by Karen [Always Grateful for the Lessons Hidden in Adversity] Van Doorne, Caring for Creation
This past March I had a new experience: lying low. I was confined to a wheelchair for two-and-a-half months while I waited for a fractured ankle to heal. My physical view was different, yes, but there was also something more. Forced to slow down, I began to notice other things:
- The warped trim on the kitchen window
- My favorite book on a shelf right in front of my nose
- The philosophy of Shipt.com
- Discomfort with our consumption of plastic products
While seated for so long and with lots of time to think, I became more aware of my fast-paced and productive life. I had been unconsciously rationalizing away my “environmental footprint”—anything to get me back into my world of the art and science of audiology, a most enjoyable profession. I was moving at the speed of sound and had nestled into my comfort zone, paying little attention to my consumption of available products and not going out of my way to make a difference.
Rationalization was easy. I used to think to myself, “We are America. Everything comes in plastic; surely, I could use it. It’s a cultural thing, right? It only comes this way. I’m just going with the flow of our society. What could I do anyway?”
My two-and-a-half month journey taught me some lessons:
- That God is always with me no matter what dumb things I do
- Awareness of how I roll as a human being
- Appreciation for the space I occupy on this planet
Because getting to the grocery store was problematic, my watershed moment of clarity about plastics came with my first order from Shipt.com. I had ordered $52 of mostly produce—ginger, red pepper, squash, and asparagus. Each vegetable came wrapped in its own individual plastic bag.
I had seventeen bags of plastic for a bunch of veggies. Seventeen! And while I was very glad the nice person who brought my groceries offered to recycle the bags for me, I felt overwhelmed by the excess. She explained that people like to have their vegetables “not touching.” Shipt.com has developed this marketing approach to make people happy.
But I wasn’t happy. I went from feeling good about recycling to wondering why I use this service in the first place. It took energy to create the plastic bag, energy to transport the bag, and energy to recycle it. And after some research, I learned that only 9 percent of plastic is actually recycled. Why not just be mindful of how to replace that plastic bag with reusables? Every. Time.
I decided to make a change. Now my mobile self is moving forward with glass jars for storage, buying products without plastic as much as possible, a life without Ziplocs and Glad containers (this is a learning curve but doable), and a new awareness of what I actually can do to make a difference. And I did make a phone call to Shipt.com corporate!
I was embarrassed that I didn’t research better ways to move on this earth sooner, but I am here now, and I will do a better job. It’s surely not as convenient, but I suspect the tipping point of convenience vs. sustainability is the topic of another conversation.