The Plastic Predicament: A Journey from Zero Waste to “Oh My!”
A few years ago, I proudly declared my commitment to a near-zero-waste lifestyle, famously whittling my monthly trash down to a single can. Then COVID-19 arrived, and with it, the undeniable convenience of online shopping. While the pandemic spurred a lot of changes, it also, perhaps inadvertently, created a new challenge for my eco-conscious efforts.
Fast forward to today: I’m happy to report that my online shopping habits have significantly decreased – woohoo for less packaging! However, as I’ve gotten a bit older, I’ve noticed a subtle shift in my kitchen preferences. My grip strength isn’t what it used to be, and subconsciously, I’ve been gravitating away from breakable reusables. I hadn’t even truly noticed the trend until a recent visitor pointed it out with a surprised exclamation: “Wow, you have a lot of plasticware!”
The Unintended Collection
That comment hit me. How did that happen? My cupboards are now brimming with Rubbermaid, silicone, Tupperware, Melmac, and even Ziploc bags that I’ve been diligently reusing. The irony wasn’t lost on me: I wasn’t throwing out plastics; I was hoarding them in my kitchen, reusing them, and, by extension, regularly ingesting whatever might be leaching from them. Oops.
This revelation spurred a deeper dive into my home. The kitchen was just the beginning. I found plastic items everywhere – cleaning product bottles, brushes, storage containers in the bathrooms. “Oh my!” was right. What was I to do now?
Navigating the “Now What?”
Here’s the rub: I certainly don’t want to simply toss all this plastic, contributing to the ever-growing landfills. But at the same time, the thought of these items continuing to leach plasticizers into my immediate surroundings doesn’t sit well with me either.
After some thought, I’ve decided on a pragmatic approach: I’m choosing to donate them to my local Buy Nothing group.
Is this truly “environmentally friendly”? Perhaps not in the purest sense of the word. I’m not eliminating the plastic; I’m simply re-homing it. However, I believe there’s a valuable, albeit imperfect, silver lining. Others who are actively buying these types of products (as I, too, was until recently) can gladly reuse what I’m passing on. In a way, I’m hoping to reduce the demand for new plastic product creation. Or at least, that’s what I’ll tell myself!
This journey has been a humbling reminder that living a truly low-waste life is a continuous process of awareness, adaptation, and sometimes, compromise. It’s about progress, not perfection.
Guardians Around The Earth 