President’s Letter

By Lori Danielson

I’ve seen many news articles lately about the accumulation of plastic waste in our world. I despaired to learn that it never “goes away” or biodegrades, instead accumulating on land, in the ocean, inside birds, sea life and other animals, causing early deaths. And recently I read that microplastics have been found in people too. (1)

Although some American cities, states, and European countries are taking action to reduce their use of plastics, it is an enormous, worldwide problem. And as with other large environmental problems, like climate change, the scale of plastic pollution makes me feel helpless.

To fight my feeling of helplessness, I recently decided to reduce my own use of plastics. I started some actions years ago, like bringing reusable grocery and produce bags to the store with me. But after a glance in my refrigerator to see all the plastic packaging on my food, and another look in my garbage and recycling bins at the plastic thrown in those, I’ve decided to take more radical steps.

So, starting this month, I’m changing my purchasing habits to buy products that aren’t wrapped in plastic. I’m starting with food. I don’t think it will be easy, but I plan to follow advice provided by others who have gone before me. There are websites and books available to help me take the first steps. (2)

Will you join me? If you’ve already started reducing your own plastics footprint, I’d welcome hearing about the actions you’ve taken.

References:

[1] Gibbens, Sarah. (2019, June 5). You Eat Thousands of Bits of Plastic Every Year. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/06/you-eat-thousands-of-bits-of-plastic-every-year/

[2] Among the many websites are My Plastic Free Life (https://myplasticfreelife.com/) and Zero Waste Chef (https://zerowastechef.com/). Books include Plastic Free by Beth Terry and Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson.