I’m guilty. I say that with some embarrassment. Still have to be honest and tell you I do not watch how much plastic I bring home from the store. I recycle some of it, but I have to say there is only so much time. Maybe that is where I am wrong. The fact is that there really is only so much time. Something has to be done.
I had watched the CBC show Marketplace and was shocked at all the single-use plastic that goes into our landfill areas and our oceans. Let me take a step back here and mention all the garbage I have noticed flopping about along the side of the highway. Most of it appears to be plastic bags of some kind or other. It is stuff that has escaped before it gets to the dump or someone just could not have the bag in their vehicle a moment longer.
If that was the only place I see discarded plastic, or plastic coated cups etc., I might be able to cling to the moral high ground of garbage. Not so. This past week I have been picking up coffee cups from fast food places. These appear in the ditch outside my property. I picked up a few and left a couple that were coated in dog “business.” It is an assumption on my part a dog did the nasty on a cup. Could be wrong.
After having seen the information about how much plastic is used then discarded, I will try better not to buy too many items that are in a hard plastic tomb. For instance, I buy salad stuff or cookies in those hard plastic clamshell things. I can buy salad ingredients that are fresh or maybe make cookies. Probably won’t go that far, but I could buy cookie mix that is in a paper sack. It’s a start.
Meat on styrofoam could be replaced with something not on a tray. I don’t buy water in a bottle. That’s an easy one. Turn on the tap and get a drink in a glass. I would like to buy apples and other fruit not in a plastic bag. I could buy individual fruit items, but I have to put them in a plastic bag to get it home. Maybe I could go about with a couple paper bags for that purpose.
I won’t buy single-serving yogurt anymore. Buy a bigger container. I have a pretty good idea one old lady living in the bush won’t make much of a difference to the plastic pollution in the world. I do, however, believe if each of us try to change our messy plastic footprint on this planet we might feel better about our effort. Worth a try I hope.
You can tell me of your efforts to recycle or change your buying habits. You could call 250-846-5095 or just email your idea to mallory@bulkley.net.