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I've been thinking a lot about plastic lately.
There's the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where millions of plastic bags, water bottles and other trash cover a surface area the size of the continental United States.
There's the fact that plastic manufacturing accounts for 10 percent of US oil consumption. And well, we've got a little problem with oil right now, in case you haven't heard.
And then there's the fact that many kinds of plastic contain toxic chemicals like Bisphenol-A and phthalates, which leach into our food and water and off-gas into the air and are probably making us sick, but we have no idea why or how bad it is and there aren't any laws in place yet to protect us. (Want more specifics on that? Click on "Smart Plastics" here to download the Institute of Agriculture & Trade Policy's fantastic guide to making smarter purchasing decisions about plastics.)
You know all of this. You don't need me beating that drum again. (But it's okay if you are like, wait, what? Click here and here to get up to speed. I'll be here when you get back.)
So. I've been bringing my canvas bags to the grocery store. I use reusable goods like cloth napkins and mason jars whenever I can. But then I get in car (which is like, a big plastic Tupperware container with a stereo, oh plus it creates even more pollution). Or pick up my phone. Or make a sandwich. Or take a shower. And I realize, wow, I'm using a hell of a lot of plastic.
Let's be clear: I can't stop driving or using my phone, much less the plastic-covered laptop on which I'm writing this post. I'm not the No Impact Man (although I think he's neat-o). I also think that individual contributions are dandy, but we really need a better regulatory framework and big picture initiatives to fix these problems — as Annie Leonard says, you can't shop your way out of this one.
But I realize, once I get away from the "I can't live or earn a living without this form of plastic" stuff — a list that is probably way shorter than I'd like to admit — there's a big, wide, Garbage Patch-sized gray area in my life of "plastic I could probably find an alternative for if I could only be asked to give it five minutes of thought."
So, I'm going to document the plastic in my life, as well as my efforts to replace it with a greener equivalent. If that equivalent is great, you'll hear about it. If it sucks and makes me super cranky, you'll hear about that too. If it's even pretty good, but I know I'll be too lazy to stick with it, we'll talk about that.
Tomorrow, we'll start with my bathroom cabinets.
Today, I'd love to hear how you deal with all the plastic in your life. Any tips for me as I start this Plastic Detox? Anything you've decided that you just can't live without? (It's okay. I won't judge.)
Read more about our plastic problem:
The Pacific Garbage Patch Explained
Get to Know Your Recyclable Plastics by Number
Questions for Annie Leonard, Part 2: What Can We Do About PVC?
David de Rothschild on The True Cost of Plastic
