July is Plastic Free Month

Are you willing to consider giving it a try? Going plastic free is nearly impossible but there are ways we can reduce our usage of plastic. Here are a few reasons why: Only about 9 percent of all plastic gets recycled. That means there is an estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic waste entering the world's oceans. Here's another way you can look at it: Did you know the blue whale is the largest creature in the world? Every nine minutes, the amount of plastic that enters the world's oceans is the weight of a blue whale. Let that sink in. Speaking of marine life, 100,000 marine creatures die each year from plastic entanglement. The thing is, this can be different. We have the choice of what we want to use. Will it be plastic or glass? Will it be plastic bags or reusable bags? Will it be reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles? We like to think our plastics are getting recycled, but the bottom line is only about 9 percent of what you are recycling actually gets recycled. The rest of the plastic being tossed out is going into the landfills and takes years to break down, if it does. The first thing we need to do is learn to reduce our usage of plastic and reuse the plastics we end up with. Try buying glass whenever possible, then you can reuse the bottles. Save your spice bottles and refill them with bulk spices at your local natural foods store. Same with beans and grains. There are so many uses for glass bottles. How about wrapping cheese in beeswax cloth instead of plastic and putting your leftovers in glass containers? Buying cottage cheese and yogurt are hard ones to recycle so I try and reuse but if anyone has any ideas for those, please let me know. One thing that comes to mind is storage for beads or art projects. Other items like plastic bags can be reused several times. I stick the bags in my reusable shopping bag to put my fruits and veggies in them again. The next step is to reuse any plastics you can. There are refillery's where you can drop off your clean dry containers for other customers to use when refilling products. You too can go to a refillery (there is one in Auburn called Rutherford's Refillery and another in Grass Valley as well as several in Sactramento) and refill your containers. They have household cleaning products, beauty products, toothwash (so you don't use toothpaste containers), face and body products, laundry soaps, and the list goes on. Then there are the things to do that are mentioned in this article. The idea is to start thinking about how you can reduce your usage of plastic. It is bad for the environment and its creatures, and the thing is, we have the choice. We know it doesn't break down and is creating huge swaths of "plastic islands" in the oceans. We know it's harming the animals that eat microplastics, and we too are consuming microplastics in our food and water. It isn't easy and it isn't convenient, but what good things come easy? Sure, some things do, but not often. Changing habits and buying patterns will take time, but I have great faith you can do it. If not for ourselves, then how about for the generations that will follow us? Please celebrate this plastic-free July by pledging to start with one change and see what happens. Planet Earth and I give you our deepest thanks. Remember to spread kindness like it's confetti and please, Pack it in, Pack it out, Pick it up. Every Litter Bit Counts. Kristi Meyer is a Realtor at Granite Real Estate in Auburn. She has been serving the foothills for 20 years. If you have questions about Real Estate or need a Realtor, you can call or text her at 916-847-5128, or email her at ItMattersToKristi@gmail.com.