Going plastic-free in 2025
Admittedly, “Going plastic-free in 2023” sounds much better – and it would have been better if I’d adopted this two years ago, but here we are. And while the news alert that plastic is terrible for our planet and our bodies isn’t new to me, I just had an “aha!” moment that has gotten my attention. For real, this time. I’m sharing this in case you are interested, too.
The saying, “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” is also not new to me. (You may have read my post about working at The Body Shop in the 90’s.) I try to reduce and reuse, and I (almost) always put the correct containers in the recycle bin, but that’s not the issue, is it? It’s the reducing and reusing, but more importantly, the container that makes the difference. Even if it’s recyclable, how much is actually being recycled*?
I thought I was doing well. I use metal water bottles instead of single-source plastic bottles for my water, have replaced my plastic food containers with glass (although they have plastic lids), buy laundry stain remover, all-purpose cleaners, and hand soap in bulk so I can refill my containers. But guess what? They are also in plastic.
So, why the change? I recently listened to a podcast**, and the guest expert on this episode was Dr. William Li, a medical scientist who studies food as medicine. In the episode, he talked about how microplastics are not only finding their way into our bodies (I had read that) but into our arteries. Clogging them. That got my attention. He said we should stop using plastic water bottles and replace them with metal or glass. We should also stop heating things in plastic containers (no plastic wrap in the microwave!).
I have spent the morning looking around my house. Really looking. The plastic bottle I use for biking. The silicon microwave popcorn bowl. The hand soap refill. All of the bottles in my laundry room. The plastic used to contain my organic greens. What about those?
I grew up in the 1970s when plastic was not so ubiquitous. I remember going to the grocery store with my mom and returning the glass soda bottles. Our bottled water was glass. Weaning myself off plastic dependency can be done. Will it be easy? No. I like convenience. Will it be worth it? Yes. So worth it.
So, I pledge to go as plastic-free as possible. As I use up things that come in plastic, I will replace them with sustainable containers and write about them, so if you’re interested, you can come along on the journey.
Information on how much we are recycling:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/12/1081129/plastic-recycling-climate-change-microplastics/
The podcast episode that got my attention:
**Mel Robbins Podcast Episode 250, Eat This to Lose Fat, Prevent Disease, & Feel Better Now with Dr. William Li: https://www.melrobbins.com/podcasts/episode-250