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