In the 1967 film “The Graduate,” Mr. McGuire gives Benjamin Braddock one word of advice: “Plastics.” There’s a great future there, he adds.
Nearly 60 years later, “plastics” symbolizes something very different: prioritizing short-term convenience and profit over the long-term well-being of both humans and our entire planet.
Westport can’t change the world.
But we can sure take some steps right here in our town.
Sustainable Westport can help us try.
The non-profit has spent 2 decades educating residents about the importance of the environment.
Now they offer action steps. Among the first: “UnPlastic Westport.”
The initiative aims to reduce single-use plastics, and expand water-filling stations around town. The goal is to “turn shared intention into measurable, community-wide change.”
What’s wrong with convenient, ubiquitous plastic? Sustainable Westport says it:
- Enters human bodies and may carry serious health risks for ourselves and our children.
- Is produced in massive quantities, using fossil fuels.
- Persists virtually forever, breaking down into microplastics.
- Is often labeled “recyclable,” despite being rarely recycled in practice.
- Contaminates ecosystems and food chains globally.
Plastic water bottles are everywhere — especially athletic fields. Sustainable Westport is pushing for more water filling stations around town.
Each month — right here on “06880” — they’ll highlight an area of daily life where single-use plastic is most common, along with practical ideas to use.
From kitchens and laundry rooms to sports teams and more, small shifts add up to big changes.
Today, Sustainable Westport’s “UnPlastic” tips focus on pantries. For example:
- Move dry goods into glass jars or metal tins.
- Buy in bulk or larger sizes, to reduce packaging
- Avoid individually wrapped snacks where possible
- Make your own DIY snacks, like trail mix
- Trade out plastic tupperware for glass.
Sustainable Westport invites residents to “Pledge to UnPlastic.” Signing here — and sharing an idea or tip — reinforces commitment.
Each month too, the organization will highlight a “Sustainable Superstar.”
The first is the Staples cheer team’s Pyramid Club.
By rethinking how water was served at their weekly pasta dinners for the football team, they eliminated the need for single-use water bottles.
All it took was purchasing 12 restaurant-style pitchers, and asking a custodian to open the school cafeteria kitchen so they could fill them with tap water (and use ice from the machine).
Using compostable paper cups, this fall they kept nearly 1,000 bottles out of the waste stream. Click here to learn more.
Staples cheer team’s Pyramid Club.
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But that’s not all from Sustainable Westport. They also recommend these upcoming events:
“Winter Seed Sowing with Alice Ely” (Monday, January 26, 7 p.m., Wakeman Town Farm): Learn to make your own “mini-greenhouse” in a bottle to start seedlings. Leave it outside till spring, when you’ll reap a dozen or more native plants that pollinators love, to start in your garden. Click here to register.
“First Monday” (February 2, 7 p.m., Emmy Squared): Catch up on local, national and global sustainability topics. All are welcome; just drop in.
“WestportREADS: The Real Impact of Climate Change on Connecticut Shores“: (February 12, 7 p.m., Westport Library): In this year’s WestportREADS selection, “All the Water In the World,” much of Manhattan is under water due to melting glaciers. Executive director of the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation James O’Donnell will discuss the effects of climate change on our shoreline and Long Island Sound. Click here for more information.
(“06880” regularly covers Westport’s environmental scene — along with so much else. If you appreciate our work on important subjects, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)