Quitting Plastic: More Than Tree Huggers, More Than Plastic.
For the past few years, I’ve been involved in educational outreach initiatives in the form of concerts and beach cleanups throughout Hawai’i. These are always exciting, popular events with more and more community involvement each year. Kids and adults love to help, learn more about pollution and share images of themselves doing so on social media. Hawai’i’s ‘it’s cool to be kind’ attitude has played a major role in successful State-wide initiatives to ban single-use plastic, bring reusable containers to restaurants, and promote upcycled fashion. Introducing the open-minded and interested public to Climate Change is not too difficult of a task. People hear stories, see images of pollution in the media, receive viral videos of ‘that turtle with the straw in its nose’, and have a level of curiosity about what is being done, and subsequently, what they can do about it.
Sustainability educators preach that one million individuals making one small change is the bigger picture. The impact of a ‘ripple effect’ on families and communities starts on ‘day one’ of your own journey.
Then, I travel outside of my ‘climate friendly’, ‘tree-hugging’, ‘coral restoring’ bubble and am shocked, hurt and disappointed by not just ignorance, but often aversion to simple changes. Switching to reusable bags and water bottles, saying ‘no’ to a straw or little umbrellas in served drinks seems to be either a non-issue or on the other extreme, offensive in some areas, and I realize what a habitual sea of plastic the world really is.
What is to blame for such refusal? This issue is all over the news, sure, its one headline mixed in with wars, celebrity pedophilia scandals, and imminent crashing of the markets. Is ‘climate change’ just one ‘sky is falling’ headline diluted amongst others, desensitizing viewers? Is it that difficult to prioritize such a crucial change in this busy, unforgiving economy? Perhaps these headlines exist to provide an explanation as to why our favorite brands are updating their packaging to a brown paper. After all, we are passive consumers, not the ones creating the plastic…right?
I used to empathize with my immigrant parents, set in their ways, reusing Becel and yogurt containers as tupperware. They were doing their part in their own way. Fast fashion is accessible, my mom mends clothing, and anyone who knows the ‘crab in the bucket’ journey of a newcommer to a country knows they have bigger issues to prioritize. However, after years of begging for change in their household, I still return home to see plastic bags, and more evidence of consumerism mom would not want me to share publicly just to make an example out of her. Because it is not their fault as individuals. It is an attitude that needs to be fostered as a community, and underappreciated in the mainstream ‘eco-friendly’ movement; it is more than ‘single-use plastic’.
Tragedy of the commons is a concept used by environmentalists to reiterate this implication. We all share the earth, its resources and the consequences of their depletion. If one group pollutes the air, we will all experience the ill effects. Plastic being dumped into the ocean circulates, overfishing affects their populations and scientists have calculated projections of a future where there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.
Of course this concept is easier to forefront on an island, where consequences are shared by all, much like frequently running into your exes with their new partners even though you think you no longer run in the same circles. There is just no avoiding it. If an inlet is flooded with trash after a storm, the surfers, fishermen, divers will each pull soda cans, food containers and wrappers (all commonly found items) from their local spots. This, paired with attitudes of Indigenous people of Hawai’i, ‘Aloha Aina’ or ‘Malama Aina’, taking care of the land as she cares for you, has lead to great success in appealing to people, especially transplants and new residents.
Through the lens outside of this so-called bubble mentioned earlier, I have had to re-visit my understanding of climate solutions. The United Nations has declared 17 Sustainable Development Goals to address a ‘better future for all’. Objectives include access to education, gender equality, efficient infrastructure, human rights. Like the Commons mentioned earlier, Indigenous and small-island communities teach the connections of different systems; the water cycle raining resources and nutrients from mountains, through valleys, to the ocean. The life cycle of crops, hunting and gathering, wasting little and appreciating all. Therefore sustaining everyday needs.
The truth is, everyday citizens are making changes. Crucial, small, nanoscopic baby steps are happening. It is more difficult to see off-island, because there is simply, more to see, away from a less modernized more natural environment. Billboards, large-chain grocery stores, cut-up fruit wrapped in plastic, underserved populations, neighborhoods lacking access to necessary tools etc., but also a new interest in wellness, healthier less processed foods, buying from local and diverse sources, affordable healthcare, are becoming ever so slowly standardized.
Lifestyle changes I propose to my parents (gently of course) are: finding connection in nature, getting more frequent and varied exercise, reading food labels, visiting farms, educating ourselves about what we consume spiritually, mentally and physically. Whatever our hobby or interests, we can no longer avoid or hide from this issue. Art is being made with recycled plastic, our favorite athletes and movies are moving to reduce the image of single-use plastic, virtually anything you buy can be found ‘upcycled’ or with recycled plastic, fast fashion brands are greenwashing (a topic for another day) to appeal to this ‘trend’ — anything helps, amirite?
I leave you with a quote from Zero-Waste Chef, Anne Marie Bonneau:
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero-waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”