plastics, I realized that so much of what I purchase comes wrapped in plastic packaging. Even if it is recyclable – it never entirely disappears. We can't simply recycle things into non-existence.