Just Say No to Plastic

Every bit of plastic ever made is still around.  Plastic bits in the oceans out number sea animals.  So let's do something about it, already.

1.  Just say no to plastic.

• Let's all give up plastic straws, forks, spoons, cups, and plates.  Let the big guys (McD's, Hardee's, all those fast food places) know that we don't need more plastics in our lives.  Straws can be made from paper, and get this. . . . . cutlery can be made from metal.  Keep a spork in your bag if you feel compelled to eat fast food and your fingers just won't work.
• When you buy a small item, carry it or put it in your always-handy cloth bag.  Tell the cashier you want to save a bag.  They often thank me when I do that.   And by the way, always carry your cloth shopping bags.  We keep ours in our cars, because you never know when you're going to have to stop at a store.  If I buy a bulb of garlic, a couple of onions, or some potatoes, I don't bother putting them in those flimsy plastic produce bags.  If you are buying tiny little things, at least reuse that flimsy bag.  Remember, it's not going anywhere.
• Determine not to drink anything that comes in a plastic bottle.  Just don't do it.  Where do you think bottled water comes from?  Do you really think it's better than what comes out of your tap?  If you do, get a filter for crying in a bucket.  
• Rethink anything "disposable."  Razors, combs, toothbrushes, (and my very least favorite) those plastic containers for leftovers.  You know you never have the right lid for them anyway. Use a glass jar.  

2.  Push, push, push for things made from recycled plastics.  Some dude in New Zealand figured out how to make giant legos out of shredded "sea" plastics using heat and pressure.  They are water proof, colorful, insulating, lightweight and people can build houses from them easily.   Brilliant in it's simplicity!  There isn't any reason not to do this on a large scale.  

3. Teach your children.  Before you buy your child one more bit of plastic that you're sure to trip over, ask yourself AND your child if it's worth it to know that bit of plastic will be around, probably polluting the oceans for his great grand children.  Teach by example when you buy juice and store food in glass containers rather than plastic.  Explain why.  You're doing it for them.  

These are little things, of course.  But when we all do little things, they become something big.  We must remember that "disposable" means it goes out of our sight for a while, not out of our lives.