Plastics Challenge! Sean Scott, Section 305

Yesterday Morning

I had a rough start to my day without plastics. I got up later than I wanted to in the morning because I was unable to use my alarm clock because it is composed of several plastic parts. Once out of bed I had to adjust many parts of my daily routine. I did not know what to do about brushing my teeth. I could not use my toothbrush because it was plastics and then it occurred to me that I could use my finger. Except, I still could not use the toothpaste because it was in a plastic tube. So I was back to square one and unable to brush my teeth. Couldn't even use a tic tac from a small plastic container. I then realized that I would not be able to take a shower either because the tub is also made out of plastic and I figured that I should try to avoid all contact with plastics, even standing in a plastic tub (don't worry...I stayed inside due to my inability for personal hygiene). I gave up on my "waking up" routine and moved to breakfast. I decided that the refrigerator contained too much plastic and that I would not be able to access any of the food inside it for the day. It wouldn't have been much use anyways because all of the food in my refrigerator is protected by plastic and I wouldn't have been able to eat it. The only food in my refrigerator not contained by plastic is my eggs. I moved onto my cupboards to fill my stomach. In order to get a variety of food in my day, I decided that I would have to settle to eat food out of BPA lined cans. For breakfast, I tried to stick with cardboard and glass contained food. The meal I came up with and ate for breakfast was spaghetti. The pasta coming from a cardboard box and the pasta sauce coming from a glass container. I had no way of storing the extra sauce, so I made a large batch and covered the left overs with aluminum foil. While eating my breakfast of spaghetti, I read a newspaper instead of watching TV because I was unable to turn in on because the remote is made of plastic and the TV itself is made of a lot of plastic.

Yesterday Afternoon

I was limited in the homework that I was able to do. Most of the work needed to be done on the computer (including this assignment). I refused to use my computer due to its plastic parts, so I passed my time grading assignments and reading textbooks. The easiest thing I could make for lunch was a can of soup. I also, finished my leftover spaghetti so none would go to waste (no problem...my body can handle eating the same thing over and over...I'm in college). During my meals, I used ceramic plates in lieu of plastic plates and metal silverware instead of our silverware that has plastic handles. All other utensils used were either wood or metal.

Yesterday Night

I knew from the start that it would be an abnormal Saturday night without the use of plastics. I could not join in the beer pong playing that was going on in my apartment. To avoid the temptation of participating in the TV watching the the pong playing that were going on last night. I decided to read a book that I had wanted to start lately. For dinner, I made a little exception a bought a brick of cheese that was wrapped in plastic and made homemade pizza. The pizza sauce was also homemade out of pasta sauce from the can. While I was at the grocery store buying the cheese I used for the pizza, I looked around at all of the food items and took in the images of how they were packaged. I was extremely limited in what I could purchase because everything I looked at had plastic incorporated into its packaging. I tried to find a way to buy cheese that was not packaged in plastic, but I was unable to do so. Later in the night, I watched beer pong games but insisted on not playing for the whole night. There are no other alternatives for the plastic cups used for beer pong.

This was a very difficult challenge and I felt like I wasn't reaching my full potential for the amount of work I could have gotten done. It was liberating moving away from all the use of plastic in my every day activities. It feels wrong writing this response with the feel of plastic under my fingertips with every stroke of a key.