Statement of Intent!

For the next three weeks, I will be following in the footsteps of "No Impact Man" Colin Beaven for my Environmental Science class summative. Unlike Colin I will only be giving up one thing to change my impact on the environment, but I hoping that trying to reduce my carbon footstep will be good for the environment in the long run. I've decided that for the next three weeks I will be having trash-free meals with my friends and family. I've decided to do this because I've realized that I go out to eat a lot, I dispose a lot of plastic bags and saran wrap from bringing lunches to school, and that I drink a lot of water from plastic water bottles. All of that trash accumulates, and most of it cannot be recycled. Thousands of lunch trash gets thrown out everyday and almost all of it cannot be recycled and ends up sitting on a garbage site for years, or is dumped into holes and covered up to rot. To help reduce the amount of trash, I will only be eating my lunches or dinners from Tupperware or reusable plates and containers; I will no longer be eating out, and will only be drinking water from reusable water bottles. I believe this is a good task for me to do as I eat out almost everyday because I work at a restaurant downtown that causes me to need to eat fast before I work, I always bring my sandwiches in saran wrap that I end up throwing away, and I always use plastic water bottles that I end up throwing away as well. By doing this, I will be cutting down my waste intake by at least 95%. It will be hard to do at first, especially when I'm on my way to work and I'm going to want to eat out but I'm just going to have to start packing myself lunches, which will help me cut down my waste intake but will also help me to start eating healthier. The only exeption I will have is if I eat out at work and have leftovers, I will be able to bring it back at home with me because I will be reusing the container and the food for the next day. Cutting back from plastic water bottles will allow me to spend money on a pretty reusable one that I can use everyday. This way I be doing the environment a favor, as well as myself by eating healthier and getting in shape that way as well. I'm sure there will be a lot of ups and down and that it will be hard for me to do at times, but it's for a good cause and I can't wait to start! The funny part about this whole experience is that tonight I am staying home alone, and I was just contemplating wanting to order chinese food or pizza before realizing that I can't because of this summative. This way I'll have to make myself a nice meal at home, and suprinsingly I'm not upset about that.