A Day Without Plastics- Hannah Manninen, 307, Tiffany Grade

Question:
Can I, Hannah Manninen, last twenty-four hours without the use of any item being or containing plastic?

Hypothesis:
There is a vast amount of doubt in my mind, but with all optimism, I believe I can last at least ten hours.

Experiment:
In an attempt to make this challenge a bit easier, I scan my house and room for anything that may disrupt my chance of surviving a day without plastic. I will be doing the challenge on a Sunday to get the best results. Besides that, I just hoped for the best.

Procedure:
I wake around 10 a.m., without the help of any alarm clock because I was allowing myself to sleep in. My sheets had been removed from my bed, and I used two comforters instead. Good thing I planned in advance. Upon entering the bathroom, I see my old, plastic shower, but simply laugh because I wasn’t going to worry about that during this day. I debated using my toothbrush, but decided on some gum instead. I’m a hygienic person, but this was about dedication, and I wasn’t about to give up this early.

It was time for breakfast, and luckily I could fall back on a banana and Clementine to munch on. Then came the typical Sunday morning talk with the roommates, all while avoiding plastic. Lunch however, wasn’t going to be so easy. I decided on some buttered noodles, but NOT to my surprise, the noodles come in plastic. What a shocker, right? Thankfully I have four awesome roommates who were willing to boil some noodles for me.

Next, it was onto the main part of my day, which I knew was going to be the hardest. What to do, what to do, oh, what to do? Laptop-out of the question, phone-that’s a no go, television-we don’t even get cable, homework-not my favorite, but my options were running dry. Homework started out fairly well, I had a set of readings that I needed to do, which were just print outs so I didn’t have to worry about plastic notebooks or folders.

It gets to be 5 p.m. and I’m still going strong. I decide to read a book for a while so that I was less likely to mess up my challenge. My roommate made dinner for the house, so once again, I lucked out in the food department. It was nearing 7 p.m. and I knew that my time was running out. I had exhausted my list of homework items that could be done without plastic and was forced into using my laptop.

Conclusion: I’m pleased to say that I lasted approximately nine hours without using anything containing plastic. Though I could have gone longer, I had a ton of homework waiting to get finished. We all know how that goes.

Discussion: This wasn’t easy, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my roommates. It helps you to realize a lot of things that you may want to invest in, such as water bottles, toothbrushes, etc. that aren’t made with plastic. It wouldn’t be easy, but I think with a lot of dedication and the right items, you could use a lot less plastic in your everyday life.