Typing: An automatic fail to the Plastics Challenge

Going in to the Plastics Challenge, I knew it would be difficult to avoid coming into contact with plastic products. Throughout the day, it was even more difficult to remember that I was doing the challenge at all—perhaps that’s partly what makes it a challenge.

Usually when I wake up and leave for class, I eat a spoonful of peanut butter. The peanut butter is in a plastic container, so I had to skip it for that day. This is something I found happening for most of the day—most of the things I eat or drink come from plastic containers. Another example is my typical lunch on a Wednesday. Spending time between classes at Memorial Union, I usually sit in the Rathskeller (where the tables and chairs aren’t made of plastic) and eat a pre-packaged sandwich and drink a cup of coffee. I couldn’t do either because of the sandwich packaging and the plastic lid on the coffee.

By this time I was hungry and frustrated that I couldn’t realistically eliminate plastics in my everyday life. Interactions with countless plastic products can be a no-brainer for most people. People may want to take an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality about the dangers of plastics. But in reality, plastics are not out of sight, and therefore should not be out of mind. If everyone did the Plastics Challenge, then we might be more conscious of what we consume on a daily basis, and perhaps start to question that. But, then again, I’m typing this blog entry on a plastic keyboard, so I have some work to do too.

—Margaret Raimann