Happy February Earthicans. As we all know this month is all about celebrating love. The origins of Valentines day sprout from several places. The Ancient Romans had a fertility celebration with animal sacrifices . This eventually lead up to the Emperor Claudius II executing several men named Valentine on February 14th. The Pope eventually combined St Valentines Day with the fertility ritual to create the foundation of this holiday. Over the centuries it continued to change and morph again and again. Eventually the Western World and the corporations developed it into the money driven holiday it is today.
My wife and I are all about celebrating, especially love in all forms. We are modern hippies through and through. We contemplated on what we could do on a larger scale to help something else we love, the planet. After eating out at a local restaurant I was inspired when the server offered a togo box for our leftovers.
Like many restaurants all over the country our server brought over an expanded polystyrene multi compartment take home container. We are all familiar with the white as snow ultralight stuff known as styrofoam or Expanded PolyStyrene EPS for short. After doing some independent research and consulting our local recycler I learned the sad truth about EPS.
EPS, among other plastics, is derived from petroleum. Gross. We have been putting our left over food and hot beverages in a petroleum product and someone thought this was a good idea?!?! Also, being made from a hydrocarbon makes it incapable of biodegradation. That means when you bury it in the ground with all of our other garbage… it doesnt break down. Its capable of surviving for millennia. Just think about that for a second. We are taking home the few remaining bites of a meal in a container that could out last our existence as a species. I know its kind of grim to think about… but its true.
My thoughts went on to the next logical step. recycling. Plastics are relatively easy to recycle, right? After speaking with our local recycler and waste company in Colorado my feelings were cemented. I was educated that EPS and other similar plastics are capable of various recycle methods. The problem is that most local companies wont recycle it due to costs… so it ends up in the landfills either way.
After all this bad news we decided to make the best of it by just cutting polystyrene out of our lives. We have agreed to show our love for the planet and human race by just opting out. We have agreed to share more meals to prevent the need to take home leftovers, avoid restaurants that only offer the EPS for our take out meals, and bring our own reusable options if we know we want to take anything home. To some of you this may sound a little bonkers. Thats ok. If I can make a little difference and shine a little light on a way for us to make our planet a little healthier then its a win in my book. Love each other and love the only place we can call home.
I only touched on this subject today. If you would like more info on polystyrene and EPS here are a few links to some legitimate sites where you can learn more straight from the horses mouth.
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