This week I cleaned out our pantry.
I was surprised to find expired things. Things that are junk food that we shouldn't eat. Empty packages lost in corners.
I have long thought that our family could use the challenge of living package free for a month. Most days it doesn't hit me - that these wrappers are just going to sit somewhere. I'm not talking about cans and recyclable containers. I'm talking about the plastic wrap that covers a lot of our food. The plastic bags our organic produce comes in.
When we were in Ghana the first time in 2004, I was struck by the necessity of living with your garbage. Neither the capital city nor the small villages we lived in had garbage programs. What wasn't used for other purposes was piled right near the house and burned. What didn't burn was visable day in and out. A daily reminder of our impact on the land. A daily reminder of wasted resources.
The pile was not large at all. And I was very conscious of my contributions to it. My habits had to change.
Years later we are here in our home. Each week compost, recycling and garbage are carried off. Most weeks I don't think about it. My wife collects and takes out the garbage each week - so I am even more removed from the volume of stuff we discard.
The bag Zo is holding is filled only with plastic wrapping and bags that cannot be recycled. Seeing her holding that bag I was reminded that this plastic will remain on the land throughout my daughter's life.
It is time to think more on this. Time for a package free month... We will see :)
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