Rebecca Helppi

Environmental Problems

12/16/13

A day without plastic

               This challenge was very informative because it made me really think about what products I used and if it were plastic what I could use instead. Going a whole day without using any plastic was very challenging because in present day society we are surrounded by plastics in every direction. It is my opinion that everyone should be required to do this challenge so as to realize just how much plastic we use in a day, and how much of that plastic could be eliminated.

               One of the hardest things that I gave up for this challenge would have had to have been phone because I use it every day. It was hard because I was unable to call my mom, check my email, or text my friends. Thank goodness I did this over the weekend because if I had been driving and stalled out or something like that I would have been unable to call for help.

               Another thing that was more challenging to go without was plastic shopping bags; however they were much easier to replace than a cell phone because they sell canvas bags right there in the store. Sure it cost me a little more than it would have had I not been doing this challenge, but I believe that these bags were a good investment because now I can use them in the future as well. One more plastic item that was harder not to use would have been saran wrap. Unfortunately I use this product often to cover food and to be without it made me try to figure out a new solution. I resorted to putting food in a bowl and covering it with a plate, because my tupperware containers are also plastic.

               Some things that I found easy to go a day without included: plastic cups, take-out containers, and plastic utensils. I do not use these items on a regular basis so they were not missed during this project. However, in the future I intend to avoid these products as much as possible as well.

               This challenge definitely helped to open my eyes to how many plastics a person can use in one day ranging from anything such as a paper cup to a baby rattle. Our society has come to accept plastics as a part of our everyday lives and I feel like this is not a good things. Many people do not always recycle because of the effort it takes. I also believe that the younger generations are not even realizing how plastics affect our environment due to plastics becoming the ‘norm’ in everyday society.

 

 

       Electrolux.se

A Day with No Plastics

A day with no plastics in today's plastic dependent world would consist of either spending a day in the woods, sleeping out of a make-shift shelter or sitting in your house doing absolutely nothing. No computer, cell phone, TV, food would have to be in non-plastic containers beforehand and even pens would be out of the question. Although a day trip out into the wilderness sounds like the best way for one to spend a day plastic-less, school work could not be halted to do so. However, many steps were taken the day before going plastic-less in order to allow for some productivity. Paper and a wooden pencil were used to take notes and a day’s worth of food was packaged in boxes and paper bags instead of plastic. It was also the weekend so no alarm was set to avoid using a plastic cell phone. Only glass or paper products were used as dishes and I made sure I had no errands to run so I could avoid my plastic filled vehicle for a day. However, there were some plastic items I was inevitably unable to avoid. My laptop was necessary due to homework that needed to be completed b that night and my cell phone was used to communicate with people. The culmination of experiences between going one day without disposable plastics and attempting to go a full day without any plastics at all led to some conclusions about the lives Americans live. It was absolutely impossible for me to go a day without any plastics at all unless I completely detached myself from society and spent a day in the wilderness.

So, what should be done about it? It is reasonable to ask everyone to avoid using plastics so we force industry to use other materials? My answer is no. Alternatively, we should begin producing plastics that are at least biodegradable, and are derived from plants rather than petroleum. Or we can invest time, money and research into plastics that, when disposed of, will help grow new materials to produce the next generation of plastics. A concept coined cradle-to-cradle where the materials we are producing today help grow new materials when they are disposed of instead of wasting space in landfills and polluting the drinking water and fertile land we all so desperately need. This concept is an attempt to mimic the natural processes we see every day but neglect to fully grasp in our industrialized societies. In order to successfully implement this process, a call for rapid change in the mindsets of people all over the world is paramount.

Zach Ackerman

SS3300

12/18/2013

A Day without plastic (almost)

 Justin Daavettila

I knew going a full 24 hours without out using plastic would be difficult. At the end of the day I failed the challenge but I believe I put forth a great effort.  I decided I was going to do the challenge as soon as I heard about the opportunity, I had to pick a day in to do the challenge and I choose the day of my physics exam. I saw the day of my physics exam would be the easiest day to try and complete the challenge.

The day of the exam I woke up and went to McDonalds for breakfast before my exam. I went drive thru and ordered nothing that could possibly come in a plastic container. I asked the employee to give me my water cup with no straw.  I went breakfast without using any plastic and thought I was well on my way to a successful challenge.

After I ate my breakfast on my way to school I went straight to the library to study for my exams. I could not use the computers in the library, (which kinda sucked) I was stuck at a table with only my pencil and my practice exams that I printed off the day before. My first failure came only minutes after sitting down to study. I pulled out my calculator. I needed the calculator for the exam as well.

After my exam I went and played hockey at the rink in Oscar. Another critical mistake after I finished playing hockey. I had planned out what I was going to eat before the day had started. Buying myself a Little Caesars with a can of pop would not use and plastic. I showed up to the store and went to go get money to pay for the pizza and I had no cash on me, out came the card. I went home and ate my pizza and tried to go the whole night without watching TV but failed. The Detroit Lions played on Monday Night and I was not going to miss that! I grabbed the remote and turned the game on. I waited until after the clock stuck midnight to brush my teeth and shower, if I did not do that I would have been using quite a bit of plastic from the shampoo bottle, toothpaste, and toothbrush.

At the end of the day I had failed the challenge only three times. I was surprised how tough it actually is to take plastic out of your day. Everywhere you look there is something plastic that you can’t use.  Plastic makes everyday life so much easier for us, today when I woke up and was able to make my toast and drink milk. I realized how much I really need plastic.

A day without plastics challenge by Amna Zahid

I tried to plan ahead but the more I planned the more impossible the task seemed. A day without using plastic nowadays means not using the restroom, or taking a shower, brushing teeth and even turning on/off lights. Basically, it’s everywhere! Since I realized that I couldn’t go without using it entirely so I instead took notes and pictures of plastics around me. It was astonishing to realize how quietly plastic has sneaked its way into our lives.

I tried to avoid using computer but I couldn’t since I had a meeting with my group and most of our work required using the computer and calculator. I also noticed that the stationary box I use is made out of plastic as well as all of my folders/binders. Also, almost all the books/notebooks have a plastic film cover on top.

I did replace my plastic water bottle with stainless steel container for a day. However, The next day I had to switch back to my plastic bottle since it can hold more water and I have a health issue which requires me to drink a lot of water. I’m trying to look into purchasing a good, convenient and durable alternative to my plastic bottle since I know it’s harmful.

Since I eat at the dining halls, I could not skip my meals to avoid plastic. I noticed though that the drinking glasses, trays and plates they use are made out of plastic. I usually take my own stainless steel container to school for tea/coffee so at worked out fine.

The trash bin I used was made out of plastic and so was the paper towel dispenser. Other than that a lot of the products such as cream/lotion, shampoo and chap stick etc. are packaged in plastic. My lab safety glasses and my hard hat is also plastic. Other things in the house that I observed were blinds, telephone, television, microwave oven, refrigerator and lamps.

Another thing I’m concerned about are the plastic trash bags majority of us use daily. It’s convenient to use these since they’re non-porous and convenient. One reason why I still continue to use plastic grocery bags is because I reuse them as trash bags at home. An alternative to this is hard to find. I found some websites I found suggested going bag-less for trash bins but it’s not convenient. I hope we can find better solution to this problem.

Yes, I failed the challenge. It was funny that when I told my friends about this challenge, one of them suggested me to take sleeping pills and sleep through the day to win the challenge because it’s so hard to avoid plastics at least in this part of the world. Overall, this was a good exercise to make us aware of the amount of plastics we use in a day. It definitely makes one wonder where all this plastic will ultimately end up. It’s a scary thought knowing that plastics are immortal but we keep producing more and more every minute. It will take careful thought, time and money to considerably reduce the plastics in my life. 

1 day - no plastic - nbd

1 Day, No Plastic

Stephen Mack

I had some idea what I was getting into before I began my day with no plastic. First of all, I am well aware that nearly everything I do using any form of higher technology would use plastic. Also, I had a pretty good idea of what other things might use plastic. For example, I did not wear my typical shoes because I knew they had lots of plastic with them (nike support shoes) so instead I wore an old pair of boots I dug out of my roommate’s closet. They were hideous. As it was cold out and I had no other option I wore my red jacket composed mainly of polyester. I guess the key idea behind my experience was that I did the best I could not to use plastic while not sacrificing my health or well-being.

So, my day started without plastic. I figured that if I ever skipped brushing my teeth today was the day. I also showered the night before so I made sure to be nice and clean to begin the day. When faced with the question if I wanted a ride to school I replied yes, but told my room mate I could not due to an experiment I was conducting. He laughed at me and drove away to school. The main sacrifice of my day was to leave my devices at home. No music in my ears, no texting to friends, and when I arrived at campus, no computers either. My backpack may have had plastic in it or not but I had no other option. Once my day on campus got going, staying away from campus was not a big deal. I made sure not to eat at a dining hall as everything was served on a plastic tray, dish, or cup. For an early lunch I bought an apple from the market along with a kiwi, and a Kombucha (fancy drink in glass bottle). This was also a difficult part of my day as I had to turn down nearly every option I would have chosen if I was not resisting plastic. Even the sandwiches were neatly packaged into small sandwich containers made of plastic. No chips for me, no nuts, and no ice cream as I tend to eat. It did make me choose healthier options like fruit, but even healthy snacks were packaged up like protein bars and yogurt. Not feeling satisfied, I went over to the Chinese food place and had a meal served to me on a glass dish. Things were looking up from here. After doing this, I went back to the library to study. A rare thing for me was going to the library and not sitting at a computer. I read my textbooks, perused the collection of books, and in the end I was alright as my computer based assignments were done the night before.

If there was one thing which sort of bothered me throughout the day was that I couldn’t partake in my typical leisure activities like watching television or listening to music. Instead I went to the pool and went for a swim in the dive tank. After my swim, I washed off with a bar of soap and headed home for the evening. A short while after going home my eyes began to burn from the pool. I had no choice but to use my Rohtos to ease the pain. Also, before drifting off to sleep I always watch an episode of Adventure Time. Turning on my PS3 and TV were only to keep me from being deprived of sleep.

All in all the day went pretty well. I was able to keep plastics out of my life practically the whole day. I predicted that I would be able to do this but forgot about my nightly ritual of watching Adventure Time. Also, when waking up that morning I did have to use my phone, and after watching TV I figured I would check my phone messages and set my alarm back on. I still believe it is not too difficult for one to go one whole day without the use of plastics, but not many will be willing to sacrifice the comforts of modern life to help out the environment. 

Plastic Free Challenge Day - John Parker

Wow.. all I have to say. Going without plastic for a day was a lot more challenging than I thought. The fact that almost everything in my dorm was made of plastic really threw me for a loop. Instead of using a plastic water bottle that I usually get from the store, I had to use the water fountain and it got really tedious having to go back and forth from the water fountain. I had assignments due on these days so I was forced to use my laptop, sure its a lot of metal on a laptop but the surrounding parts that protect it were plastic. So after about 3 hours worth of homework I finally got done with my laptop and then I decided to watch TV for about an hour and then study for my exams but there was one little problem with my TV.... that has plastic too, I was really starting to get angry with myself because after a few hours of waking up, I had already used 2 things that had plastic in them. Since it was a weekday, I was forced to go eat in the dining halls, I passed on the food trey but I used a plastic plate because that is all that you have to eat off of in the dining halls so there wasn't exactly a choice there. It is absolutely amazing how reliant this country is on plastics, we have no idea how badly our everyday lives would suffer if we took out plastic, without plastic, you TV wouldn't exist, your computer, the things you eat off of, even some parts in your car wouldn't exist. I did a little bit of research.... yes on my laptop that has plastic.... and I came across a fact that absolutely shocked me, at least 90% of the material objects in the world have some form of plastic in them. Could you imagine 90% of the material objects in the world disappearing!?!? That would be an absolute nightmare, I don't know about you but I would never survive.

But anyway, back to my adventure with no plastic. After lunch and my little bit of screwing around looking for information, I had to do more homework except this was on my laptop and as usual, it has plastic. A lot of the things that we use on our day to days lives also keep us clean and help us to get through the day. First thing is, that thing called a toothbrush and that tube of toothpaste that you have. Yes that tube is made of plastic and your toothbrush is made of plastic as well, even if you have a motorized one, you still have plastic on it because you have to have something to put around that motor and parts that run your toothbrush to protect it. Another thing that is made of plastic is the shampoo bottles that we use. I challenge anyone to find a shampoo bottle does not have a single piece of plastic in it, I tried it and I failed miserably, I even tried looking on Google but that didn't work either.

A lot of these experiences have opened my eyes to the world that we live in. We live in a world dominated by plastic and fossil fuels and guess what... we use those fossil fuels to make plastic.... like what the hell America, we need to start getting our act together, we aren't at China standards yet but we really need to start cleaning up our act and finding more ways to introduce environmentally friendly products that can help to decrease of reliance on plastic. If we could find ways to replace plastic shampoo bottles and replace plastic soda bottles and things along those lines.

All in all, this experience was very eye opening to me and I definitely have a bit of a greener side now when it comes to being kind to the environment and not littering as well as not recycling, this class and this project really opened my eyes to what we need to fix and what problems are staring down at us that need to be resolved as soon as possible. Overall, this was a great experience and has opened me up to being a more green person!

This is the plastic I used in one day... not exactly a good amount but its enough to be concerning.

TV and PS4, they all have plastic.

A Day Without Plastic – Scott Hall

I need to start off by admitting that the title of my blog entry is severely misleading, and that the realistic title of this blog is  “My honest attempt to go without plastic ends in utter FAILURE!” I chose Saturday as my day to avoid all plastics. Since I would be at work at the grocery store most of the day, I thought I would be a little safer. Well after my alarm clock went off I realized I had already failed.

 I had to wake up at 7 am for work, and the only way that was going to happen was with an alarm clock. I use my phone as an alarm, and I know that contains plastic, but after that minor setback I was determined to have successful day with no plastic. I got out of bed and  headed to the shower. I realized ahead of time that all of my soap came in a plastic bottle so to avoid this I bought a bar of soap that came in a cardboard box. 

           

After struggling through my morning preparations(toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant--ALL PLASTIC), I headed to the kitchen to attempt a plastic free breakfast. Success! I made egss in a cast iron skillet and used a metal fork to scramble my eggs, then ate them on a glass plate with a glass of orange juice for a cardboard carton (which in hindsight was pry coated in some type of plastic to stay waterproof..FAIL).

            

My next challenge was what to wear outside in the -5 degree weather… hmm all of my jackets had plastic on them somewhere. I opted to wear two sweaters and a sweatshirt. I guess it worked, I was only slightly colder than usual, not very waterproof against the snow though. Oh well ! It was all part of the experience. 

           

I do have to admit that I had to drive my car to work since its over 5 miles away, walking through a blizzard in sweatshirts was not an option.  So I did cheat a bit there.  My car is full of plastic components , so I began counting them on my way to work. I quit after about 30 different pieces.

            

Once I got to work, I was busy  stocking shelves so my personal use of plastic was put on hold for a few hours. However, in the grocery store my eyes were truly opened. Almost every single item in the store was contained in plastic. There was no escaping it!

            

After a long day at work, I came home and tried to make a plastic free dinner. Pasta came out of a cardboard box and the sauce came out of a glass jar so I will count that as another success.  I had a glass bottle of beer with dinner (just trying to avoid plastic) After dinner, I was forced to end my challenge, after multiple unanswered text messages and calls from my mother, I felt that I should probably use my phone and let her know I was still alive.

            This was a very unique experience, and I am glad I at least attempted it. This challenge really opened my eyes that plastic is literally EVERYWHERE. It is basically impossible to live in the modern world and completely avoid every form of plastic. I think that is important that we continue to look for greener forms of plastic. The demand for plastic will only increase as we move dtoward the  future, that is  why we must mitigate the risks to the environment that plastics pose.

Below is a picture of all of the plastics I use on a daily basis. Well actually these were all the  plastics that I had at arms reach ( water bottle, computer, phone, lamps, tv, car keys, pens calculator, wallet with plastic IDs, desk, computer chair) I don’t think I could physically gather all the plastic things I use in one day. That is not to say plastics are all bad.  Many of these plastics are reusable, and are a necessity to a modern lifestyle. Without these plastics society would still be stuck in a metal stone age.

The Truly Impossible Challenge - James Herman

The day started off just like any other day, except that instead of waking up to my phone alarm ringing, my roommate was pounding on my door. You see, an entire day without plastics even means no cell phone!

I got out of bed and put on an entirely cotton shirt (some fabrics even have plastic) jeans, and a wool sweater. I ate breakfast, which just consisted of fruit because my normal meal, cereal, requires the plastic milk jug and also the plastic lining of the cereal box. Then I realized that you can’t even brush your teeth without plastic! I've never even heard of a metal toothbrush so I skipped it for the day.

Next I hopped in the shower, and noticed that every bottle of shampoo that was present was made of plastic. I’m so glad I had bar soap instead of body wash though! I purposely choose to do this challenge on a Thursday because I only had one class so it would be a little less challenging. I took notes using an old fashioned wooden pencil in my Geology class. Walking to and from class was bitterly cold because my winter jacket is made from plastic. The material, Gore-Tex, is made to be water resistant but also made from a synthetic polymer.

This meant I had to layer up more than usual wearing more wool and cotton fabric than I knew I owned! When I got back from class I thought I would start studying for my Water Resource exam, but realized that most of my laptop was composed of plastic!

This forced me to do my Structural Analysis homework because it only used a textbook. I got through most of the first problem. All I had to do was calculate a few numbers… Except I couldn’t because my calculator is made entirely of plastic! I tried to do some of the calculations by hand but gave up realizing more than ever how much I rely on plastic.

I almost gave up at this point, but it was only around 2:30 PM. Then I remember that I could play guitar because it is composed entirely of wood and metal. However, I failed to remember until I started playing that all guitar picks are made of plastic. I played the few picking songs (this means playing entirely with your fingers) that I knew how to play. I heated up a can of soup (ignoring that soup containers are lined in BPA which is used to produce many plastics) and chopped up some vegetables for an early dinner. It was 5:00 PM when I finally threw in the towel on my day of no plastics. The main reason being the fact that I had to do my homework and study, and it’s virtually impossible to do without plastic as an engineering student. The “day” of no plastic made me understand how much our modern world requires plastic. Unless a drastic change occurs, we are going to be intertwined with plastic for a long time to come. (All pictures were taken after the plastic free day was done).

-James Herman 

A day without plastic? Is that even possible..

A day without plastic does not seem that it would be difficult, until you realize how many objects actually have plastic in them.  Not only is it the obvious “I can tell that is plastic”, but there is nylon and polyester and other materials that are intertwined with plastic in them.  This makes it very difficult in order to go a whole day without ANY plastic.  But even if I were to lock myself in my room and do absolutely nothing, my blankets or the carpet still has some sort of plastic in them.  Those we cannot run away from. 

In order to start off the day with no plastic, I had to pick out all wool or cotton clothing. I purposefully picked a day with little classes and where I did not have to go outside much because basically all my shoes and jackets have some sort of plastic in them.  Even trying to find jeans or a shirt that was not any percent polyester or other type of material was quite difficult.  It actually became frustrating looking tag after tag and realizing that basically everything I have has some sort of plastic in it.  Going down to the dining hall to eat was an even bigger challenge.  Instead of using the plastic bowls and trays, I had to grab a ceramic mug and plate.  That wasn't too bad, but then in order to receive my food, a plastic bowl or spoon was used to serve my food,  the food came in a plastic tub covered in plastic wrap, and the server wore plastic gloves.  Being at the school, there is no other way for me to get my food and so I had to accept the fact that I was served with plastic.  I could have asked them to grab one of the ceramic bowls and gather my food that way, but with so many other people to serve I did not want to be that difficult.  Not only is the food handled with plastic, but so are the drinks.  The fountain drinks, milk, and juice all come in plastic bags that they put into a plastic machine to serve us.  Because of that I did bring a can of pop.  Whenever I wanted something to drink, I had to have a glass bottle or can, instead of using the dining hall or having a plastic juice bottle.  For class, I used a wood pencil and carried sheets of loose leaf paper (that are packaged in plastic) in a canvas bag to class.  I could not use my cell phone (let family and friends know I wasn't ignoring them for that day), lab top, printer, or even many of my books, binders, or notebooks because of plastic layer covers. When it comes to entertainment, there is basically nothing that you can do that does not involve plastic.  My roommate did teach me how to crochet with metal hooks and wool yarn though!  There were a few books that were all paper and I could read as well.  Besides that, I was not able to do much of anything.  If I went to the sauna, my bathing suit has plastic.  If I went to work out, the machinery has some sort of plastic.  I couldn't have any of my snacks because they are wrapped in plastic.  When it came to hygiene, I had to use a bar of soap that came from a cardboard covering (like in hotels) and use a cotton cloth.  Everything else for a normal shower came in plastic bottles.  Lotion, deodorant, tooth brush, hair brush, everything else has plastic.  For the overall result... if every plastic was considered, than no, a day without plastic is not possible because indirectly or directly, everything has come into contact with plastic if we see it or not.  So even if we don't see that plastic, it was still being used in order to produce or transport the things we use.

No one would actually be able to live multiple days without plastic in today’s society. It has become so ingrained into everything we do.  There are probably many items that there could be an alternative to plastic, but for now we use it and waste it.  If I was at home and not at the school, there could be a few items that I replace myself.  Then there are the items that we cannot get away from like packaged food.  At least with some things like our jackets or shoes we can use every day, but other things just get thrown away and it goes out into the environment.  This challenge made me realize, even deeper than the 2 day challenge, just how important plastic has become for people now.  Other people need to realize this as well and hopefully someday there can be a change that makes us less dependent on the use of plastic!

-Randee Wlodek

Impossible challenge - Surbhi Thakur

An entire day without plastic! Is it possible??

NO.

I completely crashed and burned during my attempt to have an entire day without any plastic at all. I also made the foolish choice to do this during a weekday when I have go to class and run an endless amounts of errands.

I honestly do not think it is possible to live without plastic. No matter what alternative I tried to find, there was always something that was made of plastic that would pop up in my life.

Below are the three main things I used in my day. 

Let me give an overview of my day.

I woke up and the first thing I did was turn off my alarm on my phone. My phone is made of plastic. Game over. I let that one slide because I need my cellphone and computer for educational and work purposes, so restart game.

Once I got in the bathroom I noticed my toothbrush is made of plastic, so me being quick and crafty I put toothpaste on my finger and used my finger as a toothbrush. It actually worked pretty well. After getting ready I went to grab my car keys, which are made of plastic. I lose again. As you will see throughout this blog entry, me losing will be a recurring pattern.

I thought I was smart to bring a wood pencil to class instead of a mechanical pencil, until the lead broke. I was left pencil less and the teacher kept writing his notes faster and faster on the board. I had to eventually use a plastic pen to continue my notes. Surbhi 0, Plastic 3.

After class I got hungry, so I made my way over to the MUB to purchase some snacks. I bought a hamburger that was wrapped in foil and a drink that was in a glass bottle. Yay win for me! When I went to pay for my food, I pulled out my PLASTIC credit card. Surbhi 1, Plastic 4.

I was on campus that day pretty late working on some assignments and managed to get through most of it by drinking from my aluminum bottle and taking notes with a sharpened wood pencil. I thought to myself, “Wow I am kind of good at this” until I got hungry again and the MUB was closed. I ended up purchasing three plastic bags of chips and a pop bottle from the vending machine. Shame on me. Surbhi 1, Plastic 5.

It was getting late so I headed home to relax and prepare for sleep. When I reached home, my roommates had decided that we all go out to eat. Food is not an offer I can refuse, so we all headed to Taco Bell. After I purchased my food and sat down to eat it, I realized that every single food item on my tray is covered in plastic. Even my tray is plastic. I was  horribly defeated.  We like to also hoard Taco Bell sauce packets, so after consuming food completely covered in plastic I walked out with probably 20 plastic packets of sauce in my pockets. I was filled with shame and disappointment.

Surbhi 1, Plastic 50+.

Clean water: Lake Superior