Readers Reflect on Their Daily Plastic Consumption

We Asked Readers:

Tell us about your daily plastic consumption. Have you found ways to cut down? Are you likely to change your habits, knowing that so much doesn’t get recycled?

Here’s how readers responded.

I am an avid McDonald’s tea drinker. After I had a discussion with the local McDonald’s, they understand I will bring my old plastic cup in and still pay for the refill. After a while, it gets a little grody and I buy a new one, but I can make one cup last a week or two.

Those “bottomless cups” are a great way to cut down on plastic use. Even if they went halfway with the price (buy a special cup and only pay 50 cents for a refill), they’d still make a profit, and we’d be using a lot less plastic.

John Towler
Kill Devil Hills, N.C.

My mother (born in 1915) was the original “green” person. I learned many of my conservation practices from her.