Using Alternatives to Decrease my Carbon Footprint!

It was so hard to do this challenge, but I was able to accomplish not using disposable plastics for 2 full days. Doing a challenge like this allows you to be exposed to a new way of living and how what you do every day can affect you in the long run. I realized that my roommate and I were using a lot of disposable plastics and I wanted to see what we could do without them for 2 days. These are some of the things that we were using on a daily basis:

  

We would use the plastic forks/spoons and plates for any food that we were heating up or using as protection from the food spilling over in the microwave. Even after using it for something as simple as that we still would just throw the plates and forks away after we used them and didn't really think of the impact that we are having on the world. Even the wrapping that protects the cups, forks/spoons, and plates are all plastic as well and once we open the packages we just throw the plastics right out. I knew that taking away this plastics were going to be a hard experience especially not being able to use plastic bags at stores because those are the easiest ways to carry out your groceries. I thought I was doing myself and the world a service by accumulating all the bags I use and saving them but in the end I realized that I don’t need them and end up throwing them out like other disposable plastics. 

My alternatives to disposable plastics were very easy to accumulate and very easy to swap out in my everyday life. It’s sometimes hard to remember to grab your recyclable bag on your way out the door but I found that by hanging it on the door the day before I went shopping I automatically grabbed the bag. Knowing that i was making a change in my life jut by using an alternative to plastics was a great feeling. These are my alternatives that I used to eliminate disposable plastics out of my life for 2 days:          

 

these are still things that i use everyday but instead use the very cheap and accessible items instead. Knowing how much of a difference little things like this makes in the world really encourages me to do this everyday which will be a hard but well worthy challenge. 

Overall, this was a wonderful experience and challenge to myself to see how committed I can be and how receptive I am to change. I have made a change in the world and in my own life just by trying something new and I will be to sure to encourage all my friends and family to try the same thing. The only way to change is through word of mouth so I will let everyone I know or come across of the changes that could occur if we just swap a few things out of our lives. This was an eye-opening experience and should be encouraged in classrooms around the world to see the impact that we could have on the world just by participating in a 2 day event.  

                                                                                                            - Charnele McIntosh