Routine Reuse

Like most families during the COVID-19 pandemic, we were mostly confined to our home and our immediate surroundings for about two years. The world had changed quite a bit during that time. One of the most concerning developments during the pandemic was the proliferation of plastic.

Plastic consumption rose to an all time high during the pandemic. Big Oil companies were delighted. Despite us using less fossil fuels to power our vehicles or airplanes we used a significant amount of oil to make the plastic used in our to go boxes and food packaging. The graph below shows the total annual production of global plastics over time. It's important to highlight that the amount produced ends up being the amount consumed. When you think of oil, it's helpful to remember oil is plastic and plastic is greenhouse emission growth and endocrine system disruption. This is why, as minimalists, our choices are so paramount to actual reduction efforts.