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Is Plastic-Free Living Possible?

Plastic is pretty much ruining our planet and I am freaking out.

By Kamari GracePublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING!! EVERY SINGLE BEACH IN THE WORLD IS NOW POLLUTED AND COVERED IN TRASH AND WE NEED TO FIX IT!

In the past week, I have been thinking a lot about the environment. I mean I have been very concerned for a long time, but now that it is summer and has been getting warmer, I've been outside a lot. I have been walking my dog every evening and I noticed how much litter there is on the sides of the road, the majority being plastic. It has been making me really sad. It is already bad enough that there are tons and tons of plastic being thrown in landfills every day, but to see it on the sides of the road is even worse. I live in a very small town, so we should not have this much litter. I have started to take a trash bag on my walks to collect the trash that I find and try to recycle all that I can, although I recently learned that it takes a lot (!!) of energy to recycle plastic. We are starting to progress in finding new, more efficient ways to recycle plastic, but we are nowhere near where we should be.

This has inspired me to want to live as plastic-free as I can, but it is SO DIFFICULT. Almost everything in the US comes in a plastic container. Our hygiene produces, our cleaning products, our drinks, our food, even produce often comes wrapped in plastic and if it doesn't they have those little plastic bags hanging everywhere in the produce section. I cannot give up my glorious skin care routine and face masks! I have a lot of pets and all of their food comes in plastic wrapping. I don't think I even know of any pet food brands that put their product in anything other than plastic and it's not like I can just stop feeding my pets so I'm really struggling here. I know it is bad but I just do not know how to fix it.

I have always been very cautious about my impact on our ecosystem. I have been a vegetarian for the past four years because we should all know by now how insanely terrible the agriculture industry is (if you don't, check out my story on it called "Veganism Could Save Our Planet"). I recycle all that I can. I only use reusable water bottles. I garden and plant flowers, such as bee balm, that (if you couldn't guess by the name) are bee friendly. Even though I feel I am doing better than many people when it comes to helping the environment, I still do not feel like I am doing enough and not being able to figure out this whole plastic-free lifestyle is really cramping my vibe.

I have recently watched a ton of youtube videos of people who live plastic-free and tips to reduce your usage of plastic and it all sounds good and well, until you go to the store and realize everything you use comes in a plastic container. Some things are easy to exchange for a plastic-free option, such as buying a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one (they are pretty cool) and hopping on the trend of stainless steel straws, but things, like packing a lunch and not having a good alternative to using ziplock bags to store food in and not being able to find any soap (that is not in bar form) that does not come in a plastic bottle, is almost impossible. I am also kind of (very) concerned about straws that don't biodegrade at all because what happens when that ends up in the ocean?

I am very torn about this entire plastic situation. On one hand, I do not want to be part of what is causing all of this pollution, but it is also so unconventional to the point that 80 percent of what I own I would not be able to continue buying if I went plastic-free. I think that all of these huge corporations all around the world that are in charge of recycling and the recycling process need to get together and figure out how to improve the recycling industry. We also need to be encouraging the concept of recycling to a much larger group of people. The trash company in my area pick up our recycling every other week and only about five of the 25 households on my street recycle. The federal government in my area does not even offer free recycling bins, which I find to be very disappointing. Everyone should receive a recycling bin! I feel it would increase the number of households that recycle if they had a bin dedicated to it.

I do not see the issue of plastic getting better any time soon. I love that it is becoming a very topical issue, but if companies are not getting behind the plastic-free movement, it is not going to be reasonable for individuals to eliminate single-use plastic from their everyday lives.

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About the Creator

Kamari Grace

small town girl in a big world

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