Problems with Plastics: What You Can Do

The Plastic Lady, aka Beth Terry. Photo courtesy Stephen Loewinsohn

From the FRIENDS of the San Juans

Beth Terry, author of Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, will give presentations and sign books on San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez Islands on April 26, 27, and 28, 2013.

• April 26th, 7 p.m., Friday Harbor, San Juan Island Grange
• April 27th, 4 p.m., Eastsound, Emmanuel Episcopal Church
• April 28th, 5:30 p.m., Lopez Island, Woodman Hall

These talks are being brought to our community with support from Blossom Grocery, Darvill’s Bookstore, Emmanual Episcopal Parish, FRIENDS of the San Juans, Griffin Bay Bookstore, Lopez Bookshop and Orcas Friends of the Library.

In 2007, accountant Beth Terry began an experiment to see if she could live without acquiring any new plastic.  Since then, she has reduced her plastic waste to 2% of the national average.  That experiment turned into the popular blog MyPlasticFreeLife.com and new book Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too. A founding member of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Terry gives presentations on plastic-free living and why, despite what some critics assert, our personal actions do make a difference.

“Plastics are so common in our lives that we may not think much about them until we learn about the giant garbage patches of plastic trash in our oceans, or about how plastic trash can harm marine animals, or how plastics can affect our own health,” said Beth Terry, “Plastics are useful, but they have come to dominate our world. Instead of being used where they are essential, plastics are used everywhere. Most things made of plastic are designed to be used once and then thrown away. This discarded plastic ends up in landfills, blows across our landscapes, or ends up in our lakes, rivers, and oceans.”

 In her talk, she will share personal stories and practical steps we can take to reduce our use of plastics.  Although she has a day job as an accountant, she has dedicated her life to changing the way that others think about plastics.

Terry’s  work and life have been profiled in the award-winning film “Bag It,” as well as Susan Freinkel’s book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story and Captain Charles Moore’s Plastic Ocean.