How does one go through a day without plastics? This morning I was awaken by the alarm on my phone, which is plastic. I would have slept until I naturally wake up, however I had to get to the airport. The minute I woke up I realized there was no way that I would complete the plastic challenge. I was about the enter a day filled with more plastic than typical, so instead of writing about my attempt to not use plastic I will document my daily encounters with plastic. This day in particular I came in contact with a lot more plastic than usual.
After spending a weekend in North Carolina my adventure back home to the lovely state of Wisconsin is underway. I am currently sitting on an airplane and the amount of plastic surrounding me is ridiculous. Before I get to that however, I will go back to my first waking moments. As I stumbled out of bed I went to the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth with my plastic toothbrush, squeezed the toothpaste out of the plastic container, and washed my face with soap from a plastic bottle. Not only that but I applied my make up, all of which was contained in plastic containers. I put my glasses on (also made of plastic) and continued down the stairs where I turned on the plastic coffee maker. As I sit here writing all these plastic things down I cannot believe I never thought of how much plastic we rely on a daily basis. It is literally in EVERYTHING we use and consume. I will discuss more on that issue later but now I must continue my morning journey with plastics. After I was all packed my best friend Josi and I jumped in the car (full of plastics) and headed on our way to Raleigh, NC. On the drive I looked out the window to see the highway littered with plastic. Plastic bottles, bags, containers, everything and anything you could think of. I also will note the hundreds of orange barriers that line the streets during construction. I wonder how much plastic those things use up! Josi’s little plastic car got us to Raleigh in about two hours, but not after a quick stop to get food. I got an iced tea, in a plastic cup of course. We also got out of the car to gas up using the plastic gas pump.
When we finally arrived at the airport I knew that this blog entry was going to be particularly hard, yet interesting to write. There was no way for me to avoid plastic completely on a day like today, but I feel that this will make it all the more fascinating. Literally everywhere I looked there was plastic. All the security systems are made of plastic. The waiting chairs are plastic, the computers and TV monitors are plastic. The little golf cart carrying handicapped passengers to their gate is plastic, the bathrooms are mostly plastic, literally EVERYTHING is plastic. I have never really realized to what extent the world is made of plastic. We would be lost without plastic; it is a massive part of our existence.
I am now sitting on the airplane writing this entry into my laptop. My plastic laptop that is. The desk that my computer is wresting on is plastic, as well is the diet coke cup that is next to it. The man in front of me is using his plastic headphones. The seats are made of some vinyl and the walls of the plane are completely plastic. The overhead bins are plastic as well. My armrest is also plastic. When I take a look around me I can be fairly confident in saying that 90% or more of this plane is made of plastic. The stewardess just came around and took my empty plastic bottle of coke, I am curious to know if they recycle.
I’m sure my journey with plastic will not end here. As soon as I get off the plane I will get into another plastic car and travel to my home where I will encounter even more plastics. It is hard to envision what our world would look like without plastics. Would everything be some sort of metal, or would it be wood? Would we be as technologically advanced if we didn’t have plastic? Would a substitute form of plastic be developed? Is there still time for a substitute plastic to be developed? What will we do with all of the plastic when we are done with it?
There are so many questions that I would love to ask someone of the future.
I would love to look down on the earth in 500 years and see what has become of it. If human civilization were to end in the next ten years what would happen to all the plastics? When we dug up ancient civilizations we find beautiful pottery and tools. Would future residents find plastics everywhere? Would they remain and slowly decompose over time or would they stand till the end of time as a reminder of the life we lived? I am going to make a bold statement and say that plastics is a definition of the life we live. We are a society that today would not survive without plastics or a plastic substitute. How did we get so dependent on plastic? There are so many unanswered questions I will never find the answer to.
Jenna Harmsen
TA: Vanessa 306
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