On January 22, 2023, Eugene Friends Meeting approved a Minute on Reducing Plastics in the World, and we agreed to “educate ourselves, witness, and take action, as led with efforts in these directions:
- Reduce, re-use, and recycle our personal and Meeting House plastics: We will encourage and educate each other to reduce our purchase of new plastics, re-use what we purchase when possible, and recycle with integrity, and only as a last option.
- Advocate for reducing plastic production and use, especially of single-use plastics, by other organizations and businesses.
- Advocate for legislation to reduce production of plastics, locally and nationally.
- Work to capture plastic waste in the environment (from ground litter, stormwater, or with river or beach cleanups) and
- Advocate for improving waste management.
In the next two weeks I’ll write about recycling and legislation, but making a personal effort to reduce your purchase of new plastics – especially single-use plastics – is the integrity component: Integrity requires us to live congruent with the Light, and for our belief and actions to be aligned. This is walking your talk!
And it’s not an easy road to walk. As you take action on reducing plastics in your life, you might feel some resistance to change, and regret at the loss of conveniences, but you can do hard stuff. (If you need some sobering motivation, check out this Audubon post on seabirds with plastic in their stomachs.)
Query: How do you use the resources and strength you are given to meet the challenges of living a whole and honest life?
In 2023 I posted a Plastics-Free Challenge calendar with a plethora of suggestions for ways to reduce single-use plastics in your life.
The calendar:
Week 1: Prepare and begin to fast
It’s a challenge, but I’m trying to reduce the amount of plastics we use by buying only groceries and vitamins in glass jars. Sometimes there’s not a glass jar option, but I do my best.
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