As I mentioned in my Purging Plastic post, I am temporarily saving all the plastic I use to, one, get an idea of how much plastic I actually go through on a regular basis and, two, identify where and how I can reduce that amount. I then intend to do the same thing while consciously making some simple changes to curb my plastic use. Let me start this update off by saying that I consider myself better than average when it comes to keeping my plastic use at a reasonable level. I don’t buy bottled water, I keep and reuse old plastic grocery bags, I use reusable canvas bags to carry my groceries, etc. However, despite these good habits, the plastic I have accumulated in the past week and a half is slowly taking over my kitchen and, therefore, I need to shorten the “status quo” stage of this experiment from the originally stated two weeks to a more manageable ten days. There, I said it. Doesn’t make me feel to good about my plastic use, but now I can finally get this crap out of my house…

As I discussed in my Biodegradable Plastic: An Oxymoron? post, plastic, despite being tremendously useful, presents a number of serious environmental problems. However, it has become such an integral part of our everyday lives that I really don’t think we even notice how much of it we use and dispose of on a daily basis. I’ve never thought about it much, but I’m willing to bet that I use more plastic than I think.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be addressing this very issue. For two weeks, I will simply go about my regular routine. However, I will keep all the plastic I use, so, at the end of the two weeks, I can actually see how much I typically go through and, ultimately, end up trashing (in a recycling bin, of course). Obviously, I will post the results, in the form of both pictures and statistics/lists for your viewing pleasure, here on Green Light Reflections.

Once I’ve done this, I will devote the following two weeks to much of the same, going through my regular routine and keeping the plastic I use. This time, though, I will do so while making a conscious effort to, within reason, minimize my plastic use, finding ways to go about my standard routine without a dependence on plastic. Once again, I’ll post the results here.

In doing this, I’ll get a real life idea of how much plastic an average (and I would say somewhat minimalist) person uses, and how simple it is to reduce that amount. Hopefully, when this experiment is over, I’ll have developed some new, environmentally friendly – and easy – habits that will stick with me for a long time.

Updates to come…