Plastics Challenge

My attempt at a day without plastics had many of the similar difficulties that other students had. Basics survival needs such as sleep and food were almost always associated with plastic products. Awaking to an alarm clock from my phone, clock, or computer would incorporate some sort of plastic, so I choose my clock as the poison. I value my sleep so I also slept on my bed, which contains plastic. Eggs, a banana, and some applesauce seemed to be the only thing that I could eat for breakfast. I used a metal spoon, spatula, and saucepan to prepare and eat my food. 

Walking to class from Mifflin Street would be longer and colder without the bike, but there is too much plastic on my bike for an attempt without them. Just as others have mentioned, even taking notes has its obstacles. Pens, pencils, and notebooks can all contain plastic elements. Instead of answering the note-taking dilemma, I intentionally chose a day with few classes that I don’t take notes in anyways. This goes to show that you can’t just pick any day for a challenge like this. What if you had an exam?! You couldn’t sit in a plastic seat if that’s the entire lecture hall had. After a morning lecture, lunch is in order. 

Any take out or dine in would be difficult since plastic is one of the main components in food transport and storage. So, I walked back to the apartment to prepare some fresh food. Pasta from a paper box and fresh veggies would suffice for a plastic-less meal. This of course is omitting the transportation materials it took to get to my house, not to mention the cultivation of the wheat, production of the noodles, etc. 

What to do with the rest of my day now? I couldn’t go outside anymore because shoes and winter clothes contain plastic accessories. Staying inside, I took a comfy seat on my papasan chair made of fabric and bamboo, and read some books for class. I tried to retain as much as I could without taking notes. After many hours of reading, I wanted a study break really badly. I would usually browse the internetz or go workout, but both are out of the question. And to think, even if I was able to posses a plastic free computer, the entire system of electricity and cable internet relies on plastic parts. Every single website relies on a server, which contains plastic bits. This blog would not survive without plastic. Ironic, eh? For dinner, I went back into the fridge and pulled out the pan I used to cook my pasta in, re-opened the sauce jar, and re-heated it on the stove. To continue to keep true to the challenge, dishes would have to be done the next day (woo hoo). With nothing more to do, I called it an early night in order to get up the next day and continue my plastic life.

I may not have been as dedicated as others were to this project but it did make me more aware of the staple that plastics have in my life. It reminded me of the lab work that I did this summer. While going through countless plastic tubes and pipette tips, I realize that the success and productivity of modern laboratories rely on plastics. Items are cheap enough to be thrown away and therefore can be used to keep contamination to a minimum. Smaller and smaller concentrations on the mass spectrometers can be read yielding more efficient pharmaceuticals. With the talk of BPA, it’s interesting to think that these plastics can take away AND give contamination– A true double edge sword.

Alex Dean - Tiffany, Section 308