Andrea Leibrandt

Environmental Studies 113

Section 309

Plastic Challenge

Before I embarked on this challenge I did a lot of research to make sure I spent my entire day without plastic. First I picked the day. I wanted to do the challenge on a normal school day to see what my typical usage was. I wanted this day to be a bit of a struggle, not a cautious battle.

After I picked which day I wanted to go plastic-less, I planned out what I would do the night before. I decided to take a shower at night, this allowed me to use al my toiletries. Then I picked out what clothes I was going to wear the next day. I picked out an all cotton dress and a pair of Ugg boots. Finding underwear was a bit more challenging and since I didn't have the time to order a pair of cotton underwear, I decided to nix that part of my daily routine. I also only used a paper composition notebook and non-mechanical pencil and put those in my 100% cotton canvas bay. I also pulled cash the night before so I didn't have to use my wisccard to get food, as we as buying and packing my lunch in a paper bag. My lunch consisted of all fruits because I wasn't able to find anything else without a plastic wrapper.

I had to enlist the help of my roommate for this project because I didn't want to use my iPod, MacBook, or phone. I had her be my alarm clock the day of my challenge. Unfortunately she isn't as reliable as an alarm clock and ended waking me up late. Getting ready in the morning consisted of me putting on the clothes I had picked out and going to class. I didn't uses makeup or brush my hair or teeth because that would all make me use plastic.

Walking to class wasn't a problem and getting into building wasn't a problem, but in some of my lecture halls the seats would be wooded but the desk tops would be plastic. I used my lap as a desk top that day. After class I didn't want to go back to my room because it reeks of plastic, so I decided to go to the Union and found a wooded chair and table to sit at where I could eat my lunch and read a book. Basically the only type of homework I was able to do that day was read. Mostly every other type of homework I have involves me to use my computer and I made sure I didn't use that.

I was a little hesitant to use my bed this day because of all the plastic in the bedding and on the mattress, but then I thought about how much plastic is in my rug and decided to give in and use my bed. I would say I spent the entire day avoiding plastic rather than trying not to use it. It wasn't as hard to go without my iPod, phone or computer but they were deeply missed. Also, some of my notebooks have plastic shells, so I wasn't able to use those during the day and I needed to. Some of the doors I noticed that I was entering had plastic lining and that made me a little hesitant, but the door handle was metal.

My day without plastic was a bit scary. Some obstacles I wasn't able to avoid but for the most part I feel like I was able to handle the plastic challenge. This is all do to the fact that I spent a lot of time the day before preparing for the day. Although I may have been successful, I couldn't imagine our world without plastic.