New Year. New habits. Better you. Better environment!

I know by now, you’re almost over the New Year resolutions, yadda, yadda, yadda. But this time, it is about new habits for a better environment and maybe for the future of our world. If you have read any of my prior articles, I hope you know that I know that you are the only person in your world that can change things.

Your habits, your purchases, your convictions, your connections belong to you. Influencers are out there, trying to change your minds about everything from what pizza you eat to what you think. Regardless of mindset, there are some basic premises that we know to be true. Our world is drowning in plastic waste; plastic is derived from petroleum; petroleum is an energy source and energy drives our world.

So, this is my push for 2023, stop using as much single use plastics as you can. This means eliminating any plastic shopping bags. If you don’t have a slew of reusable bags by now, you can get them at any grocery store.

Two local grocery stores don’t supply bags automatically, you must purchase them at the time of check out or roll your purchases to your car unbagged. This lack of bag provision has not slowed their popularity amongst prudent buyers.

Plastic bags break down into microplastics. They become part of the food and water chains that we all end up ingesting. Plastic bags also become air born when left on the sides of the roads or even at the landfill prior to a daily cover. Bags caught in trees are not only an eyesore, they are potentially used in birds’ nests, subjecting baby birds to toxins.

Plastic resealable bags: presently in my kitchen drawer along with aluminum foil, waxed paper, parchment paper, plastic wrap and twist ties ( throwback to not throwing them away) and matches. I need to replace the use of bags with Tupperware (or facsimile); plastic wrap used to rewrap items that I will freeze will take some exploring as to a replacement.

Butcher paper, according to N.C. Cooperative Extension is a good alternative. Wrap and squeeze out all the air that you can, seal with freezer tape and label. Glass jars are really the best to store foods in; reusable, washable and you can see what is stored. Remember to label these too with contents and date.

Polystyrene, aka Styrofoam needs to be banned from use all over. Many states have or will have this banned. If you have ever done a litter pick-up, you know that a Styrofoam cup or clamshell, once left in the environment for a period, begins to degrade. This makes picking this off the ground nearly impossible as it disintegrates into thousands of tiny pieces, making the litter-picker-upper an accomplice to litter crimes!

I know it will take a voice louder than mine to stop restaurants and fast-food operators from using this product, but some have already. Maybe we voice our discontent with our buying power. Frequent establishments that respect the environment and are doing their part to eliminate a frequently littered product. The next time you are driving or walking, make a note of how many and what kind of litter you are seeing. Lots of plastic bags, plastic bottles and fast-food containers. We can do better for our world.

If this is the one new habit that you set for 2023, this will make a difference. Habits take about three weeks to form. So, when you walk into the grocery store without your reusable bag, turn around and get it out of the car…you will be happy you did.

When you get to the grocery store, don’t buy plastic bags. Look for butcher paper or freezer paper and masking/freezer tape. Save those glass jars for leftovers and use plastic reusable containers whenever you can. If we all do our part, we can make a change in 2023.

Nan Kirlin is recycling coordinator for Gaston County.