Plastic: Keep It Coming...But Also, Make It Stop!
This is about a two-week haul of plastic bags at the shop. 74 pounds. And we have such mixed feelings.
On the one hand, we are so glad to keep this plastic out of the landfill!
And on the other, we are so mad that this much plastic is out there to be recycled at all!
This is just the "standard" plastic bags (like grocery and bread bags) gathered from a relatively small number of people in one city. Think how much we would collect if we went to every home in Topeka. Or the U.S. Or the world.
Plastic is out of control.
So we're thankful for the little things that help us feel like we're doing something to rein it in:
- People who recycle their plastic rather than throw it away.
- Full Circle volunteers Kaylyn and Monica, who haul the plastic bags off to be recycled.
- Households that don't need to recycle as much plastic because they've started refusing bags and purchasing things without packaging when possible.
We're halfway through "Plastic Free July" and nowhere near solving our plastic problem. But every bag or container refused, reused, or recycled is progress and puts us a few ounces closer to a less wasteful world.
So keep the plastic coming...and also, keep doing what you can to make it stop!
-Justine
