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Every year the human race uses up to 481.6 billion single-use plastic water bottles. That is approximately 60 times the human population. They are also responsible for creating 2.12 billion tons of waste across every category. Everyday at school I noticed many students carrying around plastic bottles. Many times these bottles landed up in the trash can instead of where they belonged; the recycling bin. My idea for this project was planted when I was working on a biology project. The project involved learning about human impact on the ocean biome. That’s when I learned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The images and visuals I saw as I researched farther created this idea in my mind. I made it my mission then to limit my usage of plastic water bottles and to just attempt simple steps of sustainability in my life. Mahatma Gandhi once said “be the change you wish to see in this world.” I took this quote to heart and decided to start making the changes within myself. With every change I implemented in myself, I encouraged others to try it as well. This challenge inspired me to be the change and teach the change as well.
Every day that I spent doing this challenge, I learned something new about my life. I noticed the small mistakes I kept making in my daily habits. In order to fix my mistakes, I recorded how many times I refilled my 36 ounce water bottle in order to track how much water I consumed on a daily basis. The challenge motivated me to drink water and be aware of what I did on a daily basis. On average I refilled my water bottle close to three times a day. That meant that each day I drank up to 108 fluid ounces of water or approximately 3.1 liters of water. If I were to use single-use plastic bottles, which are usually around 16 fluid ounces, I would have wasted almost seven plastic bottles a day. For every refill of my reusable water bottle, I would save two single use water bottles from heading into landfills. In just these thirty days I saved approximately 175 plastic water bottles from making their way into oceans and landfills. That is just me alone. If each and every one of us in the USA did the same, we would save up to 58,082,500,000 per month. It is said that 86% of the plastic water bottles in the USA end their journey in the garbage or the landfills. Imagine how those numbers would drastically change if each person invested in a small reusable water bottle.
When I learned about how a small change in daily habits can lead to such a great impact, It changed the way I looked at anything in my life. Throughout this challenge, I repurposed all sorts of items that were just sitting around my house. From bottle caps to glass jars, I tried to make fun activities to go along with everything. This challenge was the push I needed to realize what and all I had been doing wrong in my daily habits. Along with that, I made it my mission to also instill a few habits into my family and friends’ routines as well. In my house alone I noticed that many of the items put in the trash can could be recycled instead. In the last two weeks of December, my family made a big move to a nice beautiful house. However, with this amazing house came the whole tiring process of moving. I was in charge of cleaning out my messy and disorganized room. I was told to put all the stuff I wanted to throw away in trash bags and pack up whatever I needed into boxes. As I started to clear out my shelves, I realized I had a lot of papers that I didn’t need and that they were of no use to anyone. When I saw this happen to me, I told my parents to also bring any unwanted papers or recyclable trash to my room. I made separate trash bags and boxes in order to segregate the trash accordingly. On December 24th, when I finally threw out all of what we had collected I had found that I had put over six pounds of paper in the recycling bin to be reused and repurposed. Even though it may seem like a small amount, it is a step taken in order to help reduce the 85 million tons of paper wasted each month by the US population.
This challenge has produced many amazing and eye-opening results for me, however it has also taught me an important lesson. I learned to be aware of myself and others around me. A change doesn’t always have to be a revolution or a grand event. A simple change like refilling a water bottle created a bigger impact without one even realizing. Even small art activities with bottle caps and glass jars ensured that sea creatures wouldn’t have to suffer from having plastic as a part of their diet. This lesson was worth sharing to everyone. Which is why I made a small infographic and shared it with my Whatsapp groups and extended family members. This wasn’t a super fancy infographic or something I had spent weeks on. It had a few pieces of research and images I had hand drawn, but it reflected the lesson I had learnt from this challenge. If each person were to make a small change within themselves and teach it to those around them, it would cause for something with great impact to happen. Even daring to take a small step ahead, can cause change to occur. Now after completing this challenge I encourage everyone else to “Be the change they wish to see in this world.”
Stuti Deshpande
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