"What are you giving up for Lent?"
That's a common question in these forty days before Easter. And when I ask, nine times out of ten, the answer is chocolate, beer, or social media.
But what if we look at Lent as an opportunity not to just temporarily give up a bad habit but to start a good habit - a habit that makes a difference to people, to the world, to God.
This year for Lent, my goal is to protect our planet. I'm looking for ways to lessen my impact on our mother earth and bring me joy at the same time.
Here is the story of my progress.
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Among your many useful applications, you are such an inexpensive yet effective way to keep my groceries fresh.
But look. The Chinese recyclists don't want you anymore, and you're clogging up the oceans and really this madness just needs to stop.
And so I am bound and determined to forge ahead without you.
At least I'm taking baby steps in that direction.
Here's a sample of my daily grocery shop. Now, to be fair, this is lighter than usual - the dinner menu led with veggie-stuffed pita sandwiches and I already had on hand several key ingredients:
pita bread | plastic bag
cheddar and pepper jack cheeses | sealed in plastic
Boston lettuce | bulk
salad dressing | homemade from sour cream in a plastic tub and mayonnaise in a plastic jar
Ugh. My meal was off to a heavily plastic-infused start.
On my shopping trip, I added:
blueberries | plastic tub
cucumbers | bulk
apples | bulk with plastic bar code stickers
cheese spread | cardboard package with foil wrappers
french bread | bag made of half paper, half plastic
yogurt | glass with foil lids
And sadly, my hyacinths came wrapped in not one but two layers of plastic. Sigh.
These days I am trying as much as possible to choose non-plastic packaging. And you better believe I recycle the heck out of everything - glass, paper, and most plastics are accepted in our recycling program.
But recycling you is no longer enough for me, plastic. I'm glad to recycle glass and paper but I don't want to deal with you at all any more.
There is no fast and easy way to be rid of you, plastic, but I will keep trying.
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Read on about my efforts to help protect our planet
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