Hi everyone and welcome back. This post is just going to be me describing my results of trying to be plastic-free for a week! This was my original plan: The plan here is to avoid taking plastic bags if I dare to venture out anywhere right now, use a reusable water bottle to hold my drinks, avoid getting carryout food (which will be difficult during this time of isolation) and use reusable utensils at work for my lunch breaks (and wash them afterward).
Results
First, I wanted to talk about what I have been doing for the past few weeks. During this pandemic, I have been working 4-5 days a week at CVS, as well as doing my online classes. I also recently found out that reusable bags in this area have been BANNED, and if you are to go shopping you must use plastic. This has been incredibly difficult for me, especially with this topic I chose to pursue. So here are my results so far. If I buy something at work, I try to not buy a lot so I do not need a bag at all. However, I found out employees are supposed to always take a bag for their items so it shows on camera that the items have been paid for. I talked to my manager and she said I can either not take a bag and just be cashed out by a manager, or I can bring my own reusable bag as long as I clean it often. I have only had to take a bag twice so far since I started this project because I was buying more than what would fit in my bag. This past Monday I actually had to venture out to Petco and Target. My betta fish got very sick, so I had to go pick up some medicine and food and thankfully Petco has paper bags! When I cashed out at Target I just did not take bags because I did not buy that much. As far as plastic bottles go, I have failed. When I am home, I just drink out of a glass cup all day, but when I go to work, we are not allowed to have a reusable bottle because “they do not know what is in it”. So every day I go to work, I have a bottle of Gatorade or iced tea with me. This is something I wish I could change but it goes against company policy. Another issue I have run into is the fact that I have to wear plastic gloves at work because of this pandemic. We go through at least 2 boxes of gloves a day, so that is even more plastic waste being produced right now that I cannot change. However, I have completely avoided ordering carryout food that comes in plastic or styrofoam containers, and I have been using my reusable utensils at work for my breaks, so I think that is a win!
Effectiveness
I have come to the conclusion that this was not an ideal time to try and become plastic-free due to the pandemic and all the plastic waste that comes along with it. If we weren’t in the middle of the ‘world-ending’, I feel like I would have had no problem being plastic-free. I already had reusable bottles, shopping bags, and utensils and had been using them when I would remember to. The main thing I wanted to change was my plastic bag use, and it seems like we are all going to have to retire our reusable bags and other products for now until things can get back to normal. This pandemic has been a huge step backward for anyone trying to work on ecofriendly products, conservation, and ending plastic product production.
I read your original post explaining your idea and I really enjoyed it. I think you did a great job bringing your plan to action, especially under the conditions we are currently in. I was surprised when I heard they were switching back to plastic bags. I thought the fact that my job and many other places were using paper bags was an awesome step in order to try to save the planet. The fact that plastic bags are back is kind of disappointing. So often I see plastic bags blowing down the street or scattered on the beach where I live. Now that it is recommended to wear a mask and gloves wherever you go, I have noticed a lot of people are just throwing their plastic gloves and masks on the ground instead of throwing them in the trash. This is just adding to the pollution of our Earth, which makes me so mad. Especially with the seriousness of the virus no one wants to or should have to pick up others trash! I think it was a smart move to use your purse and also very cool that your manager allowed you to not use a bag and understand your ecofeminist action! Even though your plan was not 100% successful, it is understandable due to the requirements of your company! I also am required to wear gloves at work now and not use reusable bottles, which is kind of frustrating so I definitely understand your struggle with this. Yet unfortunately it is what it is and we cannot do much to change the current policies in place at our jobs! I think you should be proud of the steps you have taken in the right direction to be more eco-friendly! I agree this pandemic has definitely caused a step back in the progress we’ve made of becoming a more eco-friendly planet, but hopefully when this is all over we will continue the progress.
I definatley agree with you on how hard it is to consider trying to make a change due to our current pandemic. It has made it hard on all of us. Some stores have turned to paper bags but other store havent got on board yet. Hopefully they will because it killing our planet. Literally.