“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3

Terry and I are the dynamic duo of “puppy chow”, one of our family’s favorite snacks. No, we are not making dog food, it’s a sweet snack sometimes known as muddy buddies. I start out by melting butter with chocolate chips. Next, I stir in a generous amount of peanut butter, turn off the heat, and add the cereal. Then Terry takes over. He dumps the coated cereal into the doubled garbage bag filled with powdered sugar. He then closes them up and does what we call the Puppy Chow Rumba Dance. Shaking the bag, he bops around the kitchen to the beat of sugary goodness. After a few minutes, the coated cereal is dumped out into a bowl and put in the fridge to cool. The dance has become so popular that our little friends plead with us to make puppy chow. This weekend, Terry finally performed the dance for our grandchildren, amidst squeals and giggles. And their delight was enhanced when they took their first bite, wanting just one more piece.

Today, I clicked submit on my phone to pay for my trash and recycling pickup. Hiring a waste management company was new for me when we moved to Pennsylvania. In Wisconsin, we didn’t see the expense since it was part of the homeowner’s property taxes. Now that I see it, I am acutely aware of how it has doubled in the last twelve years. I have shopped around for other companies, but although they have lower prices, they hit you with hidden costs, like rental fees for the container. But the biggest problem is that these cheaper companies do not offer recycling services, something I am committed to doing.

Although it is a standard practice, recycling remains a contentious topic. At one end, there are the militants, grabbing the plastic soda cup someone else has carelessly thrown away, rinsing it out and placing it in the recycle bin. On the other side, there are those who believe that recycling is useless, arguing that all trash is going in the same landfill, and almost gleefully choose not to recycle. But I think most of us fall in the middle of these two continuums, recycling to the best of our ability but skeptical as to whether it is making a difference.

For me, I kept dutifully recycling, pleased I had done my part to keep our environment clean. That changed after watching an episode of From the Source, a Magnolia Network show hosted by Katie Button. On her show, Katie explores the origins of ingredients she uses at Curate, her James Beard Award winning restaurant. This episode took her to a Maine farmer who was harvesting oysters using natural materials instead of plastic cages. The farmer then talked about microplastics, a new term for me. Plastics that are not recycled don’t just sit in our landfills. They eventually break down into tiny pieces that leech into our water tables and soil. Evidence of microplastics has been found in our foods, drinking water, and marine animals. They have even found a way into our most vulnerable populations through placentas and breast milk. Yes, the very ways babies, in utero and outside, find nourishment is contaminated with micro plastics. Researchers are studying how microplastics affect our health. Although most research is in its infancy, studies are linking high amounts of microplastics in our systems to irritable bowel syndrome and heart attacks and may explain the reason for the increase in colorectal cancer in a younger demographic.

We love plastic, evident by a simple inventory of our homes. It fills our pantries in the form of peanut butter jars, oil bottles, and our healthy granola bags. Our refrigerator shelves explode with milk jugs and yogurt cups while the door is bursting with condiment containers. All-purpose cleaners, dish soap, and glass cleaner compete for space underneath our sinks while large jugs sit in our laundry room. Our bathrooms are packed with shampoo bottles, hand soap pumps, toothbrushes, and floss sticks. Finally, plastic toys fill our children’s toys boxes. This does not even include our use of plastic shopping bags, drinking straws, and all the iced coffees we buy every week.

At some point, when the last bit of peanut butter is scraped out of the jar, the plastic toy has broken, or the shampoo bottle is empty, the useless plastic is thrown out. The New York Times reports that the average American uses and throws away about 110 lbs. of plastic a year. When you consider how light most of these containers are, that is a lot of plastic! Additionally, despite our best recycling efforts, some research indicates that only 9% of plastic is truly recycled, confirming the skeptics’ views on recycling.

I am disturbed and outraged that my grandchildren will undoubtedly suffer adverse effects from my plastic world. I will continue to recycle plastic because I hope the free market will eventually find a way to reuse it. But I am looking at my overflowing recycle bin with my carefully rinsed plastic differently. I no longer want it to overflow, instead I need to reduce my use of plastic. If Terry and I alone can eliminate just 20 lbs. each of single-use plastic in a year, that is a total of 40 lbs. less plastic in the landfill. Those 40 lbs. may seem insignificant but imagine if everyone in Pennsylvania reduced their plastic by 20lbs, that would be 259,233,600 lbs., a far more significant dent in our plastic consumption!

When I look around my home, it feels overwhelming. Where do I start? Should I buy a trendy shampoo bar? Do I start making my own peanut butter? I believe the Bible has an answer for every problem in our lives. I am not going to find a commandment that says, “Thou shalt not use straws”, but I do find David reminding us in Psalms 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” As a Christian, I am called to respect the earth and be mindful that it is for everyone. With this respect, I should engage in behaviors that help make the earth a better place to live, not only for me but for future generations. And finally, as a Christian, if I know that something is potentially harmful, I need to change my behavior to align my actions with my beliefs.

Since becoming aware of the existence of microplastics, Terry and I have started our reduction journey by purchasing several reusable water bottles for traveling and for our bedsides. But purchasing was not enough, we needed to develop the habit of taking our water bottles everywhere to avoid the impulse to buy water. We also decided to use reusable containers instead of plastic bags when packing lunches. We haven’t stopped using these bags completely, but we have significantly reduced their use. After implementing these changes, Terry purchased metal straws to use when he gets a drink. These straws, along with a cleaning brush, are kept in a pouch in the car. I don’t like metal straws, so I found some reusable silicone straws to use instead. Yes, this is still plastic, but at least it is something I can reuse for an extended period.

We are also trying to decrease our use of plastic shopping bags. I use cloth bags when going to the farmer’s market. I am also grateful that my local grocery store uses paper bags for pick-up orders, my preferred way of shopping. We are not perfect, and there are many times we forget to grab our reusable bags, but it’s a start. Additionally, I have decided to tackle the single-use plastics in my laundry room by using Earth Breeze, an eco-sheet full of detergent that dissolves in your wash. So far, this new way of washing laundry is doing the trick. Finally, to avoid the use of plastic and foam takeout containers, we are going to keep a set of containers in the car for leftovers when eating out.

None of these changes are earth-shattering or budget breaking. For us, they are simple changes we can make to cut back on plastic waste. I am contemplating some bigger changes like making our own yogurt and finding refillable deodorant containers. I also hope to visit some local refill stores, looking for ways to be more sustainable. But this is in the future, right now I want to work on making my current habits stick. All too often, I tackle a problem with too many changes, and in the end, find these changes too overwhelming, reverting to old habits.

To be transparent, convenience is a big reason why it can be hard to adapt to new behaviors. It’s easier to put a few chips in a plastic bag for lunch than bring home an empty container to wash. It’s easier to use plastic straws than find an alternative. It’s easy to keep on doing what we are doing, without thinking about the impact. But, when my convenience comes at the cost of someone else’s health, that is when I must lay aside what’s easy for what’s right!

And it may even affect family traditions. After making the puppy chow this weekend, I realized the hypocrisy of using not just one, but two garbage bags. I can only imagine the micro plastic leaching into our sweet snack. This too will have to change, so I am contemplating alternatives while keeping the traditional dance. Along with that, I want to start my grandchildren off with the habit of using reusable water bottles as a normal part of life. Last Christmas, we bought Joel a water bottle with airplanes on it. He loves it and uses it every day. Eva, not wanting to miss out on the fun, kept eyeing my water bottle along with Joel’s. We ordered her a pink confetti one, and she is in love! I hope they see the habits that we have developed as natural, and readily adopt the behaviors we are modeling. I may still live in a plastic world, but I hope in time I will make mine more sustainable!