Plastic Not Fantastic

Plastic Not Fantastic

So the news today reports that 40 major companies have signed up to some agreement about the reduction of single use plastic.

Straight away my brain engaged gnashibility mode.

The problem is so mind numbingly huge it is beyond comprehension.

My immediate thought is, why are we doing this? Why are we happily picking up bits of plastic we know are destroying our planet?

The answer is we have little choice. We are trapped by the conglomerates that provide us with our daily needs.

I have looked on line at the ways to stop using plastic and to be honest I could not afford to do it. I would love to shop at Farmers markets, find alternatives to household cleaning goods, but commodities that are not wrapped up in layers of plastic.

Even recycling is not an option because most of the damned stuff cannot be recycled (according to m local council, who refuse most of it). At first my Green everyday refuse bin suddenly became almost empty when I first got my lovely blue recycling bin. Then gradually I was informed that I could put less and less in it.

Even the stuff we do send to recycling is not really being reused. Its being sent to landfill where it blows into our waterways and ends up in our seas.

The answer is simple. Stop using all unrecyclable plastic. Ban the lot, then we will not have to think what can or cannot be sorted. Of course this is not possible because of cost and production difficulties.

We have dug a huge plastic grave for ourselves over the last 50 years. It was my generation that did it and if the next generation cannot find and answer there will not be many more generations on this planet.

Even if we find an answer it will take another 50 years to clean up the mess.

I will add to this subject as I try to find solutions to using plastic in my own household.