A Day With(out) Plastics

Maria Hoffman
Section 305 Emma S.

My Day With(out) Plastics was not so successful.
First, I definitely chose a very bad day to do this challenge. I needed to drive to my hockey game, so that was automatically a failure. Then, to play in said hockey game, I had to wear gear. That gear is composed of hard plastic. I avoided my water bottle, but the helmet was a must!
In the morning, I woke up and instead of brushing my teeth with my toothbrush I used my fingers. But to get the toothpaste out, I had to unscrew the plastic cap. I put my contacts in because I can't play hockey in glasses and those are plastic and sit in their plastic contact case. I avoided using fresh contact solution to avoid using the bottle. I put my hair up and put on my clothes. I cooked malt-o-meal for breakfast but I had to use the milk jug and even my pots have hard plastic handles on them. I left for my game and at that point I really failed the challenge because of driving- bumpers, tachometers, keys, consoles, pedals, door handles, light covers etc all are made of plastic. After the game, I definitely needed to shower and unfortunately I couldn't get very clean without shampoo and soap. I had bar soap, but shampoo was in a plastic bottle. Also, the inside shower curtain is plastic- basically the whole tub is plastic from shell to the faucet knob. The bathroom faucet has plastic and even the toilet. I started to realize that plastic is everywhere. From where I am in my kitchen, looking around, I see plastic garbage cans, plastic refrigerator handles, dishsoap in plastic bottle, cooking utensils, outlet covers, my computer, dishwasher, drying rack, light covers, stove/oven handles, microwave, the laminate flooring, blinds, electrical wire covering on Christmas lights, coffee pot, door stopper, thermostat cover, refrigerator magnets, light switches. I couldn't step foot in my kitchen or use anything without using plastic. My plastics challenge didn't even last for an hour. Had I planned out how I could make it work ahead of time, I am estimating I would have been able to last maybe 4-6 hours without being able to use the bathroom, kitchen, vehicle, etc. Planning for food, hygiene, transportation, extracurriculars, school work, and basic needs would have been required. In today's society. It is almost impossible to live even one day without plastic. It was eye opening and truly disappointing.