Do you think that it is possible to live without plastic? From plastic bottled water, sandwich bags, to disposable food containers, our lives are surrounded by plastic materials. We use disposable plates and utensils in our homes if we don’t feel like washing the dishes afterwards.
While there are plastic waste recycling facilities, there are very few plastic materials that can undergo the process. It also requires more energy and water, making the process unsustainable in a way. Plastic garbage that ends up in landfills and oceans take years to degrade. One plastic bottle will take 450 years to break down. They are almost impossible to get rid of. Animals end up eating plastic or getting entangled in it.
The need to reduce plastic use has never been as important as it is today. Scientists say that societies have less than 12 years to correct what they have done to the environment. After the 12th year from today, the damage to the environment will be irreversible. It will take hundreds, if not thousands, of years for the environment to cope with what has been done to it.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Little things can be done to stop the complete degradation of the environment. And it all starts at home.
Avoid Plastic Water Bottles
Using a reusable water bottle is such an easy thing that it’s a wonder people aren’t doing it more. They come in a cute and fashionable style. You can simply eliminate this one plastic-garbage-generator by switching to reusable water bottles.
Bring a Reusable Grocery Bag
In Canada, about 2.86 billion plastic bags are generated every year. Can you imagine the toll they take on the environment? Sea turtles eat and get entangled in plastic bags because they look like jellyfish to them. You can keep a reusable grocery bag in the trunk of your car so that you don’t have to request for plastic bags when you go to the grocery.
Skip the Straws
You and your frappe may be contributing to the worsening of the environment, and you’re not even aware of it. Not only are you using disposable plastic cups, but straws as well! You can skip both. Bring your own reusable cup, and most of the coffee shops will reward you with a discount. You can also use a reusable steel straw that has now been made popular.
Change the Way You Store Food
If you’re one of those who stock disposable food containers in the pantry, you might want to stop the practice. Why not use a bento box or a cute tiffin to store your food? If you’re taking a sandwich at work with you, skip the plastic bags and wrap the sandwich in a brown paper or a bandana that you can use again.
Saving the environment, huh? It sounds poetic. It’s also such an astronomical feat. But changing a little bit of the way you live and how you use plastic will go a long way toward helping the environment survive the onslaught of climate change.