POST TWO: Plastic Free July *AUGUST
In the Arctic this year I began to feel this familiar urge to take real action. That feeling that appears after a big moment of vulnerability when you know you have hit a low and it’s time to resurge. I think we all shared this feeling. On the ship each of us would endlessly rave about our humongous plans to take on hundreds of new environmental projects, plant hundreds of trees, make a hundred changes, offset all of our family’s carbon footprints, save the entire planet and clean up all the oceans and lands. Our thoughts where beautiful yet their colossal expectations where unrealistic. With the hope of still saving the world but actually achieving something consistent we made a plan to start with small but doable solutions, share these solutions, motivate those around us to do the same and eventually adopt bigger and better solutions and so on. I want to use this platform amongst other things to share my solutions and my journey into become sustainable. There’s a brilliant action plan that us youngsters on Ship created with Barney Swan @swansnaps which he will soon be exposing through his organisation ClimateForce. Stay updated please!!!
Coming back to making a change, our expedition finished just in time for July and of course this meant we all came off board eager to tackle “Plastic Free July”. I was confident that I would smoothly conquer this simple task. How hard could it be? Using water filters and saying “No” to straws at bars was surely not so hard. Now Coming to the end of July I must admit it, life gave me a slap on the face as this challenge has taken me through a difficult and bumpy road. From going to the supermarket and being unable to purchase any fruits that weren't wrapped in plastic to finding myself in town on a hot day and suddenly realising I forgot my water bottle at home and therefore giving in to purchasing a plastic one, I caught myself constantly trapped in this plastic world. I realised that all my toiletries where made of plastic from my makeup brushes to my deodorant stick. And when I was not in my own environment this impossible challenge truly became unsurmountable. Mid month, I went to visit my aunt and cousin for three days. There, I found myself using plastic constantly!!!! The food I would eat was wrapped in Plastic. After bothering all my friends for days to become plastic free with me, I now felt more hypocritical than ever. It is more of a challenge when you are a guest at someone's house and you do not control how the resources around you are purchased. At home we had at least replaced plastic water bottles with glass ones and filters. I also avoided plastic wrappings, reduced my consumption drastically and adopted a resourceful behaviour. I avoided buying lunch outside and instead packed it with me, only bought bread that was wrapped in paper, brought my own bag to the supermarket and when I forgot it which I usually did I carried everything with my hands. Although I avoid it, there are times that it escapes the mind and all of a sudden you realise half way home that you bought a new small shampoo in a plastic bottle because it’s cheap when you could have gone to a bulk store or searched for a sustainable alternative. All this however is just the basics when in reality we consume so much more plastic. We rely on plastic for EVERYTHING so escaping it so much harder because we do not even notice when we are using plastic anymore. I started a trend of cleaning beaches this month yet I was still using PLASTIC bin bags and bin liners. I started to move on a better track after some mild research, some of which I have provided here below. For me, resolving this issue involves saying No to single used plastics such as straws, cups and bags that we do not need and having the discipline to stick to plan and having the willingness to do research and slowly replaces plastic items for biodegradable ones.
Yes I started really bad with Plastic Free July but I am not giving up. Instead I am extending the challenge onto August with the aim of beating my July self. I have done more research into how to succeed and will be posting about it throughout and at the end of the month. In the meantime I urge you to join me and take on some of these suggestions. As Jordan Peterson says “Don’t critizize the world until you have your room in order”, I decided to try and make my life and home Plastic Free before complaining about any one else.
SOME PLASTIC FREE ALTERNATIVES THAT I HAVE ADOPTED
BIN BAGS: A sustainable compostable bio-bag liner: https://sustainahome.com/collections/biobag-compostable-bags/products/biobag-compostable-bin-liner-superline-35l
TOOTH BRUSH https://www.brushwithbamboo.com
FLOSS: http://lifewithoutplastic.com/plastic-free-dental-floss-from-natural-silk-in-refillable-glass-jar-berry-blue/ (haven’t gotten that one yet)
TOOTHPASTE: http://lifewithoutplastic.com/natural-toothpaste-in-a-glass-jar-thievery/
SUNSCREEN: http://lifewithoutplastic.com/natural-water-resistant-zinc-sunscreen-spf-50-in-tin-tinted/
FOOD STORAGE WAX: https://www.beeswrap.com
EASY SOLUTIONS: NO to plastic bottles, cups, plates, bags and containers and replace with reusable ones and MINDFUL CONSUMPTION http://plasticfreejuly.org
I remember being fascinated in Geography class in high school when I learnt that India’s biggest slum Dharavi recycles 60% of Mumbai’s plastic waste. It is a one billion dollar industry that runs on a circular economy, bringing back its waste into use. In the West, resources seem infinite and hence we do not prioritise their maximisation. I will be posting something on RECYCLING shortly.
Recommended Website(s) based on Post: https://www.plasticfreejuly.org
Interesting Articles Relevant To Post: https://greenisthenewblack.com/dharavi-asias-largest-slum-indias-recycling-circular-economy-goldmine/
Netflix Documentary Relevant To Post: Minimalism, Mission Blue
MY MOTHER’S WATER BOTTLES BEFORE AND AFTER
