Becoming plastic free or zero waste sounds like a great goal, but is it realistic?

I’m not discouraging the idea, but want to propose we are careful about how we think about it. Setting such a lofty goal can back fire when it becomes overwhelming.

Goals need to be kept attainable or we falter in continuing to pursue them. It’s human nature. No one wakes up one day and decides they are climbing Mt. Everest the next day, they know if that is the goal it will take time and increased incremental effort to get there.

We have a Mt. Everest of bad habits to overcome about how we treat this wonderful planet of ours. And while it is quite urgent that we do so, it is also extremely overwhelming to consider dealing with. Try not to let the urgency derail your efforts by making you feel you are not doing enough.

Some is better than none, and it is a good place to start. We didn’t get here in a blink of an eye and we won’t get out of it in a blink either.

Start with the easier things and keep building on it. Consistency and increased effort are going to be the key because we need to change our whole mind set. Don’t feel discouraged and think that your small efforts are not making a difference, because enough of us doing even the tiny things can help. And we keep it up, go from tiny things to small things, keep working on it.

You also have to do things that work for your life and income to find where and how you make the most impact.

A stay at home parent with several kids might struggle giving up certain convenient single use products which really make their hectic life easier and fit into the household budget. So, their changes might show up stronger elsewhere like packaging reduction on often used items such as laundry and cleaning products, less brand-new clothing since kids grow so fast anyway and toys made from non-plastic sources.

A business executive who travels a lot might not be able to reduce air travel in their life without risking how they make a living, but can put more effort into decreasing their impact in other ways, such as not using plastic when traveling. Bring your own cutlery, straws and refillable bottles, decline refreshments on the plane that use plastic. This person could drive a hybrid or electric car to reduce their carbon footprint when at home and purchase more eco friendly products. 

A construction worker can’t drive an electric compact car, or take public transportation because they need to take tools and materials to jobsites. So that person may put extra effort into buying produce at the local farmers market and bring their cotton bags, carry lunch in reusable containers instead of grabbing take out as much as possible and other efforts in their home whenever possible.

When you feel like your one small effort is NOT enough, consider this:

Maybe the person in line behind you noticed your refusal of a plastic grocery bag because you brought your own and saw how simple that was. Maybe that person decides the 3 things they are purchasing can be carried out without a bag and they remember to bring a bag the next time. Maybe the next time you pull out your reusable straw or bring your own cutlery instead of using plastic you inspire someone else to make that change. Or you tell someone who never heard of it that there are such things as toothbrushes made from bamboo and dental floss that comes in non-plastic refillable containers.

And while we are making changes ourselves, we need to keep putting pressure on companies and people in power to make BIG changes happen.  That is where the real results will come from, but all of our small efforts matter too. Keep it up, no matter what.