Dear Unconscious Consumer:
It is December 19th and Milwaukee enjoyed an unusual temperature of 48 degrees today. I headed to South Shore to get in a winter #CatchOfTheDayMKE. I decided to hit the beach South of my usual spot knowing there would be an opportunity for a bigger catch in a concentrated area and I only had a couple hours to spare.
My bucket in hand and stocked with several bags I made my way down the path to the shore. As soon as my feet hit the sand the dance began. Now mind you, throughout the summer I have spent a total of 34 days (an average of 2.5 hours each of those days) picking up plastic from this shore line in Bay View. I knew what I was in for, or so I thought.
Today, after bending and squatting for about an hour I started to feel a heaviness inside. I stood there looking over the shore and felt a tear roll down my cheek. I couldn’t get the image of the crying Indian out of my head – the one that was in the Keep America Beautiful PSA that aired in the early 1970’s. Then suddenly I just had to release some obscenities. I was angry and disappointed. Letting off some steam was not only a relief, it also made me more determined. I spent a total of 2.5 hours picking up plastic today. I could have spent the entire day and not even cleaned half of the small stretch of shoreline I was on.
The photos in this blog are from today. THIS…America….is YOUR backyard. This is what has permeated our landfills, is swimming in our waterways and choking its inhabitants and slowly poisoning us. This is what unconscious consumerism has created.
The majority of plastic I find is single use plastic. Items that were created for convenience…YOUR convenience. Our world is all about supply and demand. If you do not use this, there would be no need to manufacture it.
You may not personally relate to this, you may not see how you contribute to this (i.e. unconscious consumer). Once you know the information I am sharing you can’t un-know it. Once you see what I picked up from the shore in only 2.5 hours you can’t un-see it. So, sit back, get comfortable, grab a cup of your favorite cold or hot beverage because here is where I bore you with some facts. If your beverage of choice is a cold one it most likely came with a plastic straw that you didn’t even have to ask for, how convenient! That plastic straw you just used for a few minutes will now be in the environment for millions of years. The world uses one billion unrecyclable plastic straws a day. 
companies, excluding Coca-Cola, use a combined average of just 6.6% of recycled plastic globally (Coca-Cola uses 7%). Rather than being recycled into new bottles, the vast majority of beverage bottles are exported to plastic manufacturers in emerging markets and used to make synthetic fabrics for clothing. Yes America, the clothes you are wearing are now made from plastic bottles. The U.S. exports one third of its recycling and nearly half of it goes to China. Effective January 2018 there will be even less plastic recycled because China (our largest purchaser of recyclable plastic bottles) will no longer accept our plastic.
Think about this..read more here:
Well maybe the beverage you are enjoying right now is a hot beverage. Brewing at home with a coffee pod brewer? Almost 10 billion individual coffee pods (k-cups) were sold in the last year and that number continues to rise. Even their inventor, John Sylvan regrets creating them (we should ship all the used ones to his house). Some of the newer generation k-cups are recyclable, but you have to take them apart and separate the plastic, compost the coffee grounds and dispose of the top. So much for your quick convenience. Getting your hot beverage from a coffee shop? Styrofoam cups are not recyclable and many plastic lids are made of polystyrene, a Grade 6 plastic which is the denser form of Styrofoam, also not recyclable. Starbucks goes through 4 billion to-go cups annually but most of them end up in the landfill. Why? Even though these cups are mostly made of paper, these single-use items are almost never recycled or composted because they are lined with plastic.So maybe you already have an awareness of the problems with plastic and so you look for companies that use disposable ‘green’ items. You see them as compostable or biodegradable cups or straws. This too can be misleading because many of these green products need specific conditions to break down naturally like being heated to over 120 degrees and in landfills there is not enough oxygen for them to break down fully. Disposable green items that we use once and throw away are not the answer – we have to use less plastic.
It is estimated that 8.3 billion tons of virgin plastic has been produced to date. With current production 12 billion tons will be in landfills/environment by 2050. Plastic is in our life and it is here to stay. The majority of plastic waste is throwaway or single use items.
With all that liquid you’ve been drinking to get to this point, you probably need to take a break and run to the bathroom. While you are in there…check to see how much single use plastic you have. Look at those cotton swabs with the plastic stick – they were originally designed with paper sticks…why not switch back to those? How about that toothbrush that the ADA (American Dental Association) recommends you change every 3 months? Tampons with plastic applicators? (the original applicator was also paper) How about your dental floss? Did some smart advertising agency convince you that dental floss was just not efficient enough so you switched to the individual plastic dental floss picks that you now have to purchase more often and spend more money on? How about all those beauty products in plastic tubes, jars and bottles you have been programmed to believe you need?
Okay, by now I am sure you have to go check on the kids…it got a little quiet in their room didn’t it? Never a good sign. While you are checking in on them take a look at all the plastic toys they have. Where will they all end up in 6 months when they lose interest in them?
With everything we have covered so far, it can be draining and by now I am sure you are getting a little hungry so go ahead and grab a snack to hold you over while I finish this up. It sure is convenient having all those individually wrapped snacks for a quick grab and go!
Dear Conscious Consumer:
Well hello….so glad you crossed over from the dark side of plastic. Welcome to the new enlightened side of living. And now that I have your awareness, let me share some simple changes you can make so I can return to lovely walks along the lake taking pictures of nature instead of this:
With all your new-found awareness you can start to save the planet by making some of these simple changes right in your own neighborhood:
- Refuse plastic bags when shopping. It is so easy to take your own shopping bags and you can get them in all kinds of fun sizes, styles and colors (or just plain ones too, if that’s your thing).
- Stop putting produce in plastic bags, its nature for heaven’s sake, you don’t have to cover them up. But if you are embarrassed by their nakedness, then get reusable produce bags.
- Buy boxes instead of bottles. Often, products like laundry detergent come in cardboard which is more easily recycled than plastic.
- Shop the bulk section, where else can you spill stuff all over the floor and not have to clean it up yourself. I bring my mason jars and fill them up!
- Use a reusable bottle or mug for your beverages, even when ordering from a to-go shop. Keep a travel mug (or two) in your car.
- Bring your own container for take-out or for your restaurant doggy-bag since many restaurants use Styrofoam.
- Don't use plasticware at home and be sure to request restaurants do not pack them in your take-out box.
- Ask your local grocer to take your plastic containers (for berries, tomatoes, etc.) back. If you shop at a farmer’s market they can refill it for you.
- Make fresh squeezed juice or eat fruit instead of buying juice in plastic bottles. It's healthier and better for the environment.
- Pack your lunch in reusable containers and bags. Also, opt for fresh fruits and veggies and bulk items instead of products that come in single serving cups.
Still feel it is too overwhelming to change your personal convenience habits? I invite you to save the photos I have shared with you and revisit them often. Blow them up, hang them around the house, (you know you have been wanting to redecorate anyway), share them with family and friends. Examine the items in these photos and remember that in 2.5 hours this is how much of your convenience I gathered.
Well, now it must be awfully close to meal time which means you are probably losing your focus. I have one more very big favor to ask of you.
Yep, that’s right, you suck and you know it. If you change only one thing, make it this and stop sucking. Stop using plastic straws, even in restaurants. If a straw is a must, purchase a reusable stainless steel or glass straw. You have to be proactive on this one. When at a restaurant be sure to tell them no straw. Now that you have this awareness, you will be shocked at how many places automatically give you a straw. Sometimes even I am caught off guard and forget to mention it. If I am at a restaurant that gives me a straw automatically I talk to them about it or I leave one of these handy little cards with my payment:
Seattle had a very successful campaign to remove single use plastic straws and it is my intention to do the same for Milwaukee. Watch this PSA…its hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q91-23B8yCg
The following Milwaukee restaurants have already made the pledge to #stopsucking in 2018 so please support them!
207 W. Freshwater Way ~ Milwaukee (3rd Ward)
5133 S. Lake Drive ~ Cudahy
2473 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue ~ Bay View
To follow my #stopsucking campaign follow me on Facebook at catchofthedayMKE
If you are a restaurant that wants to take part in the #stopsucking campaign 2018 please email me at marla_schmidt@yahoo.com
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