Singling out and winning over the single use plastics in my life!!

Like many things complex in life, plastics and particularly single use plastics are a tough nut to crack in firstly how to single them out via a rationale acceptable to majority and then through identifying which ones to easily discard via an easy alternative. The second problem can be solved in a much easier way for an individual and remembered after a one time dossier!

The first one is more complex where while experts are still putting their heads together on the definition, I came up with a three point identification tool to alter my lay of the land and challenge the status quo in this area of my life.

Wish this is the bucket list of methods I remember by heart and accomplish the outcome to the hilt in 45 days!

• Discard minimum utility and maximum impact plastic items.
• Despise plastics which are the most commonly released items into the environment.
• Chuck out plastic items which have an alternative.

Almost all of my friends in the curated social circle I frequent are aware of the viral video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuffed in its nose. It’s one of the first images which come to my mind when it comes to straw and it also perfectly fits the three markers above. As I write this, I have got my first wood stirrer during my flight to Delhi and as soon as I land I am going to order my first pack of steel straws and wood stirrers from Amazon. Cut to a new beginning and hoping to fulfill my resolve with the first single use plastic being singled out. Off they will go into my and each one of my family member’s bags!

            At an awareness event promoting reuse and recycling of Tetra Pak Cartons

A top of the mind recall but easily passing in a very uncanny way right through our noses is the humble plastic carry bag. The second criteria is the one I am most concerned w.r.t this category. Though it plays a very important part in our daily lives but it loses its meaning easily when compared with the 1000 odd years it takes just to decompose let alone the harming potential it carries along its way during after-life. I am going a step further with this and stashing all my carry bags to the startup which I know is helping achieve our lost glory of sustainable living. No more carry bags for my weekly grocery shopping and out from the closet is the food old Jute bag which still is a favorite with my father.

Not intending to go over-board with my resolve but plastic bottle will be replaced by a steel bottle. I have already started using only one plastic bottle and one plastic spoon at the weddings and social gatherings. In future, I will carry my own container for all the DIY uses outside of my home and of course replacing my plastic throwaway cutlery with the spoon, small plate, a knife and a fork all made of steel.

Living with practically less plastic and in my journey towards more and more reductions and alternatives wherever possible, I hope I live up to expectations I have set for myself. It’s a tough transition when everything is virtually all plastic and the invasion in our lives has already been done. It’s the reward of satisfaction both for myself and my planet that has made me come this far. As a personal commitment, I will reduce 50% of my personal plastic footprint in the first year and by second year; I will strive to remove 100% plastics out of my life.