Eliminating Plastic: Is it possible?

Heather Gwaltney — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 19:08:04 +0000

My attempt at eliminating single-use plastic led to unexpected results.

In the beginning

I started my journey to eliminate single-use plastic, in particular, as part of the “Plastic Free July Pledge” that I invited people to take last month through the Center for Mindful Business. I started the month of July with excitement and more exuberance than any other holiday, such as 4th. A family member even told me that if I were that excited about Plastic-Free July, I needed ‘to get a life’. Although, I laughed and could understand her perspective, I was un phased. You see, I am the type of person who picks recycling out of the garbage – at other people’s homes!

Plastic Pollution by the UN Environment Program

When disillusionment crept in

Being the good little sustainability champion that I am, I thought this would be a relatively easy task; I already didn’t use plastic water bottles! It was not. My first and easiest commitment was to not get take-out food for the month. I perceived this as a challenging endeavor but was willing to try. Then, I started thinking about groceries. Aside from the occasional berry and herb, my roommate and I don’t grow much of our own food. Then I thought, “shit, what about my green juice that comes in a large plastic bottle? What about my soy cheese that’s wrapped in plastic? How will I get anything frozen that’s not wrapped in plastic?...What did other people do before there was plastic packaging?” What came to mind were butchers, milk men, and delis. -Also, the need to cook things from scratch, but now even meat is encased in plastic! Cleaning products. Shampoo and hand soap. Almost all in plastic. It’s everywhere!

Mindfulness and Sustainability by Jennifer Hannum, Founding Partner of Center for Mindful Business

What now?

To my dismay, I concluded that I could not, in fact, entirely remove single-use plastic from my life. Unless I were living “off the grid” and growing my own food, etc., it would be impossible. The elimination of plastic requires two main factors: 1) considerable behavioral change on the part of individuals and communities as well as 2) large-scale infrastructure changes by municipalities in terms of laws and companies who package products.

There is hope

So, where does that leave us? It’s not entirely discouraging and overwhelming. What I say in my classes and remind myself of is “the best way to incite change is to model the behavior we would like to see – to the degree that we can.” Reducing plastic is far better than relying on it primarily, for instance, with water bottles. Recycling also helps, and yet requires a tremendous number of resources and work from humans to address. Lastly, if you care about this issue and do what you can, remember to “meet yourself where you are” and “accept all that is.” These are two Mindfulness Meditation guiding principles. We are accountable for our own actions and yet live in a system where plastic is pervasive. Other things you can do are purchase things that will last (your money is power!), educate yourself, and talk to people about it.

END PLASTICS by Earth Day

Center for Mindful Business is here to help companies

Thousands of companies worldwide have been achieving greater and more sustained success by adding social and environmental impacts to their profit bottom line. Benefits to companies that implement these practices include sustained increased financial returns, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement as well as reduced employee turnover and customer attrition and the ability to recruit top talent. Center for Mindful Business helps your company achieve these benefits with three courses that integrate Mindfulness Meditation with Sustainability/ESG practices and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) metrics and reporting. With this, organizations are better positioned to be healthier and more successful from the inside out. Learn more. Book your fee 15-min. call to see if we can help your organization.

Book Your Free 15-Min. Call