“Fasting from Plastic” by Gabriel Lamug-Nañawa, SJ

a summary of key points from “Fasting from Plastic” 

this reminds us that fasting is not just limited on foods – fasting may actually cover.. yes, plastics.. ;)

"let us try to abstain from purchasing or using items that come packaged in disposable plastic, as our way of reducing our own harmful impact on creation.”

THINK!

• What are the things we buy?
• Why do we buy them?

!!Examine consumer values and determine what is important to us

Think about this: “Fasting from food and abstaining from meat, from other things that give us pleasure, or from our bad habits, bring many spiritual benefits if we offer our sacrifices to God.  We enter into our own desert experience with Jesus.”

What is wrong with disposable plastics?

• Not biodegradable (made from materials extracted from crude oil)
• Most common plastic bag is polyethylene (microorganisms do not recognize these as food, thus, they don’t decay like organic materials)
• Plastics photodegrade, they become brittle till the crack upon exposure to sun’s ultraviolet rays, this degradation takes a very long time (est 500-1000 yrs)
• Even if they break into smaller fragments, they remain toxic to animals and humans that eat them
• Plastics clog waterways and can cause floods in cities (‘til they make their way to the sea)
• Plastic is the most general form of ocean litter 
• They are dangerous to creatures who mistake them as food
• 1000s of animals die per yr due to swallowing or choking on plastic materials

WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO USE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC BAGS TO CARRY OUR THINGS FOR ONLY A FEW MINUTES, BUT WHICH WILL THEN BECOME A PROBLEM FOR CREATURES AND THE EARTH FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS?

What can we do?

• In a store: try not to accept the plastic bag that they will usually use to put the items that you bought.  Instead, put the purchased item in your own bag.
• Refrain from purchasing or drinking water from disposable plastic bottles.  Recycling consumes energy and just because they can be recycled does not mean that they are actually recycled.  Use your own re-useable water bottle.
• Abstain from the use of plastic straws, polystyrene lunch boxes, and other food items that come in disposable wrappers, such as noodles and candies.  These items cannot be recycled and are either thrown away or burned, both of which are not good to do.
• If you do have to buy plastic, make sure that it is recyclable, and that you dispose of it in a way that will assure that it will be recycled. Of course, exceptions are made for medicines and other important items that offer no alternatives.
• Take good care of the things you already have so that they last longer and are not easily destroyed and thrown away.

Gabriel “Gabby” Lamug-Nañawa, SJ is with the Jesuit Service-Cambodia and can be reached through his email gabbyln(at)yahoo.com.

Several reflections

Sometimes, we really have to ask ourselves, is comfort worth more than environmental protection? All we seek is a product that is easy to handle, easy to consume and easy to throw away. For instance, a correction tape. There is that tear-drop shaped correction tape (the most common). A lot of us patronize the product. it’s hip and nice to use. However, when you examine its packaging, it has lots of plastic in it, only about 20% of the composition is actually consumed – the white tape! The rest is to be thrown away! 

i was struck about the part where Mr. Gabby mentioned about the consumer’s little concern to where the garbage us gonna get to. As long as we keep ourselves and our rooms clean,  and even if our country or our community is dirty, we’re good. 

But let us go to the lighter side.. there are others who are very much cooperative when it comes to recycling and reusing materials. But let me ask you, is that the best we could give? There is the cure and the prevention. We could actually, eliminate or reduce cases of recycling and reusing garbage because we could actually reduce the wastes we produce – by properly choosing the goods we consume daily.

i’m not saying that we all have diet. Actually, having a healthy diet is good. But just try to consume less plastic. 

The article, by the way, was addressed to a Lenten fasting. “If we try to abstain from disposable plastic during this Lent, we can also reach our own deserts.” However, fasting can be extended. It starts with the habit.

To read a full copy of the article, please visit, ecojesuit

**some statements are quoted directly from the article

God bless you! :)