The Swiffer Picker-Upper

I’ve been taking a harder look at how much garbage we create. I won’t go into my embarrassment about London’s lack of a green bin program again. They say it might be coming. But beyond recycling everything we can (can! see what I did there?) it’s also about reducing the demand for single-use stuff. 

To that end, a London woman makes all sorts of reusable thingies that are currently single-use. I recently bought a crocheted Swiffer pad.

It’s washable and reusable over and over. (She’s on Etsy under Suncreations Emporium) Rinsing a dusty piece of material isn’t the most fun I’ve ever had, but neither is housecleaning. I consider it all part of the same unpleasant task!

I have a spork that travels in my fabric lunch bag, loads of small containers that I reuse for lunch items and I’m always on the hunt for ways to reduce the plastic we use and the junk we throw away. However, I still stock plastic bags and that’s a habit I’m trying to break. I’ve stopped using disposable facial cloths in favour of Warsh Cloths that last several months. After that, they become cleaning cloths, then rags, and only then, garbage.

My efforts are small and imperfect. There are many, many people doing big and wonderful things toward the reduction of trash and of plastics that will pollute the planet for generations to come. London’s Reimagine Co. (find them on Facebook) make it their mission to educate people about easy ways to reduce waste and let’s face it, they have to be easy because replacing a habit is hard. It’s not about forcing people to change every little thing they do. If you want to use Lysol wipes, go for it. It’s about awareness that there are alternatives and making conscious decisions. I doubt I’ll ever make my own toothpaste but I won’t buy plastic forks and spoons. Baby steps. If we all just do one thing and then one more thing, it will start to make a difference.

But I’ll caution those leading the anti-plastic charge to tread lightly with their message. Everybody loves animals but PETA’s heavy-handed activism does more to alienate people than bring them together. No one should feel guilty for using paper towels. We don’t want do-gooders outside our window with a bullhorn: “Come out with your hands up! We know you have tissues – 3-ply, with lotion!”

Millions of people became aware of the plastics problem because of the widely reported “plastic garbage island” floating in the Pacific Ocean. It turned out to be a myth, but that’s not good news, according to factmyth.com:

There are multiple “floating patches” of plastic garbage in the water that stretch vast lengths of the ocean, they aren’t solid islands as pictured by some media, but are arguably worse (as cleaning up particles is potentially harder than a solid mass).

The small particles are not only a tactical challenge to remove from the ocean, but a hazard to humans and animals as marine animals (including the ones we eat) mistake the plastic bits for food.

That’s the discarded waste of humans. We can all do a little bit better, don’t you think?