Plastic: in the end, how we did.

June is over and we're now allowed to buy toilet paper and dish soap again. It's a bit irksome that it's impossible to acquire basic necessities without also acquiring a container that will be with us way past the lifespan of the product. In addition to our previously posted "sin list," I will confess to acquiring the following:

- An unseen plastic seal on an otherwise metal-lidded glass jar
- 3 plastic bags
- 2 medication packages (diarrhea gets old but quick.)
- 5 lids on otherwise non-plastic containers
- 18 buttons (technically durable goods, but still...)
- Saran Wrap (!)

While some of these were humblingly avoidable, we couldn't find a way around others.

The point of this month, however, was not to feel bad about mistakes but rather to heighten our awareness of our consumer plastic consumption. It forces me to ask: is what I'm about to purchase actually a necessity? Is there a creative way to solve this problem, a way that doesn't need that plastic push? It also helped me see the patterns in my purchasing and work toward alleviating those demands. It's true that I won't be able to cut out my plastic usage entirely, but simple changes can have a long-lasting impact (e.g., think of how many yogurt containers I didn't buy since I started making my own).

As Alexis pointed out, the ability to generate trash is sometimes a sign of upward mobility: it's no accident that it's much easier to be plastic-free here in Dezam, the least-affluent place we've ever lived. For those of us who aspire to live simply so that all may simply live, maybe the ubiquity of plastic can remind us that we are among the haves of the world. And maybe taking steps to reduce our consumption can be an act of creative solidarity with those who don't have the option of paper or plastic.