We have been pulled up a number of times now (and rightly so) after posting pictures of us using take away plastic coffee cups or guzzling from plastic drink bottles.

“Why don’t you get a ‘keep cup’” you say.

Or.

“Don’t you have a reusable water bottle?”

We hear you. Truth is we have both of those things. We just don’t use them as consistently as we should.

Here are some facts I have been reading:

• Around 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every single day.
• Less than half of these are recycled.
• Plastic does not biodegrade. Instead, it very slowly breaks down into tiny plastic particles. These are then ingested by marine and land organisms.
• A 2017 study has found these plastic particles in 87% of global tap water supplies (and in 97% of USA samples).

That is pretty eye opening. And leaves a lingering taste, part sweet disturbance and part sour shame.

We are going to make an effort to modify our behaviour and with proper planning & preparation minimise all our unnecessary plastic bottle and cup usage.

It’s a small start. But then, it was also a small start when that first plastic bottle was produced.

Facts source: “Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis” by David R. Loy