Plastics make it IMpossible for this challenge....

December 4^TH Plastics Challenge

Living a life without the use of plastics was impossible for me to do with the living arrangements that I currently have in my house at school. I decided to do my challenge on a Saturday so that I would have more time to think things through and not to be too stressed with planning. The challenge forced me to not only think about the way I would go about doing things, but it also forced me to do some pre-planning to organize meals, activities, and other parts of my life. Planning meals was one of the most difficult portions of the challenge. It was crazy to think about all the plastic wrapping and containment in foods and also used for the storage of foods (i.e. the refrigerator). This blog takes you through my adventure to try to live a life minimizing (because I couldn’t eliminate) my plastics use.

I had my roommate wake me up in the morning around ten so that I wouldn’t have to use my phone as an alarm. Though there is most likely some kind of polymers in my bed sheets and my pajamas, I didn’t change them out in the morning for the day. I did however take off my running watch for the day, something that I usually wear 24/7. It was pretty sunny through my windows, so I didn’t need to use the light switch to turn on the lights. Showering occurred the night before to cut down my plastic use of shower shampoo and conditioner bottles. I tried to just use toothpaste (which the container is plastic) and put it on my finger, but it didn’t work as well as I had hoped and I resorted to using my toothbrush (also plastic). I need some sort of vision correction, so I put in my contacts, which are made out of plastic as well. For breakfast I heated water up on the stove top instead of the microwave to cut down on my use of plastic that is in the microwave appliance. The hot water was then put into a mug and I used a tea bag from a tin container. I moved this preparation to our kitchen table rather than the countertop because the counter has a plastic finish on it. I had a piece of fruit for breakfast which didn’t require any sort of plastic use. But I did throw the peel into the garbage can, which is made of plastic and has a plastic bag. I then read a textbook for one of my classes in my room. I usually use a highlighter of some sort, but decided not to cut down on my plastic use. I read for the rest of the morning until my roommates called me out into the living room.

The afternoon was even harder to get through without plastics. My roommates were all watching the Packer game that was on at noon on our TV, which is made of plastic. I was debating about watching it with them but decided for them just to shout game updates to me. Because of my leadership role in my student organization I had to check my e-mail sometime on Saturday. I got my computer out and really realized how much plastic was on it. From the exterior to the small chips which are all manufactured plastics. I continued to work on my homework, using a wooden pencil (which I sharpened a few the night before), but had to also use a calculator for computations so was yet again forced to use a plastic product (these weren’t addition formulations, but logarithmic calculations so they couldn’t be done in my head). For my lunch break my roommates had ordered pizza which I ate. I paid my roommate in cash which eliminated the use of my plastic debit card. The final product that I ate was in a cardboard container and I didn’t have to order it (cutting the use of my phone).

Just when I thought I was back on track for the challenge, my phone started ringing and I noticed that it was my parents. I took the call, thus using more plastics. I continued my homework reading in my room, but in my room I was surrounded by plastic items (lamps, picture frames, etc.). I was getting restless just sitting in my room, so I decided to go for a run. I usually run with my I-pod, but decided not to use it for the sake of the challenge. My shoes however were covered in plastics. After I cooled down I went back inside my house to read part of a book that I’m reading for fun, outside of my classroom readings. I then started to prepare dinner, which I bought everything that I would need for the meal the night before so that I would be prepared. I cooked noodles in a glass pan over my gas stove and got the sauce from a glass jar from my shelf. I used a metal strainer for the noodles and also used metal silverware to eat with. I had applesauce from a glass jar as well. I left dishes from today for a chore I will do tomorrow. The rest of the night was pretty lazy. I talked to my roommates, started to knit a scarf for my mom’s Christmas present (the needles are aluminum), and pondering the extensive use of plastics that is present in my life. The rest of the night was pretty relaxed. I was pretty tired from thinking all day, not only on my academics but mainly about the challenge. Second guessing everything that I did that day and checking to see if plastics would be involved. If so, then I had to figure out a way to work around it if possible. I decided to just go to bed early to then be for certain that I can’t use any more plastics for the rest of the day!

Missy Setz

Discussion 312 - Emma

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

A Day Without Plastic: Anne Venzor 309

December 4, 2010 was probably one of the hardest days of my life. This was the day I attempted to live without plastic. On the 3^rd, I started to prepare for this day, and at this time I thought that it would be fairly simple to complete the task of living without plastics. I made a list of all the plastics I usually use in the morning before I went to bed that night which include:

1. Alarm Clock

2. Computer

3. Coffee Container

4. Tooth Brush

5. Cell Phone

I didn’t think this list was so bad because I asked my roommate to wake me up instead of my alarm clock, I used my computer as much as I could the night before, bought a metal coffee cup, and decided to brush my teeth with a q-tip. Completely satisfied with my plan, I went to bed with complete confidence that this task will be so easy, but I was quick to realize that I was terribly wrong.

Saturday morning quickly rolls around and my alarm has not been set to wake me up. Sarah, my roommate, was expected to wake me up at 9, but she completely forgot and left the room thinking that I was tired and needed the sleep. Next, I wake up at 11, look at the clock and literally jump out of bed. I missed my orchestra meeting that was at 10, because I overslept and didn’t rely on my plastic alarm clock to wake me up. The first thing I do is reach for my phone, but pull back due to the sticky note I put on it the night before saying “remember phones are plastic too!” The feeling of not being about to communicate with the world hit me here, and I also realized that I couldn’t text or call my friend in my orchestra to see what I missed

Despite this set back, I calmed myself down and looked at the list I made last night. I reviewed the 5 items I use every morning with plastic and then my plan on how to avoid them. First, I head to the bathroom and brushed my teeth with a q-tip. Next get dressed in sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a sweater with no buttons on it and I headed to pops to fill my metal coffee cup up. Ok, so minus the panic I had in the morning I thought I was doing pretty well so far. As I was in line to get my coffee, I quickly realized a devastating fact; my wiscard is plastic! I use my wiscard for everything I do on campus, and I can’t believe that I overlooked this. Determined to not fail, I empty my coffee out, and leave the line. I got back into my dorm by following someone else who used their wiscard to get in, went up to my room, grabbed cash and headed back over to get coffee and a muffin.

After breakfast was over, I went back to the dorms, following someone once again to get in and decided to start my homework to preoccupy myself. Wooden pencil in hand, I began to take notes on the chapters for my geography class. I wasn’t thinking about plastic at all until my roommate came back. She was talking on her phone, holding her wiscard, a plastic cup of coffee, and her computer was sticking out of her bag. After seeing this, I was so tempted to stop the challenge and give into the plastics that I realized I depend on. I had to get out of the room, so I grabbed my cash and went with Sarah to grab some lunch. At pops, I realized that almost everything is wrapped in or served with plastic. I stood there for 5 minutes just trying to think about what I can get that is plastic free. I decided on grilled cheese on a glass plate, not plastic and water in a paper cup. I paid with my cash and made sure to use a metal knife to cut the sandwich. As I look around the dinning hall, everyone has at least one item of food, on their plastic tray, which is either in a plastic bowl or has been previously wrapped in plastic. After finishing my plastic free meal, I head back to my room to do more reading in order to distract myself.

A few hours later, my roommate is getting ready to go see a singing group perform at the union. I really wanted to go with her but I realized all the plastic I would have to use in order to go. I would use my straighter, makeup, computer to play music, plastic hangers to find an outfit, plastic brush for my hair, my phone to tell friends about the concert, and much more. I was so sick of doing homework, and wanted to go with her so badly but knew I couldn’t use any plastic. Does this mean that in order to live a day without plastic, I would have to sit in my room and read all night long? I was suddenly overwhelmed by this realization, and couldn’t help but give up. I desperately ran straight for my phone, turned on my computer, music, the straighter, started putting on makeup and jumping up and down in excitement. My roommate started laughing because I looked absolutely ridiculous with all of these plastics surrounding me. I realized that my initial list of five items I thought was all I used in the morning kept exponentially growing throughout the day. I depend on so much plastic that I couldn’t make it through just one day without using any. At the end of the day, my list grew to:

1. Alarm Clock

2. Computer

3. Coffee Container

4. Tooth Brush

5. Cell Phone

6. Straighter

7. Plastic Plates

8. Clothes Hangers

9. All makeup

10. Wiscard

11. And much more

Yesterday I failed the challenge because I realized that I cannot live without plastic. I came to the conclusion that not only can I not live without it, but I rely on plastic to get me through everyday. During the day I was trying to avoid plastic by staying in my room and working on homework, but whenever I went out to eat or just wanted to leave the room, I was tempted to use it because plastic has become so popular in our everyday lives. This challenge has taught me how much I really do rely on plastic, and in the future, I plan to cut down on these so called “necessities” and see what progress I can make from there!

Aaron Ranke Section 307 - Plastic Challenge

Going an entire day without the use of plastic is a daunting task. In reading the first few blog submissions, it was easy to see that in order to be successful, extreme planning was necessary. Once the necessary precautions are taken, living a day without plastic isn’t that difficult.
The most important decision I had to make was the day in which I would go without plastic. During the school week, it is absolutely necessary to have access to a computer, textbooks, my binders, my phone, contacts and glasses and all the other hordes of items that I see as being imperative to life. So this immediately eliminates five days every week. On Saturdays and Sundays in the fall and early winter, there is no way I can live without TV and computer access. Football is life during this 5-6 month period and I refuse go a Saturday or Sunday without watching college or professional football. I need to monitor my fantasy football teams and cheer for the red and white and the green and gold. So this naturally sets up a potential problem. I can’t live without plastic on weekdays or on the weekends. So really, my only option was to pick a day over Thanksgiving break, outside of Thursday, Saturday and Sunday (football). So my choices over break were whittled down to the Friday after the greatest day of the year.
In order to set myself up for success, I spent a lot of time preparing on Thanksgiving evening. I started by setting out fresh fruits and a bowl of cereal (minus the milk) for breakfast the following day. I then put together two plates of wonderful Thanksgiving leftovers and put them in the garage to keep cold. That took care of my meals. I then printed off my required readings for my classes. I put all of my homework on our spare dining room table downstairs (which was conveniently set up due to the Thanksgiving holiday). In order to make doing my homework a plastic-free affair, I took my necessary notes out of my plastic binders and strategically placed my 5 sharpened Ticonderoga pencils right next to my notes (by far the best wooden pencil on the market). I set up a nice bed on the floor with blankets and my wonderful, feather-stuffed pillow. I then took a nice long shower and brushed my teeth at around 11:30pm. At around that time, the tryptophan from the pounds of turkey I consumed that day was weighing me down and I passed out on the wonderful basement floor.
I awoke on judgment day around 10:15am and immediately went upstairs to eat a nutritious breakfast. I grew up on a dairy farm so all of our milk comes right from the bulk tank and goes into glass mason jars, a plastic-free way of obtaining milk. Granted, the vacuum pipes that run our milking machines and the machines themselves are plastic, but the milk was acquired two days before judgment day. So I poured some delicious farm-fresh milk (which was also kept in the garage to keep cold) over my already poured cereal and ate it along with a banana. I then went downstairs and started reading the two novels assigned for the weekend. I knocked out the rest of My Year of Meats by 2pm and headed upstairs for a break. I took the first plate of cold turkey, stuffing, pie and apple salad and ate it cold. My dad then asked for my help to make some wood from a dead tree in the woods behind my house. Because I wasn’t using plastic, I bundled up in three layers of long underwear (tops and bottoms) and two pairs of cotton socks along with my rubber work boots and was forced to use the wooden handled splitter to manually split the wood (my dad got to use the chainsaw). After three hours of backbreaking labor, I took a leak in the woods (I figured I’d avoid a toilet just in case there was some plastic content), and then went back inside and began reading my other book for the weekend, Roaring Camp, for my history class. Around 8pm I took a dinner break, eating the last cold plate of Thanksgiving leftovers from the garage. I again went back downstairs and kept reading my book until the clock struck midnight.
Living a day without plastic is a simple act if one has tons of homework to do and if there isn’t any good football games on. It takes a lot of preparation, but as long as the correct precautions are taken, it is entirely possible to do over a 24 hour period. It also helps if it’s cold outside so you can eat non-spoiled food without using plastic. The hours of prep time and the fact that you need to use plastic in order to prepare for a 24 hour period of plastic-free living means that sustained plastic free living is unrealistic if not impossible. Even though I cut out tons of plastic from my day, I still spent time in a heated home (albeit with a wood burning stove) that requires plastic to disperse the heat throughout the house. There may have been plastic in my clothing or other items that I used without thinking. Plastic is so deeply saturated into the American lifestyle that it is impossible to live an even semi-normal life without plastic usage. The seemingly only way to live without plastic is to revert to a hunter-gatherer way of life, building your own shelter and killing your own food with wooden spears, bows, and arrows. Such a statement can almost be said to be egregious (sorry I always wanted to use that word in an essay). So even though plastic-free living is possible in the short run, the long term implication of living without plastic is asinine (sorry again, I’m on a roll).

Plastics, is that a Challenge?

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.

A Day in the Life

A Day in the (Plastic-Free) Life - Alex Thomson, TA: Emma Schroeder, sec 305

The struggle started as soon as I woke up. Avoiding plastic for entire day seemed impossible considering the how much plastic stood between my morning routine and me. The curtain and faucet knob. The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles. I hadn’t even fully awaken yet and still had managed to jeopardize my goal for the day.

After drying off and getting dressed I had to find food for breakfast. The day was going to be a battle having to avoid plastic and I was going to need as much energy as possible. My mom had purchased a box of assorted bagels, and luckily it appeared to contain no plastic. However, I wasn’t able to heat the bagel in our toaster because it contained plastic on the body, the electrical cord, and buttons. My only option was to use our oven, it seemed a little excessive but cold bagels never really do it for me. I couldn’t find anything in the fridge to use as a spread because we didn’t have any jams in mason jars. I ate the bagel plain and had a couple clementine oranges from a bowl on the counter.

Since I finished eating it was time to finish my morning hygiene. Again I stood at a crossroads. Sure, I could just not brush my teeth but I figured my dentist wouldn’t approve of this option. I made the decision to use my toothbrush, and toothpaste (both of which contain plastic).

After I was done brushing my teeth I was able to read the morning paper, but I couldn’t read the advertisements section because of the laminated pages containing plastics. TV wasn’t an option either since; well… it’s basically a big cube of plastic. I didn’t have much to do since I was back home and my family was working. I knew I could work on homework, but would not be able to use my computer. Luckily I had a big reading assignment and could spend a big part of my day engaged with that. The problem was my backpack. The novel was locked up, isolated from me, forbidden. I had to again make another exception and fumble through my backpack that contained plastic on the zippers, straps, exterior fabric, and lining the entire interior. I managed to avoid the plastic inside: my calculator, clicker for class, agenda book, and ruler. Once I had my book I was able to sit down and avoid plastic for a couple hours.

For lunch I had to again eat the clementines from the counter with some chicken noodle soup. There wasn’t anything in the fridge that wasn’t wrapped in plastic already. The pot was actually all metal, I just had to remember to use an oven mitt whenever touching the handle. I also couldn’t leave for lunch because all food options were to far away to walk to and my car also contained plastics.

After lunch I went back to reading for a while and was able to work on other assignments from textbooks. I wasn’t able to do much else the rest of the day. Plastic kept me from using my car and winter jacket so I had to remain in the house. All board games, puzzles, and electronic devises I tried to use as entertainment also contained plastic.

When my parents came home we ate dinner, but I was still only able to eat canned soup and the remaining two clementines. After dinner it started getting dark and it became even harder to abstain from using plastic. Light switches, outlets, and lamps all had plastic parts that kept me from using them. Once it had gotten dark out there was nothing left for me to do. I brushed my teeth (again making a concession) and went to bed.

I had tried my hardest throughout day to not use plastics, which basically allowed me to do nothing. I wasn’t able to fully comply with the requirements of the project, but other than personal hygiene uses I was able to see what modern life is like without plastics.