Writing 101 – Day 9 – Reinvent the Letter Format

An Open Letter to Plastic

Dear Plastic,

Listen, I don’t know how else to say this without being totally brutal but here’s the truth – I am just not that into you anymore.

Sure, you’re strong and flexible. You’re also very handy and a great travel buddy. And then there’s that awesome unbreakable and invincible quality of yours. But let’s face it – you’re everywhere!

You’re in my water and even my water is in you! You’ve managed to tightly wrap yourself around my groceries like a python wraps itself around its victim cutting off all air supply. You’re double wrapped around my electronics and stuffed in all sorts of places in the form of little thermocol balls. You’re on the streets, flying around with the wind, getting into people’s feet. You’re even in women’s breasts and behinds for God’s sake!

No matter how hard I try to reduce your presence in my life, there you are just multiplying like cockroaches and taking over my home. In fact, there are more of YOU in my house than there are books in my bookcase (and I should know, I have a LOT of books!)

I think this is some evil plan of yours to eradicate life off of this world, one disposable cup and bag at a time. You’ve killed off thousands of poor animals who have inadvertently eaten you because you’ve taken over their grassland too and converted them into wastelands. You’re even mixed into our food and water, slowly seeping into our pores and cells, causing cancer and tumors. Don’t think we aren’t on to you! Your plan to intoxicate everyone through your poisonous composition is crystal clear to us.

Now the question is, how do we stop you? And the answer is, I don’t know for sure but I am trying to cut you off in ways that are possible for me. I try to carry a reusable bag or just one of you around in my purse so that when the cashier at the supermarket starts to bag up my groceries (which by the way are choking to death in several of you!), I can tell him, “No thanks, I’ve got a bag.” I can probably save 365 bags a year if I tried but you’re way too smart for that. You still manage to sneak in through different places – through shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes, food packaging and Lord knows what else. I try to carry a refillable water bottle around with me all the time but even then, sometimes there’s no escaping you.

So, dear plastic, why don’t you just go and die? Oh wait a minute, I forgot, you’re practically immortal due to your non-biodegradable properties. In fact, even if the whole world stopped using you right now as of this very moment, it would take you another million of years to disintegrate. And by then, you would have killed off the entire species anyway.

However, nothing is impossible. I know there are many of us out there who have resisted themselves successfully from you. You know who I am talking about. Beth Terry of My Plastic Free Life has made it her personal mission to lead a life without you and succeeded! And how! Your devilish charms are losing their touch, I see.

So my dear little slow poison, till the time I am on this earth, I shall keep up with my endeavour to stay away from you in any way that is possible for me. We’ve even started a little global experiment called Save 5000 to stop using as many plastic bags as we can this October. I am sure there are people out there who will join me in this mission to be mindful as well. It’s mighty difficult considering how persistent and omnipresent you are, but at least we will be able to say, we tried.

Consider this my official break up letter.
Sincerely,
Me

You can email me at thistlesandwhistles@hotmail.com
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