She who depends on plastics...

Kelly Kohrs-Discussion 312-Emma

At first I was a little unsure of the plastics challenge because I’m either at work or at class and I knew I would fail the minute I woke up, especially considering I use my phone as an alarm. At work we use plastic gloves and plastic containers to store food and some plastic utensils and plastic wrap and the list could go on forever.

I quickly changed my mind in discussion when news of the first snowstorm came about. Emma mentioned it may be the perfect weekend because if we don’t leave our house it would be a little bit easier to handle the challenge, so I took it.

I started off sleeping on the floor, which actually wasn’t too terrible. I had my fleece blanket and I went without a pillow which isn’t anything too out of the ordinary for me. Since it was a Sunday and Sundays normally consist of bumming around at home doing homework I figured I could last quite some time (no need of an alarm!). I wrote myself a note the night before reminding me that I should eat either oatmeal or my favorite winter breakfast treat Coco-Wheats because they are in cardboard packaging.

We have glass bowls and it was easy to stray from the plastics but after I poured myself some Coco-Wheats and added the water (just guessing amounts because our measuring cups are plastic) and realized that there was no way for me to warm up my cereal because our microwave is totally plastic. So I offered the delicious bowl of chocolaty goodness to one of my roommates and went with a pear instead. It was delicious but I was still hungry. I decided to fill a glass cup with water and see if that would help me out but it didn’t.

Then as my normal morning ritual goes, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I had mindlessly picked up my toothbrush and opened the cap of my toothpaste, completely disregarding the fact that the cap, the tube, and the toothbrush are plastics. That wasn’t a huge surprise to me but I felt so defeated that I couldn’t even make it an hour of full consciousness (probably about 8 or 9 if you include sleeping, but I don’t really think that counts) without the use of plastics.

After that I went into the kitchen to turn the sink on, to avoid more of the plastics in the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. I then decided that I’d pay attention to the choices I would make throughout the day and instead of go without plastics completely to just limiting my use. I was a little melodramatic because my roommates were watching TV and I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t watch it seeing as it’s made of plastic. Then I spent a lot of time at my desk which is made of metal and wood. I read my biology book which probably has some type of plastic in the cover for protection and took notes with a wooden pencil to avoid the mechanical pencils I’m so used to. Then I checked the to-do list that I write up weekly and after reading biology I had to work on my semester paper for geography because if I didn’t work on it over the weekend I’d be too pressed for time during the week. So I gave in and grabbed my computer and did research and typed up more of my paper. This took up a great deal of time and all of it was centered around my computer which just so happens to be primarily made of plastic.

Since I woke up pretty late without the use of my alarm my breakfast was more of a brunch and my lunch and dinner were combined. When it came to making my ‘linner’ I chose to make pasta because it comes in a cardboard box and the only plastics I came in contact with were the plastic on the handles of the pot and the knob to turn the stove on. Then I opened a can of pasta sauce and realized that I couldn’t really heat that unless I used the microwave or the stove again so I went with the stove. After I finished eating and the food had cooled I put the leftovers into one of the few glass containers that we own. But still had to use the fridge...

Finally I went back to typing my paper, still feeling defeated by the challenge. That’s basically how my Sunday went. It’s a little bit scary now when I open the fridge door and try to find something that isn’t encased in plastic or that uses plastic as a container.

I am more aware of how the world basically strives because of plastic. I’m not condoning the use of plastics but I do realize its convenience and relevance to all of our lives. I haven’t been to the grocery since the challenge but I will make my best attempts to find food items that have lesser amounts of plastics and not only when it comes to food but expand what I’ve learned from this pretty eye opening experience to all of my life choices.