Monthly Archives: October 2021

Change is Hard

Posted on by
Reply

Change. Change is one of the biggest factors of our lives. Changing jobs, changing schools, changing majors, but many people overlook one of the most beneficial, but yet possibly most difficult things to change. This change is change in plastic. More of our lives than we realize revolve around plastic. From our toothbrushes to our cars, almost everything used in your daily life is made partially out of plastics. All this plastics makes our lives much easier and convenient, but in the sense of things, 91 percent of these aren’t recycled at all and end up in landfills. This is why we need change in our use of plastics.

You, as the reader, may think this is a tall task to do, but it is much easier than many would think. There are many daily options around us that we can replace with much more sustainable goods. Things like garbage bags, ziplock bags, and plastic grocery bags are the easiest to think of. But there is much more. We can even replace things like makeup, soap, and laundry detergent with much more sustainable, plasticless alternatives. For garbage bags, you can separate your bins. You can use one bin for dry things and another, with a bag, for wet things. For smaller garbage bags, you can reuse old bread bags. All of these goods have sustainable alternatives that are sold in almost all store, you just have to make the switch and go from speed and convenience, to a little more time required to help make the world a better place for future generations to come.

I participated in doing this myself this week. I did two very simple but effective things. The first thing I changed was my bathroom garbage bag. As I said earlier, you can use old bread bags, which is exactly what I did. This change did not affect my life at all. I still have the bag in and it is just like using a regular garbage bag. Its a little nicer though because the bag is longer, allowing me to be able to fit more into it. The second change I did was changing to using powdered laundry detergent. This was a more impactful change to my life, because I was used to just throwing in a tide pod and forgetting about it. Using powdered detergent, I had to measure it out, using a tablespoon and a half, and then pour it into the correct spot of the washing machine. The end result was the same though. Fresh clothes and less plastic used.

Overall, these are minute changes to our lives that, if everyone participated in, would have a big change on the world. Just changing small amounts of our lives to be more sustainable would cut out much of the plastics that are ending up in landfills and our oceans. These changes would also mean we would need less of these plastics, resulting in less toxins being released from production and less natural resources being destroyed. So, living sustainably is a small price to pay for a big reward to the environment.

Easy Alternatives

Posted on by
1

Before the creation of plastic, what did everyone use? Sustainable materials were the everyday normal, such as clay, glass, tree gum were used. Why can’t we go back to that way of life? Living plastic free in today’s society is almost impossible. People oftentimes see living sustainably as expensive, but there are options that are free. I currently am not using plastic straws or plastic utensils when getting food to-go. It is as easy as saying you don’t need any utensils. Along with giving up plastic utensils, I have not been using to-go bags and or plastic grocery bags. When I know I am going to need a bag, I bring one with me. It is extremely simple and I am making a change, while doing something so easy. When carrying groceries, the sustainable bags are easier to carry than the plastic alternatives, as well as hold more items. 

Shopping has been one of the hardest parts of using less plastic. Almost every product in every aisle is wrapped in some sort of plastic. The cheaper alternative is the item wrapped in plastic. Living sustainably may not benefit you financially, it does make you a part of something much bigger. It not only makes the world a better place, but puts you directly in the middle of change. Unfortunately, as a college student I am limited on my budget and unable to purchase certain sustainable items. As much as I would love to be able to purchase these products, I am practicing sustainable techniques that I have worked into my everyday life. 

Unfortunately, there are some plastic products that I cannot live without. For example, there aren’t many options for femine care products that are sustainable. I have done research on sustainable products, and sadly none of them will work for me. Hopefully in the future, there will be more options available for women. 

When completing my first blog, I counted how much plastic I used in a day. While almost everything I touched was made of plastic, I noticed that cleaning products, beauty/care, and groceries were the most plastic wrapped. Sadly, these are the items that most people use the most in their daily lives. In Beth Terry’s book, she explains a shopping checklist to help with sustainable shopping. Below I have composed a list of alternative products that do not contain plastic. 

Cleaning products:

 

PLASTIC CONTAINING PRODUCT: SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE:
Meyers hand soap (3 pack) Blue Land hand soap (3 pack)
Bounty Paper towels  Grove Collaborative bamboo paper towels 
Germ X hand sanitizer  Earth Hero hand sanitizer 


Beauty/care:

PLASTIC CONTAINING PRODUCT: SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE:
Wet Wipes Eco by naty aloe wet wipes
Pantene shampoo Captain Blankenship sea shine shampoo
Dove deodorant  All Good natural deodorant 

 

Grocery products:

PLASTIC CONTAINING PRODUCT: SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE:
Kettle brand sea salt potato chips Christie’s Chips sea salt potato chips
Bare banana chips Zero’s banana chips 
Mission flour tortillas  La Princesita flour tortillas  

Since taking this class, it has made me realize just how much plastic I use. It isn’t something I am proud of, but I am learning and overcoming the obstacles of living a more plastic free lifestyle. My advice for someone wanting to live plastic free is to start small. While these changes seem minute, if enough people use a little less plastic everyday, there would be a huge change. It is as simple as filling up your water bottle instead of grabbing a plastic water bottle. It is these small changes that create a big impact. We can do it.

 

Its the Little Things

Posted on by
1

I don’t think it is an individual’s intention ever to live a life full of plastic and completely full of debris and waste; however, no human is perfect and we all have been trained to always engage and consume products that are at our convenience due to our hectic and busy lives. The question to be asked though is if you had the opportunity and resources to change, would you? I think most people would answer yes to that question, myself included, because, with the freedom, resources, and opportunities to do better for our world, most people, especially my generation would be willing to take the small steps they need in order to become more plastic-free.

I would consider changing many things, it’s more about the sustainable products cost and the availability to me readily as a college student without a car. However, it is my intention through this class to learn ways to change multiple little things in life that will hopefully transition my patterns and habits into more sustainable options that will continue to influence those directly around me. I do believe that making small changes in my daily life, whether it’s encouraging my friends to buy groceries from the farmer’s markets on Sundays, or consciously choosing to opt-out of straws when dining in, will leave a subtle impact on those around me to slowly change small habits as well that can make a small difference in their plastic consumption habits as well. It’s valuable for humans to make multiple little changes in order to increase sustainability because no matter the size or value of the small contribution towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle, the more sustainability mindset increases. 

Deli meat. Deli meat has been the hardest, although not specifically a plastic item, to replace to be completely plastic-free. Whether I am buying the turkey, ham, salami, or whatever it may be, from the shelves lined along with the grocery store or asking for fresh cuts from the actual market within the store, there typically is always some plastic element involved. Whether it be wrapped or packaged, there is hardly anyway I have been able to avoid the placement of one-time usage disposable packaging on my deli meat. Granted, if I was a vegetarian this issue would be completely avoidable; however, experiencing life in a big family [Eight people total] deli meat was always a staple as a convenient way to grab a quick source of protein and move forward with the day, and this was done with little to no throughout of the aftermath of the plastic wrappers and containers that all of it was kept

Although there is good news, with many different companies realsing more eco-friendly products, there is hope to create a more sustainable everyday lifestyle. I have created a list of ways to create a less plastic waste lifestyle from Beth Terry’s examples, and have consciously tried to find more reusable and sustainable products when I go shopping.

There was three things this week that I replaced with more sustainable options:

  1. Fruit– instead of buying fruit in plastic packaging from the grocery store, a friend and I were able to find compile fresh fruits into a small tote bag we had brought last Saturday at the a mini market they had after the Cooper River Bridge Run. This little change of how I receive fruit was not only a fresher and healthier option but also cut out any plastic packaging that would have been used in the production and consumption of fruit at any grocery store. As the market was so close to the dorms I faced no challenges getting the fruit and only reaped benefits from the interaction and will most likely to continue to search out food markets in downtown and strictly buy my fruit from that.
  2. Milk Jugs– After realizing the amount of milk jugs disposed off, with little ability to fully recycle them into new products, I have moved to buying cartons in hopes to produce less plastic waste overall. I actually found I liked this option more as I didnt necessarily need a full gallon jug of milk complelty for myself and have discovered I actually not only waste less plastic, but food product.
  3. Ziploc-After going to the store this week I decided to buy some small reusable bags for small snacks and products I take with me from place to place. While I found it more convenient to just throw out a small bag after using it in the trash as I was walking by, making the conscious decision to put it in a reusable, washable bag has made me feel better and more sustainable in my habits overall. From this point forward I hope to continue using this method and get rid of Ziploc all together.

In my advice I would say go for it, make the small changes, only positive interactions with yourself and the world can come from the little things in life!