Plastic surrounds us. We eat, sleep, and breathe plastic. But now we have an excessive amount of it, and it keeps getting put to waste.  If people think that when they recycle their plastic today that they are doing something good for the economy, they are mostly wrong. The plastic that is getting ‘recycled’ isn’t going to get recycled. Only 9 percent of the plastic that people recycle is getting recycled. But this also does not mean it is getting recycled efficiently. Only 2 percent out of the 9 is getting used effectively to where people will be able to use it again. So where does all this plastic end up? Across the ocean after we ship it over the low-income countries that apparently deserve all our trash just because they don’t have as much stability snd money to rid of it as we do. Seeing the impact, we have on these countries is just horrific and we need to make personal changes to benefit ourselves but also others around us.

I made a list of all the most common things I might buy at a grocery store and my durable goods that I use or used a lot. Below is a picture of all these things and then alternatives that could be used instead to help create a plastic free environment.

For grocery shopping I do use my own bags and have been doing that since forever. With my mom, we would always take our own recyclable bags that we would just reuse each time so we wouldn’t have to waste the useless plastic bags they give away at the stores. Now living down in Charleston on my own, I take my own backpacks to the store if I ever wanted to buy things for my dorm room. Water bottles are a huge problem too. People go out to the store to buy those big 20 packs of water when that Is just a complete waste. There are so many alternatives like getting a Brita filter if you think your sink water in unhealthy so that you can just keep reusing that at home. Going out you can use a reusable water bottle and not grab a quick and disposable water bottle that you’re going to toss right after finishing it.

Over the past week I have been able to use all the alternatives to good use. I don’t have a car down here, but I have been able to walk everywhere I have needed to go which is good for the environment. I use my phone instead of buying the disposable cameras that people have begun to start buying again. I think they are a cute idea, but I think the cameras that are disposable are a big waste of plastic. For mac and cheese, I have not bought the pastic cups in a while and have bought the bozes. I do know that still isn’t the best, but it is a better alternative and I think the small changes can start to make a big difference if everyone starts to act.

There are things that I am not able to replace which are the electronics like my phone and my computer. I use these both every day for social and education purposes. My computer isn’t really a wasteful piece of plastic a I will be using this for many years to come. I think moving forward, these bigger things that we need in our life right now aren’t the problem. We don’t need to focus on how we are going to be able to rid of all pastic. We should focus on the small waste we throw away daily. Making those small changes in each and everyone’s like will make a bigger difference then most people might expect. People might be surprised to see that they could help make an impact on our future world.

Sakshi Kaikini

When you think about living plastic-free, you think oh ‘easy peasy.’ In reality, that’s not necessarily the case. As we live our day to day lives, we use so much plastic daily and we don’t even notice it. As many of us have a daily routine, we use the same one time use products a lot. When we get used to a product we use the same one for a while and don’t like to change it. For instance, when you’re going to the store to get tampons fro example, you will most likely go for the Tampex ones you grab every time that are the cheapest and most convenient. Although the cardboard tampons would be the best choice for the environment, they are a lot more expensive and you’re not used to them so you normally wouldn’t reach for them.

After being in this FYE, Swimming in Plastic Soup, I have quickly how much our country and world takes for granted and how we are ruining the Earth or futures are going to be living on. We keep on using plastic and materials than take hundreds and some thousands of year to decompose and just sit on Earth and ultimately end up hurting the poor environment and wild life that don’t deserve what we do to them. Considering that, I’d be extremely willing to make multiple changes to my lifestyle to help the environment. Even though I barely affect the worlds plastic footprint, I feel like I’m still making a difference.

As I went to the grocery story I looked at the list I made last week and looked at some items I knew I could replace, and some I knew I couldn’t. One item I knew I absolutely could not replace is tampons. I’m so used to the Tampex brand of tampons and they are about $7.30 from Target for 36. I found a brand of cardboard tampons that are most definitely better for the environment but they were $7 for 18. That’s basically the same price but I’d be getting half the amount. Although it might not seem like a big difference, over the months and years, the prices add up. I do think that all women should be given free healthcare products but that’s a whole different story.

I used to buy individual bottles of water from the store, individual bags of Cheez-Itz and individually packaged makeup wipes. I substituted them all for a gallon jug of water, a big box of Cheez-It’z, and a bigger pack of makeup wipes. The thing about plastic is it’s so easy and efficient. With my water bottles, individual bags of Cheez-Itz and my individual packaged makeup wipes, they were so easy to take on the go. All though I have to pour the gallon jug into a reusable water bottle, pour Cheez-It’z into a reusable container, and take the makeup wipes everywhere I go, it honestly wasn’t even bad. Although it was a little bit annoying having to take those extra steps when I’m leaving my room, I’m still making an effect on my plastic footprint and it made me feel a lot better. I will be continuing to purchase these items because ultimately they are saving a lot of plastic than the items I was buying before.

Some advice I have to other contemplating changing their items they use is to try it once. Try it once, see if it’s bearable. Although it might be weird at the beginning it will make your conscience a lot better knowing you are lowering your plastic footprint. We live here, on Earth, and we need to start treating her right. And the first step for us is to use less and less plastic.