Plastic challenge failure

Brigitta Rongstad (section 307 Tiffany)

I knew before even starting this challenge that it was going to be impossible to last more than five minutes living without plastic. I decided instead of the challenge just being about trying to last all day without plastic, that it was going to be more about helping myself realize how much we all rely on plastic for simple every day tasks. I knew that plastic is a huge part of our culture, but I never really took the time to think about the implications. So here's my day, my thoughts, and my many, many failures:

Morning
I immediately failed the challenge just by being in my bed. I realized my mattress contains a form a plastic (something I had no idea about until my roommate, a chemistry major, informed me). I then had to take my medicine, which was in a plastic container; I had to put on my glasses, which are made of plastic; I had to take my glasses off and put my contacts in, which are protected in a plastic container; I had to brush my teeth, with a handle that is entirely made of plastic; and I had to wash my face with face wash, which was in a plastic bottle. There was absolutely no hope for me in successfully completing this challenge. Almost all of my shoes contain plastic and even some of my clothing too. I didn't have any alternatives at my disposal and the ones I could find would not have helped me complete this challenge successfully.

Classes
If I were to start my day when classes began, I would have still failed the challenge. My notebooks have plastic covers, my pens and pencils are all made out of plastics, and my backpack is covered in tiny plastic pieces. Even many of the desks I sit at are made of plastic, and in my physics lab everything was made of plastic (something that I could not have avoided even if I had tried, unless I would have decided to take a failing grade for that day). As the day wore on I was becoming more and more aware that almost every action I made involved plastic in some way.

Night
Dinner would have been extremely difficult without plastic. I tried my best to avoid it, but all of my food was already in plastic containers (thanksgiving leftovers) and my lack of other ingredients and products sealed the deal. I had to use plastic. I'm also a huge milk fan, and milk comes in plastic containers. Most of my utensils, plates and bowls are made of plastic (mainly because they are cheaper, and college is expensive). I realized that any kitchen utensil I have that is not plastic, once belonged to my parents. It appears that without realizing it, I have been sucked into the plastic world. I had never thought about it before, but now it disturbs me knowing how much I rely on these products even though I know they aren't always a healthy choice.

Writing every single object of plastic I encountered during my attempt at the day without plastic would take pages and pages. I thought it would be more effective to use some examples of certain parts of the day to show how difficult the challenge was for me. This challenge helped me realized how horribly dependent on plastic we have become. I don't know what the solution is, or even if there is an easy one, but it is clear to me that this knowledge is something that everyone should have.