Jolie Lizotte's Day Without Plastic (TA Tiffany)

I decided to do my day without plastics on Thanksgiving Day, partially because I would have no need to use a computer, ride my bike or drive a car on that day (since both cars & bikes are made with plastics). The day before my day without plastics I started walking around my parents house thinking about what I would not be able to use the next day. I quickly realized that it would impossible to go 100% without using plastics since both my glasses and contacts contain plastics. Since I have extremely weak eyesight it would not be safe to go without my glasses or contacts for a day. I also noticed that I would not be able to use the toilet without using plastic. Another unavoidable item in the house was doorknobs made with plastic.

On the morning of the my No Plastics Day I looked at all of the tags of the clean clothes I had with me at my parents house. I realized that all my pants and shirts were made with at least some rayon, polyester, or spandex, which all contain plastic. So I borrowed a shirt and pants from my mom that were made with 100% cotton. I wore underwear that was 100% cotton except for the elastic band. I chose not to take a shower that day since the shampoo & conditioner were in plastic bottles. Instead of brushing my teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste, I rubbed my teeth with a non-plastic substitute: baking soda (which my parents store in a glass jar).

Luckily, since it was Thanksgiving all of the food I ate that day was made from scratch so I avoided the problem of food wrapped in plastic. However some of the ingredients my mom used to make the food came from plastic containers. such as the goat's milk and feta cheese. Also after the Thanksgiving meal most of the leftovers were put in plastic containers since we did not have any non-plastic alternatives. We used glass/ceramic dishes and silverware all day to avoid plastic.

I avoided using my phone for most of the day, although I made a exception to talk to my grandparents in Florida. I did not use the computer or television that day. Since it was a day that I had off from homework and my job I did not have to use my computer, but on most days this is really hard to do since most of our homework requires a computer and I have to use computers at work. While doing more electronically can be better for the environment because it reduces paper usage, it made me realize that most electronics are made with plastics, which are not environmentally safe.

I had my next encounter with plastic when I decided to go outside to walk my dog with my sister. In order to go outside I had to use plastic. My shoes have plastic in them and on the shoelaces. The zippers on my jacket were made with plastic. After experiencing some guilt about the necessity of plastic in order to experience nature in the cold, I decided to forgo not using plastic during my walk. My sister had to use a plastic leash and a harness containing plastic in order to get my dog ready to go for a walk.

At the end of the day when it began to get darker I realized that the light switches were all made from plastic. In order to have enough light in the kitchen to clean up from Thanksgiving dinner we had to turn on the lights. The light fixtures probably also contained plastic. Since all writing tools (ie pens and pencils) contain plastic I had to wait until the next day to write down my notes about my Day Without Plastics.

I think my family got a kick out of watching me go without plastics. They still used plastic (such as playing CDs in the living room CD player), but helped me avoid using it. My parents original suggestion was for me to spend the day in a tent in the backyard to avoid using plastic ... however we realized that would not have even worked since our tent is made with plastic. I imagine it would be very hard to find a tent these days made entirely from cloth. This day made me realize how surrounded we are by plastic. Even looking around my room right now I can see at least 60 objects made with plastic. Most of them I use everyday, such as my alarm clock, CD player, lamp, computer, clothes hangers, vitamin containers, etc. In order for our society to stop using plastic, it seems as if we would have to throw away everything and start over. Except that throwing everything away would create a lot of waste in our landfills. So the next best solution it would seem would be to start reducing the amount of plastic we produce and re-use as much as possible of the plastic that is already in our daily lives.