Just to remind you

May 20, 2008 in thoughts

Ever worried about not making your mark on the world?

Think you might not leave anything behind you when you go?

Dont – I can assure you that everyday in everyway you are making a lasting impression.

I realised just how big my own everlasting monument would be when I decided to monitor my own plastic consumption. Back in October 2006 I decided to monitor how much of the stuff I actually “used” I began saving all the disposable plastic that passed through my hands. A sobering 7 days later and I was running out of cupboard space.

Leave only footprints? – Not bloody likely! I will be leaving an enormous pile of rubbish with a thousand year lifespan to commemorate my 3 score years and ten on this fragile globe.

Having realised the plastic problem what’s a girl to do? In this capitalist paradise consumer pressure has massive leverage – reduce demand and supply will follow. and the best answer seems to be to take direct action and boycott the filthy stuff.

However on studying my mighty pile I realised that an immediate boycott would have some very unpleasant results – dirty, rotten teeth, bad body odour and hair thick with grease would occur within the first few days Followed by scurvey, rickets and ultimate starvation. Plastic has become so much part of our lives it is hard it seems to live without it. However faint heart and all that. I decided to modify my plan. Each month I would study my heap and decide to elimate one thing. I would research for a non plastic wrapped substitute and replace the bad and ugly with the good. Rather than an immediate ban I would tackle the problem one wrapper at a time – a 12 step program to a cleaner world. So in January 07 I gave up plastic.