April 29, 2021 – From the Heart

As a child of the 80’s, I remember going to school with my own water bottle; one that had water which I took to school from home. I always took adequate water from home, sometimes in a rather large water bottle and never resorted to getting it refilled. I reckon I had no option to do so. The water I brought from home was boiled tap water. My mother used to boil the water and strain it with a cheese cloth. As we grew older, my mother did not do the whole straining part. We used to have kettles which whistled; this indicated that the water was well boiled. So it was a matter of just filling a kettle with tap water, boiling it, and letting it cool down to room temperature and filling up your “water bottle” which came in many sizes, colors and shapes. Though I had seen many drinking off taps at the school and elsewhere, I never attempted it. I was clearly warned by my mother that I MUST NOT drink water straight off a tap. This was my life growing into teens and youth, where I literally carried a bottle of water from home.

Then came the age of being employed. I don’t recall the first time we started using water in plastic bottles labeled as ‘mineral water’. All I can recall of myself is carrying a bottle everywhere and then just getting it refilled at work from large water filters. Eventually, the habit of carrying a water bottle from home became ‘not a nice accessory’ to carry around. I remember how I started opting to just walking into a store and purchasing a 500ml whenever I was thirsty and then discarding empty plastic bottle into a bin. This became a habit – the normal way of life. No one carried a water bottle from home anymore and neither did I.

I remember in the 80’s and early 90’s plastics were few. Toys, furniture, household utensils were either glass, wood or metal. I remember seeing more glass, cardboards and metal in the house than plastics. Our plates were either porcelain, glass or metal. I don’t recall eating off a plastic plate as a child. Even sodas came in glass bottles. I remember my Coca-Cola in a nice sleek glass bottle. We would keep a deposit when purchasing a glass bottle and when we return the empty bottle, that amount would be reimbursed. I recall going to the grocery store where dry rations such as sugar was put into a instantly handmade cone like shaped container made out of paper. I remember even meats and fish being wrapped up in paper. Things like jam, sauces etc were all in glass jars and similar to the soda bottles whenever we returned the empty jars we would get a tiny discount on our next purchase. Life was simple. Most toys were made of cloth, rubber, metal or wood. I don’t recall a toy which was completely made of plastic except for things like dolls.

Then came the era of plastic, so much plastic that it is now a pollution. Everywhere I looked its plastic, be it a toy, a grocery bag (which we call a “shopping bag”); even chairs and tables for everyday use. I suppose as I was growing up, I was too ignorant of how plastics would one day impact our beautiful earth. They are everywhere now. I reckon it’s in our food, water and even as residue in our own bodies. There are more plastics in our average garbage than there is anything else. Plastic has become the consistent, cheap, lightweight, long lasting material which everyone seems to own in some manner or the other. When the plastics came in to everyday use, every one would shop for fancy looking plastic containers to store their belongings. I am guilty of this too. I won’t be surprised the day we end up using plastic beds. Single use plastics has evidently become the main cause for enormous of amounts of pollution in our environment that we may very soon see more plastics in our oceans than the average fish.

I realized I had to make some effort in a personal capacity to put an end to this plastic outrage. What I have decided to do as an individual and as a family is to stop using in-store purchased water bottles. I would rather keep a glass bottle in the car, in my work place and perhaps carry a small bottle in my hand bag and use boiled water from home to refill it. Why encourage the sales of mineral water bottles off the shelf and contribute towards plastic pollution.

Although I am aware of PET recycling projects, I’d rather reduce my personal usage of plastic. Best to nip it in the bud, don’t you think?