Plastics Challenge by Amna Zahid

I took the plastics challenge during thanksgiving break. We were pretty astonished to see the heap of discardable plastics my friends and I used in just one day. We had a party on Thanksgiving day and we ended up using disposable plastic cups, spoons, knives and forks. I think the major reasons why people prefer using the discardable plastics are the convenience of using them and that they’re very cheap. Also many people feel that it’s much more hygienic to use the discardable plastic cutlery and glasses than used ones.

It was interesting to look for plastics around us because we found it in places we never paid attention to. It’s amazing to see how much plastics we use daily. We found plastics in food packaging’s which ultimately are thrown away after use. Drinks are commonly sold in plastic bottles because it’s lighter. Almost all of the cosmetic and sanitation products we use are mostly packaged in plastics such as creams, shampoos, deodorants, makeup etc. and after use they’re always tossed out. Another thing I was concerned about was my toothbrush and dental floss that was also made out of plastic. I looked up online and found that our toothbrushes and dental flosses are toxic too. Here is one link of the many I found about the dangers of using plastic toothbrushes and dental flosses:

  http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=25110

It was scary to realize this because we use toothbrush and floss multiple times every day and the toxins have a very easy route to enter our bodies. Also, it’s amazing that we don’t have other non-plastic toothbrush options available easily. At least I didn’t find any in Walmart etc. The same link I shared above has some alternate safer options shared at the bottom of the link that you can buy online. I’m definitely considering to buy one of those. Honestly, I find it frustrating that the safer options are not easily available for us. I think if using the plastic toothbrush is dangerous to us then at least dentists should spread awareness about it because it has such a close connection with our bodies.

I also found that most medicines, cough syrups and vitamin tablets are also sold in plastic containers. I wonder if that is of concern and that if it actually contaminates the medicines at all.

Another common thing used is the plastic wrap and/or plastic sandwich bags. I will admit, I’m so addicted to using these just because it’s very easy to pack lunches and other items. I hardly ever thought of the environmental impacts of using plastic wraps. Another thing that I commonly use are the plastic grocery bags because it’s easy to reuse them as trash bags. I don’t even know if there are non-plastic options for trash bags.

For alternatives, I used cloth bags for groceries and ceramic mug and stainless steel bottle for drinks. Personally, I felt it was a difficult challenge just because the alternates are not easily available and/or are expensive. It does make one wonder how this will affect us in the long run.

I think overall I really liked the challenge as it helped me to pay close attention to plastics around me. It’s definitely a great exercise for every individual. I was thinking it would be interesting if this challenge goes viral and we get to see people all over the globe post pictures of their alternatives to plastics. This will give other people more ideas and will be interesting to see how plastic consumption compares among different countries.