Plastic Fantastic

At first it all feels futile. Quickly, I find the connection with those who give a shit. It suddenly feels great.

I agreed to to help Quakers with a modest plan to gather plastics and offer them to the plastic gods.

I volunteered to be a drop-off place and ended up pulling a bike trailer with two filled rain barrels of plastic wearing a rainbow cowboy hat. Because community.

It started with plastic dropped at my house. Then we loaded it into a Quaker’s Prius to go to the next place, the meetinghouse collection barrels.

Some contributions had too much plastic stuck to it. Plastic on plastic. In the evening, I sat on my porch and peeled off unwanted plastic like one might whittle or play the fiddle. It was relaxing.

I also burned Pure Tibetan healing incense because that’s just fun!

This winter at a how-do-you-find-hope retreat, the main speaker said we need to do the helping work, the work of our causes no matter if we are guaranteed a positive outcome. We need to do it anyway.

It seems small, this effort, but it feels good. People who care feel good to interact with.

The plastic will not be melted down and made into water or salmon or trees but its form will be redirected in use rather than clogging up more land and water for now. I am not really sure what all happens, I am just trying to be one person of many in the positive efforts department.

None of the plastic in this effort was shipped out of the U.S.

Just after loading plastic at the meetinghouse, a nearby Jewish neighbor asked if Quakers are anti-semitic (based on a rumor she heard). We discussed this briefly and then my partner in plastic showed up and referenced an excellent web site that explains everything. The short answer is no. This is why it is good to be visible- to be available to answer questions that come up organically.

The plastic needs to be as fresh as a newborn, with no traces of contact with liquids or solids, or other plastics.

They are brought forward with no past, only a future as a new plastic product.

There are surprises- things they don’t take and what they take. “Oh this one you don’t have to take off labels! And this one you can leave the cotton pushed down inside and leave the lid on!”

Seemed random and not easy to remember which is why I’m being vague.

We ran into a struggle to secure the barrels on the trailer for the return trip.

The ratchets were sort of like a backward, upside-down riddle.

Suddenly, out of thin air, Tom the ratchet angel appeared!

I learned a new term: wishful recycling. It means you contribute what you feel should be recycled but it isn’t recycled.

EcoGeneration did it: https://www.ecogeneration.org/

They were very nice people.

It’s a nice feeling to be among those who give a shit.