The ideal materials for consuming food and drink are wood and glass, followed by stone. If necessary, I might include copper, and after careful consideration, stainless steel. But never plastic.
For most of my life, I consumed plastic. At my last retail food chain, I am guilty of flooding the earth—and my guests’ bodies—with microplastics. Shame on me. But I have changed. Somewhere in 2019, as I was departing my previous juice company, I had a realization. My anxieties about money and my desire to succeed had blinded me to the impact of what I was doing with plastic.
We’re all guilty, in one way or another, for the environmental predicament we now face. What is that predicament? For starters, we’ve polluted nature with an unfathomable amount of garbage. You can see it everywhere: on once-pristine beaches, along roadways, in cities, and scattered across hillsides.
It’s a masculine tendency, I suppose—to lay siege to everything. To conquer people, nature, ideas. In our anxious, reactive state (the sympathetic nervous system), men often lead the charge toward destruction. It’s a harsh truth, but one that needs to be acknowledged.
As we grow older and soften our hearts, we begin to see the role each of us plays in creating the problems that our descendants will face. Generational trauma, blind consumerism, and reactivity to anxiety all contribute to this cycle. Blind consumerism, in particular, is an addiction. It’s why we’re still dependent on oil, coal, and natural gas, even though we have solar, wind, tidal, and hydroelectric energy as alternatives.
As a species, our collective behavior is like that of a drunk person who can’t stop drinking until they black out. But if you’re reading this, wake up. Breathe. Be mindful. Free yourself from chronic anxiety.
When we approach life with a relaxed state of mind (the parasympathetic nervous system), we don’t act addictively or in conflict with nature. Single-use plastic, for example, is one of the worst offenders. It’s everywhere. It’s now in our children’s bloodstreams—and in ours.
We can rid ourselves of it by refusing to use it, particularly in food packaging. It’s pure denial to think that plasticizers don’t leach into our systems from the food and drink they touch.
So, stop. Breathe. Be mindful. Choose better. It’s time to change.
Recycled Plastic is Not The Solution
First and foremost, using single-use plastic does nothing to change our behavior or our dependency on cheap, transparent plastics. If we remain hooked on the immediate gratification of single-use anything, we will inevitably relapse and return to using the harmful plastics we still consume today.
Consider this: most cheap toys are packaged with single-use plastics, and supermarkets in most countries are filled wall-to-wall with them. This overreliance on plastics is deeply ingrained in our systems.
Even recycling doesn’t offer the quick fix we might hope for. Most recycled plastics take 40–90 years to degrade. As for plant-based plastics, while they may sound healthier, they degrade extremely slowly and often require specialized plastic degradation facilities to break down properly. This means even more transportation of waste and a greater reliance on fossil fuels.
The harsh reality is that most recyclable plastics never even make it to these facilities. And in the short term, the plastic from food containers still leaches into our bodies, dramatically affecting our endocrine systems.
Regardless of how recyclable it may seem, plastic is fundamentally a harmful product. The manufacturing process makes it toxic to life on Earth. The more plastic we introduce into our environment and our bodies, the more toxicity accumulates. While this should be obvious, society’s dependency on plastic has blinded many to its dangers. Worse, we’ve taken this dependency to extremes: not only do we rely on plastic, but we also waste an enormous amount of it on frivolous, single-use items. Single-use plastic is an attack on nature. It’s an attack on other creatures. It’s an attack on us.
If you’re entirely self-centered, you might think you don’t need to care. After all, you may avoid the worst effects in your lifetime. But future generations won’t. They’ll inherit a world burdened with the consequences of our plastic addiction. Ignoring this reality is, quite simply, foolish.
Moving Toward Change
So, what can we do? Mainstream society is unlikely to make significant changes right now; we tend to wait until a catastrophe forces us into action. But we don’t have to wait. Meaningful change begins with individuals like you and me, doing our part to pave the way for a better future.
The work we do now—prototyping sustainable practices—helps the next generation refine and perfect these efforts. In the meantime, we should celebrate alternatives like glass. Glassware could and should become a significant part of modern society. Yes, it requires slowing down and inconveniencing ourselves, but this mindfulness can inspire a healthier relationship with consumption.
By thinking more critically about what we buy and how we buy it, we confront not only the environmental impact of plastic but also broader issues like consumer addiction and waste. This movement isn’t just about reducing single-use plastic; it’s about reshaping our entire approach to consumption—for the sake of the planet, every living creature on it, and ourselves.
Solve the problem, one step at a time. Step one, do nothing else but stop using single-use plastic. Change your habits. Step two: Write a letter to the companies you onced consummed products from telling them you will resume using their product when they stop using single-use plastic. Eventually, this will be the leading cause of change. When consumers vote with their dollars, companies change. They follow the money.
Why Glass?
The hidden benefits of glass go beyond the obvious environmental advantages:
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Healthier Choices: Glass doesn’t leach harmful chemicals, like plasticizers, into your food or drink. It avoids endocrine disruptors and keeps your product pure.
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Long-Term Relationships: Glass encourages repeat use and loyalty. For instance, when customers return glass containers for credits, they build a sustainable habit that benefits everyone.
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Strength and Durability: Glass is heavier—about 2.5 times heavier than plastic. While this means more effort, it also fosters a deeper connection to what you’re consuming.
Glass Return Day: A Celebration
Returning glass containers doesn’t have to feel like a chore. Instead, it can become part of a positive routine—a celebration of sustainability. Make glass return day the day you tackle other errands: drop off clothes at the dry cleaners, stock up on fresh juices, or tidy your home. Let it become a symbol of personal and collective progress.
The Ripple Effect
While individual actions may seem insignificant, they have a powerful ripple effect. Just like a social media post can multiply from one like to hundreds, your commitment to reducing single-use plastic can inspire others to do the same. A single act of returning glass could influence three, four, or even seven people—and from there, meaningful change begins to take hold.
Together, one conscious action at a time, we can shift our collective behavior, reduce our reliance on plastic, and create a healthier, more sustainable world.