Is it Practical to Live a Plastic-Free Life?

 

I have been reading about people who have a plastic-free life, and have decided that's impractical. I re-use most of the plastic containers I buy with stuff in them, either in the house or the garden, and recycle the rest. I used to have over 100 plastic containers, and I've really pared down in the past few years. Honestly, I had an addiction to Tupperware and Rubbermaid, and bought them at every thrift store where I could find them. It's still hard not to buy more, but I tend to only buy the large sizes now, because I have enough small ones.

I like plastic kitchen  utensils, because they don't scratch up my pots. I only use metal utensils with my iron skillets. My roommate has mutilated my stainless steel with steel utensils and those metal scrubbers to where I had to bring them back into my room. Yes, I know, pots get scratched, but she also burns them, so it's a long story. But back to plastic.

I store a lot of stuff in plastic totes, which are great here in FL with all the humidity. Plastic rolling drawers are wonderful for stashing garden supplies in the garage. I don't know what I'd do without plastic shoe boxes or baskets for stashing and organizing small stuff. I would NEVER want to do without plastic flower pots. Clay is just too heavy and metal rusts in a second down here in Florida.

The only plastics I really think I could give up are plastic wrap and plastic bags, because they are disposable. I recycle all the other plastic I use, except #6, which I'm learning to make into shrinky-dink jewelry.

I've been reading about making plastic bottle bricks and building structures out of them. I think I'd love to have a tiny house built of those and pallets. The problem is finding somewhere that the codes allow such a structure. I could always build it as a barn, and just live in it, right?

So plastic is very useful in its place, as long as you are environmentally responsible and recycle what you don't re-use or re-purpose, don't you think? In fact, since we have already probably passed peak oil, I'm thinking that I should start collecting plastic containers and bottles, because they aren't going to be able to make as many soon. They will probably be more valuable than gold in a few years.