Consider ways to embrace the 5 R’s hierarchy of key environmental principles: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.
Single use plastics, that are manufactured and used only once, are pervasive in our world. For example, most of our foods from mainstream grocery stores and other household goods, have plastic packaging that we will unwrap and throw away. Plastics in our environment are harmful and can be fatal to God’s living things and their habitats. Humans are also threatened when we consume microplastics that occur when larger plastics break down and are in our air, soil, and water. Ingesting plastics has been linked to cancer risks, fertility problems and more. While it may be impossible to eliminate all single use plastics, we can reduce our consumption of them. Simple strategies include bringing our own reusable mugs, glasses, and utensils when we are at events and traveling, use our own tote bags when shopping, use our own mesh produce bags to avoid using the store’s plastic produce bags. We can also reuse our own containers at stores that sell items in bulk such as Mom’s and Sprouts. If more consumers demand this service, perhaps the more mainstream grocery stores will begin offering this option. Another simple step is to support plastic free and bottle bill legislation to reduce the litter of plastics in our environment.