All too often I’m faced with the dilemma that is our plastic consumer world. Where are the choices for responsible consumers? I’m on the road quite a bit, burning away my demand on fossil fuels in the vain of making the world’s oceans, waves and beaches a better place in my capacity as a Oregon Field Coordinator for Surfrider Foundation. I dread my consumer world on the road. Although I travel with Kleen Kantene, fuel efficiency and refill my water on the go, I’m often left with miserable choices at gas stations and convenient stores that threaten my health and the environment. I see this picture every time I stroll into a market on the go. Corn syrup and plastic, as far as the eye can see. There are about two or three main stream beverages that are widely obtainable that do not package in plastic. Remove corn syrup from the equation and you’re left drinking out of a faucet. I no longer purchase single use plastic beverage containers. It was a simple decision that I was able to make as a consumer, but the choices are narrow.
Imagine if everyone made this simple consumer decision. Imagine how many beverage companies would be forced to accommodate the needs of the consumers. Make a simple consumer change in your life, rise above plastics. I challenge everyone to pick one plastic consumable in your life and replace it. Maybe it’s your beverage on the go, maybe its your carton of milk, or maybe you’ll make the bigger decision to try and cut as many single use plastics as possible…I dare you. As you’re choices become fewer, you better understand the magnitude of our plastic predicament. Then the swarming pacific gyre of plastic doesn’t seem so far fetched, it’s as simple as the next soda you (and eventually everyone else) purchases. We are a plastic world and we must demand a change and turn our vision to a bright future. Read this blog, send in a comment and remove a piece of plastic from your world and I’ll send you a free t-shirt cause it means that much to me.
So true. Just today, my wife and I did a little research into the plastic bottles that we use for our new childs breastmilk storage. The bottles we are using contain BPA. It’s easy to make the decisions for ourselves and to enact them, but even more important is to make those same decisions for those who can’t make the decision for themselves. And we wonder why cancer is so prolific. Our lives have been stored in products that leech toxins into our systems.
I just opened my fridge and realized nearly everything in it is stored in plastic. Even the fresh fruit and veggies are cut up and stored in plastic containers. It’s a serious mind shift to start getting away from that. Do I put things in glass bowls and cover them with alum. foil? More disposables, or am I better off keeping it in the re-usable plastic containers. So many little decisions to be made but once you realize the overall impact, it’s easier to try and find solutions that maybe you wouldn’t have made the effort for before.
We’re getting glass bottles for our newborn, and getting rid of all the plastic dinnerware for the kids.
Nothing like a good Mt. Dew to keep you awake on the road, but now I’ll take my Sigg bottle and get a fountain drink. Even my trusty Nalgene bottle has BPA in it. So the logical decision is not always a healthy one. 9 times out of 10 the way our grandparents did things turns out to be the best way after all. And here we think we have progressed. I can remember my grandmother’s prolific vegetable garden and her canning fruits and veggies every winter. She had a huge compost pile which she used to enrichen the soil in her garden. Pre-packaged food wasn’t really an option.
Convenience, sometimes there is quite a price to pay for it.
Love this. Just came across this blog from a listserver I’m on…them (plastic industry) watching us (those rising above plastic): An Author on Crain Communications’ Plastics News site’s blog, check it out for a defensive laugh:
http://www.plasticsnews.com/blog/2008/05/some_blogs_to_watch.html
By the way Lawless, I owe you a t-shirt.
Great post!
This post touches on so many issues beyond simply those related to plastics and BPA. You mention corn syrup (where to even begin with all the problems related to industrial corn growing?!). Also, we need to look at bottled water. A major contributer to the plastic bottle nightmare (2 million bottles used in the US every 5 minutes), bottled water is in many cases simply a ruse. Many water bottlers use municipal water sources (i.e. tap water) to fill their bottles and charge you a premium for the service. In fact municipal water must meet higher drinking water standards than bottled water! Check out bottled water blues for more on this:
http://www.bottledwaterblues.com/Bottled_Water_Facts.cfm
I am happy to say that my wife and I made the same conscious decision to omit plastic bottles from our lives.
Thanks for the dialogue.
Cheers,
Daniel
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Thanks, sue Leroy
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