I was reading another blog today that had suggestions for ways to reduce disposable product usage. I was a little surprised that we already do ALL of the suggestions except one. We do not use cloth toilet paper. (Oddly enough my friend and I were just discussing this 2 days ago!) I just cannot stomach the idea of washing "man poo" in my washing machine!
Here's a few of the things we do to reduce waste:
*use cloth diapers and wipes
*use cloth towels instead of paper towels
*use cloth napkins
*compost
*use foilers instead of tin foil
*use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets
*no disposable razors, pens, etc.
*I use the Diva Cup and cloth pads
*use reusable grocery bags
I'm sure you get the idea... We do everything we can to reduce our waste.
So I was feeling pretty good today until I read this. It literally turned my stomach. I am not sure why but I just can't seem to get over things like this. We are making such an incredible impact on this planet. We are polluting ourselves along with the planet. It's so scary and sad. I watched my grandmother die of Alzheimer's and cancer and wondered if we didn't bring these things on ourselves.
Read the article. Please. It's a real eye-opener. But realistically, I can't think of how I could possibly eliminate plastic from my life. I already started to switch from plastic to stainless steel a long time ago. I traded our non-stick pans in for a nice set of these stainless steel ones. We have tried to take a Waldorf approach with the kids' toys but we can't seem to get away from the plastic toys that grandparents send or the kids beg for and we give in. We have playsilks and wooden cars and railroad tracks and everything but do I toss the Legos and Hotwheels race track? The girls love their cloth and wool play food but do I ditch the plastic toy plates and cups?
Why does this bother me so much? Is it my OCD acting up? Does anyone else worry about the chemicals and pollutants and everything? I have seriously talked to Jason about moving to the country and just living off the land. I know we could do it. I'd feel so much better! But is it realistic? Can we ever escape our disposable, plastic society? For every ton of diapers we have saved from the landfill there is another family tossing twice as much. I guess I know that I can't make a difference alone and that society may never decide that the environment is a worthy cause to fight for. Damn big business. Damn Wal-Mart. Damn the Republicans. (Did I just SAY that? LOL) Seriously, someone needs to step up and put an end to the production of these dangerous chemicals. Did you know that your baby's teething toy is made of a plastic known to cause cancer? Nice, huh?
Until we stop buying these products, nobody is going to stop making them. I am going to slowly phase out my kids' plastic toys. I thought about having a toy party where we replace the old ones with new ones, but I think my kids would be less likely to notice or care if we gradually take away the plastic and just leave the natural toys. It'd make me feel better... a little.
