Plastic. It’s been quite the topic of conversation in recent years, and for good reason!
More and more people are becoming aware of the reasons plastics are bad. Once your eyes are opened to all the horrors plastics involve, it’s easy to get carried away in wanting to purge every single piece of it from your life.
Unfortunately, as we’ve discussed in a few previous articles, just throwing out everything you currently have and replacing it all with zero waste alternatives is actually counter-productive. It should take time to slowly build up a home filled with zero waste alternatives, but when do you know exactly when the correct time to purge is?
Different products degrade at different rates, and as we know, plastics can leech microplastics into our food, so it can be hard to draw the line between remaining environmentally conscious, and unnecessarily consuming microplastics.
Of course, the main factor in buying new products is always going to be cost. If you don’t have the money to revamp your storage containers, all the wanting to in the world won’t make a difference. Money, like most other things, can sometimes take years to save up. But just because you have to wait a little longer than someone else to replace the plastics in your home, does not mean you care any less!
I’ve been on my own zero waste journey for about 5 years now, and I still have plastic containers in my home. I’m not exactly proud of them – and a little sad some of my friends and family didn’t respect my wishes as some of them were gifts – but I’m not going to toss out perfectly usable containers, either. I need them!
At the time when I no longer need them and are ready to switch, if they’re still in good condition, I’ll donate them to a second hand/thrift store. So someone else can get a good use out of them. Yes, plastic is bad, but it’s worse to just dump it in a landfill. It’s perfectly usable, so might as well get as much use out of it as we can.
“But Ater,” you ask, “aren’t you worried about consuming microplastics from your containers?” And the truth is, I’m not, really. Maybe I should be – or maybe I’m just not as good of an environmentalist as I think – but I don’t really think about my impact, or that my plastic containers are ‘bad’, unless I’m writing an article.
It’s not like I’m horrified every time I open my cabinet and have to put food away. I just know there’s nothing I can immediately do about it, so it’s kind of like… why bother worrying, you know? Living with all that anxiety day in and day out isn’t actually helping, and I’d even argue, it’s probably not good for you. Like, mentally.
Telling yourself you’re a failure, or ‘not doing enough’ or whatever, is going to do nothing but upset you. It’s not going to change your circumstances. You can’t berate yourself into making more money.
You have to keep living while you work toward your zero waste plan, and sometimes that will mean continuing to do or use things you’ve changed your mind about. But, doing things practicably, and in a way that allows you the easiest transition is a smarter way to do things.
You also don’t want to burn out by doing too much too soon. I hate to use the example, but it’s like the frog slowly being boiled in a pot. Do things slowly, gradually, and then you’ll hardly notice a change once you’re on the other end.
This also helps keep the excitement going. As your plastic containers begin to degrade, or break, you can get excited about buying a replacement.
And, it allows you time to research!
Don’t just buy a glass container because that’s what the influencers on Instagram have. Get a zero waste alternative that works for you. Is glass really your best option, or would you benefit more from a non-breakable replacement, like stainless steel?
All that said, only you can decide when is the ‘correct’ time to replace your containers. Some people say plastic containers only last 1 year, some say 10, or even longer! It depends on so many factors, there’s no one definitive answer. If they start showing signs of wear and tear – such as scratches, holes or cracks – and/or begin to hold onto food scents even after properly washing, those would be good signs it’s time to say goodbye, whether they’ve reached the ‘proper’ time or not.
Different lifestyles require different rules. You have to find the ones that work for you.
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