Bummed out at the beach
this morning was glorious. i got down to the ocean and had the sweet fortune of taking a early morning walk. it was me, about 4 surfers, 5 other walkers that i passed along the way, tons of birds and ... plastic!
i really did have a lovely walk. it was chilly, but not cold. the sounds of the waves spread peace in my soul. i breathed in the freshest air los angeles has to offer. but i was thoroughly disturbed by the amount of plastic on the beach.
the photo above doesn’t even do it justice. that shows some of the larger pieces, the take out cups, plastic bags, & container lids. what you can’t see are the hundreds of straws i saw on my 1 hour walk. hundreds!!! there are oodles of plastic bottle lids and just general broken down plastic that you can’t tell what it once was, but you know it will never biodegrade and when it does break down just leaches contaminants into our world. it saddened me as every step i took was next to yet more plastic. i saw seagulls fighting over a plastic bag they thought was food and i saw birds actually eating styrofoam cups.
i am deeply affected by the sight and although i am a recycler, i will definetly up the anti now.
remember REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.
there are three parts to that. many of us are pretty good at recycling, but do you reduce your use? do you reuse? remember not to drink from plastic and reuse them in this way - the plastic leaches harmful chemicals into your water.
*buy a filter that you have on your sink at home. there are many out there that do a great job of filtering your tap water so you can fill up a stainless steel or glass container in order have water throughout the day that is cleaner than bottled water and a heck of a lot cheaper in the long run.
*look at packaging and reconsider buying something if it is all packaging and no product. if you have a product you love that does this, write to the company with your concerns.
*there are steel containers you can buy for lunches and transporting food so that the plastic doesn’t leach into your food.
*cover your food with a napkin when microwaving instead of using plastic wrap.
*buy glass or bamboo cutting boards. bamboo or metal utensils.
*bring utensils with you so you don’t have to use a plastic fork/knife.
*if you garden you can cut off the tops of plastic containers and use them as a mini hothouse for seedlings. it also protects them from bugs.
*wash out and reuse plastic baggies a few time. this also saves you money. or just don’t use plastic baggies. maybe buy some containers that you don’t throw out after one use.
i could go on for some time here. so many little steps that we can each take in order to reduce the use of plastic. maybe you will feel inspired to try to help me keep the plastic out of our homes and out of our oceans.
always,
christel joy