I feel after our discussion in class, I keep thinking - how we can use less plastic containers in our daily life? (not just in relationship to the containers related to food). I look around my house and almost everything has plastic in it. The plastic my soap bar is packaged in, my toothpaste tube, my actual toothbrush, my pen, my headphones, my keyboard, my desk! If I were to get rid of all the plastic in my house I question if there would be anything much left.
So to make it more accessible for everyone to life without plastic, I wonder if instead of only changing the expensive products, if we can start with replacing the simple products first. For example, all teeth products to be non plastic or even all bathroom products - then we can really make a difference in waste that we have. (plus, does brushing our teeth with plastic products that are stored in plastic products also cause us to eat plastic). So our shampoos and conditions are not made in plastic containers. Our razors (if you use one) is not plastic. The combs and brushes are not plastic.
There are so many changes we will have to do to have less plastic in this world. Can the larger companies start in one area and work from there? At least let's make an effort in the direction of change that allows EVERYONE be able to make the change vs limited to the people who have the funds.
I agree it does seem like a big taks to try and replace everything in our lives with non-plastic alternatives. But I also think about how plastic is a very new material, and for so much time in human history we did just fine with out plastic. Yes, plastic has allowed us fast advances in many things like food sanitation/packaging and computer technology, but we can move past those things to other, less toxic alternatives. We just have to make it profitable for the companies producing things-like by putting big taxes on plastics and other things that are "bad" for the environment. I also really appreciate your focus on making sure that the alternatives are accessible for everyone, regardless of economic status.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would guess that yes, if drinking from plastic water bottles increases our consumption of microplastics five-fold, then probably also cooking with plastic spatulas and brushiing our teeth with plastic toothbrushes also increases how much plastic we consume.