How To Break The Plastic Habit In 5 Sensible Steps

1) Think About What Plastic Is Doing To Our Environment.

No, really...before you quickly jump to the rest of the steps in this article, please allow this to statement to really sink in your brain for a moment -- none of us should be so quick to dismiss it. Plastic has moved from our homes, stores and factories into two enormous islands of ocean bound trash far far away from our normal stomping grounds. These tangled chunky piles of our non-biodegradable waste continually get churned and pulverized into a stew of toxic oblivion that marine life end up dining on. Out of sight, out of mind doesn’t cut it anymore.

The idea of things being interconnected is entirely relevant here, because even if for some odd reason your heart doesn’t feel empathetic toward the plight of innocent creatures consuming our unwanted crap, the old adage “you are what you eat” definitely comes into play. If they’re eating plastic, we’re also eating plastic. Aside from focusing on the selfish aspect of how marine creatures supping on plastic could potentially affect our health, there’s the massive pollution to contend with. Scientists have recently determined that rigid polycarbonate plastics have been leaching endocrine-disrupting Bisphenol A and other detrimental chemicals into the entire marine ecosystem, significantly contaminating well over 200 sites with levels all the way up to 50 parts per million. Who knows how this will affect current rates of ocean acidification and potentially alter our weather patterns and/or accelerate global warming, but why are we tempting fate?

2) Think About What Plastic Is Doing To Our Bodies.

Tumbling out of countless American cupboards are more plastic storage containers any of us will probably ever be able to use, and yet we still hang onto them just in case we encounter a serious leftover windfall…or…well, just because. They’ve always seemed so perfectly practical, but each time we microwave the food stored within, we’re inadvertently exposing ourselves to Bisphenol A, which disrupts the endocrine system, mimicking estrogen and affecting change on the cellular level. This chemical has been found in 93% Americans who have been tested by the Centers For Disease Control.  Even plastics that are marketed as being microwave safe have proven to release BPA into food (which the FDA acknowledges can compromise the health of the brain and prostate gland among other vital organs). From cardiovascular system damage to reproductive system abnormalities, adult-onset diabetes and cancer, it is incredibly wise to avoid BPA exposure on a consistent basis in order to protect your health.

3) Steer Clear Of Processed Foods & Stop Purchasing Items Wrapped In Plastic.

While it’s true that we all lead busy lives and are hard pressed to budget time into our packed schedules to prepare a home-cooked meal, nothing about “instant gratification” is doing our society any good. When we purchase pre-made convenience foods, they enable us to dump and eat, but the major drawback is that most of them are packaged in some sort of plastic based container. Frozen items come in purportedly microwavable safe plastic trays or plastic bags, shelf-stable veggies/fruit/ soup/chili are generally available in epoxy resin-lined (BPA leaching) cans and various other products are sold in rigid PC or #7 labeled containers.

Instead, try conducting a “no plastic” experiment the next time you go grocery shopping.  You’ll only realize just how inundated our society is with plastic once you focus on trying to avoid it at all costs. No, it’s not going to be easy, but it is possible. Shopping at natural grocery stores can be one step in the right direction as well as frequenting CSAs and farmer’s markets. Ask yourself if you really need tea bags wrapped with an outer layer of cellophane, or will the loose variety work just as well? Ditto for countless other products lining the shelves of our grocery stores. Frankly, buying the majority of your household necessities in bulk (from cereal and grains to produce, nuts and meat) will be far more cost-effective, planet friendly and healthier, plus you won’t have extraneous packaging to contend with. Just remember to bring your own drawstring-topped reusable cloth bags to the store instead to contain all produce and dry goods – they can be easily made from scratch by repurposing old duds from your closet.

4) Shift Over To Alternative Storage Materials.

What did our society do before we had access to the miraculous, lightweight convenience of plastic? Crazy as it sounds, we covered our leftovers with inverted dinner dishes, used tempered glass storage containers and even wrapped sandwiches in – gasp – pieces of old newspaper. These materials are still readily available…we just have to get back into the habit of using them again. Beyond the shift into reusable shopping bags, we can also break free of the cellophane and zip top bag habit with a little practice. First step: stop buying them. Second step: purchase or create homemade alternatives using recycled household materials. Third step: never look back. The most obvious benefit is that your waste stream will be significantly reduced and you’ll be able to feel confident that you are no longer contributing to the growth of our ocean garbage patches. The not-so-obvious benefit? Major budget savings!

5) When All Else Fails, As Yourself One Simple Question.

Before you bring any new item into your household, perhaps you should make a habit of asking yourself the following question: “How long will this last in the environment once I throw it away?” We’re all familiar with the fact that typical PET plastic bottles are believed to take as many as 500 - 1000 years to fully decompose once they’re landfill-bound, but what about other rigid plastic consumer items like discarded toothbrushes, and disposable razors as well as CDs, children’s toys, empty prescription bottles and beverage caps? These items degrade incredibly slowly, some scientists theorizing that they could persist for hundreds or even thousands of years without the necessary decompositional elements of sun, air and hungry microbes. Why add to billion tons of plastic already languishing in our nation’s landfills when you can make a conscious effort to purchase an environmentally responsible version, instead? This might be a really good time to stay as far away from a big box or dollar store as humanly possible…