Reader’s digest

„Plastic-free- How I kicked the plastic habit and how you can too“ by Beth Terry

„Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I’m a lot preachier than I mean to be, and afterwards I feel like a jerk. Really, I’m no different from anyone else who cares about the planet.“

Beth Terry

When it comes to deviating from the unsustainable norm and making life-altering changes in your consumption of plastic, there are few people as notorious and admired as the diligent Beth Terry. Terry’s blog, „My Plastic-free Life“ has inspired countless people around the globe to gradually ditch plastic in their daily lives. The accountant from California started her blog in 2007 after reading an article on plastic in the worlds oceans that contained a heart-wrenching picture of a dead albatross chick with its stomach full of plastic. The realization that her consumption patterns were part of the problem inspired Terry to start documenting and reducing the plastic in her life.

She did extensive research on non-plastic alternatives for all sorts of goods, started making her own products rather than buying them and went through several personal challenges as she gradually cut plastic more and more out of her life. She documented her methods, her struggles and her relevations in her quirky, entertaining online blog, formerly known as „Fake plastic fish“, which eventually received a renaming after she managed to cut plastic consumption altogether.

Who hasn’t checked out the blog online should definitely give it a go. Terry lists countless ways of how we can easily avoid using plastic in our daily lives and does so in a non-lecturing, honest and constructive manner. It’s a pleasure to read and really does inspire you to make some personal changes. The website also contains a discussion forum with a categorized list of topics where people can share new discoveries of plastic-free goods and companies, share homemade recipes and even vent frustration at the struggle of trying to live sustainably in our current plastic society.

For those who prefer such advice in print, Terry recently published her first book „Plastic-free-How I kicked the plastic habit and how you can too“. The book has been extensively praised as a handy practical guide to living without plastic and is just as entertaining and comprehensive as her online blog. Of course, no plastic was used in the its manufacturing.

Beth refers to us using plastic as a „habit“. This is as true as it is clever. We have habits, bad ones, many of which we aren’t even aware of and they are destroying the beautiful natural life on our planet. Defiant people like Beth Terry are incredibly important in this day and age because they remind us that we shouldn’t give up. They empower us as individuals and show us that we can achieve personal growth, set an example and be the change we want to see in this world.

By Paula Thake