Mothers Against Plastic

My first real introduction to inane plastic over-usage was having children. There's nothing quite like the mountains of toys and bits and pieces that only seem to be enjoyed during the "opening" portion of a birthday present. Then I'd notice curiously that my kids would receive far more hours of enjoyment over a cardboard box. It's less about the material itself, but that kids are suckers for brightly colored things. Once they get over the rush of tearing open the clam shell plastic packaging, they literally never play with it again. I'd end up filling large plastic Glad bags (the really large one for leaves) with bits and pieces of toys that, once torn asunder, were never decipherable again.

And then, there are the straws.

Typical way restaurants serve kids drinks.

You'd think that the entire nation, with its pernicious overuse of the Starbucks cups, was incapable of weaning itself from sucking a nipple. No wonder waiters knee-jerk response to anyone under five feet tall is to give them a cup with a plastic lid and a straw. The minute I walk into any kind of restaurant with my kids, the waiters immediately slap some individually packaged Crayola crayons on the table (Crayola, shame on you!), the kids menu and a cup with lids and drinking straws.

I'm sure they think they're doing me a favor. But my kids are not four and five years old, they're nine and ten. Even if they were four or five, whatever happened to a simple used tupperware tub designated for used crayons?

But this is one teensy-weensy battle in a much larger war, the Waterloo of which is the plastic water bottle itself. As a population, we are so obsessed with being hydrated that you would think we have just been admonished by Moses for the golden calf and sentenced to wandering in the desert for forty years again. We pay more for bottled water than gasoline. Never mind the fact that the droplets that condense on the inside of a water bottle and suck the toxins from the container go into children's bodies and hormones, elevating estrogen levels and god knows what else.

So, instead of merely whipping myself into a froth, I started a blog called "I Think I Hate Plastic" (www.Ithinkihateplastic.com) where I and a group of like-minded friends collect ditties about everything from hilarious Penn and Teller Videos, that gigantic plastic blob the size of Texas in the Pacific, to arguments over which is really is better is better at the grocery store, paper or plastic, etc.

I wasn't equivocating on the name because a part of me likes plastic so much as the fact that "Ihateplastic.com" url was taken (probably by Dupont in a preemptive strike). And even though I'm quite certain that I hate plastic, I love my sunglasses and I don't know how I might survive an operation without those plastic tubes coming out of my nose. So, let's just say it's complicated.

Nonetheless, I have in tiny ways and every day devoted my family's daily habits to weaning ourselves off this petroleum by-product that takes hundreds of years to decompose, leaves toxic waste when it does, and yet is totally overused for things meant to be disposable, thrown away, or only used once.

In addition to me and pressing my entire being against the "Hoover Dam of Sugar" (I am the damn, the sugar is the water attempting to engulf and obesify my children --another blog altogether), I am also doing a body block against the Hoover Dam of Plastic. I once told the kids they can only buy toys for their birthday that don't have plastic (try it, it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE). I send the crayons back. I ask them for their drinks in glass cups.

As I continue to twirl in mid-air performing Matrix-like karate kicks to keep as much plastic away as I can, I hope you join me in the fight. If more mothers join me, we can take a pick ax to the frozen sea of other moms who aren't simply hysterical with outrage over the plastic that pummels our children from every angle, restaurant and toy store shelf. Hmm... MothersAgainstPlastic.com, I better register that too. Happy Earth Day.

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First Person Artist is a weekly column by artist Kimberly Brooks in which she normally provides commentary on the creative process, color, fashion, technology and showcases artists' work from around the world. This week, however, in honor of Earth Day, she decided to write about plastic. Next week, she will feature an artist who provocatively illuminates global warming. Come back every Monday for more Kimberly Brooks.

Comments

[APEsphere]

I'm trying over time to rid our home of plastic that comes into contact with warm food, on the basis that leaching occurs most when plastics are warm, and then we ingest the food.

We have covered a few stories about this on our site, not least concerning BPA, of course. Eg: http://www.apesphere.com/story/745/2009/03/18/BPA_on_its_way_out_a_growing_consensus

Amazingly, although BPA has been struck out by regulators in Canada, and voluntarily removed from baby bottles in the US thanks to consumer pressure on retailers, the debate has barely got started in Europe.

Watch this space.

[witchiepoo]

we're the nuts at the restaurant who ALWAYS bring our child's own cup & reusable straw, along with a bucket of crayons. Have been doing this weekly all her life (well, since she started using a cup). Waitrons always seem delighted but surprised. Why haven't other people figured this out yet?

Also, we're starting to bring our own containers for take out & leftovers, since we NEVER touch styrofoam. It doesn't hurt to keep old tupperware in the car, especially since we don't use it in the kitchen any more (we're using Pyrex for the microwave).

Step#3 is, uh, not eating out so much. :)

[Garick]

You have a lot of valid points about how consumables have taken over. How we are more wasteful than we used to be. I think you criticism of plastic is misplaced, however. There is no doubt the cheapness of plastic has enabled this trend, but plastic is not the problem. Society needs to waste less. Society needs to waste less energy. Keeping a balanced view of plastic is important to not waste energy.

When I grew up, recycling was about land-use (filling up landfills) and protecting ecosystems. Now our ecosystems have a greater threat and we need slightly different goals to combat Global Warming.

We need to reduce our carbon usage. A paper bag is worse for GW than a plastic one. GW requres a re-alignment. Our goals should change. If we did rush to switch all packaging to paper we would _hurt the planet_ not help it.

We need to focus on Carbon cost and on the whole lifecycle. We need to focus on Re-use (like freecycle), and Reduce (waste reduction). We need to look at everything with fresh eyes and see the 'big picture'.

I walk to work, I freecycle. I reuse grocery bags. If I don't have a bag (it happens): I use plastic.

You never said you were describing how to save the planet, so my point is a bit unfair, but your post was a great indictment of Waste, but I think its focus on plastic is misplaced.

[qtpi410]

I started using canvas bags for my groceries years ago. My husband and friends looked at me like I am some kind of nut case. I can get my grocery order in 3 canvas bags.
Other "green' things I do, we have Hybrid cars, compost and recycle. Although some plastic items can not be recycled. As a ntaion we need to become more energy efficent and cut back on waste.

[plantguy]

I hope you bought a american made hybrid.

[SonofLiberty1]

I regularly have to purchase Nicorette for my 74 year old mother. She can't even open that package anymore..i­t's about 2 1/2 times the size of the box and is just unbelievable.

You would think that these companies would want to cut down right? Less plastic and more profit?

And the size of CD packaging?

[NotYouAgain]

It's not necessarily the plastic itself, but the entire throw away culture. Instead of designing objects to last, we have planned obsolescence, in order to keep production and sales going. Instead of buying quality tools, often made of metal, we go get plastic ones that often won't last the initial usage. Now quality costs a bit more upfront, but it's far better than replacing an object a half dozen times and having a portion of each of those items end up in a landfill.

I have handtools that date back to before 1900. I have a small garden hoe that is at least 60 years old and was loved by my mother. It's not just antiques, it's the quality and comfort in them, plus they have more of a "soul" than a cheap plastic item would.

We have more oversize plastic packaging on store shelves than we could ever use. Why? Because a small package isn't as easy to spot by the potential purchaser and the fear of theft by the store owner. Are either one that great of excuses for the waste?

[WYHKTai-Tai]

The "Garbage Patch" you spoke of in the Pacific Ocean is much bigger than Texas, I've read it is 4 times the size of Alaska.

Yes, this is a gargantuan problem, but the good thing is, it is something everyone can do to easily chip away at. Re-useable grocery bags, once I got used to remembering to bring them along, became far preferable than the flimsy plastic bags. google "ReSackle". most store sell them now for $1-$2. even Walmart has huge mesh ones.
Metal water bottles/sport bottle also keep the water colder for longer and can be refiilled.

There are some companies making these things now, cute, & fashionable; again, when You get used to them, you don't want to go back to disposeables.

Starbucks and some of the other coffee shop chains offer a discount if you bring in your owm mug to fill. I have a metal "travel" mug that I bought there. It has a plastic sippy cup lid, but I figure it's less damaging than getting a new cup each time, and I've been using it for 4 years now.

I also try shopping for veggies at the local farmers markets, they taste soooo much better.

Any other ideas?

[mzrecycle]

Love your comments. I got my first set of canvas grocery bags in the late 70's or early 80's. So many granola bar labels and I got them for a couple of dollars. I would love it if baggers knew how to load them! They continue to put only 2-3 items per bag like they do with plastic. My Wal-Mart store won't bag for you if you use your own bags. There is clearly more to do in the process of getting the public away from plastic of all types.

[quidam56]

Mountains of plastic come from mountains of mountains.

China regulates U.S. 350 million year old Appalachian Mountains are being bombed, blasted and bulldozed right into 3rd world America for the coal which is exported to China to power their Empire yet here in King Coal Country the schools are so old and outdated they can't even power up the latest technology kids in Appalachia deserve to compete on a global scale. Their schools are infested with MRSA ( Methicillin Resistant Staphyloccus Aureaus ) Their rivers run toxic with high concentrates of aluminum, iron and manganese plus on top of that high levels of e-coli. The trade off is so we can go to walmart and buy cheap toxic crap that will make them sicker than they are.

Hannity's America sure isn't My America. He says Bush kept U.S. safe from terrorism ? What he's done to our environment and landscape is a crime - I call it TOXIC TERRORISM.

http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138

[kimmisner]

I have quickly come to the same realizations about plastic. My mother seems to think that kids need plastic, battery-operated, noisy toys to be happy. My mother-in-law prefers giving the baby dry, food-coloured rice and a spoon so she can shovel away at it. The rice game wins hands-down when it comes to keeping my daughter occupied.

We've tried doing as much as possible without plastic, but it's everywhere. What's ridiculous is that many companies (such as Plantic) have figured out how to manufacture completely biodegradeable plastic packaging on a large scale, but no one is buying it. It's sad to say, because they usually make everything worse, but our governments need to intervene before it's (even more) too late.

[plantguy]

I remember when the consumer wanted plastic bottles and toys because we can recycle and not waste. Thats why things need to slow down and be studied.

[kendraro]

the plastic that drives me crazy (ok, crazier) is the stuff that I have to rip out of my mixed paper recycling - the stupid plastic protectors they put on the tissue box and the little plastic windows on the tampon box - hello! we know what the tampons look like! at least with pasta boxes you can understand they are trying to make it easier for the shopper - but we got along for decades without seeing our tampons - suddenly now we need to?

[marlovian]

Has anyone ever witnessed a child using one of those plastic, backyard play-sets that infest this country like a plague of mini-multi-colored detention centers.

[gwhizz]

No, but otters love them. Check out the otter cam at the monterey aquarium!
:D

[fleaba]

I agree. I might add all those extra "gift bags" expected at children's birthday parties.

[CR46]

I think that while we need to get rid of our overabundance of plastics. As far as childrens things go, I think we need a war on disposable diapers!

[humble liberty]

I got a free reusable shopping bag yesterday.

Wrapped in plastic. *sigh* If I can touch a napkin I can touch a bag for sale.