Charles White

This action wasn't difficult at all! I normally get to the airport with enough time to sit down for a meal. It's nice to take some time to sit down and eat instead of being in a rush. After all, I think being in a rush is why the "convenience" of plastic seems so alluring. If we weren't in a rush and took our time reflecting on our choices, I think we'd be using a lot less plastic.

I get hit with a bunch of teeny tiny pieces of single use plastic. For example, the little plastic plug thing on a milk carton, the shrinkwrap around the lid of a glass kimchi jar, plastic lids on yogurt containers that aren't quiiiite big enough to be recyclable. One solution to these would be to use glass jars for the milk, and then I could make my own yogurt! And I could always learn to make my own kimchi, so I can start from scratch and make sure no plastic is used. I think my total impact would be small, but the change would add up over time!

In my experience, when I'm picking up litter I can't help but start to notice how much of it there is! It cannot be unseen. There is a bit of pride that comes with pitching in to make my community a better place, but there's also a bit of embarrassment that there's litter in the community in the first place. 

Behind each piece of litter there's a story, and if we spend some time pondering the story I think some solutions may become apparent. For example, a lot of litter I find is made up of cigarette butts! What about the butts makes people think it's okay to toss? Should manufacturers stop making filters? Should there be more enforcement and writing tickets to litterers? Should cigarettes be taxed even further to pay for cleanup?

I think produce started getting more and more plastic packaging for a couple different reasons. First, plastic packaging makes getting the produce home just a bit more convenient, think lettuce greens, pre-chopped veggies, etc. Second, there is, to some extent, an illusion of things in packaging being more "clean" or "sanitary." Additionally, most people aren't personally responsible for managing the plastic themselves, it either goes in the garbage or recycling - out of sight out of mind. 

I think the plastic packaging ultimately serves oil+gas and chemical companies, who profit from every little bit of plastic that's made and sold. It does provide some level of convenience to the retailer and customer, but that convenience isn't necessarily needed - after all, people got by just fine without tons of plastic packaging no more than two generations ago!