2007 vs 2006 Plastic

How do I know I’m a WhackedOutEcoFreak?There’s a pile of plastic garbage in my living room.

And that’s because not only did I keep all the plastic I let into my life during 2007 (the wee pile on the right, also known as The2007PlasticShrine, 1 lb 3 oz, also shown here in greater detail), but I also kept all the plastic that was in my life as of Dec 31st 2006 which I continued to use and which is now ready for recycling (the huge pile on the left, also known as 2006Plastic, 24 lbs, 9 oz, ).

My rules allow the continued use of 2006 plastic because to just toss out ALL the plastic I owned when I took the NoNewPlastic pledge would have been extremely wasteful, disrespectful to MotherNature, and quite honestly made homebase a desolate place on Jan 1 2007 – cuz plastic is in everything!!! If I had to find non-plastic replacements for EVERYTHING in my life on Jan 1st I would have never been able to keep my NoNewPlasticPledge until Jan 31st, let alone Dec 31st.

Not quite an apples to apples comparison. Oh well.

If I'd really been planning ahead, I would have started my project January 1st 2006 and spent that year living a normal PlasticAddictedLife and collecting all the plastic I brought into my life. That way I could do an apples to apples comparison of a 2006 plastic lifestyle versus a 2007 NoNewPlastic lifestyle.

But life ain’t ideal. Fabulous. But not ideal. So I thought the next best thing, and most useful comparison was to collect 2006Plastic. A lot of it is plastic bought in 2006, but some of it is from earlier years.

Anyway. Isn’t the difference pretty spectacular!

The PlasticShrine Continues

During YearTwo of the NoNewPlasticPledge I’ll continue to add to the 2006Plastic pile since there’s still lots of 2006Plastic in my life that I’m gradually using up, or just deciding to give up, because I’ve found non-plastic replacements.

I’ll also add a bit to the 2007 pile as plastic I brought into my life during 2007 (like paint and deodorant) gets used up.

And I’ll start a new 2008 pile.

It will be interesting to see how the three piles look on Dec 31, 2008. I’m hoping the transition to a NoNewPlastic lifestyle will be even more evident by then.

The PlasticShrines in an Ideal World

If life were ideal, on Dec 31 2008 the 2006 pile would be huge (demonstrating how successfully I am transitioning my life to completely plastic free), the 2007 pile would stay puny, and the 2008 pile would be even smaller than the 2007 pile.

But quite honestly, with all the home renovations I’ve got planned during 2008, that’s gonna be really, really tough.