“Plastic pollution free world is not a choice, but a commitment to life – a commitment to the next generation.”  Amit Ray was not the first person to iterate this, nor will he be the last one.  We live in a plastic world.  We are constantly touching it, using it, and throwing it away, until the cycle repeats again and again.

After reflecting upon my use in plastic, I realized that this issue is bigger than myself and the world right now.  My use and carelessness carries into the next generation of people not even alive yet, incapable of helping themselves.  I reflect on how the generation before me started the problem, and now it’s in my generations hand to do something to solve the problem, or pass it on once again to the next generation.  As a human, I feel empathy.  I feel that if I can do something so easy to help, such as substituting everyday items with more sustainable items, why would I not.

Plastics that I have realized would be selfish to not substitute for a sustainable product:

The products listed above are the easiest switches in my life that require no sacrifice.  Why would I not change simple things like plastic bottles to a reusable water bottle, where the reusable water bottle would probably keep my water tasting fresher anyways.

These are simple habits that I can break to live a more sustainable lifestyle to protect the Earth for my generation and the generations to come.

There are still non-sustainable items in my life that I am not willing to replace.  This includes tampons, makeup in plastic packaging, and tennis racket grips.

For one, as a girl, I get periods.  I know there are more sustainable methods such as the diva cup, but when dealing with something unfavorable, I would rather just use tampons at my own convenience. Tampons, pads, and panty liners create more than 200,000 metric tons of waste annually.  This is a ton of waste, pun intended.

Some advice I have for changing one’s lifestyle to a more sustainable one is to just try it.  It does not hurt to try out a shampoo bar because if it is not your thing, you can always go back to plastic bottled shampoo.  Try to actively bring reusable bags to the grocery, and maybe it will become a habit, such an easy habit.