My Attempt at the Plastics Challenge - Vanessa Kemp, Section 307

My day without plastics was one of the most interesting and annoying days I have ever had. It started out with me rolling out of bed in the morning to realize that I had already failed the challenge, being that my bed sheets had elastic in them and I used my plastic cell phone for my wake up call. However, I still tried to continue my day without the use of plastic. I contemplated not taking a shower because I knew that would be an arduous task without the use of plastic, however, out of courtesy for my classmates I decided to attempt it. I stepped into my shower, and removed the plastic mat from beneath my feet (which I hesitated to do because I have had one too many falls without it) then I unhooked my shower curtain pole because that too was made out of plastic. I rinsed my body with water and had to lather with a bar of soap because my shampoo, conditioner, and face wash were all contained in plastic. After hopping out of my shower only semi-clean feeling I went to brush my tangled mess of un-conditioned hair, to realize all of my brushes were made of plastic, along with my ponytails, headbands, and all of my hats had plastic. Needless to say, this was a bad hair day. I went to get dressed, unsure of whether or not my clothes had any plastic materials in them. I assumed they probably did, but in order for me not to freeze walking to class or get arrested for public nudity I put them on anyway. I could not put on any makeup and could not brush my teeth. I almost began putting toothpaste on my finger when I noticed I couldn't even do that because my toothpaste was contained in plastic. Forgetting about my personal hygiene, I went to go make coffee and eat breakfast. That proved to be a bust since my coffee maker, creamer, and coffee mug all used plastic. I was able to eat a banana for breakfast because that was one thing that wasn't stored in plastic or bought using a plastic bag.

When leaving my house for class, I put all of my backpack contents into a canvas bag. I grabbed a wooden pencil, instead of my usual pens and headed out the door. Walking to class I realized that my jacket zipper was plastic and that all of my binders for notes were also made of plastic. These were two things I didn't want to sacrifice for the day. During class, I was unable to avoid plastic because I was sitting on it, writing on it, and technically learning from it since projection screens, computers and laser pointers all use plastic. Also during class my stomach started growling because I was hungry since I couldn't pack any food to eat in between classes, then this caused me to become very cranky and not-so-pleasant to be around.

After class I went home and decided to give up on the plastic challenge because I was hungry, also my asthma was acting up and needed to use my inhaler and take my medication for it - both using plastic. By the end of the day I realized that a day without plastic is impossible for me. I couldn't do most of the regular tasks I do throughout the day. It was hard to eat anything and I couldn't even bring my water bottle around to drink anything. I was unable to use my computer which made doing assignments for school impossible. This challenge really opened my eyes to how plastic is literally unavoidable in our everyday lives, we need it to maintain personal hygiene, for making and eating meals, for maintaining education, and for medical purposes. Plastics have made their way into all aspects of our lives and we have become dependent on them, I think that it would be near impossible to ever try to completely elude from plastics in life, but there are definitely ways we can cut back our use on plastic.